The duties of Oana Gheorghiu, officially established by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. The tasks outlined for the deputy prime minister
Oana Gheorghiu, at the first Government meeting of his mandate. Photo: Government of Romania
Deputy Prime Minister Oana Gheorghiu coordinates the drafting process and approves the projects regarding the reform of the state and the efficiency of the activity of public institutions, according to a decision taken by Ilie Bolojan.
The decision was published on Wednesday in the Official Gazette.
“Starting with the effective date of this decision, in order to ensure the fulfillment of the major priorities of the Government Program, Mrs. Oana-Clara Gheorghiu, Deputy Prime Minister, coordinates the drafting process and approves the drafts of normative acts developed in the field of state reform and the efficiency of the activity of public institutions”, reads the decision of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.
Oana Gheorghiu will approve the “projects of normative acts with budgetary impact” developed by the Ministry of European Investments and Projects and the Ministry of Education.
“Mrs. Oana-Clara Gheorghiu, Deputy Prime Minister, ensures the permanent information of the Prime Minister in relation to the application of the provisions established by this decision”, it is written in the decision in the Official Gazette.
Contested by the PSD and then criticized by the CSM
Oana Gheorghiu, co-founder of the “Dăruiiste Viață” Association, took the oath of office as deputy prime minister on October 30. The PSD leader, Sorin Grindeanu, had asked the prime minister to “urgently withdraw his proposal” to appoint her to the position, claiming that “we risk compromising the relationship with the United States of America”, because Gheorghiu had criticized the Trump administration on social networks.
In response, Oana Gheorghiu said that nothing she wrote on her personal Facebook page before taking over the position of deputy prime minister “in no way engages the Romanian state or the Government of Romania”.
It was not the only controversy that targeted Oana Gheorghiu after she was proposed – and finally appointed – to the position of deputy prime minister. On November 10, the Superior Council of the Magistracy (CSM) announced that it had decided to report her to the General Prosecutor's Office, accusing her of “inciting hatred, violence or discrimination” through her statements about magistrates' pensions.
The CSM's dissatisfaction was linked to a statement made by Oana Gheorghiu in a show broadcast on November 8 by Digi24, where she compared the magistrates' pension system to “a kind of Caritas” and told the employees in the sector that “if that money has to go to them because they give sentences, they get it from somewhere and can take it from the mouth of a child who goes to bed hungry”.
Carmen Uscatu accused her of “incompatibility”
On November 11, in an interview for HotNews, Carmen Uscatu, co-president and co-founder of the “Give Life” Association, said that the appointment of Oana Gheorghiu to the Government represents “a great vulnerability” for the non-governmental organization.
Carmen Uscatu complained that, although Oana Gheorghiu self-suspended from executive roles, the new deputy prime minister retained the capacity of voting member in the NGO's General Assembly, a situation that makes international sponsors ask questions about a possible conflict of interest.
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”.
“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”, declared Oana Gheorghiu.
