Radio România Internațional

Tag: 2018 budget

  • December 22, 2017 UPDATE

    December 22, 2017 UPDATE

    1989 Anti-Communist Uprising — The Day of the Victory of the Romanian Revolution and of Freedom was marked on Friday in Romania. Started in December 1989 by the people of Timisoara (in the west), who opposed an abusive measure of local authorities, the uprising extended to the whole country and culminated on December 22, when the dictatorial couple abandoned power and fled. From December 16 to 25, 1989 over one thousand people died and almost 3,400 were injured. To honor the memory of those killed 28 years ago military and religious ceremonies took place on Friday in Bucharest and other big cities of Romania.



    Budget — The Romanian Parliament on Friday voted the state budget and the social security budget bills for 2018 with 255 votes ‘for’ and 95 ‘against’. The opposition members, who did not manage to impose any of their thousands of amendments, did not vote. The budget for 2018 is based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, an average annual inflation rate of 3.1%, an average exchange rate of 4.55 lei for one Euro and an average net salary of 565 Euros per month. The budget deficit is estimated at 2.97% of the GDP, under the 3% threshold. According to the government, 2018 has the most generous budget of the past 28 years, being centered on healthcare, education and infrastructure, while the opposition considers it an austerity budget.



    Strasbourg — The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, sent a letter to the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in which he urges him to ask for the Venice Commission’s point of view on the modifications to the justice laws passed by Parliament. Thorbjorn Jagland said he closely followed the legislative process during which Romanian MPs passed a series of modifications to 3 laws in the justice field and that he knew that these reforms were being widely discussed by those interested as well as by the Romanian society in general. Mr. Jagland believes that an opinion of the Venice Commission would clarify whether the legislative modifications were in line with the fundamental standards of the rule of law. The opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, better known as the Venice Commission, completes the urgent assessment of these modifications to be made by GRECO — the Group of States against Corruption, from the perspective of anti-corruption standards, the letter also shows.



    Bucharest — The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced Friday that it took note of the stand expressed by 7 partners and allies of Romania as regards the developments in the justice system. The Foreign Ministry officials have reiterated Romania’s firm commitment to the EU values and expressed openness towards a real and concrete dialogue with the European partners. On Thursday, the embassies of several EU countries in Romania made an appeal on all sides involved in the reform of the justice system to avoid any action that might undermine the independence of the judiciary and the anti-corruption fight in Romania. In their open letter, the diplomatic missions expressed their conviction that the laws regarding the reform of the judiciary, passed recently, in their current form, as well as the recent amendments proposed to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, risk endangering the progress Romania has made in the past years.



    National Bank — The National Bank of Romania will put into circulation, from January 1, banknotes and coins with the country’s new coats of arms, which will circulate in parallel with the current ones. In the new coat of arms the eagle has a crown on its head. The new banknotes and coins will be put into circulation in stages, depending on the real need for coins. The new banknotes will have written on the obverse the date “January 1, 2018”. A national bank communiqué shows that all the other graphic and safety elements will remain unchanged.



    Madrid — The Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy announced that the central government was open to cooperate with the future regional government of Catalonia, under the conditions of the law. PM Rajoy said he did not intend to talk with the former separatist president of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont, the winning candidate of the coalition “Together for Catalonia”. Rajoy’s reaction comes after Puigdemont asked him, from Brussels, to meet in order to discuss the situation in Catalonia after the elections. The Party Ciudadanos obtained a historic result in Thursday’s elections in Catalonia, but they are far from being able to form a majority regional government, not even with the support of the other unionist parties, the Socialist Party and the People’s Party. The PM Mariano Rajoy called for these elections on October 27 in order to reestablish the constitutional order broken by the secessionists when they organized an illegal referendum on October 1 and proclaimed the independence of Catalonia. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • December 15, 2017 UPDATE

    December 15, 2017 UPDATE

    ROYALTY — Romania was on Friday in its second day of three days of national mourning for its last sovereign, King Mihai I. He passed away on December 5 in Switzerland, at the age of 96. Thousands of Romanians stood in huge lines to attend the laying in state ceremony. King Mihai will be interred on Saturday in Curtea de Arges, the final resting place of his wife, Queen Anne, and the other three kings of Romania who preceded him. The funeral will be attended by European monarchy and numerous other officials.



