President Klaus Iohannis had an electoral meeting and debate with journalists and representatives of the civil society

President Klaus Iohannis underscored on Tuesday, in the beginning of his meeting and debate with journalists and representatives of the civil society, hosted by the Auditorium of the Central University Library, that there were no such arranged topics prepared for the event.

Nine journalists, analysts and politologists are addressing the head of state questions. Presidential and state advisors, PNL Chairman and PM Ludovic Orban, Deputy PM Raluca Turcan, campaign staff members of the PNL candidate, Liberals, students are attending the event.
In the beginning, he made a short presentation of his mandate as a president, specifying that he wanted to generate "common, balanced approaches, to be agreed with all institutional partners," in order to reach several important national goals, to satisfy the need for security and ensure a very good representation of Romania abroad. Iohannis said he always faced a "hostile" PSD (Social Democratic Party) in his approaches.

President Klaus Iohannis said he had some achievements that will significantly influence Romania's journey, pointing to the Pact to allot 2 percent of the GDP to Defence and the Sibiu Summit.

"I have had a few achievements that will significantly influence Romania's journey for years and years. I would mention just a few, so I don't take up too much of the debate time: that understanding with all the parties to allot 2 percent of the GDP to Romania's Defence has placed us in the position of being a very respected and agreed partner inside NATO and allows us to provide Romanians security in the geopolitical space we live in. Then, towards the end of the mandate, we had that European Summit in Sibiu, in the heart of Romania, where all relevant European leaders participated, in which we shaped up the path of the European Union for the next five-year tenure. I have had a mandate that has begun as a mandate of construction, this how I thought it, but, on the way, I have many times come to the situation in which I had a mandate that, in fact, had to keep Romania in the great coordinates wished by Romanians, opposing the PSD [Social Democratic Party]," Iohannis said at the debate organised in the Aula of the Central University Library.

He maintained that he managed to oppose the PSD "enough" to maintain Romania on the European path, in the space of European and transatlantic values. "I have managed to save Romania's image through the foreign policy that I have performed, I have managed to counteract the toxic effects abroad of a PSD governance focused on grabbing the state. For 30 years, the PSD has prevented Romania's development and I believe that now, after 30 years of transition, things must fundamentally change. The PSD must be removed from the decision-making process in the state. But, not anyhow, but democratically," the president said.

Iohannis added that, since the tenure beginning, he wished to make a different kind of politics, but he encountered a "strongly hostile" PSD, which, especially after December 2016, came with an approach that threw Romania in chaos, "to save a few criminally convicted," in an attempt to destroy the rule of law and the fight against corruption, however he opposed these demarches using the instruments provided by the Constitution, adding that he was many times successful.

He underscored that voting is "extremely important" and represents the manner in which the course of things in Romania can change.

Iohannis reiterated that in the runoff he counts on the electorate of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Save Romania Union (USR) - Liberty, Union, Solidarity Party (PLUS) Alliance, People's Movement Party (PMP) and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR).

"I am not at war with the PSD electorate, they have the right to be represented by a democratic party and this is why the PSD must be sent to the opposition to reform itself. (...) We will make sure that pensions and salaries increase," the PNL candidate maintained.

Moreover, the head of state made a call on young people to turn out to vote. "Voting in vital and if you wish to participate in Romania's construction go to vote on 24 November," Iohannis said.

President Klaus Iohannis has stated on Tuesday that through the re-examination requests of the Justice Laws or by sending them to the Constitutional Court, he managed to cancel 70 percent of the measures which would have compromised them.

" (...) I sent back to Parliament the Justice Laws, I sent the Justice Laws to the Constitutional Court, I requested an opinion from the Venice Commission and I asked, over the past days, the colleagues in the specialist department to make an assessment. I have managed to cancel 70 percent of the measures introduced which would have compromised the Justice Laws, therefore, 70 percent of the measures introduced by the PSD in the Justice Laws. Of course, they aren't perfect," the President stated within the debate organised at the Central University Library.

Iohannis voiced his belief that the Justice Laws would be corrected further on, following the parliamentary elections.

The head of state explained that he postponed the referendum on Justice until he believed that it would produce maximum effects, which he believes it did.

