Radio România Internațional

Tag: amendments

  • September 11, 2024

    September 11, 2024

    Legislation – The defense committee of the Romanian Senate is meeting today, with Defense Ministry representatives being expected to join, most likely to discuss the legislation in the field, in the context of the entry into the Romanian airspace of some Russian drones launched against neighboring Ukraine. In the night of Saturday to Sunday, residents of Tulcea and Constanţa counties (south-east) were warned by RO-Alert messages about the possibility of objects falling from the airspace. Later, the army identified fragments of a drone of Russian origin in uninhabited areas near the town of Periprava. The Romanian Defense Ministry sent a firm message to condemn these Russian attacks against Ukrainian civil infrastructure targets and elements, which are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the international law. The Romanian diplomacy reiterated its firm protest against the violation, once again, of Romania’s airspace and categorically demanded the cessation of the repeated attacks against the Ukrainian population and civil infrastructure.

     

    Inflation – The annual inflation rate in Romania dropped, in August 2024, to 5.1%, from 5.42% in July, in the context in which foodstuffs prices rose by 4.25%, non-foods prices by 4.35%, and the price of services by 8.60%, according to data published on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The National Bank of Romania (BNR) revised downwards the inflation forecast for the end of 2024 to 4%, from the previous 4.9%, and anticipates that it will reach 3.4% at the end of 2025, according to the data presented in August by Governor Mugur Isărescu.

     

    Decorations – The Romanian athletes who won medals at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris will be decorated, this evening, by President Klaus Iohannis, according to an announcement on the Facebook page of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR). At the Paris Games, both Olympic and Paralympic, Romania obtained a total of four gold, four silver and three bronze medals. Visually impaired Florin-Alexandru Bologa, 28, won a gold medal in para judo, in the men’s -73kg J1 category. Camelia Ciripana won the bronze in para table tennis, the women’s singles. In the Olympics Games, Romanian athletes won three gold, four silver and two bronze medals. The gold medal was obtained in swimming by David Popovici, in the 200 m freestyle event, in rowing, the double sculls event, by Andrei Sebastian Cornea and Marian Florian Enache, and in the women’s eight plus one event by the crew made up of Maria Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Iuliana Anghel, Nicoleta Ancuţa Bodnar, Maria Lehaci, Adriana Adam, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu, Simona Geanina Radiş and Victoria Ştefania Petreanu. The silver was won by Mihaela Valentina Cambei in weightlifting – 49 kg, Gianina Elena van Groningen and Ionela Livia Cozmiuc in the women’s lightweight double sculls, Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Iuliana Anghel, in the women’s pair and Simona Geanina Radiş and Nicoleta Ancuța Bodnar, in the women’s double sculls. David Popovici won bronze in swimming, in the 100 m freestyle, and Ana Maria Bărbosu, in artistic gymnastics, in the floor event.

     

    Elections – The electoral period for the presidential election in Romania begins on Thursday, with the establishment of the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC), according to the timetable approved by the Romanian Government. The BEC members will be appointed by drawing of lots, and a day later the president of the bureau will be elected by secret ballot. Next, candidacies must be submitted by October 5 at the latest and the election campaign will begin on October 25. Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad can vote by mail, and the deadline for submitting requests in this regard is September 24. The first round of the election for the highest office in the Romanian state will take place on November 24, and the second on December 8. Also, Romanians will be called to the polls on December 1, on the National Day, for the general elections to elect their representatives in the Romanian Parliament.

     

    Law – The Romanian Senate adopted a draft law to amend the Criminal Code that provides for a similar legal practice for human trafficking and pimping carried out by coercion. At present, pimps can escape prison sentences, in some cases, if, for example, the victims declare that they were not forced to have sex for money. All parliamentary groups supported the initiative. This amendment to the Criminal Code must also receive a favorable vote in the Chamber of Deputies to become law. On the other hand, the list of prohibited psychoactive substances in Romania has been recently updated. 14 new names were added to the list of narcotics. 13 fall into the category of very high-risk drugs, and one into the category of high-risk drugs.

     

    Music – The 12th edition of the Bucharest Music Film Festival event will take place between September 14-22, in George Enescu Square in the center of Bucharest. According to the organizers, the festival is relaunching in a new concept and offers the public evenings of concerts in a variety of musical styles, from the classical repertoire to jazz, from film music to pop fusion, bringing to the fore hundreds of artists and renowned orchestras. The event is organized by the Capital City Hall, through ARCUB – the Cultural Center of the City of Bucharest and is held under the auspices of Bucharest Days, thus marking 565 years since the first documentary attestation of the city. Public access is free. (LS)

  • Chamber of Deputies to vote on new education legislation

    Chamber of Deputies to vote on new education legislation

    After many amendments drafted over the past two weeks
    in the relevant committee, the new bills on the education sector are these days
    reaching the Chamber of Deputies for endorsement. Once passed in the Chamber, they will be forwarded to the
    Senate, the decision-making regulator in this case.


    The bill on undergraduate
    education has seen a number of amendments aimed at preventing violence and
    strengthening discipline in schools. The changes introduced by the ruling coalition, comprising the Social
    Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
    Hungarians in Romania, stipulate that a National Plan against violence in
    schools will be implemented within 6
    months of the law taking effect.


    Under the new law, the
    students and teachers who are the victims of violence benefit from free therapy
    services. The amendments also allow for CCTV surveillance in schools, conditional
    on the consent of teachers, students and parents. Specifically, cameras will
    not be installed in the classrooms where most parents disagree with the measure.


