President Iohannis: Legislative draft on judiciary appointments untimely

President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in Suceava that the move of Senate Chairman Calin Popescu Tariceanu regarding the legislative project that leaves the President and the Minister of Justice out of the procedure for the appointment of the chief prosecutors is flawed by lack of timeliness, adding that the solution picked should not serve the interests of politicians who are just temporarily in power.

''It's not the fact that these issues are being discussed that concerns me. I am aware that Parliament is legislating. It's rather a matter of timeliness. If now the Social Democratic Party - having acceded to power - wants to change the President just to show that they are in power, does not seem to me the most urgent, the most important or timely initiative. Anything can be discussed, but the solution must be to the benefit of Romania and the Romanians, not for politicians who are temporarily at rule," Iohannis said in reply to journalists asking him what his opinion is about the initiative of the Senate Chairman and the recent ordinance on the managing team of the National Communications Administration and Regulation Authority (ANCOM). 

On the other hand, Iohannis said he is concerned about the ANCOM case, which he remarked, resembles that of the infamous Ordinance 13. 

"What worries me is the ANCOM case, which strikingly resembles that of Ordinance 13. This government, unfortunately, has not yet fully understood what its role is in the constitutional architecture. The issue about the ANCOM ordinance was not legality, but the timeliness and the total lack of transparency in the decision-making process, and the way they raised the problem. In Romania the government has very high powers. The state's architecture is such that the government can do almost anything, but this does not mean they also must do anything. The government must govern, take decisions that are good for Romania's development, for defence, for strengthening and stabilizing development. We all want to live better, but this better living has to do with the manner of government. Romanians have expectations. There is need for transparency, timely decisions need to be made," said Iohannis acording agerpres.

In his opinion, the ANCOM matter was neither urgent nor important. 

''The Prime Minister could have made a proposal for ANCOM head and the matter would have been settled in about five minutes. There was no need for an ordinance. Probably this ruling coalition wanted to show me that they control the game, but I already knew this, that the parliamentary majority has the upper hand. I think I need to repeat what I already said in Parliament: govern, but not anyway, but to the good of Romania and its citizens!", Iohannis said.