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March 28, 2023 UPDATE

VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, received the
PM of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki in Bucharest on Tuesday. Klaus Iohannis said
Poland was a close and long-standing friend, a key strategic partner and a
reliable ally for Romania. We are connected by sound shared strategic and
security interests, which are further consolidated by today’s rather tense
regional security context, the Romanian official said. Mr. Iohannis added that
the 2 countries will maintain their unequivocal support for Ukraine for as long
as necessary, and will boost their support for the most vulnerable and most
severely affected partners in the region, especially the Republic of Moldova.
In turn, PM Morawiecki said Romania and Poland were the pillars of the
North-Atlantic Alliance in this part of Europe and highlighted the Allies’
willingness to reinforce it through improved military cooperation. Previously,
the PM of Romania Nicolae Ciuca had a meeting with his Polish counterpart, and
together they attended the Romania-Poland Economic Forum organised by the
Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr. Ciuca said bilateral trade had
increased by 20% in 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching EUR 11bln.

MOLDOVA The EU will
prepare a support package for the Rep. Moldova before summer, the president of
the European Council Charles Michel said in Chişinău on Tuesday, at a joint
press conference together with Moldova’s president Maia Sandu. Chişinău has a
lot of strong friends in Brussels, who want the Republic of Moldova to become a
part of the EU family as soon as possible, Charles Michel also said, and added
that this is a historic opportunity for Moldova and for its people. In turn, president
Maia Sandu emphasised the importance of Moldova’s EU integration. European
integration is the only path that ensures the survival of Moldova, its becoming
a free and prosperous country. It is the only chance for its citizens to live
in peace at home. We must withstand the hybrid attacks targeting our determination
to be part of the free world, Maia Sandu said.

DEFENCE The Romanian
state secretary for defence policy, planning and international relations,
Simona Cojocaru, is on an official visit to India until March 31, at the
invitation of defence secretary Giridhar Aramane. According to the Romanian
defence ministry, the two parties Tuesday signed an inter-governmental defence
cooperation agreement. The document creates the framework for the development
and consolidation of bilateral relations, through enhanced cooperation. The
Romanian defence ministry also notes that it is for the first time in the
history of the 2 countries’ bilateral relations that a cooperation agreement in
this sector has been signed.

PENSIONS The Senate’s
specialist committees Tuesday issued a positive report on the bill on special
pensions. The amendments tabled by the ruling coalition made up of the Social
Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania were passed, although USR in opposition voted against and
AUR party’s MPs abstained from voting. One of the changes accepted by the
committees was that beneficiaries of multiple special pensions must choose only
one of them within 30 days after the law takes effect. Other provisions in the
bill are that pension benefits will be adjusted to inflation on a yearly basis,
and that special pensions cannot be higher than the salary received while in
office. As of Wednesday the bill will be discussed in plenary session by the
Senate, the first parliamentary chamber to vote on it. (AMP)

28 March 2023
March 6, 2023 UPDATE

DEBATES The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest hosted
a series of debates upon a simple motion against Labour Minister Marius Budăi,
tabled by the USR and the Force of the Right Party. The signatories of the motion
say the minister has failed to meet the deadlines assumed in the ruling
programme on implementing the payment bill and of a new pension law, which may
jeopardize the attraction of the European funds. USR MP Cristian Seidler says
the draft sent by the minister is actually rescuing the special pensions. Budai
has rejected all allegations and has given assurances the draft is in line with
all PNRR criteria and even trims the pension of an employee, which is exceeding
their wages. Finance Minister Adrian Caciu is also expected before the Senate on
Wednesday to explain why Romania’s budget deficit has reached record high
levels and the funding costs are some of the biggest in the EU.

BILLS Two bills on education are to be submitted to
the government and Parliament for endorsement and approval. Although the
deadline for their approval was March the 15, the two bills have sparked off
heated debates involving parents and students associations. The National
Council of Students and the National Federation of Parents are asking for the
cancellation of the high-school entrance exam, which could be staged for 60% of
the approved places, and are criticizing the Education Ministry for not having
considered their proposal. According to representatives of the parents and
students associations, the entrance examination deepens the gap between the
students and would raise the probability of unfair distribution. It would also
encourage the system of private lessons and increase the stress level in students.
According to field minister Ligia Deca, the objective of the two bills is to
increase the quality in education and reduce functional illiteracy.

VISIT On the first day of
his official visit to Japan on Monday Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis held talks
with the president of the House of Councillors Hidehisa Otsuji and the speaker
of the House of Representatives, Hiroyuki Hosoda. Talks focused on the
Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership and the regional security situation. The
Japanese officials underlined that the Strategic Partnership creates new
opportunities for cooperation in the economic sector, trade, research and
innovation. With respect to the security situation, the Japanese officials
emphasised that Japan and Romania share the same vision and approach and
conveyed their appreciation of Romania’s sustained actions and efforts to
support Ukraine, both with the refugees and to facilitate the transit of
cereals. On Tuesday, president Iohannis is to be received by emperor Naruhito.
He will later also meet prime minister Fumio Kishida, together signing a joint
declaration on the establishment of the Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership. On
Wednesday, the Romanian president will meet local officials from Kyoto. On
Thursday and Friday, he will make a state visit to Singapore, the first at this
level in the last 20 years, where he will have talks with president Halimah
Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.

