Romania Court Ruling Leaves Country's Army Headless

Romania's army remains leaderless after a Bucharest court annulled a presidential decree that had extended the mandate of the incumbent chief-of-staff.

The ruling on Thursday has raised fears that the conflict between President Klaus Iohannis and the ruling Social Democratic Party might undermine national security.

After a National Defence Council meeting on December 28, Iohannis issued a decree to extend by the mandate of chief-of-staff General Nicolae Ciuca by one year.

Ciuca, who is seen as one of the most experienced leaders of the Romanian army, has held the position since January 2015. His mandate expired on December 31.

Iohannis rejected a new proposal from the Defence Ministry, accusing the ruling party of making reckless administrative appointments.

"The Social Democratic Party is not capable of managing the country's major affairs. There is no valid proposal for chief-of-staff," Iohannis said on December 28. He added that he would extend Ciuca's manadate because "the Romanian Army cannot be left headless".

The Defence Ministry filed a lawsuit on January 11 against Iohannis and the presidential administration, requesting the suspension and annulment of the decree.

The government argued that Iohannis' decree was not legal because it was not signed by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and was issued without the approval of the Defence Ministry

The Bucharest Appeal Court on Thursday suspended enforcement of the President's decree until a ruling in the first instance, thus removing Ciuca from his post.

The court ruling came during a two-day informal EU Defence Council meeting in Bucharest, and has concerned the Romanian opposition parties.

The vice-president of parliament's defence committee, Liberal MP...