President Basescu accuses USL leaders of disinformation in Schengen file.

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President Traian Basescu accused the leaders of USL of disinformation in what concerns the letter he sent to them on improving Romania’s chances of receiving a positive vote on its Schengen accession bid at the JHA Council in March, during a briefing yesterday evening at Cotroceni palace.President Traian Basescu urged the government and the “wide Parliamentary majority” that USL has to appoint in office the candidates for the positions of head of the Office of Attorney General and head of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), to “immediately remove from the government the ministers under criminal investigation,” to resume the debates on the Statute of MPs that should “offer equal conditions for the subjects of ANI reports,” to support in Parliament the termination or the suspension of the terms in office of officials found to be incompatible with the offices held or of those convicted of corruption, and to set shorter terms for approving the prosecution of MPs.The President claims that Romania would have had a better chance in this case had all these conditions been met, but they on the other hand disinformed the public..

“They said the President doesn’t want us to join Schengen, which is a disinformation,” Basescu said. The Head of State said that he finds himself in a delicate situation because of the commitments taken at the European Council meeting in June 2012, commitments that became useless after “the coup d’état of July-August 2012.” Now, the President claims, there is the risk of seeing talks on the Schengen issue postponed for 2014, some EU countries wanting to see the future CVM report in December, after the latest CVM report released in January had both positive and negative observations. “I asked for possible measures, such as the appointment of prosecutors, issues concerning the compatibility of ministers, removing ministers involved in legal cases,” Basescu stated. He stated that Europeans wonder why ministers cannot be replaced and why prosecutors cannot be appointed in office. “These delays show how low the political discourse is in Romania. Lies have nothing to do with Romania’s interest, and show the way in which one doesn’t serve his country. It’s inadmissible to lead an alliance of 70 per cent in Parliament but to be unable to pass through Parliament measures that concern European integration,” Basescu stated. Basescu also blamed PM Victor Ponta for having a ‘dishonest’ reaction about the appointment of Minister Relu Fenechiu, saying the decree had been signed by the head of state but, Basescu claims, the president cannot reject a minister unless government reshuffle is taking place.He also drew attention to the issues of Oltchim and Mechel. Senate Speaker Crin Antonescu was expected to have a press conference later yesterday evening, being expected to answer to the president’s accusations.