Pace accuses PNL and AUR of undermining Senate group
PACE accuses PNL and AUR of recruiting its senators to dissolve the group. The aim is allegedly to control the Constitutional Commission and stop an inquiry. PNL and AUR recruited six PACE senators, but PACE maintains the inquiry will proceed. The inquiry involves a meeting between Ilie Bolojan and Elena-Simina Tănăsescu. PACE claims the meeting was secretive and potentially influential.
Arhivă
On Wednesday, the PACE group accused the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) of attempting to disband its Senate group to take control of the Constitutional Commission. PACE claims this move is intended to hinder an ongoing investigation into a meeting between Ilie Bolojan and Elena-Simina Tănăsescu.
In a communiqué, PACE alleged that PNL and AUR began aggressively recruiting its senators to achieve these goals. The document, however, does not provide evidence of a coordinated effort between PNL and AUR, nor does it directly link the senator transfers to the inquiry. "PNL and AUR started furious recruitment of PACE members to take over Constitutional Commission," the communiqué stated.
The PNL has reportedly recruited four senators from the PACE group, while AUR has taken two.
Despite these defections, PACE has managed to maintain the minimum required membership of seven senators to remain a parliamentary group, with Ionel Carp joining to replace Olga Onea, who left for AUR. The Senate approved the inquiry into the Bolojan-Tănăsescu meeting on August 24. This followed requests for surveillance footage from the Senate President's office. The inquiry is set to begin on September 8, after being rescheduled from September 7 due to what PACE claims was a deliberate attempt by PNL to disrupt the investigation by declaring it a constituency day.
Tensions have also arisen in the leadership of other Senate commissions. PNL Senator Lucian Petrică Rusu was named President of the European Affairs Commission, a position PACE claims was taken from them irregularly. PACE interprets AUR's support for parties naming their own representatives as confirmation of a PNL-AUR collaboration.
The controversial meeting in question took place on August 14 in Senate President Mircea Abrudean's office, three days before a Constitutional Court ruling on a new Integrity Law. Tănăsescu denied discussing pending cases, stating, "I did not discuss anything related to cases." Bolojan also rejected accusations of influence, claiming the case was being exaggerated.
PACE maintains that the inquiry will continue, despite attempts to undermine it. The group alleges that AUR's initiative to suspend Nicușor Dan aims to enable Bolojan to become interim President of the Senate, a claim for which the communiqué provides no evidence.
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