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Romanian President Regrets Sending Pension Bill Back To Parliament For Reexamination

Romania’s President Traian Basescu said Thursday he regrets he sent the country’s pension bill back to the Parliament for reexamination, as he gave lawmakers “the opportunity to play the fool and act irresponsibly”.
Romanian President Regrets Sending Pension Bill Back To Parliament For Reexamination
Ioana Tudor
25 nov. 2010, 14:00, English

The head of state said he searched for an article that could give him a reason to send the pension bill back to parliament for reexamination, after a conflict triggered by the way in which the pension bill had been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies.

Basescu said his reexamination request concerned only the article regulating retirement age for men and women, and added lawmakers decided to debate more articles and stalled the bill’s adoption.

„You saw the outcome, and it’s clear that the head of state cannot be sure what might happen to a law, no matter how urgent, once it is sent back to parliament. For most politicians, demagogy is above national interest,” Basescu concluded.

The country’s IMF-required pension bill was debated in the Chamber of Deputies late September and opposition lawmakers said the vote on the bill was rigged. Social democrats filed a criminal complaint against Speaker Roberta Anastase, accusing her of abuse of office and forgery. Since then, opposition deputies have been constantly boycotting lower chamber’s activity, calling on Anastase to resign.