Brussels, 28/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 27 August, the Romanian parliament endorsed the reinstatement of Traian Basescu as president, six days after the constitutional court had ruled that the referendum for his removal from office was invalid. The referendum had been called by the centre-left majority under Prime Minister Victor Ponta, AFP reports. According to the rules of procedure, one of the nine judges of the court announced to the two houses of parliament together that the caretaker presidency assumed by Senate President Crin Antonescu would end and that Basescu would return to office to take up his constitutional prerogatives. The court's decision was published during the evening in the Official Journal, lifting the last obstacle to Basescu's return to the presidential palace. Elected members of the Social Liberal Union (USL), the coalition in power, had initially announced that they would boycott the parliament meeting, before returning to the House to make up the quorum required, AFP states. Ponta had nonetheless on several occasions last week given his assurance that the majority would not seek to delay Basescu's return to office by using procedural arguments, although he had considered the court's decision “illegal and unjust”.
Last Tuesday, the court had confirmed that the referendum convened by the coalition in power on 29 July to impeach Traian Basescu was not valid, as the turnout was lower than the minimum threshold required for the ballot to be valid, despite a majority vote (87%) in favour of President Basescu's removal from office. The European Commission had then called on the political parties to uphold that decision and to put an end to their quarrelling. The decision by the Romanian parliament to reinstate Basescu was also welcomed on Tuesday 28 August by the leaders of the EPP Group, Wilfried Martens and Joseph Daul, who spoke of a “responsible decision by members of the Romanian parliament”. Both men also hoped that, from now on, all political forces would refrain from attacking the justice system, including the constitutional court, and work to strengthen the “independence and correct functioning of justice in Romania”.
On Tuesday, the Commission, also, hailed the Romanian parliament's decision. Olivier Bailly said their concern was that the constitutional process and rule of law should be respected. “We have noted this”, the spokesman said, while indicating that the Commission would remain “vigilant” and would keep an eye on political developments in Romania. The Commission, as it had stated on 18 July, will draft a new report by the end of the year under the Cooperation Verification Mechanism (CVM), to make a fair assessment of the situation in Romania. (SP/transl.jl)