    The committee on
    education in the Chamber of Deputies also decided that schools are to introduce
    regulations concerning the access on school premises, and that reprimanding students
    in the presence of their peers is forbidden, while expulsion of students is
    restricted to very serious cases. Expelled students will be allowed to re-enrol
    in the same school the following year.


    An additional exam is
    introduced for 50% of the places available every year for high school
    admission, and religion will be an optional subject at the Baccalaureate exam, for
    the humanities majors.


    The draft law regulating
    higher education was also subject to a number of amendments. One of them
    removes the ceiling on the number of terms in office for senior university
    officers, except for university rectors, who are only allowed to hold two
    5-year terms in office.


    Another amendment introduces
    fines ranging from EUR 20,000 to 40,000 for the people who sell BA, MA, or
    Ph.D. theses online, violating intellectual property laws. The relevant
    parliamentary committee also decided that differences of opinions or data
    interpretations, as well as material citation errors do not qualify as breaches
    of ethical standards.


    The new law also provides
    for grants and free training programmes for the Romanians living abroad who
    choose to study in Romania. (AMP)

  • November 2, 2022

    November 2, 2022

    AMENDMENTS – The Government is expected to
    pass a number of legislative amendments in preparation of Romania’s Schengen
    accession. The Government noted the current legislation no longer reflects the
    current European framework for exchanging information among Member States,
    while the national digital reporting system also needs improvement. The
    government wants to decide which authorities should have a right to access,
    transmit or consult data from the national digital system.


    COLD SEASON – 58% of Romanians say they
    will have trouble paying energy bills this upcoming winter, estimating
    temperatures in their homes will be lower compared to previous years, a recent
    study reveals. According to its findings, soaring utility expenses have shaped
    Romanians’ purchasing behavior. 55% of Romanians said they have stopped buying
    non-essential products. 40% of respondents have described energy bills as their
    biggest concern for the period ahead.


    MOLDOVA – Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu,
    received assurances regarding Bucharest’s full support for Chișinău
    in the context of the energy crisis in this country. President Sandu on Tuesday
    met Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă in Bucharest, expressing gratitude for
    their support and Romania’s actions to facilitate the provision of electricity,
    natural gas, fuel oil and firewood to Moldovan citizens. Furthermore, Maia
    Sandu thanked Romania for quickly responding to offset Moldova’s electricity
    deficit. We recall Bucharest has started supplying electricity and natural gas to
    Moldova after Ukraine has ceased energy exports to Moldova after its energy
    infrastructure was affected by Russian bombings.


    REFUGEES – The Border Police Inspectorate
    announced some 65 thousand people entered Romania on Tuesday, of whom 7,500
    were Ukrainian nationals. According to a press release, some 2.7 million
    Ukrainians have entered Romania starting February 10, most of them headed to
    countries in Western Europe. Over 86,500 Ukrainians have chosen to stay.


    SHIPMENTS – Russia today agreed to resume grain
    exports from Ukraine after receiving guarantees in writing from Ukraine
    regarding the demilitarization of the maritime corridor used for their transport.
    On Saturday, Moscow suspended grain exports invoking drone attacks on Russian military
    watercraft in the port of Sevastopol. Russia claimed the drones moved along the
    secure corridor addressing trade vessels transporting Ukrainian grain. On
    Monday, Russia had warned against the danger of freight ships continuing to navigate
    the corridor used by Ukrainian trade vessels to reach the Mediterranean through
    the Bosporus strait without its consent.


    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional
    Court of Romania today admitted a notification filed by USR in opposition
    regarding the law that sanctions the building of small power plants in
    protected areas. USR has lodged 11 unconstitutionality claims, including the
    violation of the principle of bicameralism, considering there are major
    differences between the law adopted in the Senate and the version passed by the
    Chamber of Deputies. USR also claims the law is in breach of the right to a
    clean environment. Early this year, Parliament adopted the law stipulating that
    power plants in protected areas that are over 60% complete are considered
    projects of national security and must be rendered operational by the end of
    2025. (VP)

  • September 20, 2022

    September 20, 2022

    LONDON The custodian of the Romanian crown,
    Margareta, and Prince Radu took part in a family reunion at the Windsor Castle
    upon the invitation of King Charles III after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
    Over 100 heads of state and government and members of the royal families from
    around the world attended the ceremonies in London while hundreds of thousands
    lined the streets to say farewell to the revered monarch. The event, which
    brought together the largest number of world leaders ever, was also attended by
    US president Joe Biden and also by the head of the Romanian state, Klaus
    Iohannis.








    VISIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis
    is today and tomorrow heading the Romanian delegation attending the 77th
    session of the UN General Assembly. The meeting’s agenda includes several
    topical issues, such as peace and security, sustainable development, social
    inclusion, cybersecurity, human rights, biodiversity, water management and
    global challenges. The Romanian president is expected to highlight the need for
    joint solutions at global level to issues like energy security, climate changes
    and access to education. Iohannis will today be attending a global summit on
    food security, where he will be mentioning Romania’s efforts to ensure the
    transit of Ukrainian grain and its commitment to avoiding a food crisis. In a
    video message on Monday at Transforming Education summit in New York, Iohannis
    spoke about Romania’s commitment to upgrading its education system and
    protecting its citizens from the challenges of the economic environment.










