The Chamber of Deputies rejected on February 9 the simple motion against the minister of energy Virgil Popescu, with 98 votes were for and 190 against and also two abstentions, Adevarul reported. Six deputies did not vote.

The outcome was in line with the expectations, and the only notable fact was that several MPs of the ruling coalition had backed the opposition's motion.

Social Democrat MP Dumitru Coarnă decided not to follow the party's decision regarding the vote against the motion and argued for the dismissal of Virgil Popescu.

The minister of energy, Virgil Popescu, did not attend the session of the Parliament after he was assaulted by radical part AUR leader George Simion on Monday, February 6. In connection to this, the General Prosecutor's Office has opened investigations.

The simple motion was filed by reformist party USR and was entitled "Incompetence and lying shed light on Romania. Minister Virgil Popescu, a danger for Romania's energy security."

The motion was not debated, due to the incident in which the targeted minister and the AUR leader, George Simion, were involved on Monday. The main accusation against Popescu is that managing the energy bill crisis is a "disaster".

The motion was initiated by 51 USR deputies and was backed only by the radical party AUR.

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andrei@romania-insider.com