(bill&CM)

6 March 2023
Ban on convicted criminals to hold public offices

No person convicted of any crime can run for local and parliamentary elections, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies decided on Tuesday, as it approved two draft laws in its capacity as a decision-making body. The persons who cannot be elected to the positions of local councilor, county councilor, mayor or president of the county council, senator or deputy, are those persons who, on the date of submitting their candidacy, were definitively sentenced to custodial sentences for crimes committed with intent, unless rehabilitation, post-conviction amnesty or decriminalization intervened.

The first draft law adopted comes with a key amendment to the law submitted by deputy Cătălin Teniță from REPER (set up by the former Save Romania Union – USR leader Dacian Cioloș) which originally provided for a ban on the participation in elections for persons convicted of crimes against minors (rape, pornography, trafficking, serious bodily injury, etc.).

We started from a law initially meant to protect children, given that the number of convictions indicates that in Romania, at least one child out of five is at risk of becoming a victim of sexual abuse up to the age of 18, including rape, pornography, trafficking, serious bodily injury, and so on. The fact that together with my colleagues we extended and adopted this law with reference to all criminals tells me that yes, indeed, Romania is trying to heal itself, says Cătălin Teniță, who submitted the original law together with the opposition Save Romanian Party deputy, Diana Stoica.

The adoption of the law is a victory for the children of Romania, says Diana Stoica, for her part: This project initially started out of the desire to protect children, because we all saw how, last year, a mayor who had sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl for three years was re-elected to a public position. In the future, if this law does not pass, such persons will be able to hold public positions and be at the head of the communities, and, worse, of the country as well.

The MPs were removed from this bill, but they were introduced, on the same day, through another bill, initiated by several National Liberal Party – PNL deputies and senators (in the governing coalition). Thus, persons who, on the date of submitting their candidacy, have received definitive criminal convictions cannot run for parliamentary elections.

Corruption has led Romanians to have extremely low confidence in the state institutions, and it has equally weakened the state and made it poorer, said one of the initiators, the liberal Raluca Turcan: It’s never too late. Corruption impoverishes. Corruption makes young people and worthy people leave this country. Corruption makes honest, righteous people be disappointed by everything that means decision-making in Romania. Today, a big step forward has been taken so that righteous people should access key institutions.

The two bills are to reach President Klaus Iohannis for promulgation. (LS)

12 October 2022
The status of magistrates, adopted by the Romanian deputies

The draft law on the status of magistrates has been adopted by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies with a majority of votes, without major changes compared to the form drafted by the coalition government (PSD – Social Democratic Party, PNL – National Liberal Party, UDMR – Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania). The draft law will next be submitted to the debate of the Senate, which is the decision-making body in this case. After the notifications received from the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), the amendment that allowed the appointment to the position of high-ranking prosecutor also from among judges was removed from the text of the draft law.

The bill still preserves, however, several provisions intensely criticized by the opposition, as well as by professional associations in the field of justice. For example, according to the document adopted by the Chamber of Deputies, judges and prosecutors have the obligation to refrain from defamatory manifestations or expressions in relation to the other powers of the state. The press in Bucharest claims that, in this way, the law silences those magistrates who want to report the actions against the law of the politicians in the Romanian Government and the Parliament, either when they promote aberrant laws or when they engage in acts of corruption. The law keeps the increase from two to three years of the school period at the National Institute of Magistracy and the possibility for the position of vice-president of the court to be filled without a competition.

The document also provides that the application of a disciplinary sanction will attract removal from management positions. From the opposition, Save Romania Union – USR and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR accuse the majority of not waiting for the opinions of the Venice Commission on the draft law and say that it does not respect the meritocracy criteria for occupying certain positions and that it has many unconstitutional articles.

On the other side, the Justice Minister, the Liberal Cătălin Predoiu, explained that the document went through all the legal procedural stages and received all the necessary approvals for adoption, including from the Superior Council of Magistracy – CSM. The status of magistrates is part of a larger package of laws through which Minister Predoiu claims that the Romanian judiciary will be fundamentally reformed. An internal stake, analysts show, would be to improve one’s own image in the eyes of society, because prosecutors and judges have never been in the top of Romanians’ confidence, and their indictments or sentences are frequently attacked by the media.

An external, fundamental stake, the power representatives claim, would be the lifting of the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (MCV), through which Brussels monitors the functioning of the rule of law in Romania ever since its admission to the European Union in 2007. Lifting of the MCV, decision-makers in Bucharest say, would also allow Romania to enter the Schengen free movement area, to which, although it meets all the technical conditions, it has been denied access for more than a decade. However, voices from the country insist that, as long as Romanians, along with Bulgarians and Croats, are forced to wait for hours in the Union’s internal customs points, they will remain with the humiliating condition of second-rank European citizens. (LS)

5 October 2022
Romanians pay record-high energy prices

According to a survey by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Foundation Romania has the highest increase in utility bills in European Union. Utility prices in Romania are presently 124% higher than the reference value in 2015 whereas the European average stays around 110. At the same time the inflation-consumption price ratio stays around 115%, which means the Romanians are shelling out more money to cover all their expenses.

The sad daily reality is confirming the statistics, which unfortunately arent of much help in this case. And the arrival of the cold season has increased the worries of the Romanians about the soaring prices in electricity, gas or in some cases firewood. There is only one alternative: no money, no electricity and household heating.

