Luca Niculescu Nominated as Romania’s Prime Minister: President Vows to Maintain Pro-Western Course
President of Romania: “My proposal for the position of Prime Minister is Luca Niculescu, a man who, as a diplomat, knows how to reconcile different positions. Over the past four years, Mr. Niculescu has been in charge of our country’s accession process to the OECD and, in this capacity, has worked with Romania’s institutions. He is therefore someone who knows the state and who has spent four years working on a process that led to the adoption of 100 pieces of legislation with the agreement of the parliamentary parties. Moreover, I believe this is a moment when both the Romanian economy and the administration should make the leap that OECD accession makes possible.
The appointment of Luca Niculescu came following today’s consultations. I chose the person who has the greatest chances of securing a majority, and Mr. Niculescu, following the in-depth discussions he will have with the parties, has the freedom to decide on the composition of the government — political or technocratic. What matters is having a majority in Parliament.
Romania needs to have a government as soon as possible, because there are institutions that require budgetary adjustments, and a budget for next year is needed. Prolonging the uncertainty will have consequences for the lives of Romanian citizens. We have seen the developments in the exchange rate in recent days, as well as interest rates on loans. There are investments waiting for this period of uncertainty to come to an end — investments that mean jobs for Romanians.
I have the assurance that a government led by Luca Niculescu will maintain Romania’s pro-Western direction and will respect the financial targets and all the commitments that Romania has undertaken.”