    DROUGHT 600 thousand hectares of Romania’s farmland have been
    affected by drought, the Ministry of Agriculture has today announced. The
    country’s autumn crops of barley, rye and oat are presently bearing the brunt
    of the extended drought. Some of the most affected spring crops are maize,
    sun-flower, soy and fodder plants.


    LAW The government emergency ordinance
    regulating energy prices has been submitted to the specialized Senate
    committees. The document could get amended by Parliament, after both ruling and opposition parties have forwarded amendments. One such amendment
    includes among the categories benefitting from capped prices, the religious
    cults, the pharmaceutics industry and public transportation. Household owners
    using special medical treatment devices could also benefit from capped prices.
    In another development, the ruling coalition seems to have reached an agreement
    over extending the 10 cents fuel subsidies with another three months.








    ECONOMY Roughly half of the Romanians (47%) have reduced spending
    this year to cope with the latest price hikes, whereas a quarter are saving
    money for education and professional training, an Erste Group poll entitled ‘Money
    Matters’ shows. According to the same sources, the Romanians have adjusted
    their financial behaviour against the rising inflation and the latest price
    hikes.











    (bill)

  • Fiscal Code Amendments

    Fiscal Code Amendments


    In times of crisis, taxes and charges should not be raised. This is a rule often mentioned by economic analysts and politicians.



    These days however, burdened by a two-digit inflation rate prompted by skyrocketing energy and natural gas prices, Romanians are finding it increasingly hard to cope. And they fear they will be unable to pay their bills this coming winter. Under these circumstances, additional taxes and charges only manage to bring people down even more.



    Asked recently about the amendments to the Fiscal Code that are taking effect on August 1, the president Klaus Iohannis said they do not introduce new taxes, but that they address situations that had not been properly regulated before. More precisely, this is about taxes introduced in other circumstances, perhaps without proper discussion or analysis, and it is now necessary to revisit them, to make things more transparent and fair, and thus to ensure better collection of state budget revenues. Better collection means less tax evasion, president Iohannis argued.



    That said, following the decisions made recently by the coalition government made up of the National Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, as of August 1 tobacco products will be more expensive, ceilings for certain tax exemptions will be lower and the tax on gambling gains will be higher.



    To go into more detail, as of Monday, whether they smoke classical or electronic cigarettes, Romanians will pay more, as the tobacco excise duty is raised. The decision, the authorities say, was made in order to avoid an infringement procedure against Romania for the inadequate transposition of EU legislation in this respect.



    The prices of alcoholic beverages also go up. According to the finance minister Adrian Câciu, the excise duties for alcohol had not been updated since 2015.



    As for gambling gains, a higher tax will be levied, ranging between 3% and 40%.



    Changes are also operated as regards salaries in the construction industry, agriculture and the food industry, where the ceiling for certain tax rebates will be lowered from EUR 6,000 to EUR 2,000 per month.



    Also beginning on August 1, for a part-time employment contract, employers will have to pay taxes corresponding to a full minimum salary, which triggers concerns that many small companies might be forced out of business or resort to illegal employment.



    Even more changes to the Fiscal Code will take effect on January 1, 2023. For example, in the hospitality industry VAT will be raised from 5 to 9%, while the VAT for non-alcoholic beer and for sugary drinks will be raised to 19%. Property taxes will also be calculated on a new methodology. (AMP)


  • Fiscal resetting in Romania

    Fiscal resetting in Romania

    The finance ministry made public the bill modifying the Fiscal Code of Romania, due to be endorsed by the government next week.



    The planned amendments include increases of the tobacco and alcohol excises, of taxes on gambling revenues, a lower ceiling for tax facilities in the constructions sector, agriculture and the food industry, and scraps previous tax facilities for the hospitality industry, with operators in the sector set to return to a regular tax on turnover. All these measures are scheduled to take effect on August 1.



    The document also includes provisions due to come into force as of January 2023, such as a raise on dividend taxes from 5% to 8% and a change in the criteria that define microenterprises by lowering the revenue ceiling from EUR 1 mln to EUR 500,000, with the microenterprise legally bound to have at least one employee.



    Also, as of January 1, VAT will be raised from 5% to 9%, both for food and beverage deliveries and for restaurant and catering services, as well as for accommodation services. The bill also stipulates changes in property owners taxes.



    On the other hand, governmental sources also mention a possible adjustment of pension benefits to the inflation rate, starting next year.



    The draft amendments to the Fiscal Code were one of the topics discussed by president Klaus Iohannis in a recent press conference. He pointed out that a modernisation of the fiscal legislation was due, and added that he had discussed this with the Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă and the relevant ministers. The president also emphasised that no taxes and charges were considered for regular people, but that the changes are related to situations that had not been regulated properly before:



    Klaus Iohannis: “I have asked them to analyse things very carefully, to avoid putting additional burdens on regular people and not to discourage businesses, but instead to make changes that make things more transparent and fairer. Virtually, this would improve revenue collection to the state budget, and better collection means less tax evasion.”



    Romania does not plan an austerity procedure at this time, the president also added, and explained that measures of that kind taken during the 2009 economic crisis failed to yield good results. He also warned that the government cannot earmark substantial funds for offsetting the rise in fuel prices at the expense of investments, which are still necessary.



    Mr. Iohannis voiced satisfaction with the work of the government, and said the Cabinet members did their job well and solved a lot of problems. (AMP)

  • July 5, 2022 UPDATE

    July 5, 2022 UPDATE

    PRESIDENCY Romania is a very involved actor in the European policy
    and security policy, president Klaus Iohannis told a press conference on
    Tuesday. He emphasised that the recent decisions at the European Council and
    the NATO summit made Romania safer and more visible. Romanians are better
    protected, Romania is better protected, the head of state pointed out.


