Interim PM Orban says ministers who received negative opinion won't be changed under any circumstance

Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL) and Interim Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has said on Monday that the ministers of the Citu Cabinet who received negative opinions in the parliamentary committees won't be changed in the Government "under any circumstance."

He was asked whether he takes into account the change of the ministers of the Citu Government who received a negative opinion in the parliamentary committees, in the context in which this thing was requested by the heads of the two Chambers of Parliament.

"Under no circumstance. The ministers of the Government I lead and the ministers proposed by Prime Minister-designate Florin Citu are serious ministers, competent ministers, who did their job and whose assessment cannot be made by the PSD [the Social Democratic Party] majority in the committees who issue votes according to the party orders and not according to the objective assessment of their competencies and qualities," Orban said.

He reiterated that the PNL will act by observing the Constitution and the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) decisions, without mentioning how the Liberal MPs are to vote.

"We are trying to convince MPs to form a majority, then we are to meet and see how the situation will be like in Parliament. The PNL will vote according to the constitutional provisions and the provisions of the Regulation of the Joint Chambers," Orban said.

He argued that each minister has done his/her duty.

The heads of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate asked Prime Minister-designate Florin Citu on Monday to withdraw the proposed ministers who received a negative opinion at the hearings of the specialised committees.

The proposed ministers were heard last week by the parliamentary committees, with nine of them receiving positive opinion, and the other seven receiving negative opinions from the deputies and senators. The opinion of the committees is advisory.