Prime Minister Victor Ponta says he will go to the Cotroceni Presidential Palace on Tuesday to discuss with President Klaus Iohannis the refugee topic, explaining that under Article 102 of the Constitution, he didn’t need a mandate to discuss with his Bulgarian and Serbian counterparts in Sofia on Saturday.
“He doesn’t know what it is about… (…)… A mandate is given when you go to sign international agreements. I haven’t signed any international agreement. But he doesn’t know that. He saw Traian Basescu who insisted on this mandate matter, I believe he set him a trap. I have the obligation, according to the Constitution and the mandate I received from Parliament, not from Mr Iohannis, to deal with the things related to day-to-day life. (…) As he is a very arrogant man, Mr Iohannis doesn’t prepare himself. Had he been prepared, he wouldn’t have made that statement yesterday,” Ponta explained pointing to Article 102 of the Constitution that says, the Executive is in charge with the domestic and foreign policy of the country according to its programme.
Ponta confirmed he will go to the Cotroceni Presidential Palace on Tuesday, although he believes the President should have invited him beforehand.
“I am definitely going [to the Cotroceni Palace]. He should have invited me beforehand. (…) I am always open to collaboration. I am ready to show Mr Iohannis all the respect Mr Iohannis shows me. He often has this tendency (…) to treat us all arrogantly, condescendingly, like a master treats his servants. (…) I don’t owe Mr Iohannis anything. He hasn’t given me any mandate and I have no reason to go with a humble attitude, as some go there,” said Ponta.
In the trilateral meeting in Sofia with the counterparts of Bulgaria and Serbia, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that if there are countries closing their borders and building fences, Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, in their turn, have the right to protect themselves, “but this is not a good solution.” The Romanian Prime Minister underscored that the optimal solution is a common action of Europe as a whole in the migration issue.
Subsequently, President Klaus Iohannis said Prime Minister Ponta hadn’t consulted him about the trilateral meeting in Sofia and that the PM had no mandate to engage Romania in any kind through the statements made there.
