Orban: British citizens left hanging in air by PSD Government, had Brexit not been postponed

Chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Prime Minister-designate Ludovic Orban, said on Friday that had Brexit not been postponed, "the PSD [the Social Democratic Party] government would have left all British citizens hanging in the air" because it did not issue the emergency ordinance to regulate their situation, although they were repeatedly requested. 

"Fortunately Brexit was postponed, because if Brexit had taken place on October 31, as originally planned, the PSD governments would have left all British citizens hanging in the air because they were required to issue the OUG, just as all the other 27 European states did, to regulate the post-Brexit situation of the British citizens. But the PSD Government did not do this, although they were repeatedly requested and they promised they would," said Orban, at the Regional Assembly of the PNL South Muntenia organizations in Pitesti. 

He argued that this is affecting Romania, which is thus giving an "extremely bad" signal. 

"This is the PSD Government. Mockery of Romanians, mockery of all our European partners and this, given the fact that, please think about it, upon Brexit, Romania can become a target of many investments that will be relocated. What signal are we giving to the British or to the investors who would like to invest in Romania? We are giving them an extremely bad signal, showing that we are not capable and we are not interested in solving the problems of the British residents. This is what PSD has been dealing with," added Orban. 

On the other hand, Ludovic Orban referred to the period when he was Minister of Transport, maintaining that when he takes over the government he will complete several investment goals. 

"When I became Minister of Transport, the PSD had been struggling for four years to build the belt motorway of Pitesti. In four years they carried out 50 percent of the works. I came in April on the works and announced that they would be completed in six months. In six months they were ready, although no one believed this and all those in the PSD, from the president of the County Council, the PSD mayor, who were making fun of me when I said it would be ready in six months, all came to the ribbon cutting, they boasted that they made the beltway. In 2008, I left the technical-economic indicators adopted in the government meeting and the tender documents for the Sibiu - Pitesti motorway section. In 11 years nothing has been done, they returned after 11 years to the feasibility study, which was conducted in 2008 and they have not been capable since 2014, since this investment is financeable, to conclude a contract and to really kick off the works," said Orban. 

Orban also said that in 2008 he also approved the technical-economic indicators for the expressway Craiova-Pitesti, according to the memorandum of understanding signed by the Government of Romania with Ford Company, but in 11 years nothing was done. 

"I guarantee that this investment objective too will be completed by us, as well as the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway section," Orban maintained, also mentioning the motorway section linking Bucharest to Brasov.