    TAXES Amendments to Romania’s Fiscal Code are subject to the
    decision transparency procedure until Friday, and scheduled for endorsement by
    the government next week. The changes agreed by the ruling coalition made up of
    the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
    in Romania in order to improve collection to the state budget include increases
    of the tobacco and alcohol excises, of the VAT for the hospitality industry and
    of property owner’s taxes. Gambling revenues up to roughly EUR 600 will be
    taxed by 10%, those between EUR 600 and 2,000 by 20% and those over EUR 2,000
    by 40%. Government sources say another measure introduces a 5% VAT rate for
    purchased houses of up to 120 square meters. Other amendments may increase
    house owner’s taxes by 60%. Taxes in the hospitality industry may also change
    so they may not be under 1% of the turnover starting next year.


    NATO
    Romania’s foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu hailed Tuesday’s
    signing of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession protocols in Brussels by the
    standing representatives of the 2 countries and of the Allied states, including
    Romania. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, in
    the current security context marked by Russia’s illegal war of aggression
    against Ukraine, the 2 countries’ move proves their commitment to the
    democratic values and spirit that NATO safeguards and promotes. Romania, the
    ministry also says in a news release, has been one of the main supporters of
    the Open Door policy as central to NATO’s strategic approach in relation to its
    partner states. The decision to join the organization, Bucharest adds, is an
    option any state is free to take, based on meeting the criteria defined for the
    process and on the consensus of the Allies. No third party may affect NATO’s
    enlargement policy. Bucharest is also confident that Finland’s and Sweden’s
    accession will contribute to strengthening NATO security. After the
    representatives of the 2 countries signed the accession protocol, each NATO
    country’s parliament must ratify the decision, which may take up to one year.
    Turkey is the only NATO member to make ratification conditional on commitments
    regarding terrorism on the part of the 2 Nordic countries.


    CABINET Seven months into their term in office, all the ministers
    in the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă’s Cabinet have been reconfirmed in office. The PM
    talked to president Klaus Iohannis about the assessment of his cabinet members
    and according to political sources they agreed reshuffling is not necessary. Ciucă
    informed his ministers however that last-minute submissions of key projects
    under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan funded by the EU would not be
    acceptable. Following a 10-criteria assessment that took into account the
    expectations of Romanian citizens and society, PM Ciucă also presented a report
    on the work of his government, which included overcoming the health crisis,
    stabilisation of the energy crisis and the management of the effects of the war
    in neighbouring Ukraine. The report also mentions the largest investment budget
    of the last 32 years, the new Offshore Act and strengthening security within NATO
    and the EU.


    AUTOMOTIVE The city of Craiova, in southern Romania, Tuesday hosted
    a ceremony occasioned by the acquisition of the local Ford plant by Ford Otosan,
    the largest producer of commercial vehicles in Europe. The US-Turkish company
    announced investments of nearly EUR 500 million in the next 3 years, to
    increase production. The plant will make the new generation of a freight and
    passenger transport model, with a fully electric version as of 2024. Ford Puma,
    the best-selling Ford automobile in Europe, will also have an electric version
    as of 2024, to be produced in Craiova as well. Attending the event, PM Nicolae
    Ciuca highlighted the commitment of the company’s American and Turkish
    officials to strengthen and improve economic relations and strategic
    partnership with Romania. He also added that Romania’s National Recovery and
    Resilience Plan includes a commitment to have 18,000 EV charging stations ready
    in Romania by the end of 2026.


    SPORTS 494
    swimmers from 42 countries are competing in the European Junior Swimming
    Championships underway in Bucharest until July 10. The host country, Romania,
    is represented by 26 athletes, 14 boys and 12 girls, including the world
    champion in the 100m and 200m freestyle race, David Popovici. The 17 year old
    champion has already qualified for the semifinals of the 200m freestyle race. In
    turn, Cristian Lapadat qualified for the 200m butterfly semi-final. Aissia
    Claudia Prisecariu and Rebecca-Aimee Diaconescu have qualified for the women’s
    50m backstroke semi-finals, while Ana Maria Sibiseanu takes part in the
    semifinals of the women’s 200m freestyle race. Romania’s men and women teams will
    also compete in the 4×100 freestyle final.




    TENNIS US
    tennis player Amanda Anisimova will be playing Romanian Simona Halep in the
    quarter finals of the Grand Slam tennis tournament in Wimbledon. In the round
    of 16, Halep secured a 6-1, 6-2 win against Paola Badosa of Spain, while
    Anisimova defeated Harmony Tan of France 6-2, 6-3. A former world leader, Halep
    won the 2019 of Wimbledon and a year earlier the one in Roland Garros. (AMP)

  • July 3, 2021

    July 3, 2021

    Covid – The entire territory of Romania remains in the so-called green scenario related to the spread of the new coronavirus. 401 infected people are still in hospital, of whom 66 in intensive care. The authorities on Saturday announced 58 new cases of COVID-19, out of more than 23,000 tests performed in 24 hours. 4 deaths were reported in the same interval, besides another 27 from the past months.



