EPP CONFIDENT THAT PRESIDENT BASESCU WILL WIN REFERENDUM

The President of the European People’s Party (EPP) Wilfried Martens expressed today his confidence that Romanian President Traian Basescu will win the referendum of May 19, 2007.“Contrary to what PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen falsely stated last week, President Basescu has accepted the vote of the Romanian Parliament and has confirmed in a public declaration that: ‘the best solution for Romania is for me to take part in the referendum.’ Thus, I am convinced that he will win the referendum not just because he is fighting a head-on battle against corruption, but because the overwhelming majority of the Romanian people trust him," stated the EPP President.“Also, I am not surprised that in this critical moment for Romania’s future, all the Godfathers of Romanian corruption have a dedicated ally on their side: the post-communist PSD of Iliescu and Nastase, the prominent member-party of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The PSD symbolizes what Romania was unable to deal with after 1989 – its communist past,” Martens stressed.“President Basescu is in the middle of a great task – to make Romania a reliable EU member-country, free of corruption and secret, communist-style manoeuvring. The Romanian people will make the right choice,” the EPP President concluded.For more information:Javier JiménezEPP Press OfficerRue du Commerce, 10B-1000 BrusselsTel: +32 2 285 41 56 / +32 475 480 446Fax:+ 32 2 285 41 41E–mail: jjimenez@epp.euUrl: www.epp.eu