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7/13/12

EU demands explanation from Romania

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has worked hard in Brussels to explain the political events in his country and to avert what could become very negative consequences. For two days he held talks with EU Parliamentary President Martin Schulz, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and various members of the European parliament.

But it was only after the discussion on Wednesday night with Schulz, who like Ponta is a Social Democrat, that Ponta spoke to the public to defend his actions. These were "constitutional and met EU standards," he said. He was also obliging: "If any decision of the government or the parliament does not meet European standards, we are ready to take immediate action."

Schulz made no secret of their common party affiliation and called Ponta his friend. Nevertheless, he criticized some things, for example, "Important laws should not be changed by emergency regulations, but through a democratic process." To facilitate the removal from office of conservative President Traian Basescu, Ponta had changed several laws by emergency decree. This in particular is what has inflamed international criticism. After the meeting, Schulz said that he was now confident that there would be nothing "that the Commission could criticize as a violation of European standards."


Read more: EU demands explanation from Romania | Europe | DW.DE | 13.07.2012

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