    Vaccines — Ireland has agreed in principle to buy one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Romania – a spokesman for the Irish government said, days after Romania sold another million doses of the vaccine to Denmark. The doses available in Romania exceed the demand for vaccination from the Romanian population, where vaccination reticence is spreading due to rooted distrust in state institutions, misinformation campaigns and lack of public awareness – international media report. Ireland currently has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Europe. About 45% of its adult population of 3.8 million people was fully vaccinated and 65% with at least the first dose. The Irish government hopes that its decision to speed up youth vaccination will slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus and will allow for the reopening of the lagging economy.



    National register – Romanian police have launched a national register with the names of those who have committed sexual crimes or exploited people. The information in the register can reach courts, authorities, schools, health or social protection institutions, as well as organizations whose activity involves direct contact with children, the elderly or people with disabilities. Such a register had been requested for several years by NGOs involved in victim protection. On the other hand, criminal liability for crimes of trafficking and exploitation, sexual assault, and torture of children is no longer prescribed in Romania — according to a law promulgated on Thursday by President Klaus Iohannis. The law amends articles of the Criminal Code and also stipulates that the punishment for failing to report such crimes is increased and criminalizes the failure to report such crimes as trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable persons or crimes against the freedom and sexual integrity of a child or resulting in the death of a child.



    Rugby –Romania’s national rugby team is meeting, tonight, on home ground, in a test match, Argentina’s prestigious national team. The match that will officially inaugurate the Arch of Triumph National Rugby Stadium in Bucharest is an opportunity for Romanian players to play against a top team – said the Romanian teams English coach, Andrew Robinson. Argentina ranks 9th in the world rankings, while Romania is ranked 18th. Romania was to play another test match, against Scotland, on July 10, also in Bucharest, but the match was canceled due to several contaminations with COVID-19 in the British team.



    Tennis – Romanian Sorana Cîrstea (45 WTA) is taking on, today, the British player Emma Răducanu (338 WTA) whose father is Romanian, in the third round of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the year’s 3rd Grand Slam tournament. Cîrstea is the last Romanian woman left in the womens singles. In the doubles, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair Raluca Olaru / Nadia Kichenok, on Friday reached the eighth finals, where they could meet the Romanian pair Andreea Mitu / Monica Niculescu, if they also qualify to that stage. (LS)

  • 1-7 March, 2021

    1-7 March, 2021


    Parliament endorses state budget for 2021


    After fiery debates, with allegations and retorts flung back and forth between Power and Opposition, the state budget and social security budget bills for this year were endorsed by Parliament as drafted by the government. The MPs dismissed the thousands of amendments tabled by the Social Democrats and AUR party in opposition, which in turn accused the Government of discriminating in favour of the agencies run by their own people and of failing to implement previous legislation increasing pensions and child allowances.



    This is a novelty, PM Florin Cîţu said in turn, arguing that the dismissal of all of the Oppositions amendments was among other things a test of the unity of the ruling coalition. According to the PM, the budget focuses on investments, economic recovery, and the restructuring of public institutions.



    High-profile cases on trial


    The former Minister for Development, Elena Udrea, and the daughter of Romanias ex-president Traian Băsescu, Ioana Băsescu, were sentenced this week to 8 and 5 years behind bars, respectively, for money laundering and inciting bribe-taking. They had been indicted in a case that looked into the funding of the election campaign of the former president back in 2009. The ruling is not final.



    Another case tried this week concerned the anti-governmental protests of August 10, 2018. Under a final ruling, the Bucharest Court dismissed prosecutors request to reopen the criminal case against the heads of gendarme forces, accused of a disproportionately brutal response to the rally. Shortly after the court decision was made public, the closing of the “August 10 case turned into a dispute between magistrates and some politicians, discontent with the ruling. President Klaus Iohannis himself urged the Justice Minister Stelian Ion to provide explanations for this course of events. “Things cannot end here, the head of state argued.



    The Higher Council of Magistrates declined taking a public stand on the issue, as the justice minister had requested, but instructed the Judicial Inspection Corps to check all public statements concerning the investigation, in order to safeguard the independence, impartiality and professional reputation of judges and prosecutors.



    In a first stage, last June, the Directorate Investing Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) had closed the case on the August 10 protest, including the investigation against the gendarme chiefs, and the allegations of attempted coup. Later on, the former head of DIICOT ordered the reopening of criminal investigations into the gendarme chiefs.



    Romanian Police in action


    Over the past few days, the work of Romanian Police officers has once again come under scrutiny, after previous inefficient interventions and less-than-honourable conduct. Two workers redecorating a flat in the town of Onești, Bacău County (east), were murdered on Monday by the former owner of the apartment, angry for being evicted a few years before. The police opened fire in order to get into the flat where the man was keeping the 2 hostages, after negotiations between the perpetrator and the officers failed. The Interior Ministry promised a comprehensive report on the case, amid suspicions of police breach of duty. The chiefs of the county and local police forces were replaced, and the Prosecutors Office was requested to probe into suspected negligence.



    Also this week, workers from a police unit in Bucharest were detained under the charge of having tortured 2 young men last year who had reprimanded them for not wearing face masks and for issuing illegal fines.



    Not least, investigations are under way with respect to a search conducted by Transport Police on Wednesday near Bucharest at a different address than the one stipulated in the warrant. The police went to the wrong address and threatened to kill the innocent landlady and her daughter.



    Covid-19


    The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is gaining strength in Romania, where the number of infections in 24 hours is on the rise. The vaccine rollout pace on the other hand is also increasing. The number of people having received at least one dose of the vaccine has gone over 1 million this week.

