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Former Justice Minister Stelian Ion said on Tuesday that the myth spreading in the public space about his alleged proposal to remove the Romanian President from the appointment of chief prosecutors is "fake news."
"I want to bust another circulating myth that is fake news: the proposal I have made somehow removes the President of Romania from this mechanism of appointing chief prosecutors. No way. The last word in the procedure that I have suggested belongs to the President of Romania, who cannot be forced by anyone to accept a certain proposal if he does not agree with it, because the legitimacy offered by the votes received by the President and the constitutional position of the President require such solution. That does not mean that the procedure cannot add the involvement of another factor one that is not part of the political setting. That is why I have advocated for a balanced procedure that will have nothing to do with who is the President at any given time and that will be valid and functional regardless of who the President and justice minister are at any given time. It should be an external safety valve that can halt such appointments," Ion said at the Parliament House.
He also declared that "not everything is possible" and that the resignations of the ministers from the Save Romania Union - Freedom, Unity and Solidarity Party (USR PLUS) alliance will not be withdrawn, Agerpres informs.
"Not everything is possible. I will tell you what is certain. What will surely happen is that the incumbent prime minister will not hold this position for more than a few days. He cannot cling to this position unconstitutionally, without having a majority in Parliament. That is the only certainty, from my point of view. Other certainties would be that the resignations of the USR ministers will not be withdrawn. They have been tendered, and there is no coming back, meaning there is no coming back for the ruling coalition. The coalition must continue to exist, but not with Florin Citu as the prime minister," Ion told a news conference where he released his activity report as the justice minister.
