President Nicușor Dan explained why he appointed (starting November 17) former Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu as an honorary presidential advisor, even though he is facing criminal charges in the vaccine case from the pandemic. The head of state explained that the case was opened several years ago and is not progressing, stating that if things happen, then he will distance himself.
„Before making this appointment, I gathered all the information. Here, as in many other cases – I won’t say whether the prosecutor is right or wrong – what I can say is that it’s a case that was opened many years ago and is not progressing.
What I believe is legitimate, especially when we are talking about people who are politically exposed - MEPs or with roles representing the Romanian state - I believe that the Prosecutor's Office can make an effort to settle these cases, either by closing them or moving forward.
If criminal prosecution is initiated or things happen, then it means we need to take a step back. For now, it's a case that was opened a long time ago and for which we have made no progress," the president declared on Sunday evening on România TV.
He drew a comparison with the situation he faced when he held the position of general mayor of the Capital and was accused of incompatibility by the National Integrity Agency.
"I was the mayor of the Capital and was accused by the National Integrity Agency of all sorts of things, and it took about four years until the Court of Appeal and the High Court said that I did nothing that could be considered incompatible.
But in all these four years, every time, on behalf of the city hall, I talked to a bank from which we borrowed, I had to give explanations. (...) When you have a character like I was, the mayor of the Capital, who is exposed, let's finish it in six months, because it's not about a politician. It's about Romania's image," the president explained what he would like from the justice system.
We have prosecutors who work quite little
Nicușor Dan advocated for an increase in the efficiency of the justice system, considering that some of the over 2,500 prosecutors work very hard, while others work "quite little."
"I believe we need to reach an administrative context where these suspicions - about people who represent the Romanian state - are resolved very quickly. How does this happen? This is a long discussion that we will continue to have.
We have about 2,500 - 3,000 prosecutors, some of whom work very hard, others work quite little in places where not much happens. There are many aspects regarding the efficiency of the justice system, including criminal investigations, that we need to discuss," the president conveyed.
Vlad Voiculescu was appointed on November 13 as the honorary advisor to the president for resilience, innovation, and European solidarity.