On the other hand, Parliament debates on the latest government ordinance on capping electricity prices are going on. The ruling Social-Democrats say the

bill must be amended and are asking, among other things, for the capping to be based on this years consumption and not on the one last year, as the document now stipulates to the disadvantage of many Romanians. The co-ruling PNL, wants the capping to be based on the consumption in the past three years. At the Parliament debates the National Authority for Energy Regulation (ANRE) says the most equitable form of capping should be based on a past consumption record as it would be difficult for providers to calculate the right price based on this years consumption.

Energy providers, which are the main beneficiaries of the soaring prices, say that after the governments ordinance on the present capping came into effect on September 1st, they have already been facing a series of liquidity issues due to delayed settlements. According to them, this situation is creating a major risk of financial blockage, and if an energy provider enters insolvency its customers will be taken over by the other providers under certain conditions.

But if the problem could be easily solved in the case of the small providers, the situation is going to be completely different in the case of energy providers with millions of customers.

Besides cold and darkness, the Romanians are also worried about a possible shortage of Romanian food products, as the latest price hikes in energy and fuel are also bearing on the agricultural field. For this reason, farmers have recently called on the government to take quick measures and introduce agriculture among the sectors benefitting from capped electricity prices. Because, they say, protecting agriculture, a vital sector for the populations food security is of strategic importance.

(bill)

27 September 2022
The Programme” Assistance for Romaniaʺ

The huge electricity and gas bills for both household consumers and companies in Romania have in the past months caused significant price hikes in all food and non-food products as well as in services. In statistical-financial terms, the situation has been translated into a higher inflation rate, which hasnt gained momentum yet! In this extremely difficult situation especially for the have-nots in Romania, the ruling PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition has agreed upon a series of measures to support the most vulnerable who account for almost 12 million of the countrys population. The “Assistance for Romania” package amounts to almost 3.5 billion euros out of which 9 billion lei come from EU funds the rest being covered from the state budget. Here is PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu.

Marcel Ciolacu: ʺThis project focuses on combating the price hikes, by offering support to the Romanian farmers and by increasing the processing capability of the food industry. The added value must eventually stay in Romania. The jobs must be kept here in Romania. At the same time, offering support to the Romanian companies was a priority. Through this support scheme, more than half of Romanias population will benefit from a form of protection against the price hikes. Another measure, which comes to the support of employees, both in the private and state sector of the economy, refers to zero taxes for a 200 lei pay rise for those with the minimum wages. In other words, the money goes into the employees pockets and the employer will pay no money to the state budget. ʺ The PNL president and Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, says that people in low income brackets and the students with social scholarships are going to receive vouchers.

Nicolae Ciuca: ʺA billion Euros – 50% out of EU funds, 50% from the state budget – will consist of bimonthly food vouchers of 50 Euros for the families with monthly incomes below 600 lei, families with two children, single-parent families, pensioners with pensions below 15 hundred lei, persons with the lowest income and the disabled. Students, owners of social scholarships, are to get 30 euros for every month they have classes so that they may be able to buy food, stationery and clothing. The meal vouchers value rises by 50%, from 20.17 lei to 30 lei. We have also doubled the money for daily meals in hospitals and in old peoples homes from 11 to 22 lei.

Romania needs a strong state to step in whenever necessary because the economic crisis is expected to deepen in the following months, Kelemen Hunor, head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania says. The measures comprised by the “Assistance for Romania” package are to be implemented in two stages, on May 1st and June 1st.

(bill)

12 April 2022
Controversy surrounding energy projects

Relying on significant resources of oil and fuel, Romania is less dependent on Russian energy imports than other countries, and thus less vulnerable to the whims of the unpredictable Kremlin leadership. Romania has a relatively new nuclear power plant in Cernavodă, with two functioning reactors and another two currently in construction, wind farms, as well as a generous hydrographic network allowing for the building of hydropower plants. The constant fluctuations on global markets however have compelled the political class to come up with new solutions to curb the countrys energy dependence. Parliament on Wednesday adopted a controversial bill allowing for the completion of hydropower plants that many years ago were abandoned in the name of environment protection. They started being built before Romania joined the EU in 2007, when our country pledged to observe the much more rigorous environment standards imposed by Brussels. The final vote was cast in the Chamber of Deputies, where arguments concerning the countrys energy shortage in these times of crisis prevailed over any claims in favor of protecting the environment. The Social-Democrats, the largest parliamentary group who also tabled the bill, claim the new law will allow Romania to capitalize on a significant investment in the abandoned plants. PSD deputy Alfred Simonis:

“In 2000, hydropower plants started being built all across Romania. Our protected natural areas were not mapped out at the time, nor did we have any restrictions from the European Commission. Starting 2003, hundreds of millions of Euro were invested, while later, some smart guys thought to draw the map of protected areas in Romania in their office. We are losing hundreds of millions of Euro, considering we face energy shortages today and we need to boost our purchasing power”.

From the opposition, USR was the only group that opposed the bill, claiming the benefits, once the project is completed, would be minor, whereas the environment will be seriously affected. USR deputy Stelian Ion:

“Its an illusory gain, accounting for merely 0.4% of the countrys total production, but it will destroy a large part of our countrys protected areas. We have alternatives. There are companies willing to invest in wind parks, but the ministries are not doing their job to provide the administrative framework. The damage done to the environment will be irreversible”.

