Romanian MEP Mureșan Slams PSD's EU Complaint on Judiciary Pressure
Translated from Romanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Romanian liberal MEP Siegfried Mureșan criticized the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for complaining to the European Parliament about alleged pressure from the National Liberal Party (PNL) on the judiciary.
- The PSD's complaint followed a court decision to suspend a PNL congress and accusations of bias against a judge, which the PSD cited as a threat to the rule of law.
- Mureșan accused the PSD of hypocrisy, drawing parallels to the party's actions under former leader Liviu Dragnea and asserting that the PSD has not changed its ways.
A political spat between Romania's liberal and social democratic parties has escalated to the European Parliament, with MEP Siegfried Mureșan sharply criticizing the Social Democrats' move.
The PSD wants to discuss the rule of law in the European Parliament. We will discuss with pleasure.
The PSD announced it had alerted the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) about alleged pressure from the PNL on Romania's judiciary. This complaint stemmed from a court's temporary suspension of a PNL national congress called to elect new party leadership. The PNL plans to appeal, claiming the case was assigned to a judge with alleged ties to a prominent PNL member, prompting a request for the judge's recusal.
About the PSD, I must say that during Liviu Dragnea's time, they presented the attack on the rule of law as a defense of the rule of law, and the defense of the rule of law as an attack on the rule of law. That's what they did then, that's what they're doing now.
Mureșan, a liberal representative, took to Facebook to denounce the PSD's action. He drew a stark parallel to the era of former PSD leader Liviu Dragnea, accusing the party of distorting the concept of the rule of law. "The PSD wants to discuss the rule of law in the European Parliament. We will discuss with pleasure," Mureșan wrote, adding that under Dragnea, the PSD presented attacks on the rule of law as defense and vice versa. He expressed conviction that those who defended Dragnea's abuses then will defend current ones, asserting that the party has not changed despite claims of reform.
I am convinced that all the actors who then defended Liviu Dragnea and his abuses will also defend any abuse in this period. They tried for years to explain to us that they had changed. We will see in the coming months that they have not changed at all. This is the party led today by the prime minister of OUG 13.
Originally published by Adevărul in Romanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.