He emphasized, „There was a clear need for balance and a lesson to show our governing partners that major projects must be discussed thoroughly and a consensus reached within the coalition.” The European Parliament decided to ask the CJEU to assess whether the agreement complies with EU treaties, resulting in a close vote of 334 to 324, with PSD MEPs voting in favor.
Dîncu called for guarantees for Romanian farmers in the Mercosur agreement, saying, „Our votes were decisive this time in the EP, demonstrating that Romania’s input matters. However, our decision was largely influenced by domestic politics rather than a precise calculation. We still do not know the actual impact on Romanian farmers, especially since the industry represents a much larger share of GDP than agriculture.”
He criticized the government for not considering the Minister of Agriculture’s opinion on the Mercosur agreement: „It was concerning that members of our government coalition ignored the Minister of Agriculture’s views. There was no serious public debate in Romania to determine the best course of action. As a result, we were forced to decide on something we might not have chosen had a serious national debate taken place. Despite the manipulation of public opinion in Romania, this autumn we voted for compensation for Romanian farmers if this agreement is ratified.”
He engaged with the farmers
When the presenter noted that the lack of a public debate on the Mercosur issue partly fell on the Minister of Agriculture, who is a member of the PSD, Dîncu responded: „He engaged with the farmers, but the discussions did not extend to the rest of the government. The Minister of Agriculture provided analyses and a memorandum opposing the Mercosur agreement, but it was disregarded.”
Responding to the presenter’s remark that the prime minister has the final say in government decisions, Dîncu said: „That’s true. Since we were not considered in this decision, we found ourselves in a situation where we had to respect our electorate through our political stance. We are in continuous negotiations, which is a positive development with Mr. Bolojan. This is not a political battle between us, Bolojan, or USR; rather, we are negotiating. One of the missions of a left-wing party, like the PSD, is social protection, cohesion, and solidarity. While Mr. Bolojan rightly focuses on financial stability and balancing Romania’s budget, our mission is also to protect the population and not just focus on economic progress.”
When asked if the PSD opposes the Mercosur agreement out of fear that it might overshadow AUR, Dîncu asserted: „That has nothing to do with it. We are not competing with AUR on this issue. It was simply about needing balance and demonstrating to our governing partners that major projects must still be discussed and agreed upon within the coalition.”