Newly appointed Romanian cabinet ministers at hearings before parliament committees
Candidates appointed by Romanian Prime Minister-designate Dacian Cioloș to join his center-right cabinet appear before parliament committees for hearings on Tuesday while a vote in parliament is expected on Wednesday. Mr Cioloș, leader of the roght-wing Save Romania Union (USR), a former junior party in the governing coalition of former PM Florin Cîțu, said he has presented to parliament his governing program along with a list of his minority government ministers on Monday. The list includes former ministers in the cabinet of former PM Florin Cîțu such as Stelian Ion as justice minister, Ioana Mihăilă as health minister or Cătălin Drulă as transport minister. The new names include Alin Stoica as home minister or Nicu Fălcoi as defence minister. „We are ready to take responsibility for difficult measures as we need solutions and immediate measures for the health crisis while also preparing for an energy crisis which could badly hurt people this winter”, Mr Cioloș told reporters at a press conference on Monday.
Former governing PNL rejects Romania’s new government
The former governing right-wing National Liberal Party (PNL) is not expected to vote the government of Prime Minister-designate Dacian Cioloș. The announcement was made by PNL leader and former PM Florin Cîțu in parliament on Tuesday. PNL MPs will attend the sessiion in parliament but they will abstain from voting, Mr Cîțu told Radio Romania. A decision on the matter was made late on Monday by the PNL Executive Bureau. “I was surprised to find out that the country’s Defence Ministry was no more expected to meet NATO’s 2 percent spending goal”, Mr. Cîțu mentioned while explaining PNL move.
Romania coronavirus updates
Romania reported 18,863 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, with 574 deaths (294 men, 280 women) , and another 1,805 under intensive care. In the capital Bucharest, the number of new cases hit 2,190, according to data issued by the country’s Strategic Communication Group (GCS). With the cases reported, the Romanian capital leads among other regions across the country followed by the north-eastern county of Iassy with 658 cases, south-eastern county of Constantza with 655 cases, and the southern county of Ilfov with 626 cases.
Alexandru Danga, RADOR
