PM-President dispute over representativeness in UE summit

PM Victor Ponta declared Wednesday evening on many private television channels that he had scheduled an appointment with President Traian Băsescu for Tuesday but he estimated that he would be the one representing Romania at the EU council.

Previously, during a press conference at Cotroceni, the President presented the reasons for which he believed that Romania must be represented at the President at the EU Council that is to take place on the 28th of June.

The PM said that he would meet with the President ”to harmonize their stances”.

”No one contests the President’s representative prerogative, but only the PM can attend the EU Council.

”The final solution will be given in 2013, once the Constitution has been amended ” the PM declared on several television channels.

The PM reminded that he had already received an invitation on behalf of the EU President to take part in the reunion of the Council and can’t decline it.

”There is no way for me to decline the invitation, it would mean for me to go against the decision of the Parliment. I am convinced that it won’t be revoked, at least not for this reason, because I will take part in the Council and the discussion will be over” the executive in chief said.

The President "is the one who represents the state"

According to Oana Bâlă, Radio Romania Actualitati reporter, Traian Băsescu stated at the press conference that the EU is a union of states, not of governments, and that it’s the President who represents the state.

The President explained that the EU Parliament is the first EU institution that exercises together with the committee the legislative and budgetary functions, whereas the EU council doesn’t have any legislative attributions.

The EU isn’t a union of Governments, it’s a union of states.

” The Government is part of a state, if we take into consideration only the powers within the state of Romania, namely the executive, legislative and judicial powers, there is only one person that represents the state, namely the President. These are his first attributes as stipulated in Article 80 in the Constitution” the President said.

As regards the participation in the EU Council, the President has promised that he wouldn’t get himself into embarrassing situations, but he also stated that he wouldn’t step down from any of his constitutional obligations.

The President also declared, while answering a question, that the delegation of attributions can be a solution with regard to the theme of the representation at the EU Council, and added that there can be no other imposed solution.

However, the President stressed that the Constitution stipulates the circumstances under which attributions may be delegated, namely illness and resignation.

The President’s representativeness "cannot be denied"

Wednesday evening the President stressed that he cannot be denied his representativeness, in response to the declaration made Tuesday by the Parliment about the representation of Romania at the EU Council scheduled to take place on the 28th of June, by the PM, emphasizing tht the Legislative cannot warrant the Executive.

The President added that the Parliament had denied his representativeness, which is impossible.

”Given that the Constitution stipulated that the President represents the state of Romania, the state includes the Government as one of its institutions, it also includes the law and the Parliament and its 22 millions citizens and ONGs The state of Romania is a complex mechanism”

”The President must be able to give information from any field which is why he is accompanied by expertise

”The President is not someone who knows everything, but he is backed by every institution that must prepare for him an opinion from the afore-mentioned institutions. No one can deny the President’s representativeness”

The President "isn’t afraid of suspension"

The President stated that he is not afraid of being suspended from his function, stressing that no one can play with the law to pander to political interests.

”No one can play with the laws to pander to political interests, but, if things go in this direction, I’m going to say what I said in 2007 ” we shall gladly bear it all, whether in times of peace of war”.

”What do you mean fear of suspension ? What can I possibly lose ? I still have my family, my health, I won’t end up in hospital” the President said at Cotroceni Palace, when asked if he was afraid of being suspended in the favorable context given by the judicial Parliamentary committee with respect to the new cast law proposing that the CCR should not have any word in the decisions of the Parliament.

Tuesday, the President stated that, through the declaration adopted in the same day, politicians are trying ”to push the representation of the state of Romania abroad”.

The commander in chief referred to the Parliament’s statement according to which the EU Council that is to take place on the 28th of June will represent Romania, given that the main themes are about the economic problems.

The President declared that he would respect any judicial act of the of the Parliament that proves to be constitutional, adding that the declaration is no opposable to the President, and that the PM needs a decision or a law.

Translated by

Vlad Nichita

MTTLC, Bucharest University