Premier Adrian Nastase yesterday disclosed the new government structure, already disputed by opposition parties, which deem it as a merely promotional political move and another step towards a failure in Romania’s EU accession negotiations.
Only several months before the elections, PSD (Social Democrat Party) decided to replace Justice minister Rodica Stanoiu, who had been harshly criticised over the lack of reforms in the justice system, also affected by political interferences. Rodica Stanoiu will be succeeded by Cristian Diaconescu, currently a state secretary with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Diaconescu is not officially a PSD member. He is married to Eximbank president Mariana Diaconescu. The Premier yesterday said he had suggested President Ion Iliescu that Rodica Stanoiu be replaced, although she is close to the head of state. Nastase would not elaborate on the reasons why the Justice minister was axed. He said the time had come for a change in the system and that reform could not be achieved from outside the circle of magistrates. Rodica Stanoiu is a criminologist, but she has no legal experience. The Prime Minister thus admitted to what the Opposition had said several years ago, immediately after Rodica Stanoiu had been anointed minister, namely that she did not have any expertise in magistracy. It is however curious that both the Social Democrat Party and the Premier have waited three years to acknowledge this reality. In fact, the Premier avoided any direct criticism against Rodica Stanoiu, saying he did not wish to “put a name on the criticism against the vulnerable spots in the legal system.”
The new government formula was showcased by the Prime Minister as a guarantee for finalising the accession negotiations during the mandate of the current European Commission, in October, and a premise for Romania’s EU integration in 2007. These are indeed extremely ambitious targets, considering that the Nicholson report, to be debated today in the European Parliament, is discussing Romania’s meeting the political criterion and asks for accession negotiations to be reoriented. Moreover, Romania still has eight accession chapters to negotiate with the European Commission, some of them very difficult: agriculture, environment, competition, justice and administration.
However, Nastase’s arguments rely on the newly-appointed ministers and their specific tasks. The new Cabinet will have three state ministers, directly subordinated to the Premier, each of them with a vast scope.
Economy and Trade minister Dan Ioan Popescu has to make sure Romania will get the functional market economy status this year, as this is one of the sine qua non conditions for meeting the economic accession criterion. Popescu has only six months to make it happen, as the European Commission releases the country report in September. Furthermore, the minister will have to secure sustained economic growth, improve the foreign trade, privatise state-owned enterprises, create new jobs and cut inflation.
Administration and Interior minister Ioan Rus, who is the new state minister for social issues will also have to produce and redistribute economic growth. However, Ioan Talpes, who is making his political debut as state minister, will have the hardest task – Talpes will have to make reform happen in the justice system and conclude accession negotiations during the mandate of the current European Commission.
mirela.luca@zf.ro