PDL disputes Budget Law to Constitutional Court

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

PM Ponta claims PDL did that ‘so that Basescu would stop reprimanding them for not doing anything’ and says complaint will be rejected

PDL filed a complaint against the 2013 State Budget Law with the Constitutional Court on Friday. MP Andreea Paul, Vice President of PDL, told a press conference that, in its claim to CC, the party had raised three legal arguments regarding the breach of parliamentary procedure during the debates on the budget in the merged plenary sitting of the Chambers and another argument relative to the lack of predictability of the 2013 budget.
The PDL vice president said the three arguments suggesting a violation of procedures during the adoption of the budget law were the absence of amendments PDL had submitted to committees and which were no longer imported into the final report, the absence of the Statute of Parliamentarians based on which the respective budgets of the Chamber of Deputies and Senate had been developed and the lack of quorum for the adoption of the budget draft law on the night of February 6. Previously, PDL Bistrita-Nasaud Vice President Ioan Oltean said during a press conference PDL would dispute the 2013 Budget Law in the Constitutional Court, as the budget contains ‘financial resources that have no legislative support.’ Ioan Oltean also noted that PDL’s claim was based on both procedural and substantive considerations.
He also gave an example on that. ‘I would remind of just one element: in the budget we can identify financial resources for which there is no legislative support. They have determined financial resources concerning the financial entitlements of the members of parliament while the Statute of the MPs has not been adopted after being postponed. However, the financial resources that appear in the budget include exactly the entitlements that are found in that act. This is one of the elements we have in view for when we submit our petition to the Constitutional Court,’ Oltean said. The Constitutional Court (CC) will discuss on February 20 the non-constitutionality claim filed by PDL MPs in connection with the 2013 State Budget Law.

Ponta: CC will decline PDL’s claim

Responding to the Democrat Liberals’ action, the prime minister said on Saturday that PDL’s decision to dispute the 2013 budget law had come as a result of President Traian Basescu’s criticism, but it would definitely be declined by the Constitutional Court, the only consequence concerning the increase of pensions and wages.
‘If Mrs. Roberta Anastase did sign the complaint made to the Court, the situation is exactly the one where one should name not a halter in his house that hanged himself. They are the ones who said no quorum was ever needed for any committee or else…. The result of the vote – 310 – clearly represents the votes in favour and meets the quorum requirement combined with the 100 votes against. I can understand PDL’s wish, but PDL is now a phantomatic party, a party peoples by ghosts (…)’ said the PM.
Ponta further noted that the deferral of the entry into force of the state budget would just postpone pension or wage rises scheduled under the draft budget law, but added that he did not believe PDL’s claim would be granted in Court.