Traian Băsescu, about the crisis in justice: "I want to believe that this dialogue that the president will have with the judges will be useful. The magistrates are independent as long as they want to be, when they accept to be servants, they become servants."

Former president Traian Băsescu stated that he would like to believe that the dialogue that the current head of state, Nicușor Dan, will have with the magistrates will be a useful one, asserting that the magistrates are independent "as long as they want to be".

"Magistrates are independent as long as they want to be; when they accept to be servants, they become servants. When they do not accept instructions from outside their job, they are independent, regardless of whether they are paid 100 lei a month or 100,000 lei a month. If a magistrate wants to be independent, he is independent; no one can do anything to him. Those who allowed themselves to be intimidated and accepted changes of panels, until it goes to prescription, have sold their independence themselves; no one took it from them by force. It is clear that the laws of Predoiu are nonsense, and then we must limit the authority of the heads of courts through laws." said Traian Băsescu on Sunday evening, at Digi 24.