TVR: Constitutional Court cancels the actual management; restructuring process to continue

Romanian Constitutional Court admitted a request from PDL (Romanian Democratic Liberal Party) related to the actual members of SRTv’s (Public Television) management board, as the party is not represented in the board.

After Constitutional Court’s decision will be published in the Official State Newspaper, the 8 members designated by the other Romanian political parties will lose their functions.

PDL decided to appeal to Constitutional Court as it doesn’t have any representative in TVR’s management. According to a decision made by Parliamentary groups on June 24th, TVR’s Management Board is to include 3 representatives each for PSD and PNL and 1 for each UDMR and UNPR. As a consequence, PDL contested Parliament’s decision on the Management Board of SRTVs at Constitutional Court.

As the Supreme Romanian Instance admitted PDL’s request, the consequence is that all the decisions made by the Management Board starting June to present, are nullified, including the economic recovery plan for Romanian TV. Subsequent to this decision, there will be quite some things to clarify, among which the situation of TVR Cultural and TVR Info, closed following decisions from Management Board.

TVR reacted on Constitutional Court’s decision related to the constitutionality of SRTV’s Management Board, taking notice of the decision and said that the Parliament is the only institution that has the power to apply the decision in such a way that Romanian TV’s activity won’t be affected.

TVR will continue to implement the economic recovery plan, following a strict calendar, that was already communicated to its social partners and that will comply with the laws.
According to recent info, the layoffs at Romanian state TV will affect 872 jobs, 90 less than the numbers announced initially (962).

After Constitutiona Court’s decision, Nagy Zoltan Levente, member in TVR’s Managing Board, said that all decisions made within Management board are valid until the date of CC decision. He added that, once the decision will be published in the Romanian Official newspaper, the Management Board won’t exist anymore and won’t be able to make any decisions.

On the other hand, a Romanian representative in Lower Chamber of Romanian Parliament, Alina Gorghiu, said that CC’s decision makes mandatory reorganizing the procedure to appoint the 8 members in State TV’s management board. She also added that the Management Board sanctioned by CC’s decision was valid, as the political party that now complained opted, at that moment, to not present any candidates and that was the reason why Parliamentary algorithm wasn’t respected.