SRTV General Director President’s validation, rescheduled

Claudiu Saftoiu, proposed by the PNL within TVR Administration Council (AC), was elected Chairman of the Board, but the decision could not be voted by the plenary of parliament, as the meeting was adjourned without the quorum.

The Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Zgonea, said that Claudiu Saftoiu’s validation will be voted in Parliament plenary session on Monday, next week.

If the decision of TVR board members will be favorably approved by the parliament, Claudiu Saftoiu will become president and general manager of TVR for the second time.

The Parliament Plenum named Tuesday a new board at TVR, after the Constitutional Court decided that the old board was unconstitutionally constituted, without representatives of the main opposition party, the PDL.

AC Components of SRTV validated in June, "unconstitutional"

The Constitutional Court upheld at the end of September the notification of Liberal Democrats regarding the unconstitutionality of Parliament plenary on the composition of the board of directors of the Romanian Television Society, validated at the end of June.

According to the eight board members’ decision, they will lose this capacity once with the Court’s publication of the decision in the Official Gazette.

In June, the Parliament passed with 208 votes "for" the new members of the Board of Directors of TVR.

On June the 12th, the Administration Council of TVR, headed by Alexandru Lazescu, general director-president of the Romanian Television, was dismissed by the parliament, which rejected the television activity report for 2011.

The position of Director General Interim of TVR was occupied by Radu Calin Cristea.

Protests of public television employees

Romanian Television Company is currently in completely process of restructuring.

Two channels have been already closed and, according to the management of public television, 872 people will be laid off.

The head of the institution claims that all these measures intend the recovery of public television economy.

Several public television employees protested Monday, in front of the center from Bucharest, against the selection procedure of those who will be laid off.

According to Radio Romania reporter, Adrian Cristea, the employees said that protests are supported by several hundred employees.

They contest the legality of the dismissal process, because at this moment, the institution has no Board of Directors, the only forum which may approve such documents.

Similar protests to the one in Bucharest were held at local studios in Targu Mures and Craiova.


Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University