The Constitutional Court discusses today Sorin Grindeanu’s referral concerning the SAFE ordinance, adopted by the Bolojan Government after the motion of no confidence

The Constitutional Court of Romania is scheduled to discuss on Wednesday the complaint filed by PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu against the emergency ordinance adopted by the Bolojan Government for the European SAFE defense program. The judges have postponed issuing a decision several times, and the ruling could have consequences for military contracts worth billions of euros.

Grindeanu claims that the Government exceeded its legal limits after the Cabinet was dismissed through a motion of no confidence. The ordinance was amended on the very day of the vote in Parliament, and the final version was published in the Official Gazette three days later. The PSD leader alleges the existence of a legal conflict between Parliament and the Government and asks the Constitutional Court to determine whether the procedure was constitutional.

Through the SAFE program, Romania has been allocated a budget of 16.7 billion euros, in the form of European loans with an interest rate of no more than 3%. Romania has already signed contracts worth over 9 billion euros, and repayment is expected to begin in 2035, after a ten-year grace period.

If the complaint is upheld, the projects and contracts would not be automatically canceled, but blockages could arise. The ordinance also allowed for the takeover of certain industrial assets and stakes in companies of strategic importance to national security.