On the other hand, Iohannis said the demarches on moving the embassy of Israel is "dilettantism" and argued that the memorandum which was talked about was in fact "a study-type documentation."

"An obscure center no, but an obscure thinking yes. It is the typical PSD [Social Democratic Party] thinking. The Dragnea-Dancila regime woke up, mainly Dragnea and Dancila woke up in the attempt to focus on foreign policy, but they had no business there. The Chamber Speaker has no prerogatives in foreign policy, apart from parliamentary diplomacy, therefore he had no place in the discussion about the embassy, and Romania's Prime Minister hasn't these prerogatives of deciding on moving an embassy, according to the Constitution, this is done by the president. I have voiced my point of view very clearly: together with all partners we believe that these things cannot be done now because the conditions aren't met, the conditions that were asked back then when embassies were moved from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, which weren't in Tel Aviv. Consequently, I can label these demarches as political dilettantism in foreign affairs which has brought a lot of damage to us, and that much discussed, secret, memorandum, sophisticated approaches were used in public communication to leave the impression of a certain legitimacy. In fact, at the Foreign Ministry a documentation of a study type was drawn up which was sent to the Presidential Administration as well, after a long time, when in fact all the discussions were over, including the unfortunate statements in New York, which memorandum was proposing to proceed according to the law, (...) namely the president decides and has decided that it stays as established," Iohannis said at the debate organised in the Aula of the Central University Library.

European defence must be improved, President Klaus Iohannis stated on Tuesday, but a parallelism between such structure and NATO "won't help anyone." Iohannis said in his opinion an independent European army won't be feasible. He pleaded instead for a "perfect complementarity" of such structure with NATO. "Creating a parallelism with NATO won't help anyone," said the President.

În his opinion, 10 August 2018 represented the "most serious intervention of the state against the citizens since the Mineriad (miners' riot)." 

"I had no prior information. It looks like they gathered in great secrecy for this intervention in force and I can say, without exaggerations, that the intervention of 10 August, last year, against the protesters in the Victoriei Square has been the most serious intervention of the state against the citizens in Romania since the Mineriad. A comparison can be drawn only with the Mineriads and the University Square. The philosophy with which the intervention was made proved that the PSD [the Social Democratic Party] is against the Romanian and against democracy, and, I say all these things in full knowledge. I have been asked why I don't want to debate with the contestant? This is why. I cannot have a debate with someone who represents a repressive system of communist origin, we have to admit these things, whether they like it or not. Therefore, the state that takes action willingly, unprovoked against its own citizens is a repressive system which comes, in this case, from the sad history of Ceausescu's nationalist communism," Iohannis stated within the debate with journalists and representative of the civil society, at the Central University Library. 

He showed that he got in touch, at that time, with the structures from the national security area. "It's a catastrophe and we, Romanians, we'll be a lot in the collective imaginary on this topic and it will take a lot of time to find explanations, especially solutions so that nothing similar happens again," Iohannis stated.

The head of state said that he considered going to the protests of 10 August, however, he didn't go due to the tensions.

He also added that he maintains his opinion that the Justice Crimes Investigation Section must be disbanded, affirming that it can be "turned into something with which one may attempt unconstitutional control over magistrates". 

"Yes [e.n. - I maintain my opinion regarding the disbandment of the special section]. I am not a specialist in this field, but my opinion as the mere president of Romania from the beginning was that this section should not be set up, but in order to substantiate a relevant opinion I asked and received the opinions of well-known experts in the field, among whom I would enumerate the Venice Commission, GRECO, CVM, who say there is no need for this section. If they all say no, I am of the opinion that no, PNL thinks no, other parties are of the same opinion, it means that we rely on something. I am of the opinion that this section does not have to exist, it is a tool that can easily be transformed into something with which one may attempt unconstitutional control over magistrates," said Klaus Iohannis, at the debate with journalists and representatives of the civil society taking place at the Auditorium of the Central University Library.

He was asked where he sees this section placed if it is reformed in terms of human resources. "I maintain the opinion that I have voiced. All these specialists, whom I respect and recognize, recommend the disbandment of the section, an opinion that I share. Obviously, the decision is not taken by me, but by Parliament," said Iohannis.

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