PES leader: In last months we have been witnessing serious assault on democratic system in Romania

Agerpres correspondent Tudor Martalogu reports: Romania is in a state of social and economic crisis and in the last months we have been witnessing an assault on the democratic and welfare systems in this country, leader of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said ahead of a Summit of the European Socialists and Social Democratic leaders taking place in Brussels, on the eve of the summer European Council.

After having put the entire burden of the crisis on the shoulders of the public sector workers, of the children and of the retirees, Mr (Traian) Basescu now apparently limits the civil freedoms, among which the legitimate right to protest. Romania deserves something better, the PES leader said in a joint declaration with chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD, in opposition) Victor Ponta, who is to attend the PES leaders' meeting.

In turn, Ponta said that 'President Basescu has given the Government a totalitarian orientation'. 'His extremely difficult budget austerity - the only instrument he uses - has brought nothing else but more political instability and social troubles to the most serious economic crisis the Romanians are seeing', the Romanian Social Democratic leader said.

Agerpres