The bill has been submitted to president Klaus Iohannis for ratification. (VP)

24 March 2022
February 20, 2021 UPDATE

BUDGET The government of Romania passed the state budget and social security budget bills for this year, and the fiscal-budgetary strategy for 2021-2023. The budget is based on a 7.16% of GDP deficit target, a 2.4% annual inflation rate and on roughly 680-euro net average salaries. The Liberal PM Florin Cîţu said the budget pushes for the restructuring of state-owned companies this year, and voiced hopes that Parliament will endorse the bills as soon as possible. He also mentioned that the amendments to be tabled by MPs should not exceed the targeted budget deficit and must make clear where the funds would come from. The Supreme Defence Council approved the draft budgets of public institutions in the national defence and security field.

VACCINE The national COVID-19 vaccination programme continues in Romania. According to the Vaccination Coordination Committee, more than 1.3 million doses have been used on close to 800,000 people since the start of the programme on December 27. Most people received the Pfizer vaccine, and some others doses produced by Moderna. As of this week, the AstraZeneca vaccine is also available in Romania. Meanwhile, over 2,700 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported in the country in the past 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group said on Saturday. Of a total of at least 7,000 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalised, some 960 are in intensive care. The total number of cases reported so far in Romania is nearly 777,000, 90% of whom have recovered. The death toll stands at nearly 19,800.

ROMA The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis emphasised on Saturday, in a special message on Roma Emancipation Day, the importance of eliminating prejudice and discrimination, which he said are “much too common in respect of Roma access to education. He mentioned that the emancipation of Roma slaves 165 years ago, had a major role in the evolution of the profile and values of Romanian society in mid-19th Century, paving the way for the country to embrace European modernity. The head of state also said that for the Roma, the hundreds of years of slavery left “deep and hard to heal scars. He explained that the 1856 emancipation was a major challenge for the Romanian society as a whole. The president also called for discouraging and punishing hate speech and all racist, anti-Semitic, chauvinistic behaviours.

PROTESTS Pupils and students protested in Bucharest on Saturday the scrapping of full subsidies for railway transport. They say these austerity measures hit the most vulnerable, and the right-of-centre government sacrifices students mobility for political purposes. Also on Saturday, nearly 80 workers in Lupeni mine, in Romanias coal-rich Jiu Valley region, carried on their week-long protests over delays in wage payments. On Friday, after meetings in Bucharest with PM Florin Cîţu and with Energy and Finance Ministry officials, the miners were promised their salaries will be paid next week. Meanwhile, the protest led to the shut-down of the Mintia thermal power plant, which runs on coal. Some 5,000 households are now left without heating, and 11 schools in Deva will resort to online teaching as of Monday, because children cannot study in unheated classrooms.

PANDEMIC The EU is stepping up procurement of coronavirus vaccines, after large-scale criticism for the slow start of the vaccine rollout. The EC president Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted the agreements signed with vaccine producers to give the EU access to serums tailored to fight the new variants. She added the EU antifraud agency is helping member states to identify counterfeits sold in the black market. According to worldometers updates, over 111 million people have caught the virus and at least 86 million have recovered. The global death toll stands at over 2.4 million.

TENNIS The Romanian Simona Halep goes down to 3rd place in the WTA standings on Monday, and will be replaced by Japans Naomi Osaka, who won the Australian Open on Saturday. Osaka beat the American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the final, to win her 4th Grand Slam. Simona Halep was defeated this year in the Australian Open quarter-finals by the American Serena Williams. Meanwhile, the Romanian womens handball side HC Dunărea Brăila qualified in the quarter-finals of the EHF European League, after on Saturday they won a decisive Group D match against the Russian team Kuban Krasnodar, 36-32. Dunărea will take on another Romanian team, the group winners Minaur Baia Mare. The 2 legs of the EHF European League quarterfinals are scheduled for March 27-28 and April 3-4. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

20 February 2021
February 20, 2021

BUDGET The government of Romania passed the state budget and social security budget bills for this year, and the fiscal-budgetary strategy for 2021-2023. The budget is based on a 7.16% of GDP deficit target, a 2.4% annual inflation rate and on roughly 680-euro net average salaries. The Liberal PM Florin Cîţu said the budget pushes for the restructuring of state-owned companies this year, and voiced hopes that Parliament will endorse the bills as soon as possible. He also mentioned that the amendments to be tabled by MPs should not exceed the targeted budget deficit and must make clear where the funds would come from. The Supreme Defence Council approved the draft budgets of public institutions in the national defence and security field.

VACCINE The national COVID-19 vaccination programme continues in Romania. According to the Vaccination Coordination Committee, nearly 1.3 million doses have been used on close to 770,000 people since the start of the programme on December 27. Most people received the Pfizer vaccine, and some others doses produced by Moderna. As of this week, the AstraZeneca vaccine is also available in Romania. Meanwhile, over 2,700 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported in the country in the past 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group said on Friday. Of a total of 7,000 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalised, some 950 are in intensive care. The total number of cases reported so far in Romania is nearly 775,000, 90% of whom have recovered. The death toll stands at over 19,700.

ROMA The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis emphasised today, in a special message for the Roma Emancipation Day, the importance of eliminating prejudice and discrimination, which he said are “much too common in respect of Roma access to education. He mentioned that the emancipation of Roma slaves 165 years ago, had a major role in the evolution of the profile and values of Romanian society in mid-19th Century, paving the way for the country to embrace European modernity. The head of state also said that for the Roma, the hundreds of years of slavery left “deep and hard to heal scars. He explained that the 1856 emancipation was a major challenge for the Romanian society as a whole. The president also called for discouraging and punishing hate speech and all racist, anti-Semitic, chauvinistic behaviours.