    Romanian film wins Golden Bear

    Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, the most recent film of Romanian director Radu Jude, has won the Golden Bear at the 71st edition of Berlin International Film Festival – Berlinale, held in an online format. The film looks into the relations between the individual and society when the leaked sex video of a school teacher goes viral on the Internet, turning her life upside down. It is an elaborated film as well as a wild one, clever and childish, geometrical and vibrant, imprecise in the best way. It attacks the spectator, evokes disagreement, but leaves no one with a safety distance, the jury said about Jude’s film. The win comes six years after the director won the Silver Bear for his film Aferim!.(tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

    The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

    Several amendments to the laws on the judiciary, dating back to 2018 and 2019, continue to raise concern with respect to their impact on judicial independence, says the chapter on Romania in the first report on the rule of law in the EU made public by the European Commission.



    The document assesses 4 key areas: national justice systems, anticorruption legislation, mass media pluralism and freedom, as well as other institutional aspects related to checks and balances systems.



    Last April, a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the special law on corruption were passed by Parliament in an emergency procedure, but sparked wide-spread criticism and they were eventually ruled as unconstitutional in July. The task to bring the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in line with all decisions of the Constitutional Court remains pending. The legal uncertainty and the risks to the sustainability of the fight against corruption therefore remain, reads the report.



    The document also says Romania has a comprehensive national anti-corruption strategic framework based on the large participation of national and local institutional actors, providing for the voluntary involvement of a very large part of the public administration, including local government, and State-owned enterprises, as well as law enforcement, the prosecution service, the courts, and civil society.



    Although the Constitution provides that the adoption of government emergency orders is only possible in exceptional and motivated cases of urgency, successive governments have used GEOs to legislate in many areas, raising concerns regarding the quality of legislation, legal certainty and respect for the separation of powers, the report also says, mentioning that Romanian civil society is active in defending the rule of law.



    Also, the level of implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy has increased and preventive actions are being followed up both at national and at local level. At present, the document says, the Ministry of Justice is evaluating the strategy in view of designing the next one.



    On the very day the EC report was released in Brussels, in Bucharest the Justice Ministry initiated a public debate on proposed changes to the laws on the judiciary. The announcement was made by minister Cătălin Predoiu, who said these amendments ensure the implementation of European recommendations:



    Cătălin Predoiu: “[The amendments concern] strengthening the role of the Higher Council of Magistrates in the organisation of exams and competitions through the National Magistracy Institute, ensuring that magistrate selection is based on professional criteria and eliminating any possibility of entry into profession without an exam, scrapping early retirement schemes, strengthening the independence of prosecutors, reintroducing compulsory competitions for access to High Court judge posts, and the dismantling of the special section investigating offences in the judiciary.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 4, 2019 UPDATE

    March 4, 2019 UPDATE

    Emergency decree – The emergency decree no. 114 includes a set of measures meant to boost economic development by raising the level of investments and by supporting projects directly benefiting the citizens — said Monday the PM Viorica Dancila in the plenum meeting of the Chamber of Deputies. She added that the decree would not be abrogated but it would be amended by the government. According to the PM, repealing the emergency decree would be tantamount to canceling the increase of incomes, investments and facilities. The PM was invited in Parliament by the Liberal opposition that contested the decree alongside the other opposition parties, the business environment and banks representatives. The controversial decree imposes new taxes in the banking, telecommunications and energy fields. Meanwhile, the Senate tacitly adopted during Monday’s plenum meeting, the draft law on the approval of emergency decree no. 114. In another development, the National Liberal Party announced they would file a simple motion against the finance minister Eugen Teodorovici, because emergency decree no. 114 will impact the Romanian economy and its consequences will be felt by all citizens.



    EU Council — One of the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU is to develop the Union’s social dimension, by implementing the European pillar of social rights — said Monday the Romanian minister of Labor and Social Justice, Marius Budai, at the informal meeting of the Social Protection Committee. The event under way in Bucharest is being attended by as many as 90 EU experts. On the first day of the meeting, the European officials discussed ways to grant appropriate assistance to the most vulnerable people, minimum revenues to ensure a decent life that should allow access to social services and integration on the labor market. They also tackled ways to combat inequities and to promote active inclusion. On the second day of the meeting, the officials will debate, among other things, the results of implementing Europe 2020 Strategy and the OECD Report on financial incentives and savings schemes for retirement.



    BRUA — The BRUA natural gas conveyance project is very important for southeastern Europe, and Romania is totally devoted to achieving this project, as works on its territory are going according to the plan, said Monday in Brussels the Romanian energy minister Anton Anton. According to him, this gas pipeline will allow interconnection with the gas networks of the neighboring countries and will thus ensure enhanced energy security in the region. Minister Anton said that by means of BRUA the authorities hoped to create a genuine regional energy market that will contribute to the strengthening of the European single market. The Romanian official on Monday participated in Brussels in a meeting with representatives from Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary on the development construction works of the BRUA gas pipeline that will connect Bulgaria to Romania to Hungary and to Austria.



