Brussels, 19/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The two main groups in the European Parliament expressed their concern on Thursday over the effects of the suspension of Romanian President Traian Basescu. Having been accused of breaking the constitution by refusing to appoint the ministers proposed by the head of government, Calin Tariceanu, Mr Basescu was suspended following a vote in the Romanian parliament. The next stage of the suspension procedure is a referendum to be held within 30 days, unless the president resigns, as he intended to do, thus forcing new elections. For the moment, the post is being filled by the leader of the Senate, Social Democrat Nicolae Vacaroiu. “The suspended president must contribute to a peaceful, democratic solution to the crisis,” said Austrian Hannes Swoboda, Deputy Leader of the PES group. “He and his supporters must accept the decision taken by a strong majority and act in a reasonable way,” he added. “At this moment, the procedure of impeachment of a sitting president in an EU member state against the decision of the Constitutional Court creates rather than solves problems,” said Leader of the EPP-ED group Joseph Daul. In a consultative opinion, the Court considered that the president's actions did not represent serious infringements. (ab)