The Chairman of EPP-ED Group, Joseph Daul, and the President of EPP Party, Wilfried Martens, expressed their support for President Traian Basescu on Thursday, shortly after the Romanian Parliament decided to suspend the head of state.

A joint statement of the two says "it is regrettable that a country like Romania, which just recently joined the European Union, has gone to this situation of institutional crisis."

Joint statement of the Chairman of EPP-ED Group, Joseph Daul, and the President of EPP Party, Wilfried Martens, on the procedure of impeachment of Romanian President:

"It is regrettable that a country like Romania, which just recently joined the European Union, has gone to this situation of institutional crisis. President Basescu has made an important contribution to Romania’s path in the last two years, thus facilitating its accession to the European Union.

The slogan during preparation for accession was: ”Romania is the solution, not the problem of the EU”. At the moment, the procedure of impeachment of a President in an EU country, against the decision of the Constitutional Court, creates rather then solves problems.

We hope that the political situation in Romania will not further degenerate. We expect that Romania should be an added value to the EU, namely with its active involvement in the European major projects, and in the Black Sea region. Further developments of the political crisis in Romania could endanger the attainment of these goals."