PROTESTS Pupils and students are protesting in Bucharest today the scrapping of full subsidies for railway transport. They will be picketing the head offices of the Liberal Party and the USR-PLUS Alliance in power, and the government headquarters. The organisers say these austerity measures hit the most vulnerable youth, and the government sacrifices students mobility access for political purposes. They also oppose possible compromise attempts coming from politicians that seek to soften the students reactions to this measure.

CONFERENCE “America is back, the US president Joe Biden said repeatedly attending his first international event. On Friday he took part in the Munich Security Conference, held online. Joe Biden explained that NATO is the foundation of trans-Atlantic security, that the US is fully committed to the Alliance, and he welcomed Europes growing investment in the military capabilities that enable shared defence. Joe Biden also warned that competition with China is going to be tough, but voiced confidence that a united Alliance can win this race. As regards Russia, he said Moscow weaponised corruption and tried to undermine Europe by targeting individual states. The German chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe and the US need a shared agenda on China and Russia, adding that the latter is the cause of hybrid conflicts. She also noted that there was scarcely any progress in restoring Ukraines sovereignty after Crimea was illegally annexed. On the other hand, the French president Emmanuel Macron only mentioned a need for dialogue with Russia.

PANDEMIC The EU is stepping up procurement of coronavirus vaccines, after large-scale criticism for the slow start of the vaccine rollout. The EC president Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted the agreements signed with vaccine producers to give the EU access to serums tailored to fight the new variants. She added the EU antifraud agency is helping member states to identify counterfeits sold in the black market. According to worldometers updates, over 111 million people have caught the virus and at least 86 million have recovered. The global death toll stands at over 2.4 million. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

20 February 2021
February 19, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 Romania reported 2,712 new SARS-CoV-2 cases in the last 24 hours, and 79 COVID-19 related deaths. Nearly 950 patients are in intensive care. The immunisation programme continues, at a rate of 40,000 vaccine doses daily. According to the National Vaccination Coordination Committee, the total number of doses used stands at roughly 1.3 million, with over 750,000 people immunised since the start of the campaign on 27th December.

AID The Republic of Moldova Friday received humanitarian aid from Romania, consisting in medical equipment and personal protection equipment to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Moldovan Presidency, the donation is worth around 2.3 million euro. The official reception ceremony was attended by Moldovas president Maia Sandu, interim PM Aureliu Ciocoi, the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu and other officials. The EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Peter Michalko, emphasised that Bucharests help is vital.

BUDGET The Supreme Defence Council convening in Bucharest today in a meeting chaired by president Klaus Iohannis approved the draft 2021 budgets for national security institutions. In order to pass the state budget, the government needed a decision from the Supreme Defence Council with respect to the budget of relevant institutions. Also on Friday the Cabinet held a meeting to approve the state budget and social security budget bills for this year. On Thursday the cabinet had passed an emergency order scrapping a planned pension increase and the holiday vouchers for this year, and granting students a 50% public transport subsidy instead of 100% as it was before. The Liberal PM Florin Cîţu said the budget deficit target remains 7.16%, and that special attention will be paid to investments.

HEATING Mintia thermal power plant, part of the Hunedoara Power Compound in western Romania, was shut down over a coal shortage, which means that around 4,500 flats in Deva as well as public institutions in that town no longer receive heating. This comes amid protests at the coal mines in the Jiu Valley area, where workers are unhappy with delays in salary payments. It is for the 4th time in 6 months that the thermal power plant is not operational for lack of fuel. The energy minister Virgil Popescu said there are short-term solutions for the problems in Hunedoara, but that a long-term plan is also necessary.

SENTENCE The businessman Ioan Niculae Friday returned from Italy to Romania and turned himself in, after receiving a final 5-year prison sentence from the Bucharest Court of Appeals, for influence peddling and inciting money laundering and tax evasion. According to prosecutors, in 2008 and 2009, his company declared fictitious financial operations to dodge taxes. The state incurred losses of over 2.2 million euro. Niculae already served another prison sentence in a corruption-related case in 2015.

SKI The Japanese athlete Ryoyu Kobayashi Friday won the Ski Jumping World Cup leg held in Râşnov (central Romania), after the Norwegian Halvor Egner Granerud, the original winner, was disqualified. Kobayashi won his second competition this season and the 18th in his career, with jumps of 94 m and 98.5 m. Next came Kamil Stoch, of Poland, winner of this years Four Hills Tournament, followed by Karl Geiger (Germany). Granerud tops the overall World Cup standings after 22 legs. Another Japanese athlete, Sara Takanashi, won the womens competition in Râşnov, also held on Friday. A mixed team event is scheduled on Saturday. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

19 February 2021
January 4, 2021 UPDATE

TALKS The government of Romania will hold talks this week on the 2021 state budget. According to Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu, the budget is going to be based on a 7% deficit and will be submitted for Parliament approval by the end of the month. According to the Prime Minister, the 7% target is proof of the firm commitment to fiscal consolidation without hindering the economy. The budget will allow for an extension to June 30th of economic measures triggered by the pandemic, including compensations to employees during the suspension of employment and financial support for employers. A state aid scheme for the hospitality industry and travel agencies, totalling 500 million euros and financed from EU funds, will also be in place. The government might also discuss this week a bill raising the national minimum wage, while all wages in state-owned companies are to be frozen at the level of December 2020.

