Mircea Coșea
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Dumitru Gheorghe Mircea Coșea (born June 9, 1942) is a
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n politician, economist, diplomat, essayist, journalist and professor. A former member of the Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) until June 1997, he joined
Teodor Meleșcanu Teodor Viorel Meleșcanu (; born 10 March 1941) is a Romanian politician, diplomat, and jurist. He served as Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Romania (SIE) between 2012 and 2014. He was a three times senator on behalf of the Na ...
and Iosif Boda in creating the short-lived Alliance for Romania (''Alianța pentru România'', ApR) party, which merged into the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 2002. In 1999, Coșea was among the members of Varujan Vosganian's grouping, the Union of Right-wing Forces (''Uniunea Forțelor de Dreapta'', UFD), which also joined the PNL. Coșea has been a member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
for
Constanța County Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...
in 1996-2000 (with the PDSR group in 1996-1997, as an independent in 1997-2000) and for
Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...
, with the Justice and Truth alliance group, from 2004. With the
accession of Romania to the European Union On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became member states of the European Union (EU) in the fifth wave of EU enlargement. Bulgaria and Romania did not have a referendum related to European Union accession. Negotiations Romania was the f ...
on January 1, 2007, became a
Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
with the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; , ADLE) was a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party. ALDE had political ...
. In March 2007, he resigned from the PNL and, as an independent MEP, joined the
Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (, abbr. ITS, stylised its) was a far-right political group that operated in the European Parliament between January and November 2007. It was composed of 23 MEPs and only existed during the European Parliamen ...
(ITS) group inside the European Parliament. He is a professor at the Faculty of General Economics, part of the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE), and at the
Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University Dimitrie Cantemir Christian University () is a private university in Bucharest. The university was founded in 1990 by Momcilo Luburici and Corina-Adriana Dumitrescu as the Dimitrie Cantemir Independent University, which has since developed 17 fac ...
(UCDC), being head of the UCDC's Department of European Integration. He is also a regular contributor to '' Săptămâna Financiară''. Coșea is married, and has fathered a daughter (born in 1970).


Biography

Born in
Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...
, Coșea graduated from the ASE in 1965, and furthered his studies at the ''Istituto di Studi per lo Sviluppo Economico'' in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and later took his Ph.D. Between 1967 and the
Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revoluti ...
, he was a simple member of the
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...
.Anghelescu & Badea After winning a competition for the office, he represented
Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...
at the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is an intergovernmental organization or a specialized body of the United Nations. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Econom ...
in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
between 1973 and 1980. According to his own testimony, he was involved in obtaining relief funds for the town of
Zimnicea Zimnicea () is a town in Teleorman County, Romania (in the historic region of Muntenia), a port on the Danube opposite the Bulgarian city of Svishtov. Geography Zimnicea is situated on the left bank of the Danube river. It is the southernmost pla ...
, largely destroyed by the severe 1977 earthquake. In 1994, he authored a textbooks on Economics for high school students. As a deputy, Coșea sat on the Committees for Economic Policy, Reform and Privatization (1996-2000) for Budget, Finance and Banks, and for Labor and Social Protection (both in 2004-2005); in 2005, he was appointed to the Committee for European Integration. Between 1993 and 1997, he was a
Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...
in the
Nicolae Văcăroiu Nicolae Văcăroiu (; born 5 December 1943) is a Romanian politician, member of the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PSD), who served as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister between 1992 and 1996. Before the Rom ...
PDSR cabinet, and a member of the Council for Economic Coordination, Strategy and Reform. He was later Secretary of State in the Finance Ministry. At the time, Coșea was among the initiators of mass
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
strategies, and organized the latter as a release of
coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in ...
s to citizens, to be transformed into
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
s (''see History of Romania since 1989'').Gheorghe; Pandele Although the measure was initially received with interest, the program was ultimately unsuccessful and most businesses up for privatization did not attract investors' attention (by late 2006, a third of them had gone
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...
or were about to do so).Pandele Coșea attributed this negative phenomenon to the underdevelopment of the local
capital market A capital market is a financial market in which long-term debt (over a year) or equity-backed securities are bought and sold, in contrast to a money market where short-term debt is bought and sold. Capital markets channel the wealth of savers ...
, as well as to strategy errors of both the PDSR majority (who had refused to give backing by privatizing Bancorex and Banca Agricolă) and the new Democratic Convention cabinet of Victor Ciorbea (who changed the privatization law to accommodate an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
, viewed by Coșea as more susceptible to
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
). He also indicated that only 60% of the companies listed for privatization had any real chance of success. In 1996-2000, Coșea represented the
Parliament of Romania The Parliament of Romania () is the national Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate of Romania, Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament i ...
to the
Central European Initiative The Central European Initiative (CEI) is a forum of regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe, counting 17 member states. It was formed in Budapest in 1989. The body was developed on the basis of earlier experiences with The Alps-Adriat ...
. He currently sits on the Board of the National Commission for Economic Prognosis, Planning and Conjuncture. Following an investigation by the CNSAS into
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
archives (August–October 2005), it was confirmed that Coșea had served as a
secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...
officer in service of the Communist authorities; the CNSAS was not, however, able to indicate whether he had actually been responsible for political repression. He rejected the verdict entirely, stressing that it contradicted the fact that he had worked abroad during much of the period. According to his version, the Securitate's
Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
Department (''Direcția de Informații Externe'', DIE) had repeatedly tried to recruit him during his stay in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. Additionally, he indicated that, in 1980, the DIE had kidnapped him and kept him secluded for almost a month, with the intention of obtaining his collaboration, that his daughter was threatened with physical harm, and that, eventually, he was released in exchange for pledging to renounce his office in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
(and giving the impression that this was his own decision). Coșea also stated that he was forced to wear an
orthopedic cast An orthopedic cast, commonly referred to simply as a cast, is a form of medical treatment used to immobilize and support bones and soft tissues during the healing process after fractures, surgeries, or severe injuries. By restricting movement, ...
over his leg, to give the impression that his disappearance was due to an automobile accident. In November 2006, it was rumored that Mircea Coșea weighed the possibility of leaving the PNL and siding with the dissident faction around Gheorghe Flutur and
Theodor Stolojan Theodor Dumitru Stolojan (; born 24 October 1943) is a Romanian politician who was Prime Minister of Romania from September 1991 to November 1992. An economist by training, he was also one of the presidents of the National Liberal Party (PNL) be ...
(the
Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...
)."Mircea Coșea aderă..." On January 25, 2007, the CNSAS took a second vote on the matter of his past activities, and established that he had been responsible for political policing, causing Coșea to file a complaint.Negruțiu He ultimately resigned from the PNL on March 14, 2007, indicating that he had felt marginalized inside its group of MEPs.Negruțiu; "Mircea Coșea sare..." Despite this move, Coșea denied that he had plans to join the other Romanian
Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (, abbr. ITS, stylised its) was a far-right political group that operated in the European Parliament between January and November 2007. It was composed of 23 MEPs and only existed during the European Parliamen ...
members inside the
Greater Romania Party The Greater Romania Party (, PRM) is a Romanian far-right political party. Founded in May 1991 by Eugen Barbu and Corneliu Vadim Tudor, it was led by the latter from that point until his death in September 2015. The party is sometimes referred ...
. He also dismissed the notion that the ITS represented a
far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...
ideology, and argued that his presence would be a sign of actual moderation. This came at a time when the PNL was reviewing an internal directive to exclude former Securitate collaborators.


