Nationalist presidential candidate George Simion has been accused of ‘lying like a Russian newspaper’ after he claimed Romania was about to lose EU funding due to bad governance.
Nicusor Dan, the pro-European mayor of Bucharest who will face Simion on the May 18 runoff, immediately hit back.
“There is no decision or procedure to suspend European funds for Romania,” he said on Thursday, accusing Simion of “fleeing” from three televised presidential debates this week which he did not show up for.
Simion, 38, on Thursday wrote a post saying he was in Brussels to restart talks, alleging the EU would stop funds to Romania in June.
“Today I am in Brussels. Due to the fault of poor governments, EcoFin (The body which is responsible for EU policy in economic policy, taxation issues and the regulation of financial services) will stop our EU funds in June. Today my focus will be on restarting the discussions so that this unfair decision does not apply! We are fighting for Romania,” Simion wrote in a Facebook post.
“My opponent lies like a Russian newspaper. There is no decision or procedure to suspend European funds for Romania,” Dan replied, also on Facebook.
Some of Simion’s recent comments have sent unsettled Romanians. He praised the suspension of Visa Waiver scheme which would have allowed Romanians to travel to the US without visas.
Simion also admitted that his election campaign of 35,000 euro apartment was a marketing ploy. He said if he wins elections, he will cut half a million jobs from the public sector.
The runoff between Dan and Simion is expected to be tight. Simion won 41% of the votes in the first round but has been losing support as Dan has gained ground, seen as a moderate and balanced candidate.
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