Oana Țoiu, during a press conference on October 14. Credit: Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP / Profimedia
The simple motion submitted by the Opposition senators against the Minister of Foreign Affairs Oana Ţoiu for the “defective, ideological and uncoordinated way” in which she represented Romania's interests in the European decision-making process regarding the EU-Mercosur agreement will be debated and voted on, Monday, in the Senate plenary, reports Agerpres.
From 10:30 a.m., the meeting of the Foreign Policy Commission is scheduled, which will give a purely advisory opinion on the motion.
The President of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, announced that, subject to compliance with the regulations, subject to the committee's opinion, the debate and vote on the simple motion will take place from 4:00 p.m.
The motion, entitled “Progressive diplomacy with hashtags put Romania's agriculture at risk. Oana Ţoiu says “yes” to others and “no” to her own citizens”, is signed by 43 senators from PACE – First Romania, AUR and unaffiliated.
The motion criticizes Romania's support for the MERCOSUR agreement and accuses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of a flawed, ideological and uncoordinated approach.
The document, submitted last week in plenary, had been announced since January, when the Parliament was on parliamentary vacation. On February 8, the Senate rejected three other simple motions, two of which had been prepared since January.
“Romania's foreign policy is not a theoretical exercise and cannot be treated as an area without responsibility. It is not a seminar, it is not an ideological experiment and it is not a space where decisions can be taken without consequences. Foreign policy produces concrete, direct effects on the national economy, on strategic sectors and on the lives of Romanian citizens. In this context, responsibility appears for the positions expressed by Romania within the European Union. It lies directly and personally with the Minister of Affairs Foreign, Mrs. Oana Ţoiu. We are not talking about an anonymous official or a bureaucratic wheel, but a political decision-maker with a full mandate, who had a choice between “yes”, “no” or “we abstain”.
The signatories of the document also say that, by supporting this agreement, “Romanian farmers are exposed to unfair competition, which can generate massive losses in agriculture, bankruptcies, land abandonment and an increased dependence on food imports”.
