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Romanian Parliament Approves New Pro-European Government

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Dec 23, 2024 23:16 188

Romanian Parliament Approves New Pro-European Government  - 1

The Romanian Parliament today approved a new pro-European government following the parliamentary elections on December 1, Agerpres agency reported.

The new cabinet, which will once again be headed by Marcel Ciolacu, received 240 votes “in favor” with a minimum of 233 required in the 465-seat parliament.

143 MPs voted against.

450 MPs and senators were present in the hall, with 383 of them voting, Agerpres specifies.

Earlier today, President Klaus Iohannis nominated the current Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to form the new Romanian government, after three pro-European parties reached an agreement on a coalition that provides them with a parliamentary majority.

The coalition government includes the left-wing SDP, the centrist National Liberal Party (NLP) and the ethnic Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (DHU). They were joined by a group of 19 deputies from national minorities other than the Hungarian one, giving the coalition 244 votes in the 465-seat parliament.

The Social Democratic Party won the most votes in the December 1st elections, in which three ultranationalist and far-right parties, some with clear pro-Russian sympathies, won about a third of the seats.

Marcel Ciolacu has been Romania's prime minister since June last year.

The new government will have to approve a calendar for new presidential elections in two rounds. The three parties in the coalition have agreed to support one presidential candidate in an attempt to prevent a representative of the radical right from winning. Crin Antonescu, a former leader of the NLP, was nominated today as a single candidate supported by the three parties in the coalition government.

The second term of Klaus Iohannis expired on Saturday, but he will remain in office until a new head of state is elected, after the first round of the presidential election, held on November 24, was annulled by the Constitutional Court two days before the second round due to suspicions of foreign interference and manipulation. The second round was scheduled to feature independent far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu and centrist Union for the Salvation of Romania (SSR) candidate Elena Lasconi.

Romania's new cabinet will also have the difficult task of reducing the country's budget deficit, the highest in the EU, from an expected 8.6 percent of gross domestic product this year to around 7 percent in 2025, and ratings agencies and analysts expect tax increases.

The speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian parliament were also elected today. The interim leader of the PLP, Ilie Bologian, was elected speaker of the Senate (the upper house of the Romanian parliament), and Ciprian Serban, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of the Romanian parliament).