Romania's president under pressure over arms deals

Romanian President Traian Băsescu has come under pressure over the business activities of his brother, Mircea Băsescu. Mircea is said to have shares in a firm engaged in deals with arms producers. The daily Evenimentul Zilei questions the legality of the dealings and the involvement of the president: "Traian Băsescu is not entirely innocent. The weapons procurement system is corrupt, even if the thieves have the law on their side. Romania is the only country in the EU that does not take part in the European tender process in arms procurement! In June of this year the Defence Ministry negotiated directly with the Romanian firm Aerostar Bacau, and entrusted the company with a contract of around 55 million lei [roughly 13 million euros] without any prior notification. ... Băsescu should compel the participating ministries ... to greater transparency and get Romania to participate in the tender process of the [European Defence Agency] EDA."

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