ALDE’s Tariceanu: Given total political war, Romania not ready to take over presidency of EU Council. PM Dancila: Assuming EU Council presidency, on schedule; Tariceanu referenced split among parties

Considering the last months’ total political war, Romania is not ready to take over presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Senate’s president Calin Popescu-Tariceanu wrote on Thursday on his Facebook page. He stressed that the agreement tabled by the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats (ALDE)  to the parliamentary parties is “one of the last trains” as regards the successful management of this European mandate. “Many have said that the ALDE’s request to finding a consensus would equal with a step behind in the effort to halt the abuses. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ahead of all, the fact that today the European officials start to admit that in Romania a serious problem in connection with the protocols exists, the fact that today talk is made about regulating the abusive phone calls’ tapping is also the result of the ALDE’s effort. And yet efforts carried out with pragmatism, consistency, by using both the political discourse’s weapons and the diplomacy’s. We must understand the moment Romania is crossing, hence the agreement proposed by the ALDE is paramount. Firstly, one must say that given the conditions of the total political war these months, Romania is not ready to take over presidency of the EU Council. It is an 11th hour warning I’m addressing with responsibility to all of the political people, to the Romanian president in particular and to the opposition’s parliamentary parties’ leaders,” Tariceanu wrote. In his opinion, “they who think that the European leaders will be sympathetic, when in an electoral year the Bucharest politicians wish themselves at war, are wrong” and “Romania is already losing ground and will have but to lose hugely if things do not change urgently.” “Should the president and the opposition parties will continue to deny the illegal protocols’ and abuses’ existence and will refuse any dialogue for Romania moves forward, then we shall miss a big chance we have to have our voice heard at the EU level. We shall continue to be sent to the corner by the European leaders who understand way better the political and diplomatic games and act in their own countries’ interest. The agreement proposed by the ALDE is one of the last, if not the very last train as regards the successful management of the EU Council’s presidency,” he added. Tariceanu added that the accord proposed by the ALDE is “an open appeal to responsibility”. “An appeal to assuming by the political class of Romania of certain fundamental principles that would ensure that the illegal protocols’ abuse and practice will never repeat, and the Romanians will have their fundamental rights and liberties guaranteed. The assuming of these principles instead of some unceasing political conflicts is necessary so we could move on. If not, the politicians will further be at war, and Romania will lose,” Tariceanu stressed. He also sustained that “a consensus is needed in a two-piece torn up country due to a conflict sadly fed with cynicism by the force institutions’ officials.” “They who believe that the political battle has stopped at the Parliament halls or in the televisions’ rooms are wrong. Each time I go in the country I can see the major fracture that is happening in the Romanian society. We must stop this fracture, we must mend what is to be mended and reopen the dialogue at the entire society’s level. These are not big words, they are real things the Romanians feel on their own skin. It is a huge question mark on how we made it to arrive here, in the Centennial year of the Greater Union that the Romanian society is more divided than ever. That is why I come up with this pact to the entire Romanian society that is finding itself represented at the Parliament level, to both the Power and the Opposition. I know no Romanian to wish to have their phone tapped, to live in a country of the illegal protocols and abuses. The principles that the ALDE is putting forward want to re-establish a balance where the Romanians regardless of their (political) belief, win back their trust in the judiciary and their confidence that this is not used as a tool to eliminate the inconvenient political opponents,” Tariceanu wrote on his Facebook page. The ALDE chairman recalls that the agreement’s proposals, such as an expert, politically independent Justice minister, hand in glove with the restraint of the powers of the president in the appointment procedure of the prosecutors, are guarantees of the limitation of the political factor’s involvement. “These are paramount, commonsensical, important principles for Romania’s future. I hope enough wisdom will be found to understand the importance of this moment we are crossing through. Yes, I want a Romania with no abuses, no protocols, no undemocratic intervention of the (secret, ed. n.) services! And I’m certain that this accord is the best chance to reaching this goal!” Tariceanu concluded. *** The withdrawal from the positions filled currently in the judiciary of the persons who in 2009 – 2016 have fathered and signed secret collaboration protocols between the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) and the Judiciary area bodies, the Justice minister be a politically independent person and the relevant legislation include the Venice Commission’s recommendations are the main provisions of an agreement proposal of the parliamentary political parties on Wednesday forwarded by the ALDE.   PM Dancila: Assuming EU Council presidency, on schedule; Tariceanu referenced split among parties   The Romanian government is on schedule with preparations for assuming the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the statements by national leader Calin Popescu-Tariceanu of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) on this issue referenced a split among the political parties, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Thursday. “His reference was related to the division that exists in the society, to the division between the political parties, and not in the least to the organisational, logistics or programme sides for Romania taking over the rotating presidency,” Viorica Dancila...