The President of Romania was constantly informed about the situation at the Ministry of National Defence (MApN), presidential spokesperson Madalina Dobrovolschi said Thursday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace.
“The President of Romania was constantly informed about the situation at the Defence Ministry (MApN), and he also had a dialogue with the Prime Minister, while asking for a solution to the situation at the Ministry of National Defence, which happened, and the things are the ones you know – the Prime Minister received the resignation from the [defence] minister, and the President agreed with the Prime Minister’s position,” said Dobrovolschi.
According to her, the scheduled defence visit to the U.S. is an organizational and administrative matter that will be communicated at the right time by organisers.
President Iohannis convenes CSAT next Thursday, to discuss Romania’s participation in NATO naval mission
President Klaus Iohannis has convened the Supreme Defence Council (CSAT) for 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 14, to discuss the Romanian Armed Forces contributing naval capabilities to a NATO mission, but also the national strategy for the prevention of WMD proliferation, Presidential Spokesperson Madalina Dobrovolschi announced.
The agenda of the meeting will include the Romanian Navy’s participation in a NATO-led mission in the second half of 2017, but also the national strategy for the prevention of WMD proliferation.
Dragnea: Acting DefMin to attend CSAT meeting, he has all competencies, he’s not an onlooker
On Thursday, PSD President Liviu Dragnea avoided setting a deadline on which the ruling coalition will nominate the future Defence Minister, stating that acting Defence Minister Marcel Ciolacu will take part in next week’s CSAT meeting because “he has all competencies” required by law and will not be “an onlooker.”
“We now have a Defence Minister. Don’t mix things up, the acting minister has absolutely all competencies. (…) An acting minister can take part [in CSAT meetings] too, don’t make the confusion of believing an acting minister is an onlooker there, he has all the competencies set by the Constitution and the law,” Dragnea said.
He stated this does not mean PSD will rapidly nominate a new minister, however the institution’s functioning is ensured at this moment.
PM Tudose denies existence of financial problems at Ministry of Defence: We haven’t bought little rockets and little corvettes yet, the money is there
On Wednesday, PM Mihai Tudose stated for Antena3 private broadcaster that there are no financial problems at the Defence Ministry, there being sufficient funds for the payment of salary rights, and added that the ministry is yet to buy “little rockets” and “little corvettes” so as to be insolvent.
“It would be the last area (from which to cut funds – editor’s note). We haven’t bought some kind of rockets and little rockets and little corvettes yet, so the money is there. To say that you no longer have money for salaries at the MoD or to create this confusion is very grave,” the Premier stated.
He explained that the Defence Minister’ resignation was necessary because this generated ample talks and controversies, however he denied the allegation that the Defence Minister was “executed” because of PSD infighting.
PMP’s Tomac: DefMin resigned, defence sector crisis continues
Lower House member Eugen Tomac, Executive President of the Popular Movement Party (PMP), claims that Tutuianu’s resignation does not put an end to the crisis in the defence sector and deems that the latest events affect Romania’s credibility in NATO.
“The President signed the order to dismiss outgoing minister Adrian Tutuianu, but the crisis at the Ministry of National Defence continues. Tutuianu’s departure does not bring money into the pockets of MoD employees. Moreover, the delay in the payment of servicemen’s salaries and the Defence Minister’s resignation are extremely grave things that create confusion among allies and throw doubt on Romania’s credibility within NATO,” the PMP parliamentarian stated.
In the opinion of the PMP Executive President, “the case of MoD salaries is extremely relevant for the chaos in PSD’s governance and for the disastrous state of budget execution.”
Eugen Tomac considers that the replacement of the Defence Minister marks the beginning of the end for PSD: “Because of the problems concerning budget revenues, PSD has long delayed the budget adjustment, thus jeopardising the payment of salaries in public institutions and the implementation of some programmes financed from the budget. Apart from making Romania indebted at a galloping rate, it’s expected that PSD will continue to take funds from investments and to shift them to expenditures on personnel. In the defence sector, they will take money from arms procurement and shift it to salaries. Because he was unable to sweep under the rug the Government’s failure, Tutuianu paid with his office. The Defence Minister’s resignation or dismissal marks the beginning of the end for PSD.”