AUR to file censure motion against Niculescu government, with or without confidence vote

A motion either way

AUR will file a censure motion against the government led by Luca Niculescu whether or not it asks parliament to tie its survival to the budget rectification. George Simion, the party leader, made the announcement at a press conference on 28 October, and senator Petrișor Peiu, who leads AUR's senators, repeated it. Simion pointed to the eight censure motions filed against the Bolojan government and said the ninth was signed and voted by the PSD too. He said the opposition will take the same stance toward Niculescu's government.

“After eight censure motions against the Bolojan government, which had to be stopped, the 9th censure motion was signed and voted by PSD too.”

Peiu added that a censure motion is the rule whenever the government engages its responsibility, with exceptions such as the law resetting magistrates' pay, where no motion was used because the case did not warrant one.

“Any engagement of responsibility, as a principle, is sanctioned with a censure motion. That is the rule.”

Peiu said that if the government does not stake its responsibility, AUR will still file a motion before the end of the current parliamentary session, though no date was given. The motion depends on collecting the signatures needed to file it, and AUR says it will not give up on the principle.

Who will join, and the PSD

Asked which parties will back the motion, Peiu said he did not know. He pointed to earlier motions AUR filed without the PSD and said the parties that formally declare themselves opposition but refuse to join are making their own choice. AUR will be there when they decide to join.

On the PSD, Peiu rejected any deal.

“Under no circumstances will we have a collaboration of the alliance or coalition type with the PSD.”

He said the PSD's support for an AUR initiative to summon Niculescu to parliament over public finances came after public debate, not private talks. He linked the debate to Eurostat data that, in his reading, confirmed many late payments in the system.

Dispute with the UDMR

UDMR leader Kelemen Hunor said the government was condemned to govern until 2028 unless the opposition parties formed an alliance with AUR. Peiu dismissed that view, saying Hunor had a fixation with AUR and that the UDMR leader would discredit himself. Peiu also argued that Hunor's forecast ignored the case where AUR files a motion and other parties vote for it.

More steps on public finances

Peiu said more parliamentary initiatives will follow, including actions in the Senate. The focus, he said, is the budget rectification and the draft 2027 budget, which AUR wants clarified.