The Senate and Chamber of Deputy leaders on Wednesday decided that the appointment of the new Board of Governors of the National Bank of Romania (NBR) should no longer be tied to a political algorithm, but be based on the professional track record of the people nominated by the political parties and the civil society.
The proposition to drop the political algorithm came from Senate speaker Nicolae Vacaroiu. He complained that when the current Board of Governors was appointed back in 1999, a PSD (Social Democrat Party, called PDSR, Party of Social Democracy in Romania back then) nominee was rejected on the grounds that the party he was a member of was in opposition at the time. Nobody was against Nicolae Vacaroiu's proposition, because it will still be the parliamentary groups that will come up with nominations for the new Board.
The term of the current NBR Board expired, according to a memo sent by the chairmen of the Budget-Finance Committees of the two parliamentary chambers, Viorel Stefan and Ovidiu Musetescu to the Standing Bureaux on September 9.
The NBR statute stipulates that the appointment of a new Board of Governors falls upon Parliament.
The Standing Bureaux also set a timetable for the endorsement of the new NBR Board on Wednesday. The parliamentary groups have until September 23 to come up with nominations and submit them to the joint Budget-Finance Committees. The specialised committees will then analyse the nominations and devise reports they will forward to the Standing Bureaux. The two chambers will convene for a joint session somewhere by the end of next week, and the decision on the new Board will be made by voting.
As for the civil society involvement in the appointment of the new Board, high-ranking Chamber of Deputies sources deemed the proposition as "a fantasy that looks good."
Tudor Mohora (PSD), the Chamber of Deputies secretary said there had been no objections to the rather tight deadlines for the nomination of the new NBR's Board of Governors. The current Board was appointed on December 16, 1998 for a six-year term. When the law on NBR's statute was modified the term was cut down to five years. Administrative management is provided by Governor Mugur Isarescu, first vice-governor Emil Iota Ghizari, vice-governor Mihai Bogza, vice-governor Cristian Popa and five members, Silviu Cerna, Constantin Ionete, Agnes Nagy, Nicolae Dardac, Nicusor Ruiu. Mugur Isarescu, who has been the NBR Governor since 1990, will most certainly be appointed for one more term.
iulian.anghel@zf.ro
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