Romanian defence minister quits

Parliament

Romanian Defence Minister Teodor Atanasiu has resigned, after a long-running row with the president.

In June Atanasiu announced, without having consulted the president, that Romania was pulling troops out of Iraq. President Traian Basescu suspended him last month over allegations he had ordered military intelligence officers to spy on presidential staff. Atanasiu said he quit because the president would not reinstate him "despite evidence I am not guilty". He said he was standing down to spare the armed forces the consequences of a damaging political fight between the coalition partners, President Basescu's Democratic Party and the Liberal Party to which Atanasiu belongs. Basescu has approved the Democratic Party's Sorin Frunzaverde to replace him. Meanwhile, the Liberal prime minister, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, named a party colleague, Varujan Vosganian, to be the country's European commissioner when Romania joins the EU next January. (BBC News)

SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL

Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.

Support the BBJ

Domestic