    BREXIT — EU leaders on Friday in Brussels agreed to start the next phase of Brexit negotiations. Participants in the summit said sufficient progress has been made in the three key areas: the financial settlement, the future rights of EU citizens and the Irish border. At the summit, President Klaus Iohannis said that he was pleased with results so far, which he said grant him hope that a clear understanding will be reached by the end of next year. The first stage of the accord, according to Iohannis, settles issues facing Romanians working in the UK. British PM Theresa May had called on the 27 member countries to go to the next stage of discussions as soon as possible, and said she wished the EU remain a special and reliable partner. Also on Friday, an extended Euro summit took place, allowing discussions between European leaders on the process of consolidating the economic and monetary union. President Klaus Iohannis reiterated Romanias commitment to joining the Eurozone as an important move both for Romania’s economy and for its position within the EU.



    BUDGET — In Parliament in Bucharest, the joint budget and finance committees are trying to finalize their debates and draw up the final report for the 2018 draft budget. On Thursday, the Finance Minister warned that the proposal to supplement funds for the Ministry of Romanians Abroad is a no go for lack of funding. In addition, Minister Ionut Misa said that the budget for the ministry of diaspora went up 45% compared to 2017. The draft budget is supposed to be submitted for debate in plenary session this coming Monday, while the final vote on it and on the social insurance draft is scheduled for December 21. The budget assumes an economic growth of 5.5%, with supplementary income supposed to be shared between health, education and investment. The executive also expects to provide resources for raising the minimum wage and pensions. The budget is contested by the opposition, which claims expected income is over-evaluated.



    SCHENGEN — Romanian and Bulgarian Euro MPs committed to work together towards their countries joining the European Union and the Schengen area, passing a common statement to this extent at an informal meeting in Strasbourg. They recalled the fact that European Union members in the free travel area admitted that legal conditions have been met by the two countries to join, which was initially scheduled for 2011. Euro MPs Victor Boştinaru and Andrey Kovatchev, leading the proceedings, said that Romanian and Bulgarian Euro MPs of all political leanings committed to work together to ensure that Bulgaria in 2018 and Romania in 2019 will hold successful presidencies of the European Council rotating presidencies.



    DANUBE — Romania will be holding the presidency of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region between November 2018 and November 2019, following the decision of the 14 member states of the organization. This allows Romania to promote at a European and regional level topics and initiatives of interest to Danube region states. This organization is a joint initiative by Romania and Austria, launched in 2011, meant to encourage economic and social development of the area and of the fourteen member states.



    MOLDOVA — The Parliament of Moldova on Friday voted the EU Memorandum on the €100-million aid package, to be disbursed in three installments over the course of 2018. To access the funds, Moldova has to fulfill a set of 28 prerequisites regarding progress in implementing its agreement with the IMF. The requirements forwarded by the Commission are part of the Government’s agenda and part of them, required to disburse the first installment, have already been met, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu has said. One of the requirements provides for the adopting of a new law on the activity of the Court of Accounts and setting up an agency for processing notifications in the field of public procurement. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • December 10, 2017

    December 10, 2017


    MICHAEL I On Monday, Romanias Parliament will gather in solemn session to honour the last sovereign of Romania, King Michael I, who died on December 5th in Switzerland, aged 96. The coffin will arrive in Romania on December 13th and on December 16th the former king will be buried in Curtea de Arges, the final resting place of the Romanian royal family. Michael I took the throne in September 1940, and for a long time his was a merely ceremonial role, with the pro-Germany strongman Ion Antonescu actually ruling the country. But on August 23, 1944, the King had Marshall Antonescu arrested, broke the countrys ties with the Axis and had Romania join the anti-Nazi coalition. Historians agree that this decision shortened the war by months, saving tens of thousands of lives. He was forced by the communists to abdicate in 1947 and was able to return to the country only after the fall of the regime. He was one of the most important promoters of Romanias joining NATO and the EU.



