Romanian MEP Adrian Severin, a former Romanian Foreign Minister, makes headlines in London’s Sunday Times
Adrian Severin (born 28 March 1954 in Bucharest) started his politics career under Ceausescu’s Communist rule, as Instructor (lector) at the infamous Ştefan Gheorghiu Academy, the infamous university whuch hatched Romanian Communist cadres. it seems that such qualifications were particularly well suited for a glowing political career after the Communist dictator was put down in 1989.
After this infamous Palace Coup, Severin became a member of the National Salvation Front and the Democratic Party (which he left in April 1999). which was a convenient trampolin for him to be parachuted as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania between December 12, 1996 and December 29, 1997 under the Emil Constantinescu Conservative Administration.
With the accession of Romania to the European Union Adrian Severin became an MEP on 1 January 2007 as a member of the Social Democratic Party, part of the Group of the Party of European Socialists, .
Four years later, in 2011 the European Parliament opened a formal investigation into alleged corruption by Severin and two other MEPs. Severin insisted he had done nothing “illegal or against any normal behavior”, although he was accused of accepting bribe in exchange of initiating a law amendment. He was called by the Leader of the SD Group in the European Parliament to resign., which he refused, against all factual evidence. As a direct consequence Mr Severin was suspended from his position of Deputy-Leader of the SD Group and was compelled to leave his Parliamentary Group.
Unlike the Romanian parliament where such contrition is unheard of, in the European parliament, at least, when one is caught red-handed and one refuses to leave, one is given the Order of the Boot: which implies that by European standards, at least, all chicken come home to roost – not so in Romania which remains unruffled as such minor irritants are chicken feed!
Mr Severin’s political career is not yet over as his talents will be in dire need in his home country: watch out this space!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12806955
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An9Yo_gyYYQ
