Senator Paul Gheorghe joins AUR, pushing PACE‑Întâi România to Senate minimum

Senator Paul Gheorghe announced in a Senate session on Wednesday that he is leaving the parliamentary group PACE‑Întâi România and will join the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR). His departure leaves PACE‑Întâi România with seven senators, the minimum number required for a group to retain its official status, and results in the loss of a permanent commission chairmanship.

Gheorghe, previously elected on the SOS list, has also been implicated in a criminal investigation after being accused of stealing a backpack containing a tablet and 1,500 lei from a hotel in Piatra Neamț. Police have opened a theft case, and the senator claims the item was taken by mistake.