Romania’s Labor Minister, Ioan Botis (pictured above), resigned yesterday (Wednesday the 20th) after it came out on Monday that the NGO that his wife worked for received 500,000 euros in EU grants. Mr. Botis originally stated that he would only resign if the National Agency for Integrity accused him of having a conflict of interest; however, after speaking with Romania’s Prime Minister, Emil Boc, Mr. Botis changed his mind.
Mr. Botis’ wife works as a counselor for an NGO that is based in their home and is paid a monthly salary of 2,000 euros per month. While the EU funds were given out under a program through Mr. Botis’ Labor Ministry, he said that the deal was made in October 2010 through legal channels and that he had no influence over the final decision. He also announced that his wife would be leaving her job.
For more information on the story, please see the Romanian Times and Romanian Insider.
The photo of Mr. Botis also appears on both stories.
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