COVID-19 – In the past 24 hours Romania has reported over 3,100 fresh cases of Covid-19 infections, out of 10,000 tests carried out nationwide, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Monday. Roughly 644,000 people have been infected with the virus since the first case was reported in Romania in February last year. Out of these, 577,000 have recovered. Another 78 people died to the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since the onset of the pandemic to 16,057. 1,100 are in intensive care and the authorities are bracing up for a new wave of infections after the winter holidays. According to Raed Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, although the immunization campaign in Romania has commenced, prevention measures, like face covering, hand washing and social distancing remain mandatory. The vaccination campaign has been extended in Romania, which is to activate over 90% of the 376 centres for healthcare personnel and care centres. Nearly 13,500 medical workers were immunized in the first week since the vaccine was brought to Romania, with authorities targeting a daily 20,000 vaccination rate in the forthcoming period. The coordinator of the vaccination programme, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, says the second stage of the programme, targeting patients in care centres, may be initiated in mid-January.

FLIGHTS The National Committee for Emergency Situations in Romania has updated their list of countries and areas in the COVID-19 red zone and decided to resume flights to and from the UK. People coming to Romania from this country are to isolate themselves for 10 days and must have taken a Covid-19 test at least 48 hours before their arrival. Flights to the UK were suspended on December 20th after a fresh, more contagious virus strain had been discovered in Britain. Italy has been included on the list of countries with a higher risk of transmission.

AUTOMOTIVE The number of new car registrations went up 16% in Romania in December 2020 compared to December 2019, to 15,974 units, according to the Romanian Association of Automotive Makers (ACAROM). However, for the entire year 2020 the number dropped by 22%. As regards used vehicles registered in Romania for the first time, the number dropped by 5% in December 2020 compared to 2019, to 34,174 units. The best selling new cars in Romania in 2020 are Dacia, followed by Skoda, Renault, Volkswagen and Ford.

ENERGY The European Commission Monday greenlighted the acquisition by the Europe Division of MIRA investment fund (Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets) of electricity production and supply assets held by the Czech group CEZ. In October 2020, CEZ Group announced the sale of its assets in Romania to MIRA, the worlds largest infrastructure management company. The transaction involved 7 companies, including electricity distribution and supply networks and Europes largest onshore wind farm, in Fântânele – Cogealac (south-eastern Romania).

SAVINGS Four out of ten Romanians managed to save during the pandemic, as compared to two-thirds before. A survey conducted by the Romanian Research and Strategy Institute (IRES), and commissioned by the Romanian Banks Association, also shows that two-thirds of the household and corporate savings are in the local currency, mostly in short-term deposits. According to the survey, if they had money to spare, 28% of Romanians would invest in their or their familys education, 23% would keep the money in banks, 16% would start up a company and 10% would buy hard currency. The poll was conducted in December 2020.

AIR FORCES MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft and around 90 US Air Force personnel are deployed for the next few months to ‘Gen. Emanoil Ionescu’ 71st Air Base in Câmpia Turzii, north-western Romania. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, the Romanian Air Forces will provide technical, logistic and operational support to the MQ-9 Reapers intelligence, surveillance and recon missions as part of NATO operations. The US-Romanian cooperation is designed to strengthen the defence capacity and enhance security in the region. (tr. A. M. Popescu)

4 January 2021
Constitutional Court slams bill taxing special pensions

As the name suggests, Romanias special pensions are set under special laws. They were originally granted to magistrates and force structures. Later on, lawmakers decided that there are more eligible recipients, including MPs themselves, diplomats and aviation staff.

Unlike regular pension benefits, special pensions are not—or not only—based on lifetime contributions to pension funds. They are funded both from the social security budget, and from the state budget.

This, as well as their often inflated amounts, in the thousands of euros, make special pensions, or rather their beneficiaries, the target of criticism from regular citizens, whose pensions are based on active lifetime contributions and average at around 300 euros per month.

Politicians listened to the people and this summer drafted a bill levying 85% taxes on the special pensions in excess of 1,400 euros, including those received by magistrates, the military and the police.

The bill did not eliminate the concept of special pensions, but rather reduced the benefits paid as such. But the Constitutional Court dismissed the law, ruling that it was unconstitutional as a whole.

The bill adopted by Parliament in June had been challenged by the Ombudsman and the by the countrys highest court, according to which the draft legislation came against the principle of fiscal equity. The High Court and the Ombudsman claimed the special pensions set by special laws are subject to double taxation, which comes against the principle of non-discrimination and fair tax burdens, while also breaching the independence of magistrates and the principle of legislative predictability.

The Constitutional Court, which had deferred a ruling on the case several times, is yet to make public its reasons for dismissing the bill.

A number of Constitutional Court rulings of late have fueled speculations that, in its current configuration, the Court is politically biased, ruling in favour of the Left. With the special pensions bill, the Court has an additional moral dilemma, noticed by everyone: constitutional judges are themselves receiving such pension benefits.