Selected works

*''Economie - manual pentru învățământul liceal'' ("Economics - Textbook for High School Teaching"), Editura Didactică și Pedagogică, 1994 *''Jurnal în tranziție'' ("Diary of the Transition"), Editura Expert, Bucharest, 1995 *with Silviu Cerna, Lucian Croitoru, Ion Davidovici, and
Daniel Dăianu Daniel Dăianu (born 30 August 1952) is a Romanian economist, professor and politician. Early life He was born in Bucharest, Romania in a family of high-ranking Securitate officers. Up to 9th grade he studied at High School nr. 35, after which h ...
: ''Oeconomica'', Editura Rosetti, Bucharest, 2005


Notes


References


Profile at the Chamber of Deputies




in ''
Gândul ''Gândul'' (, "The Thought") is a Romanian online newspaper published in Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. ...
'', October 25, 2006] * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071007234020/http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=281153 "Mircea Coșea aderă la grupul lui Flutur" ("Mircea Coșea Adheres to Flutur's Grouping") in ''
Evenimentul Zilei ''Evenimentul Zilei'' is a formerly physical and now exclusively online newspaper in Romania. Its name translates to "The event of the day" or "Today's event". History and profile ''Evenimentul Zilei'' was founded by Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nisto ...
'', November 20, 2006
"Mircea Coșea sare în bărcuța lui Le Pen" ("Mircea Coșea Jumps in Le Pen's Boat")
in ''
Cotidianul The logo used between 2003 and 2007 ''Cotidianul'' (meaning ''The Daily'' in English) is a Romanian-language newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern E ...
'', March 15, 2007 * Adina Anghelescu, Dan Badea
"Cu mâinile curate" ("Hands Clean"), interview with Dumitru Gheorghe Mircea Coșea
in '' Gardianul'', August 28, 2006 * Mirela Corlățan
"Coșea și Miki, securiști de bine" ("Coșea and Miki, Reliable Securitate Cadres")
in ''Cotidianul'', October 25, 2006 * Andreea Gheorghe

in ''Capital'', August 4, 2005 * Florin Negruțiu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070317064514/http://gandul.info/articol_33649/cosea_o_sterge_din_pnl_si_devine_euroextremist.html "Coșea o șterge din din PNL și devine euroextremist" ("Coșea Evades the PNL and Becomes a Euro-Extremist")], in ''Gândul'', March 15, 2007 * Marius Pandele
"Norii negri ai cuponiadei" ("The Black Clouds of the Couponiad")
in ''
România Liberă Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea t ...
'', September 21, 2006 * Anca Simina
"Securitatea a hotărât soarta tranziției"
''Evenimentul Zilei'', August 29, 2006


External links


Mircea Coșea's websiteEuropean Parliament profileEuropean Parliament official photo


* ttps://archive.today/20050322030823/http://www.ucdc.ro/Romanian/dep_ie.html UCDC profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosea, Dumitru Gheorghe Mircea 1942 births Living people People from Ploiești Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies alumni Academic staff of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies National Liberal Party (Romania) politicians Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Romanian diplomats 20th-century Romanian economists Romanian essayists Romanian journalists Romanian textbook writers Securitate officers National Liberal Party (Romania) MEPs MEPs for Romania 2007 21st-century Romanian economists