Romanian President Traian Basescu has set a new target period for the organization of early elections in the country: March-April 2007, shortly after the country joins the EU. He said during a talk-show on the Realitatea TV news channel on Monday night that the poll may be organized simultaneously with the one due to name Romania’s future MEPs.

And he compared Europe with a five-star restaurant where Romania must only order what it can pay for.

Basescu also insisted that he cannot foresee a possible partnership with the opposition Social Democratic Party-PSD in its current form and before the current parliamentary term expires. He’s been speculated to favour a partnership between his Democrats (PD) and the PSD after he nominated a PSD member, George Maior, to run the Romanian Intelligence Service-SRI.

And he said he nominated Maior based on a resume received from PSD leader Mircea Geoana. He warned that the country’s intelligence services needed young, relatively experienced people and to move away from the current perception that they’re politically subordinated to whoever holds the power.

On the EU front, he hinted at recent events in Hungary by saying that if says the people’s living standards would rise immediately after joining the EU it would be a major lie.

And he insisted that despite he supports early elections, the current government in Bucharest, run by a Liberal, is “the best Romania had after 1990”.