Changes in Romania’s government

Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos replaces four cabinet members.

Daniela Budu, 06.07.2016, 13:16

The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos
has announced the replacement of four of the 22 members of his cabinet, namely
the Minister for Education, Adrian Curaj, Communications, Marius Bostan,
Transport, Dan Costescu and the Minister-Delegate for Relations with Romanians
Abroad, Dan Stoenescu. The Prime Minister has stated that the four have generally
done a good job, but that the government team needs some fresh blood. Dacian
Ciolos:

The main priority
for the new ministers in these four areas will be to accelerate the delivery of
results for the projects that have been started and which, from my point of
view, have not advanced fast enough. I want people who can bring fresh impetus,
who can approach things in a different manner and who can make better use of
the time we have left to fulfill the goals to which this Government has
committed itself.

In the field of
education, the Prime Minister would like to put stronger emphasis on
pre-university education and the functioning of the national Council for
Attestation of Academic Titles, Diplomas and Certificates. The new
Minister-Delegate for Relations with Romanians Abroad will have to accelerate
the process of informing citizens in the Diaspora about the upcoming
parliamentary elections and also to reconnect them better with Romania. As
regards communications, Dacian Ciolos has stated he made the decision to
replace the minister because he wanted to see more clarity in the way in which
some IT platforms are coordinated at Government level. Dacian Ciolos:

In the area of
transport, I would like to accelerate the execution of the motorway projects,
the reform of the National Road and Motorway Company, which should have been
completed for months now, although I know that some progress has been made, and
also the preparation of new projects.

The Rector of
Bucharest University Mircea Dumitru has been proposed for the office of
Education Minister, while the name set forth for minister of transport is Sorin
Buse, who is a manager with a lot of experience in the automotive industry.
Dragos Tudorache will be the interim Communications Minister, while for the
Department for Relations with Romanians Abroad, the Prime Minister has proposed
the current ambassador to Canada, Maria Ligor.

The Deputy Prime
Minister Vasile Dincu has said that the reshuffle came as no surprise to him,
but that the announcement was made without prior media preparation. The
co-president of the National Liberal Party Alina Gorghiu has said that the
replacement of the four ministers is a good sign, adding that changes are never
made when things go well.