President Traian Basescu arrived in Bucharest on Wednesday afternoon, nine days after he underwent a surgical intervention for hernia in a Vienna clinic. He was transferred to the Elias Hospital in the Romanian capital, where he is due to continue his post-op recovery program, immediately after landing.

A difficultly walking Basescu had faced the Romanian press before his departure from Vienna earlier today. Accompanied by his wife, he made a few short statements to to journalists before leaving for the airport.

Basescu will spend the next 7 to 10 days at the Elias Hospital in Bucharest to continue te post-op recovery program started in Austria. The complete recovery program will last up to six months.

Asked how much he spent for the surgical intervention, Basescu said he paid 9,500 euro to the surgical team, 4,900 of which covered the intervention. His stay at the hospital costed an additional 12,400 euro, all paid from an account belonging to his daughter.

He said it was his family’s decision to undergo an intervention for hernia in Austria. „I must be a healthy president for Romania. Here one could find the lowest risk and I did it”, he explained his option.

In a letter to the leadership of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament, President Basescu announced on Tuesday he planned to address Romanian legislators on June 19, on issues mainly related to the accession of Romania in the EU.