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The opposition Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) is asking the Social Democratic Party - National Liberal Party - Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania ruling coalition to remove Energy Minister Virgil Popescu from office before the lawmakers' vote on the simple motion filed against him.
"Virgil Popescu is the main to blame for the aberrant energy bills the Romanians are paying today and he cannot stay in office one minute longer. There are some serious corruption suspicions surrounding him. In 2021 Popescu attempted to entrust without tender NRRP contracts worth almost 600 ml euros to a PNL chummy businessman. We urge the PSD not to vouch for the incompetence and corruption at the top of the Ciuca Government and to support Virgil Popescu's removal from office in today's coalition meeting. We also reaffirm that the only solution to the current energy price crisis is the return to the regulated market, until the competitive requirements are fully met," AUR said in a release on Tuesday.
During the Chamber of Deputies plenary sitting debating the simple motion filed against the Energy Minister, AUR Co-chairman George Simion and Virgil Popescu had a shouting match, with the former climbing to the rostrum to shout Popescu in the face that he is a "thief" and laying hands on him during the jabbering.
After an interruption, the debate on the motion resumed without the participation of the Energy Minister and of the PSD, PNL, UDMR and minorities' deputies.
Virgil Popescu announced on Monday evening that he will file a criminal complaint against George Simion for his aggressive behavior.
The final vote on the simple motion is scheduled for Wednesday's meeting.