    OECD — Romania has received France’s support for accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development — OECD, the Romanian finance ministry officials announced on Monday. Finance minister Eugen Teodorovici thanked his French counterpart for the letter he addressed to the secretary general of the OECD and underlined that the gesture proved that the European partners appreciated the activity of the Romanian government within the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU and recognized Romania as an equal partner within the European community. According to finance minister Teodorovici Romania’s possible accession to the OECD would entail a number of advantages among which increased confidence in the country’s economy, access to instruments and centers of economic decision-making as well as the opportunity to contribute to the global economic governance. (news updated by L. Simion)

  • The 2018 budget under Parliament debate

    The 2018 budget under Parliament debate

    Debates on the 2018 state budget and social security bill have reached the final stage, and Romanian MPs are supposed to endorse it on December 21st at the latest. The bill reached parliament last week, and since then parliamentarians have had the opportunity to propose amendments, which have been centralized by chief authorizing officers and are to be discussed in the specialized committees.



    Thousands of amendments have been proposed since the bill reached parliament, including the allocation of resources to continue the works on the Bucharest ring-road, consolidating the buildings at risk of being destroyed by earthquakes, carrying on works on the metro, programs and actions for the Diaspora and the building of schools and kindergartens. Based on an estimated 5.5% economic growth rate, the 2018 budget includes more funds for the fields that need support. According to Prime Minister Mihai Tudose, health, education and infrastructure are next years priorities:



    “The new budget provides for a 17% increase in funds for healthcare, 16% for education and 42% more money for investments, as compared to 2017.



    According to the bill approved last week by the Government, agriculture is another field that will benefit from more money. According to the main party in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party, next years budget is fairer and more balanced. The Social Democrats say that the situation might be even better than estimated, because hopes are that economic growth in 2018 will exceed expectations. The opposition, however, sees things differently. Deputy Eugen Tomac, member of the Peoples Movement Party has stated that implementing this budget will be a very big challenge for the governing coalition:



    “Their calculations are wrong. And they are wrong because there are already hundreds of municipalities across the country that do not have money for salaries.



    According to the opposition, the focus should be on channeling resources towards development. According to the bill approved by the government, personnel expenses will go up by 11.6 billion lei (some €2.5 billion) as compared to this year, following the implementation of the new salary law. Also, investment expenses will increase by 13 billion lei (some €2.8 billion). The final form of the budget will be decided in a plenary session of parliament, and debates are to start on December 18th. (Translated by M. Ignatescu)

  • On the unified pay law

    On the unified pay law

    Following heated debates, the controversial unified pay bill assumed by the leftist government in Bucharest has been eventually green-lighted. Questions over the bill had emerged after the labor minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, announced that pay rises for all public sector employees would no longer be applied as of July 1, as scheduled, but as of January 1, 2018. She explained that there were many amendments accepted by Parliament, which would have exceeded the amount of 32 billion lei, that is 7 billion euros, provided for this purpose for the period 2017-2022.



    In comparison with the initial version of the bill, pay rises in the healthcare and education systems in Romania have been postponed, therefore doctors, nurses and teachers will receive the promised integral pay rises as of March 2018 and not as of January 1. The postponement was needed to allow for the financial support of the bill, explained the Finance Minister Viorel Stefan. Further modifications have been brought to the unified pay bill, among which increments of 10% for teachers for neuropsychological stress and 55% increments for public servants in charge of managing European funds.



    In exchange, the 40% increase for military staff, policemen and public servants with a special status that need to intervene outside the normal work schedule was eliminated. Although they are included in the public sector employees category, elected officials will nevertheless benefit from pay rises as of July 1 this year. The labor minister explains:



    “Salaries in the education system will be increased by 15%, in the healthcare system by 15%, in the local administration by 20%. Last month there was a 20% increase for the employees of environment agencies, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, the Consumers’ Protection Agency and now, as of July 1, there will be a new pay scale not only for elected officials but also for the employees of the local public administration.”



    Taken by surprise and discontented with the announced postponement of pay rises, trade unionists with the Cartel Alfa Confederation are asking for rises to be applied for all public sector employees. In turn, the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, has criticized the unified pay bill, accusing the government and the majority coalition, made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, of being incoherent. The Save Romania Union in opposition has equally claimed that the bill is a reason of discontent for all categories of public sector employees and calls for the resignation of the labor minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu. (Translated by L. Simion)

  • Justice, offenders and politicians

    Justice, offenders and politicians

    The government’s strongman, the president of the Social Democratic Party and of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, has not hidden his disappointment at the way in which the Senate’s Juridical Committee has so far acted in the case of pardoning sentences for acts of corruption. He announced that the case of the committee’s president, Social Democrat Serban Nicolae, would be dealt with at party level. On Wednesday afternoon, the senators in the Juridical Committee adopted the amendments on pardoning the people who received a corruption sentence that were proposed by Serban Nicolae, by his colleague Liviu Brăiloiu and by the former president of Romania, currently senator of the People’s Movement Party, in opposition, Traian Băsescu.



    But on Wednesday evening, thousands of Romanians took to streets in Bucharest and other cities across Romania to protest against the corruption of the political class, be they in power or in opposition. Consequently, on Thursday, the same committee led by Serban Nicolae voted again, this time to reject the proposals for pardoning crimes such as giving and taking bribe or influence peddling.



    Voting to correct the previous vote were the senators of the Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Abstaining from the vote were of course the representatives of the governing coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.



    The fact that Senator Serban Nicolae has not yet submitted his resignation seriously mars the image of the Social Democrats, and undermines the respect he still enjoyed among his party colleagues, wrote on Facebook the former Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who is currently keeping a distance from the Social Democratic top leadership. Senator Serban Nicolae tried to explain:



    “Just as yesterday we made a decision, today we made another decision, through the same democratic means, which shows that there was no previous hidden agenda, no fierce contradiction. We have all abstained from voting today because we did not agree with the procedure. We respected the procedure. Yesterday we voted for those amendments, today we have abstained from voting because we did not want to be part of a vote for or against this procedure for submitting to the vote again several amendments that had already been adopted. That’s all!”