And the saga of this law includes another relevant episode: in the last plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies, before the elections, all MPs from the Save Romania Union resigned in order to not be eligible for special pensions. So did 6 Social Democrats, including the party president Marcel Ciolacu. While the decision of Save Romania Union is credible, as the party had constantly lobbied against special pensions, the Social Democrats are the champions of legislation that favours MPs, giving their opponents reason to claim the move was populist and driven by electoral goals. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

16 December 2020
July 9, 2020 UPDATE

COVID-19
On Thursday Romania
registered the highest number of daily Covid infections since the beginning of
the pandemic, 614, bringing the total number of infections up to 30,800. 17 new
Covid-associated fatalities have been reported, which brings the death toll up
to 1834. The number of patients in intensive care has increased to 240 coming
closer to the number registered during the emergency situation. Given this
situation, experts and authorities have increased their messages to population
as the increased number of infections is the result of lack of compliance with
the prevention norms. President Iohannis has made an appeal for cooperation
between all the state’s fundamental institutions so that they may properly deal
with the situation. According to the president, there is no time now for
political disputes or vanities and he pleaded for unity and for Parliament’s immediate
endorsement of the legal framework to regulate quarantine and isolation.
Iohannis has announced that he has notified Parliament on the actions and
initiatives he had during the emergency situation instated for two months in
Romania as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March. A month later
Romania shifted to the state of alert. Over 51 hundred Romanians have been
confirmed infected outside the country and 122 have died.

TRANSPORT The
Romanian authorities believe that a series of provisions of the revised norms
in the Mobility package 1 passed by the European Parliament on Wednesday are discriminatory
against the Romanian transporters. According to the Foreign Ministry and the
Ministry of Transports in Bucharest, the two institutions have repeatedly signaled during talks
at EU level the fact that some provisions have negative implications and will
bear on the functioning of the local market, road transportation all throughout
the union as well as on the process of fighting climate change. Under these
provisions trucks must return to their country of origin every eight
months, even if they are empty. Romania and the countries at the EU borders
have pointed out that the revised EU norms are discriminatory against transport
companies in these countries as compared to their counterparts in central and Western
Europe. According to the EU transport Commissioner Adina Valean, the Romanian
authorities have a right to notify the European Court of Justice on the
provisions affecting the European Climate Pact and competition on the single
market. Proposed by the European Commission in May 2017 this aforementioned revised
provisions have sparked off divergences between the countries in the West,
including Germany and France and those in the east including Romania, Bulgaria,
Hungary and Poland.

BILL A bill on self-isolation and quarantine
drafted by the Government is on the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies as of Thursday.
The Government passed the bill on Monday, after the Constitutional Court
dismissed previous bills on compulsory isolation and quarantine as
unconstitutional, on grounds that they are lacking in clarity and
predictability, and do not guarantee that certain fundamental rights and
freedoms are complied with. The Constitutional Court also found that
introducing quarantine under a government order is a violation of fundamental
rights. The Social Democrats in opposition announced they would substantially
alter the text of the bill, because it comes against citizen rights and
freedoms. On the other hand, the Government accuses the Social Democratic Party
of irresponsibility over postponing debates on this bill, which according to
the Cabinet enhances the efficiency of COVID-19 containment measures while at
the same time complying with the Constitutional Court ruling. The Senate will
cast the decisive vote on this bill early next week.

EU The German Chancellor Angela Merkel
presented the European Parliament with the programme of the rotating presidency
of the Council of the EU, which Berlin will be holding for the next 6 months.
The German official once again called for solidarity and unity among member
states, so that they may emerge stronger from the coronavirus crisis. Merkel
described this health crisis as the biggest challenge for the EU and explained
that the future multi-annual budget as well as the post COVID-19 recovery fund
must not only help in the short run, but also lead to a long-term reform of the
Union. In turn, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
warned politicians and institutions not to disregard the multi-annual budget in
favour of the economic recovery instrument, dubbed Next Generation EU. Member
states must overcome divergences over a number of issues, such as the funds
earmarked for the recovery plan, its duration, the loan-to-grant ratio or the
criteria for fund allotment to member countries.

9 July 2020
July 9, 2020

COVID-19 Romania ranks 1st in the EU by number of new coronavirus cases confirmed in 24 hours, with 555, which is more than during the state of emergency. The death toll is over 1,800. The number of patients in intensive care is also close to the highest number reported during the state of emergency. The number of cases has grown lately due to failure to comply with containment rules, an attitude reinforced by fake news and by peoples distrust of the authorities, says dr. Virgil Musta, head of the COVID ward at the Victor Babeş Hospital in Timişoara (west). He explained that unless measures are taken immediately, the virus may spread at alarming rates and the healthcare system might become unable to handle the situation. The health minister Nelu Tătaru said he is not considering a new state of emergency at this point, but a decision in this respect will be based on further assessments. Tǎtaru also mentioned that new relaxation measures are also out of the question until the number of new cases is steady.

BILL A bill on self-isolation and quarantine drafted by the Government is on the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies as of today. The Government passed the bill on Monday, after the Constitutional Court dismissed previous bills on compulsory isolation and quarantine as unconstitutional, on grounds that they are lacking in clarity and predictability, and do not guarantee that certain fundamental rights and freedoms are complied with. The Constitutional Court also found that introducing quarantine under a government order is a violation of fundamental rights. The Social Democrats in opposition announced they would substantially alter the text of the bill, because it comes against citizen rights and freedoms. On the other hand, the Government accuses the Social Democratic Party of irresponsibility over postponing debates on this bill, which according to the Cabinet enhances the efficiency of COVID-19 containment measures while at the same time complying with the Constitutional Court ruling. The Senate will cast the decisive vote on this bill early next week.

