Ponta says remains great supporter of division into regions, decentralization both as PM, prospective president

Prime Minister Victor Ponta, standing for president in the runoff on Nov. 16, told Digi 24 news channel on Wednesday that both as a prime minister and further as president he will remain the greatest supporter of the project aimed at dividing Romania into regions and decentralizing it.

'I am, as a prime minister and will be as a president the greatest supporter of regionalization and decentralization. I think 90 percent of the things are much better done not in Bucharest, but in the concerned county and community, no matter if we speak of Miercurea Ciuc, or Targu Jiu, or Tulcea. The problem is we must pass a certain philosophy of the constitutional judges, who told me I am not allowed to decentralize', Ponta said.

He gave several examples of regional infrastructure projects in this respect. 'For example, Timisoara Airport. It keeps being the ownership of the transport ministry and we drew up a draft law to put it to the ownership of the local authority, as in the case of Cluj and Iasi. We were told: ?no, it is the asset of the entire people, you are not allowed to give it to Timisoara'. Sirs, it is public ownership, it is only being managed. We have such a conception at the judges of the Constitutional Court, which I hope, little by little, to turn into an European conception, which says decentralization does not mean hitting the territorial integrity', the prime minister stressed.AGERPRES