Romania’s PM-Designate Unveils New Cabinet

Romania's Prime Minister-designate, Ludovic Orban, has unveiled the list of ministers he will present to parliament when he seeks the support of the legislature to take office.

Orban has also put forward a governing programme that includes 12 measures that his government will urgently implement if he obtains the votes of at least 233 of the 464 MPs in parliament, which he needs to become the next prime minister.

The proposed cabinet contains 16 ministers, as opposed to the 21 ministers in the current Social Democratic government under Viorica Dancila, which remains in power on an interim basis after losing a no-confidence vote on October 10.

Orban's choice for Foreign Minister is the veteran diplomat and former minister Bogdan Aurescu, who previously served as the head of Romanian diplomacy and is now an adviser to President Klaus Iohannis.

Economist and senator Florin Citu is nominated for for the Finance Ministry, while the lawyer and former minister Catalin Predoiu will take over the justice portfolio if the cabinet gets the backing of parliament.

The 12 "urgent measures" put forward by Orban - leader of the centre-right opposition National Liberal Party, PNL - include the designation of a new candidate to represent Romania in the next European Commission, after the proposal put forward by the Social Democratic government, Rovana Plumb, was rejected by the European Parliament due to a conflict of interest.

The Orban cabinet also plans to revisit some of the controversial reforms to the justice system approved by its predecessors, and carry out a budgetary rectification for the rest of 2019.

An official document published on Thursday by the Romanian media said Orban will seek the support of parliament's two chambers on...