    Although his amendment was rejected, the former president Traian Băsescu, has remained consistent with his idea of pardoning people sentenced for abuse of office. Traian Băsescu:



    “In Romania the issue of abuse of office has been treated abusively. I was reading the latest report of the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate who said they were working on 2,150 cases of abuse of office. I have compared the situation in Romania with that in Europe. I don’t think we will find 50-100 cases in all EU member states. Obviously, we are applying the legislation in the field in a wrong way, and this has been also shown by the Constitutional Court.”



    Also on Thursday, the Constitutional Court rejected by a majority of votes, as inadmissible, the Ombudsman’s notification regarding an article in the law that forbids people with a criminal sentence to be members of the government. It is the very law that had prevented the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea from becoming prime minister, despite his party’s outright victory in the December 2016 legislative elections. Last year, Liviu Dragnea received a 2-year suspended sentence for trying to rig the 2012 referendum on the impeachment of the then president Traian Băsescu. Liviu Dragnea commented on the Court’s decision:



    “Their decision does not change my attitude, my life, my political activity or my political actions. We have a prime minister whom I support and a government that has all my backing. The decision is not for me”.



    Promptly signaled in the international press, the latest developments in Bucharest show that the fight between the clean part of Romanian society and the politicians with low moral standards carries on. (Translated by L. Simion)

  • Poland and the Rule of Law

    Poland and the Rule of Law

    After more than eight years, late last year, the Law and Justice Party headed by Jaroslaw Kaczynski came back to power in Poland, forming the government by itself for the first time after 1989 and holding a comfortable position in Parliament. Soon after investiture, the new executive came up with a series of legislative changes, received with worry in Brussels. Among them, amendments to the law governing the functioning of the Polish Constitutional Court, changing 5 of the 15 members of the Court, and changing one particular provision so that decisions could be made only with the mandatory participation of 13 out of 15 members, not 9 as it was before.



    Critics say that this removes an entire leverage and balance system, and the Government’s power of decision becomes too big. The State Radio and Television Law was amended too, the entire leadership sacked, and now the new heads of these public institutions can be appointed directly by the Government.



    Following these developments, the European Commission made an unprecedented decision starting an investigation against an EU Member State concerning the principle of pre-eminence of law. The potentially serious conclusions of this investigation might lead to Poland’s right of vote being suspended. In an interview to Radio Romania, the political analyst Janos Bugajski, from the Washington Center for European Policy Analysis, made an attempt to explain the situation. According to him, one big issue is the fact that the current government might isolate the country within the EU.



    There has been a similar situation during the previous Law and Justice Government, headed by Kaczynski, when they adopted a highly conservative, anti-EU discourse, and drifted away from Germany in particular, thus getting to the position in which they got to be regarded as the ones wiping away Poland’s democratic evolution, Bugajski said. Apparently, the current situation is quite similar to that one; the government is placing its own people in the most important positions and is trying to change the rules of the game, in order to make it easier to pass certain laws, change the Constitution and promote a more conservative agenda, which would, in turn, drive away people in Brussels, the analysts also stressed.



    However, he said, estranging itself from Germany is a much bigger issue. Under the previous governments, Poland was much closer to Berlin, which helped it become a major player in the Union. Without this close relationship, Poland will turn into a minor player of the EU, Bugajski concluded.


    The European Parliament president, Martin Schultz, has leveled criticism at the action taken by the new Polish authorities which, in his opinion, have treated their victory in the election as an empowerment mandate whereby they put the state’s welfare under the harness of the winning party. This is a dangerous Putinization of European politics, Schultz said in an interview to a German publication.



    This issue with the rule of law in Poland has this week been subject for debate in the European Parliament. The community is a system sharing common values: the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, the Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Bet Koenders emphasized on that occasion. We recall the Netherlands is currently holding the European Union presidency.



    With details on that, here is Radio Romania Correspondent to Brussels, Cerasela Radulescu: “Attending the debate, Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was adamant in stating that the rule of law was never infringed upon in her country and that the people cast their vote in favour of that party, which is now the ruling party, thanks to its democratic program the government must implement, abiding by the Constitution and the European treaties. The debate focusing on the Constitutional Tribunal is a political one, said the Prime Minister of Poland. It should be a judicial as well as an internal problem. The Polish Prime Minister has called on the European Union to respect the sovereignty of her country and highlighted that Poland will remain a member of the European Union. “



    The European Commission wants an objective clarification of what happened in Poland, but also a dialogue to be initiated with the authorities in Warsaw. “Our mission is to solve the situation from a legal point of view, so that the rule of law may be observed”, said the First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans.



    According to political analyst Claudiu Degeratu, Poland cannot be ignored, and serious sanctions cannot be placed against that country: ”I think the European Union does not actually want to advance with that procedure much further. It probably had to respond to a certain kind of pressure coming form Germany or from other countries. But I do not think all that will end up in diplomatic relations being severed, or in a very serious deterioration of those relations. I think the first reaction and the key contribution to such a decision came from Berlin.”



    It is very clear, Claudiu Degeratu also said, that any deterioration of the EU’s relationship with Poland entails a worsening of the situation at the level of the European Union.