Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta was indicted on corruption charges Thursday marking the first time the country’s incumbent head of state will face trial.
He has resisted calls to resign and so far has the backing of his leftist party and its allies to stay in power.
“My opinion is unchanged, the simplest solution would definitely be the one I proposed in June”, said the president, referring to the request he made for Ponta’s resignation the very day when DNA opened a criminal investigation against the incumbent prime minister.
Prosecutors said Ponta would remain free while on trial, for which a date has not been set.
Ponta also suffered a devastating defeat in presidential elections in November.
Ponta has proved a stubborn survivor since taking office as the European Union’s youngest prime minister at the age of 39 in 2012. He has insisted he will serve out his term, denying the charges and, in a Facebook posting, accusing prosecutors of fabricating the case.
She said the party was filing the motion because Ponta refused to resign and is still supported by the ruling Social Democratic Party. “With a new Fiscal Code in place, investors will focus on Romania’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a precautionary loan agreement”.
Prosecutors say Ponta received 181,000 lei (USD$ 46,792) in fake expenses linked to a friend’s law firm.
“Ponta’s legal issues are becoming a growing problem for him and the government, and they affect Romania’s image”.
There was no immediate reaction from the prime minister, as he was at a meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defense, which was tackling topics including possible measures for managing the situation created by migrants who have reached Europe. Later on “defendants Sova Dan Coman and Ponta Victor-Viorel drew up 16 false documents corresponding to each month from the interval September 2007 – December 2008, thus certifying that Ponta Victor-Viorel had performed different legal activities in several cases of SCA “Sova and Associates” which were pending in courts”, in order to cover up the alleged tax evasion.