Vietnam, Canada and Mexico top the deputies’ most expensive visits abroad

Deputies’ visits abroad in the first ten months of 2015 tapered the state budget of over RON 2m. The most expensive destinations were Vietnam, Canada and Mexico. There were 190 foreign travels made during January-October 2015. The information regarding the MPs visits abroad in November and December are not available yet on the Chamber’s website.

The most expensive visit cost RON 121,230 and was paid in Vietnam, on the occasion of the 132^nd Assembly of the interparliamentary union, where 5 Romanian MPs spent nine days and a half. The Romanian delegation led by Social Democrat Ioan Stan was also attended by Liberal deputy Ionel Palar, Liberal senator Dumitru Oprea, ALDE deputy Liviu Bogdan Ciuca and PSD deputy Gheorghe Marin.

The Chamber’s speaker Valeriu Zgonea, accompanied by three deputies spent around RON 93,000 for six days and a half in Canada.

Romania’s participation in the Women in Parliaments Global Forum (WIP) hosted by Mexico in October was also pretty expensive. The Chamber paid RON 89,398 for the parliamentary delegation’s transport, accommodation and pay for 6 days. The Romanian delegation comprised four women: PSD deputy Tamara Ciofu, independent deputy Liliana Ciobanu, ALDE deputy Cornelia Negrut, Liberal Andreea Paul.

As a matter of fact, most of the MPs travels were made in October 2015. There were 28 such rides generating expenses of RON 445,000. The less numerous visits were paid in January, when there is usually the parliamentary recess: there were only three visits costing RON 33,000. In January 2015, the most expensive visit was the one to Prague, when the Chamber speaker, Valeriu Zgonea, attended the events commemorating the Holocaust Day and marking the 70^th anniversary since the victory against Nazism. The visit lasted 2 days and a half and cost RON 26,152.

Deputies paid considerable sums also for visits to France, Japan, USA or Mongolia.

Although they are not totally available yet, the visits paid in the last two months of 2015 were around 40, with destinations such as Georgia, Belgium, Cyprus, Serbia, Italy, Japan, Sweden, UK, Cambodia, Russia or Israel.

As for the visits abroad in 2016, there will be 11 approved so far.