Resignation call
„I publicly call for the resignation of Liviu Dragnea as speaker of Romanian Parliament’s House of Deputies and Călin Popescu Tăriceanu as hed of te Senate”. The statement was made by a leading member of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) at a press conference on Thursday. MEP Daniel Buda, who is also leader of the PNL in the Trnasylvanian town of Cluj Napoca, noted that his call comes after both European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the commission’s First Vicepresident Frans Timmermans raised questions about Romania’s commitments to the rule of law. „We are following the latest developments in Romania with concern. The independence of Romania’s judicial system and its capacity to fight corruption effectively are essential cornerstones of a strong Romania in the European Union./…/ The Commission again warns against backtracking and will look thoroughly at the final amendments to the justice law, the criminal codes and laws on conflict of interest and corruption to determine the impact on efforts to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and combat corruption”, the EU officials noted in an official statement released on Wednesday (January 24)
Two politicians in court
Former Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Dan Şova, a former senator and minister, are expected to appear in court on Thursday. Mr. Ponta and Mr. Şova are on trial for their alleged involvement in the so-called Turceni-Rovinari corruption case. Anti-corruption prosecutors accuse Dan Şova of forgery, tax evasion and money laundering. In the same file, the senator is investigated for other three crimes related to complicity to abuse of office. Mr. Ponta resigned unexpectedly in 2015 following months of anti-corruption protests. Tens of thousands of demonstrators demanded his resignation over a deadly fire in a Bucharest nightclub.
Romanian MP Verestoy Atilla dies at 63
Romanian Senator Verestoy Attila died on Wednesday, January 24. He was 63. Verestoy was a leading member of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and he was seen as one of the richest politicians.
Born in the central Romanian town of Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely) on March 1, 1954, Verestoy Attila was an engineer who became a UDMR MP in 1990 after the fall of the country’s Communist regime in 1989. In 2009, he was the third-wealthiest Romanian politician with assets of €100 million. In 2007, prosecutors of the country’s anticorruption watchdog (DNA) questioned Verestoy for his alleged involvement in a corruption-related case. He was not indicted.
Verestoy died in Vienna, Austria, following a cancer. He is survived by a son.
Alexandru Danga
