Courtesy tip: you sue the government claiming you have less money after losing your sinecure. Bonus: kept a free position at TVR for 8 years

In 2012, Irina Lucan Arjoca was employed at TVR in the Copyright Department, headed by one Laurenţiu Oprea. At that time, Claudiu Săftoiu, supported by PNL, part of the USL government, had just been installed at the head of TVR. “Oprea was a relative of Săftoiu, and Arjoca was Oprea’s confidant,” say sources from the Adevărul institution. With strong political support, Irina Lucan Arjoca was appointed by the Government of Ponta to the position of Deputy Director of the Romanian Copyright Office (ORDA). So: purely political appointment, without any competition. Irina Lucan Arjoca left TVR, but not because of resignation: she only suspended her contract, so the position is blocked. A classic safety net for politically supported employees: return to TVR when another government changes it from the leadership of ORDA. During the Săftoiu period, public television faced big financial problems, so TVR bosses made lists of possible dismissals, but also lists of indispensable people. Although she did not actually work at TVR, Irina Lucan Arjoca was on an internal list of employees whose positions could not be restructured. According to the list leaked to the press, his name was ranked 159th. Function: Project manager.

In 2015, the Ponta Cabinet fell, following the Colectiv tragedy, but Irina Lucan Arjoca remained in office, first in the technocratic government, then in the PSD governments, with Liviu Dragnea as the shadow leader. He even served for a short time as Acting Director of ORDA, following the departure of Leonard Horvath in 2015.

According to data obtained by Adevărul, between 2017 and 2020, Irina Lucan Arjoca spent 25,089 euros on trips abroad, only on accommodation and per diem, to which is added another 35,425 euros, the money spent by Cristian Florescu, head of the IT Service. and international relations. “They traveled together, although it was not necessary for two people to leave the institution. One is enough. Therefore, they spent more than 60,000 euros just on food and lodging, to which is added the price of the plane tickets: 175,000 lei in three years, that is, 37,000 euros. In 2020, they both managed to make a trip in February, then came the pandemic. On this single trip, she put up 1,000 euros, he also 1,000 euros – accommodation and per diem. Plus another 2,500 euros for business class airline tickets. In total, 4,500 euros just for the trip in February. During this time, we did not have a budget of 2000 lei to repair the air conditioning. In fact, the Labor Inspectorate also found several irregularities in the institution ”, say ORDA sources for Adevărul.

Money: the big problem

In June, the Orban government fired Doru Păunescu as director of ORDA and installed Mario De Mezzo in his place. A month later, the deputy Irina Lucan Arjoca was changed, after 8 years at the head of the institution. Andrei Ijac was named in his place. Irina Lucan Arjoca returned to TVR’s Copyright Department, in the position frozen in 2012 and protected by Claudiu Săftoiu. But the former ORDA deputy did not settle for the TVR sinecure and sued the Orban government, arguing that he receives a lower salary. ”I mention that I am currently employed as a Project Manager within SRTV and I benefit from a net salary of RON 4,336, given that the net allocation related to the position held at ORDA was RON 8,518. I specify that I have a minopr dependent child of only 13 years old and I financially support both parents, 76 and 74 years old, respectively, both because they are retired and in need of age-related medical care and treatment ”, says Irina Lucan Arjoca in the application. suspend the government’s decision. The case will be tried by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, and the first term is scheduled for next week. “There are journalists in TVR with experience who do not earn 4,000 lei. First of all, it is abnormal that it has kept the station blocked on TVR for 8 years. Now do we have to increase his salary too? ”Affirm the cited sources. Beyond money, Irina Lucan Arjoca was appointed a politician in 2012, returned to a frozen post with political support, and was overthrown by another government. The position of deputy director of ORDA is eminently political, without any competition.

In the request sent to the court, Irina Luca Arjoca also invokes the fact that for 8 years she coordinated all the legislative changes for the transposition of European directives into national legislation, as well as a bill “on people / specialists who have the knowledge needed in the field “. “Given the legislative path that a bill must follow in order to be approved by Parliament and expanded by the President of Romania, the lack of specialists in the field of copyright in the management of ORDA can cause both disruptions in the functioning of this institution and delays in the approval of the draft law, which may lead to the sanction of Romania for non-compliance with the transposition deadlines of the Directive ”, also indicates the request addressed to the court.“ It just came to our knowledge then. Without Arjoca, do you think ORDA no longer works? “Respond sources from the management of the institution.

Andrei Tinu didn’t take a shower either

The Orban government won the lawsuit in the first instance with Andrei Tinu, dismissed in December from the head of the National Citizenship Authority, where he had been installed by PSD in 2017. Like Irina Lucan Arjoca, Tinu also gritted his teeth. The DNA prosecutors began the hearings in a corruption and organized crime case in which Tinu plays a central role: he is being investigated because he would have facilitated the obtaining of Romanian citizenship in exchange for sums of money. The network involves Russian, Ukrainian and Arab citizens.