26 Apr 2011

Romanian Emp Accused of Corruption; Must Quit Socialist Party

Romanian MEP, Adrian Severin, was caught offering to sell his vote to a pair of journalists posing as lobbyists.

A British daily, The Sunday Times, reported that three EMPs, including EMP Adrian Severin, were caught asking for up to €100,000 for a vote. The EP has since decided to launch an investigation into the matter, while anti-corruption prosecutors in Romania promising to do the same.

This is not the end of the matter, however, for Mr. Severin, as the Romanian National Integrity Agency is also in the process of verifying his income, although a spokesman declined to state whether the inquiry was initiated before or after the scandal recently erupted, while Mr. Severin has stated that there is no relation between recent accusations and National Integrity Agency’s investigation.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Victor Ponta, to which Mr. Severin is a part of, has declared that Mr. Severin must quit the party, otherwise he will initiate an exclusion procedure against him. He are three most important statements made by Mr. Ponta:

  • Adrian Severin made a mistake and he needs to be accountable for it, things are clear I wish the EP would establish any other type of responsibility, other than political

  • If Adrian Severin is to be found not guilty, I will apologize

  • PSD will follow the decisions of European Socialists and the Socialists group in the EP Severin is not the victim of a conspiracy but a victim of his mistakes.

The following articles were used to write this summary:

Hotnews.ro,

(2) Hotnews.ro,

(3) Hotnews.ro

The photo of Mr. Severin is from his Wikipedia page