The Director of the National Meteorology Administration (ANM), Elena Mateescu, rejects the accusations regarding her involvement in the controversial acquisitions made by the institution and claims that all irregularities discovered have been forwarded for verification to the competent authorities. She provides explanations for the multimillion-leu contracts complained about by the Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, and asserts that a campaign is underway against her aiming to replace her from her position for political reasons.
The reaction comes after Diana Buzoianu presented, on Sunday, new findings from the Ministry of Environment’s Control Body regarding direct acquisitions of furniture, computers, and consumables, which she claims were made in violation of the law.
In a public message quoted by News.ro, Elena Mateescu states that she was not directly involved in the contested operations and believes that the accusations unjustly affect the image of the entire institution.
“As the general director, I have no direct involvement in the issues thrown into the public domain against me and my colleagues who work at ANM; at this moment, an incorrect and unjust anathema has been placed on the institution and colleagues working at ANM,” Mateescu asserts.
How she explains the multimillion-leu acquisitions
The ANM Director also responds to the accusations regarding contracts directly awarded for computers and furniture.
Regarding laptops and computers, Mateescu says that the procedures were managed by the institution's public procurement service, responsible for their establishment and monitoring. She affirms that the documents underlying the acquisitions will be made available to the authorities.
Regarding the furniture, the director explains that it was purchased to equip a new building constructed for the Agrometeorological Center.
“Regarding the furniture acquisition, it was for equipping an entire new building constructed for the Agrometeorological Center, carried out in accordance with the law, where colleagues from ANM are already working to ensure the pilot operation of the Center's activities,” states Elena Mateescu.
She insists that the legality of the contracts must be established through verifications conducted by the competent authorities, not based on political interests.
Her explanations come after Diana Buzoianu complained that ANM directly awarded contracts worth 850,000 lei for computers and laptops in 2023 and purchased furniture worth over 1.5 million lei in 2024, all through direct allocation.
The Minister also indicated expenses of approximately 1.68 million lei for toners between 2023-2025, as well as two companies that have repeatedly won contracts: Euroserv Copy Consult SRL and Euro Data Concept SRL.
What she says about luxury purchases and Police notification
Elena Mateescu also denies any personal involvement in the purchases of perfumes, clothing, footwear, and cosmetics with the institution's funds, presented on Saturday by the Minister of the Environment. The director claims she did not use the institutional card, as it was declared inactive since its issuance, and that she never approved such purchases.
Mateescu states that she requested internal verifications as soon as she learned about irregularities. These verifications target all acquisitions made by ANM at the central level and will also be extended to the branches across the country.
“As the General Director, I have the duty and obligation of verification, which I exercise through the internal audit function over the operations, and as a result, no irregularity that was identified was ignored, but on the contrary, I initiated verifications of the activities and measures against the respective irregularities through notifications,” states the ANM Director.
“An orchestrated and sustained campaign”
Elena Mateescu claims that the accusations made in recent days are part of a campaign aimed at removing her from the institution's leadership. She believes that Diana Buzoianu's messages also have a political component and criticizes the lack of direct dialogue between the ANM leadership and the Ministry of the Environment.
“I wish for a natural and institutionally conducted communication precisely to avoid distortions and interpretations that have emerged in the public domain and to clarify all elements, this dialogue not having taken place so far. Instead, we learn directly from the public domain about the ‘findings’ in this document,” Mateescu affirms.
The director argues that until the current conflict erupted, the professional activity of the institution had not been questioned. “Until the campaign started this year against me with the aim of political change in position, no one had questioned the professional level and achievements of ANM. This orchestrated and sustained campaign, even with the involvement of some colleagues from within, is unfair and incorrect from a personal and institutional point of view,” states Elena Mateescu.
She mentions that she has worked for over 35 years at ANM, built her career through hard work, and has not done anything to tarnish her professional reputation or the institution's image.
Buzoianu demands resignations and accuses law violation
The conflict between the Minister of the Environment and the ANM leadership erupted on Saturday after Diana Buzoianu made public the findings of the Control Body regarding the purchase of luxury products with the institution's cards.
Among the contested acquisitions are perfumes, clothing, lingerie, and cosmetics. The Minister demanded the resignation of the ANM leadership, while Elena Mateescu stated that she was unaware of these expenses and had already reported them to the Police.
On Sunday, Buzoianu returned with new accusations regarding direct acquisitions worth millions of lei, stating that the law had been repeatedly violated in the past four years. “I am curious to see how PSD influencers will justify today why the ANM director should remain in office when, obviously, the law has been optional to apply at ANM in recent years under Ms. Mateescu's leadership,” the Minister of the Environment wrote on Facebook.