Weeks of clashes between Romania's new prime minister Victor Ponta and President Traian Basescu over who should represent the country at the European Council came to a last minute conclusion on Thursday. Despite a Constitutional Court decision that going to the European Council was the President's job, Ponta went to Brussels anyway today and was admitted as Romania's representative. After a tense first half of day, President Basescu made press statements saying that he didn't go to Brussels in order to avoid "an awkward position" for Romania". And he said Romania was "legitimately present, but illegitimately represented at the European Council" this week.
Romania has been represented by the President at the European Council since it joined the EU. But after a new government formed by the previously in opposition Union of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) came into office, its PM Victor Ponta has been pushing for a change.
As part of a wider political struggle with President Basescu, he's tried his best for the past several weeks to have himself represent Romania at the Council, saying that the Council discusses issues which fall under the competence of the government and ministers, not of the President. And he pointed out that most European countries are represented at the Council by prime ministers.
Basescu has rejected the claims. And this week the Constitutional Court decided that the President is the one to represent Romania at the European Council. But Victor Ponta decided he would go to Brussels no matter what the Constitutional Court says, pointing out he had the support of the USL dominated Parliament - which only has a consultative say in the issue - and of his own Government.
Ponta said today he went to Brussels with a mandate from the Romanian Parliament.
On Thursday, while Ponta had already went to
