Mircea Pascu

Romanians expressed outrage on Thursday over a remark by Italy's right-wing interior minister, Matteo Salvini, in which he accused fellow European Union members Romania and Bulgaria of exporting "slaves" to Italy.

National leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Prime Minister Victor Ponta, on Monday said that any of the PSD's MEP Ioan Mircea Pascu, Victor Bostinaru and Catalin Ivan can replace MEP Corina Cretu, who has been nominated to become a European commissioner, as deputy chair of the European Parliament (EP).

The Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) has handed out, on Thursday, the mandates proving their election as MEPs following the vote on May 25.

The PSD-UNPR-PC alliance of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Union for Romania's Progress (UNPR) and the Conservative Party (PC) won 16 seats in the European Parliament in the May 25 European elections in Romania, spokesman for the Central Electoral Bureau Marian Muhulet announced on Thursday.