Romanian PM attends European Council summit, against the Constitutional Court ruling

While the Constitutional Court decided Romanian president Traian Basescu should, as head of state, go to the summit of the European Council, prime-minister Victor Ponta left to Brussels to take part in the event which takes place on June 28 and 29.

UPDATE: In a press statement, president Basescu said: “It is for the first time in 2 years, after the post-December 1989, when a prime-minister takes the prerogatives of the president, without a warrant from the president.”

“Romania is rightfully present at the European Council but not rightly represented,” said Basescu, saying he decided, “against his will” not to participate in the summit, because the presence of two Romanian officials there would have created an embarrassing situation.

“It is the first time in 8 years when I am impended from exercising the attributions granted to me by the Constitution,” said Basescu. He also said he would not file a complaint against the prime-minister.

The prime minister is accompanied by Andrei Marga, the Minister of External Affairs, and Leonard Orban, the minister of European Affairs. Ponta arrived at the reunion of the Party of European Socialists.

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According to the ruling of the Constitutional Court, the prime-minister can attend the summit only if expressly delegated by the president.

“In exercising the constitutional attributions, the Romanian president participates in the reunions of the European Council as head of state. This attribution can be expressly delegated by the Romanian president to the prime-minister,” according to the pres release of the institution.
Otilia Haraga