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PM Emil Boc received the Army report at December 1 parade
Two days ago, President Traian Basescu designated Prime Minister Emil Boc to receive the Army report at the National Day Parade on December 1, Valeriu Turcan, spokesman for Romanian President Basescu, told Agerpres on Wednesday. According to him, this was 'an instance of representation and not of the order of precedence.''
''Romania is not in a situation in which the constitutional powers of the President are handed over so that so that Mr Geoana might be compelled to receive the report. It is regrettable that several people, perhaps from Mr. Geoana's circles, are trying to generate confusion by spreading false information via sources,' said Turcan.
The National Day Parade on Wednesday at the Triumphal Arch in Bucharest started with the Guard of Honour presenting its salute to Prime Minister Emil Boc and the singing of the national anthem.
Asked by journalists why the Guard of Honour presented its salute to him, although Senate Chairman Mircea Geoana, second in line in the order of precedence, was also there, Boc said that the President designated him to receive the salute at the National Day Parade.
'They followed the established protocol. The President assigned the task to me yesterday,' said Boc.
President Traian Basescu did not attend the events at the Triumphal Arch, because he was in Astana, Kazakhsatn, attending a summit meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which ends on Thursday.
Senate Chairman Geoana: This incident represents an intolerable abuse of constitutional order
Senate Chairman Mircea Geoana describes as unfortunate the incident that happened at the National Day military parade in Bucharest, when the Guard of Honour presented its salute to Prime Minister Emil Boc, arguing that the incident 'unacceptably and undeservedly' overshadowed the celebration of all Romanians. 'This incident represents an intolerable abuse of constitutional order and the rule of law in Romania. (...) The incident is particularly unfortunate as the National Day of Romania ought to be an opportunity to leave aside petty politicking. We hope that this incident will not overshadow the good organisation of the military parade. (...) The men and women working in the Romanian Army have always been a benchmark of professionalism,' reads a press release issued on Wednesday by the Press Office of the Senate.
The release says Geoana will require the relevant institutions to investigate the causes and reasons behind the incident at the military parade in Bucharest. ''This is the first time in the past 20 years that Romania's President is not attending the National Day ceremonies. There is no other international obligation that can take precedence over the National Day. Neither the president, nor any ' empowered structure ' can change the express and mandatory provisions in the Constitution of Romania. Constitutional provisions stipulate precisely and unequivocally the order of precedence in Romania,' reads the release.
The document mentions that, under an order of the Ministry of National Defence of March 2009, 'the military salute shall be presented in the following order: to the President of Romania, the chairs of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff.'
The Senate chairman reacted after the Guard of Honour presented its salute at the National Day Parade in Bucharest to Prime Minister Emil Boc, instead of to him.