Summit on Romanian constitutional changes fails
16/03/2010
BUCHAREST, Romania -- A summit of parliamentary parties at President Traian Basescu's office failed on Monday (March 15th) when the opposition Social Democratic Party and National Liberal Party left early. They oppose Basescu's plan to turn the bicameral parliament into a unicameral one, reducing the number of lawmakers from 471 to 300. The public backed the idea in a non-binding referendum late last year, but for a constitutional amendment to pass, it requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. The opposition parties say the change would undermine parliament's role and give the president more power. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party supports the proposed amendment. (Evenimentul Zilei, Gandul, Cotidianul, Adevarul - 16/03/10)