EU The German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented the European Parliament with the programme of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which Berlin will be holding for the next 6 months. The German official once again called for solidarity and unity among member states, so that they may emerge stronger from the coronavirus crisis. Merkel described this health crisis as the biggest challenge for the EU and explained that the future multi-annual budget as well as the post COVID-19 recovery fund must not only help in the short run, but also lead to a long-term reform of the Union. In turn, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen warned politicians and institutions not to disregard the multi-annual budget in favour of the economic recovery instrument, dubbed “Next Generation EU. Member states must overcome divergences over a number of issues, such as the funds earmarked for the recovery plan, its duration, the loan-to-grant ratio or the criteria for fund allotment to member countries.

DEFENCE The Romanian Army Chief of Staff, lieutenant-general Daniel Petrescu, takes part in a meeting of the EU Military Committee in Brussels. According to the Defence Ministry, the agenda includes topics like the EU-NATO cooperation, assessments of security threats, and the prospects of military training missions in the Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia. Participants will also discuss the security issues related to migration flows and the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic for command and control structures.

PANDEMIC The total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide is over 12.1 million, with the death toll reaching 552,000, according to worldometers.info. One-quarter of the total number of cases were confirmed in the US, while Brazil, the second hardest hit country, has more than 1.7 million infection cases. The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo says progress has been made in the talks with the EU on reopening borders to travellers from the US, France Presse reports. EU countries agreed to reopen EU and Schengen borders as of July 1 to passengers from 15 countries, in a list that includes China, under certain conditions, but not the USA. The list, based on epidemiologic criteria, was approved by EU member states following difficult negotiations, at the start of the summer tourist season. The US had in turn introduced travel restrictions for EU citizens during the pandemic. The US president Donald Trump said at that time that the large number of infections in the US was owing to the travellers coming from Europe, because, he claimed, the EU failed to ban travel to and from China in due time.

FOOTBALL FCSB is the first team to qualify into the Romanian Cup final, after defeating another Bucharest-based club, Dinamo, 3-0 and 1-0 respectively. The other semi-final, due tonight, is pitting CSM Poli Iasi against Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe. In the first leg, Sepsi won 5-1 on home turf. The games are played without public. the final is scheduled on July 22 in Ploiesti. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

9 July 2020
July 7, 2020 UPDATE

Covid-19 — Another 31 people have died in Romania from coronavirus infection, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 1,799. 397 new cases of contamination were reported also on Tuesday which brings the total number of cases to 29.600. 5,095 Romanians from abroad have tested positive for the new coronavirus and 122 people have died. The National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of green countries, whose citizens will not be isolated or quarantined upon entering Romania. As of Tuesday flights have been resumed to and from 32 European states and 12 countries from other continents. These countries are: Bulgaria, Monaco, Croatia, the UK, The Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Island, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Lithuania, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Andorra, the Faeroes Islands and Vatican. The list of third countries includes Canada, Morocco, Algeria, Australia, Rwanda, Uruguay, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, New Zealand, Tunisia and Thailand. The list has been drafted according to the number of new cases of contamination reported in the past 14 days per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Economy — Romania’s economy will register a 6% decrease in 2020, according to estimates made public on Tuesday by the EC. The estimates are similar to those made in May. For next year, the EC estimates a growth rate of Romania’s GDP of 4% as against the 4.2% forecast made in May. The EC warns that growth prospects are still susceptible to certain risks. In another move, the EC estimates show an inflation rate of 2.5% in 2020 and of 2.8% in 2021. As regards the EU economy, the EC has warned that it is going to face deep recession following the coronavirus pandemic, despite the rapid and comprehensive response given by the EU states.

Motion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday debated a simple motion of no confidence filed by the opposition Social Democratic Party against the Liberal minister of development Ion Stefan, whom they accused of incompetence and forgery. The Social Democrats also mentioned integrity issues related to minister Stefans financial statements and his controversial move of cutting down on the anticorruption personnel and resources within the ministry. Minister Ion Stefan replied that the motion only included calumnies and verbal attacks. The vote on the motion is scheduled for next week.

Senate – The Romanian Senate on Tuesday voted a bill stipulating that local elections will be held on September 27. The draft law also mentions that the polling stations will be located within lightweight constructions and living containers. The bill will be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, a decision-making body. Initially scheduled for June, the local elections have been postponed due to the pandemic. The mandates of the mayors, county council presidents and of the local and county councilors have consequently been extended by 6 months.

Football – The Bucharest-based football teams FCSB and Dinamo will play, on Wednesday evening, the decisive match of the Romanian Football Cup’s semifinals. In the first match, played on Dinamo’s turf, FCSB won 3-0. The other semifinal will be played on Thursday pitting CSM Poli Iasi against Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe. In the first match Sepsi defeated Poli Iasi 5-1. The final of Romania’s Cup will be played on July 22, in Ploiesti, in the south.

Cybercrime — The Italian and Romanian police have arrested 12 alleged cyber criminals accused of financial fraud and money laundering. The damage stands at more than 20 million dollars. Eurojust, the EU Agency dealing with judicial cooperation in criminal matters among agencies of the member states, says that following searches, one of the most important organized crime groups from Italy was dismantled. The group was selling inexistent goods and services, including fictitious properties, and it was cloning known websites to make the victims transfer the money. (tr. L. Simion)

7 July 2020