USR's Ciolos: Romexpo mega-deal, first PSD-PNL-UDMR robbery right before finalizing new gov't

The chairman of the Save Romania Union (USR), Dacian Ciolos, stated on Wednesday, after the adoption of the Romexpo law, that this is a "megadeal," a "gigantic real estate project," which would result in "selling for no benefit" state goods.

"The Romexpo megadeal is the first PSD-PNL-UDMR [Social Democratic Party, National Liberal Party, Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania, respectively] robbery right before finalizing the new government. Here's how the toxic PSD-PNL alliance is starting the offensive on public money right after 'getting rid' of USR, who was pestering them daily with the transparency it requested. For months, USR MPs have drawn attention to the Romexpo mega-robbery, by which 46 hectares of land would go from the property of the state to the private property of the CCIR [Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania], with the land to undergo a 'program of urban rehabilitation', in fact a gigantic real estate project," wrote Ciolos on Facebook.

He mentions that the USR has opposed this demarche and that the Justice Ministry opposed it in its turn in the period it was led by Stelian Ion.

"Even from opposition, we will do all that depends on us to prevent the robbery from public money," the USR leader said.

The Plenum of the Senate adopted, on Wednesday, with amendments, through the re-examination requested by President Klaus Iohannis, the law that regards the transmission, free-of-charge to the property of the Chamber of Commerce the lands which are private property of the state and which are used by the CCIR, to accomplish, within 40 years, projects for durable urban development, agerpres reports.

There were 81 votes in favour, 38 against and two abstentions.

The USR senators voted against the adoption of the law, the normative act being supported by PNL, PSD, and UDMR. The senators of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, although they did not express their positions in the plenary session, also voted against.

On March 31, President Klaus Iohannis requested Parliament re-examine the law that regarded the transmission, free-of-charge, to the property of the Chamber of Commerce the lands, private property of the state, that, until the entry into force of the normative act, were in the free use of CCIR and are not otherwise claimed.

According to an amendment adopted in the Economic and Legal Committees of the Senate and taken up by the plenum, the law was amended in the sense that the mentioned lands are transmitted, free-of-charge, to the property of CCIR for the purpose of "conducting exclusively the specific activity with character of continuity and accomplishing, within a maximum of 40 years since acquiring property rights, durable urban development projects on said lands, meant to support the business environment."

The amendment is justified, in the report of the specialty committees, through the fact that it represents "a legislative remedy" and "an additional guarantee requested for the transfer of property rights over the lands."

Another amendment adopted provides that "the Government of Romania, on the initiative of the Government General Secretariat, checks the fulfilling of legal conditions and adopts the decision that transmits, free-of-charge the property rights over the lands."