EP Petition On Romanian Defense Strategy Rejected Through EPP Vote

The petition concerning Romania's National Defense Strategy was rejected Thursday in the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions, after the members of four parties left the meeting, social democrat MEP Victor Bostinaru told MEDIAFAX.

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Only the European People's Party (EPP) voted on the petition. Bostinaru said its rejection will be contested by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the Greens and the European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE-NGL) in the Conference of Presidents, an EP body made up of the chairmen of the political groups and the chairmen of the European legislature's committees.

According to Bostinaru, the EPP, with 12 members in the Committee on Petitions, showed up to the vote with 16 MEPs. The members of the other political groups announced their withdrawal from the vote and left the room. Bostinaru also said almost all the Romanian MEPs in the EPP attended the vote, although only MEP Elena Basescu is a member of the Committee. The others substituted for other EPP members, but Bostinaru said this was done without following the Committee's rules, which say prior notice must be given.

On October 28, the Committee on Petitions declared admissible the petitions filed by the Romanian Democratic Union Confederation (CSDR) and Romanian Journalists' Federation MediaSind to have an article picturing mass media as vulnerability eliminated from the country's Defense Strategy.

According to procedure, the Committee can decide to prepare a report or send the Parliament a draft resolution. The Committee can also ask the European Commission to take note of Romania's violation of community law and set off an infringement procedure.

Romania's Defense Strategy, adopted in June by the Defense Council (CSAT) and forwarded to Parliament for approval, lists "orchestrated media campaigns that denigrate state institutions by disseminating false information" among threats to national security, beside terrorism, corruption and organized crime.

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