PM Dancila unveils party's picks for ministers

Acting national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Tuesday after a convention of the party's National Executive Committee (CEx) that Titus Corlatean was picked for deputy prime minister; Ana Birchall for justice minister; Roxana Manzatu for European funds minister, and Natalia Intotero for minister for Romanians abroad. "We made important decisions for the party. I would like to start with a decision regarding Bucharest: as I said today, unity is important to us; it is important to understand what went wrong, to gather together, and to unite our forces in order to move forward, and that is what happened in Bucharest. Gabriela Firea was voted by the National Executive Committee as interim chair of the Bucharest chapter following the end of Gabriel Mutu's tenure. Firea was also voted deputy chair of the Social Democratic Party," Dancila said Tuesday evening at a press conference at the end of the PSD's CEx convention. She also mentioned that the CEx discussed support for Dan Nica as the leader of the PSD MEP's delegation to the European Parliament, as negotiations on the EP are starting on Tuesday. "Decisions had to be made, and somebody had to represent the group of PSD MEPs," added Dancila. She mentioned that at the CEx convention, Paul Stanescu was voted unanimously the party's executive chairman and Rodica Nassar as PSD secretary general. The PSD leader mentioned that that a vote was also taken on the three ministerial picks: Ana Birchall for the Ministry of Justice; Roxana Manzatu for the Ministry of European Funds and Natalia Intotero for the Ministry for Romanians Abroad. In addition, Titus Corlatean was voted deputy prime minister for strategic partnerships to replace Viorel Stefan, appointed to the European Court of Auditors. "It was a long CExN convention, but it is important that people left this convention with the same message, a message of unity, a party opening up to all those who want to join us, a message of dialogue and with the certainty that the decisions we make will meet what our electorate expects," said Dancila. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)