Parliament appoints officials to financial, fiscal, media public offices

In a joint meeting on Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate appointed members to the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), the Fiscal Council, and also nominated the chairman of the National Audio-Visual Council (CNA). The voting was secret, with ballot papers. On Tuesday, Governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isarescu was unanimously endorsed by vote for a new term of office at the BNR's helm by the budget and finance committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Also unanimously voted in office were the members recommended for a place on the BNR Board of Directors: Florin Georgescu - first deputy governor of BNR; Leonardo Badea - deputy-governor; Eugen Nicolaescu - deputy-governor; Balint Csaba, Gheorghe Gherghina, Cristian Popa, Dan Radu Rusanu and Virgiliu Jorj Stoenescu. The committees rejected the bids of Ionut Dumitru, Ion Horia Neamtu, Aura Gabriela Socol and Marin Dinu. On Monday, national chair of the majority Social Democratic Party (PSD) Viorica Dancila and national chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), minor at rule, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu announced after a meeting of the ruling coalition that they were endorsing Mugur Isarescu for a new term of office as BNR governor. Last week, several PSD lawmakers said they did not want a new term of office for Isarescu. "No PSD senator expressed his or her support for the renewal of Mugur Isarescu's term of office at the helm of the National Bank of Romania," Serban Nicolae, the floor leader of the PSD Senate group said at the time. PSD MP Olguta Vasilescu said that she would not vote for reappointing Isarescu to his position. The plenary session of Parliament also appointed the members to the Fiscal Council. Vying for a seat on the Fiscal Council were George Georgescu, recommended by the Romanian Academy; Bogdan Octavian Cozmanca, recommended by BNR; Georgiana Camelia Cretan recommended by ASE; Daniel Dacianu, recommended by IBR, and Bogdan Sebastian Capraru nominated by ARB, all of whom were endorsed by Parliament's specialist committees. Parliament also approved the appointment of Maria Monica Gubernat as chair of the National Audio-Visual Council. AGERPRES (RO - author: Sorinel Penes, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)