    BUDGET Next week, the 2018 budget and social security bill will reach the joint budget-finance committee of the Romanian parliament. The final vote on the 2018 budget is scheduled for December 21st. Representatives of the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania say that the budget is balanced and sustainable, but the opposition MPs say the time allocated for debate is too short and the bill needs improvement. Next years budget is based on a estimated 5.5% economic growth rate, an annual inflation rate of 3.1% and a budget deficit below 3% of the GDP. The estimated monthly net salary is the equivalent of some 570 euro. According to the Romanian Government, health, education and investment are next years priorities. On the other hand, the budget deficit might start decreasing as of 2019, to reach 1.45% of the GDP in 2021. These estimates were presented in the macroeconomic report drawn up by the Finance Ministry, a document which accompanies the 2018 budget bill.



    FUNDING According to data provided by the European Commission, at the request of the AGERPRES news agency, Romania has spent only 1.1% of the European money allocated within the 2014-2020 financial framework, as compared to countries like Bulgaria and Poland, which have spent 7.5% and 6.5% respectively. The largest part of this amount, approximately 242 million Euro, has been spent through the Regional Development Fund. The countries that have spent less than Romania from the structural and investment funds are Austria, with 0.3%, and Ireland, with 0.9%. AGERPRES recalls that the Romanian Minister Delegate for European Funds Marius Nica has stated recently that in 2023 Romania will be presented as an example of European fund absorption and the percentage of 89% corresponding to the 2007-2013 timeframe is not bad. As regards the 2014-2020 framework, the Romanian minister has stated that 20 of the 27 EU countries have complained about bureaucracy and cumbersome procedures for the implementation of European funds.



    ROMANIA 100 The president of the Romania 100 platform, the former technocrat Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, has announced today that the platform, created by people wishing to change politics in Romania, will generate a party. The new party will be presented in the coming months and will be open for collaboration with the right-wing opposition. Dacian Ciolos headed a government of specialists from November 2015 until January 2017, when the reigns of power were taken over by the leftist coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The Ciolos Cabinet was established after the resignation of the Social-Democrat Government headed by Victor Ponta, against the background of large-scale anti-corruption rallies triggered by the tragedy that occurred at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, where 64 young people died in a fire.



    ISRAEL The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is today meeting in Paris with the French President Emmanuel Macron. Tomorrow he will then travel to Brussels to take part in the EU Foreign Ministers meeting, at the invitation of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. Prior to these visits, Netanyahu stated that Europes reaction to US President Donald Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel is hypocritical and a demonstration that double standards are applied in such cases. He blamed the European leaders for not condemning the missile attacks on Israel and the Palestinian radicals who instigated to violence. Federica Mogherini herself has criticised Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Also, the USs European allies have adopted a joint statement in which they criticise the announcement made by the White House. The Arab League Foreign Ministers have called on Washington, in a resolution made public after a meeting in Cairo on Sunday, to cancel the decision. They have urged the international community to recognize a Palestinian state having east Jerusalem as capital. We recall that this part of the city was annexed by Israel in 1967.



    HANDBALL The first matches in the round of 16 of the World Womens Handball Championship are taking place today in Germany. The Romanian national team, which has qualified from the first position in Group A, will take on the Czech squad on Monday. If it wins, Romanian will play against the winner of the game pitching the Netherlands against Japan. From the previous edition of the world championship, in 2015, Romania came home with bronze. Romania is the only side that has participated in all the 22 editions of the championship held so far.