Carmen Uscatu denounces pressure and asks Oana Gheorghiu to protect the association founded together. “An unprecedented situation in Romania”

“Now we are a non-governmental organization faced with an unprecedented situation in Romania: an incompatibility of roles that Oana fulfills simultaneously, as a member of the non-governmental organization Dăruiește Viață and a member of the Romanian Government”, Carmen Uscatu, co-founder of the “Dăruiiște Viață” Association, insisted on Tuesday evening. The reaction comes after, in an interview given to HotNews, Carmen Uscatu had signaled the incompatibility situation of Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu, which she categorized as “a very great vulnerability” towards the NGO.

“Everything I did in Daruieste Viață was public. Now, I am subject to arbitrary pressures not to speak publicly about the moment we are in, although more than ever we need courage, clarity and transparency,” wrote Carmen Uscatu, in a message published on her Facebook page.

“I promised a hospital. I did it. I have always remained consistent and loyal to this mission of the Donate Life Association,” says Uscatu, before continuing: “Now we are a non-governmental organization faced with an unprecedented situation in Romania: an incompatibility of roles that Oana fulfills simultaneously, as a member of the Donate Life non-governmental organization and a member of the Government of Romania. We spoke about this truth transparently in the last days, facing the hostility around us”.

Carmen Uscatu believes, according to the same message, that Oana Gheorghiu “will be the best Deputy Prime Minister of Romania”.

“But at the same time, I hope they have the wisdom to listen to the legitimate interest of our organization,” she warned.

“Give Life must remain an independent association and a legitimate voice in civil society, an organization completely decoupled from the exercise of the power it has chosen,” the co-founder of the non-governmental organization pointed out.

What Carmen Uscatu said in the interview for the HotNews audience

“Sponsors ask us questions, some donors withdraw, others stay”, said Carmen Uscatu, co-founder of the “Dăruiește Viață” Association, about the effect of the appointment of Oana Gheorghiu as Deputy Prime Minister of Romania, in the interview for the HotNews audience.

“A very high vulnerability.” This is how Carmen Uscatu, co-president and co-founder of the Association “Gives Life”, described the appointment of her colleague to a leadership position in the Government of Romania.

The reason for the vulnerability is that, although he has suspended himself from executive roles, Gheorghiu still retains the capacity of a member with the right to vote in the NGO's General Assembly. This situation makes international sponsors ask questions about a possible conflict of interest.

“They are calling us because they don't want to be susceptible to influencing the government's policies through a sponsorship for “Give Life”, considering this double role that Oana has at the moment”, said Carmen Uscatu, for HotNews.

Later, she emphasized once again that Oanai Gheorghiu's decision to remain a member with voting rights in “Give Life” put the association in a “vulnerable” situation.

“People still cannot perceive us separately, but we now have different roles. One of us chose to defend the rights and interests of the citizens in the Government, and the other remained to defend the interests of the people in the “Give Life” Association. I have nothing to hide, Oana's decision, however, put “Give Life” in a vulnerable situation, which I communicated to Oana previously. It is not an incompatibility that is not legal, it is her legal right to be a member of the Romanian Government, to be in such a position, it is also her legal right to remain a member of an NGO with the right to vote. However, it is an incompatibility that she has created in front of those who support the association, in front of those who have helped us, practically, to build such a great project, in front of the sponsors”, Carmen Uscatu, later in the day, told Digi24.

“Yes, Oana has the right to decide, because as you mentioned, the General Assembly is the supreme body of the association. I have nothing to hide and I had to tell the sponsors this which, I mention, once again, is not illegal, but on the compliance side, these sponsors have to calculate a risk and it is possible that they will not sponsor in the future because of this risk that they are assuming”, indicated Uscatu, in the television intervention.

Oana Gheorghiu's reaction

Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu said on Tuesday that the fact that she remained a founding member of the “Give Life” association does not make her incompatible with the position in the government.

She answered Carmen Uscatu like this.

In a point of view sent to HotNews, Oana Gheorghiu said that she “fully complies with the legislation on the regime of incompatibilities applicable to members of the Government”.

“I suspended myself from the executive position and from the Board of Directors of the Association Gives Life before assuming the position of deputy prime minister, in full compliance with the provisions of Law no. 161/2003. I communicated this within the Association, before the information regarding my appointment became public, and I sent all the necessary documents to formalize the decision and to ensure the continuity of the projects I coordinated”, stated Oana Gheorghiu.

She revealed that everything she did was after consulting with lawyers, “just to make sure I was following the law and the principles of public integrity.”

“Currently, I remain only a founding member of the Association Dăruiește Viață, which, according to the organization's statute, implies membership in the General Assembly, not in the executive management structure. The responsibilities regarding the management of the current activity fall to the Board of Directors, of which I am no longer a member”, added Oana Gheorghiu.

“Romanian legislation does not impose on members of the Government the obligation to renounce their capacity as founding members of a non-governmental organization, there are other people in the Government of Romania who are members of non-governmental organizations. (…) My status is 100% in accordance with the law”, the deputy prime minister emphasized.

Carmen Uscatu and Oana Gheorghiu are the co-founders of “Dăruiește Viață”, an association that was created in 2012. From 2015, they started collecting donations for the construction of the first hospital built after the Revolution in Romania. The Spitatul was opened in April 2024, as a section of the Marie Curie Spitatul in Bucharest, made with the donations of over 350,000 individuals and over 8,000 companies, according to the association's website.