SocDem's Dragnea urges gov't to cease endless talk on Criminal Codes, let Parliament complete issue

The government must cease "this endless talk" on the emergency ordinances referring to the Criminal Codes, and Parliament should complete the procedure it has started in this sense, on Friday said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea, the main ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader, adding that Justice Minister Tudorel Toader "cannot go on like this". "As for the ordinance, let me tell you, truly on Wednesday I amused myself: I was watching something like a cheap play. I was watching some people from Brussels who were shouting and yelling and making threats. (...) What were all these theatrics for? Mr. Toader must understand he cannot go on like this, he must cease with this attitude. Many colleagues are telling me that in fact his intention ever since this January was to raise these topics in a debate and talk for three months not about what we have to do in the real Romania - not in the imaginary Romania - and he kept on announcing that he will give some emergency ordinances which in fact were not given, and he does not intend to give, ever," Dragnea asserted in southeastern city of Calarasi. The PSD leader demanded the gov't to cease this talking about the Criminal Codes and at the same time stressed that Parliament must finalise the procedure it has started regarding these codes. "So, I urge the gov't to put an end to this endless discussion. Parliament had kicked off a procedure to finalise the vote on the Criminal Codes, after the verification with the Constitutional Court (CCR). It was a mistake for PSD to trust some people who said they will give these codes by Emergency Ordinances (OUG) to finally end up humbly going to Brussels, as far as I understood it, with some 7 - 8 articles. Therefore, as regards the Criminal Codes and the relevant legislation, Parliament must pursue its course it had started. Be they passed in this session or in the following session, when they are passed, these laws must be finalised because they are supervised by the CCR. The gov't must take serious charge of the ruling programme, when it has in mind to adopt something they should announce it today and adopt it within one week, we cannot allow for parasitic topics to be discussed for months on end. And here the Prime minister must make a decision, it is up to her," the PSD leader concluded.AGERPRES(RO - author: Catalina Matei, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Maria Voican, editor: Simona Iacob)