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  • Budget deficit reduction plan

    Budget deficit reduction plan

    By October 15, Romania should present the European Commission with a plan to reduce budget deficit, by October 15.

     

    Rating agencies, economists and analysts alike are signaling the excessive budget deficit, which could reach 8% of Romania’s GDP this year. European Union member states have to submit a deficit reduction plan to the Commission, by October 15 . Romania is among the countries that have not done so yet, but the Social-Liberal Government in Bucharest has promised to observe the deadline and present the 7-year plan to bring the deficit back within the limits accepted by the Union. The Romanian Minister of European Investments and Projects, Adrian Câciu: “This 7-year plan comes with a series of reforms which should not surprise anyone. They are included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It is just an active calendar for those reforms to be conducted. From what I know and from what will happen – I hope it will happen, because I think we are a coalition of responsible people – by October 15 this plan will be submitted to the Coalition, approved and sent to the Commission. It is, after all, a general plan. It is the first assessment that we are sending, after which there will obviously be technical negotiations with the Commission, which may last until April 2025, when the Commission makes the last adjustment in the case of all member states. Romania is not the only country that is in an Excessive Deficit Procedure.”

     

    The most important fiscal-budgetary consolidation measures are those of reducing expenditure and, at the same time, further improving  collection to the state budget, following digitization,  Minister Câciu said. According to him, the reduction of unnecessary expenses in the area of ​​large public services must be continued, where the institutions need reform and quality increase. On the other hand, the digitization of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF), must bring not only 0.5% of the GDP in recovered revenues , but  2% or 3% next year, Adrian Câciu said. Romania, the Minister explained, needs a 7-year deficit reduction plan, agreed on with the European Commission, given that it has very high investment-related expenses, which, in his opinion, nobody wants to postpone or cancel.

     

    The Bucharest Government has recently carried out the first budget revision this year, a positive one. It was based on a budget deficit of 6.9% of the GDP and a revised economic growth, from 3.4% previously estimated, to 2.8%. The Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, said on that occasion that additional funds had been allocated to the large investment projects, a leitmotif in the authorities’ speech. Boloş too, supported by his boss, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, gave assurances that the deficit was sustainable.

  • October 3, 2024

    October 3, 2024

     

    DEFICIT The Romanian minister for investments and European projects, Adrian Câciu, said a 7-year plan to reduce the budget deficit would be presented by the October 15 deadline set by the EC. According to Câciu, the plan is accompanied by reforms included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The measures mainly consist in cutting unnecessary expenditure by public institutions and improved collection of government revenues.

     

    EUROPEAN COMMISSION The commissioners nominated by member states and by the EC president Ursula von der Leyen will be interviewed by the European Parliament’s specialized standing committees next month. According to France Presse, the new College of Commissioners might therefore take office in early December. Romania’s representative Roxana Mînzatu was nominated for executive vice-president for skills, education and culture, quality jobs and social rights.

     

    YOUTH European youth born in 2006, including in Romania, may enroll in the 2024 DiscoverEU programme, which provides free travel across the Union. A dedicated European Commission webpage is available for young people to enroll in order to win one of the 35,000 free travel permits and discount accommodation and meal cards. Each permit allows for one trip between March 2025 and May 2026. Winners may choose certain destinations in Europe, including ones on the DiscoverEU cultural route that connects EU capital cities, UNESCO sites and European heritage sites. Applications may be submitted until October 16. More than 300,000 youth have benefitted from this programme since its launch in 2018.

     

    WB The country partnership framework between the World Bank and Romania for 2025-2029 was launched in Bucharest. PM Marcel Ciolacu says that in the next 3 years the estimated funding for Romania from the WB group will be over USD 6 bln, in favourable financial terms. The money is intended to help bridge the gap between the more developed and integrated urban communities and the poorer and more isolated rural environment. A USD 500 mln loan agreement has also been signed, for the funding of disaster risk management policies.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions, FCSB, play tonight away from home against PAOK Thessaloniki in the Europa League group stage. In the first round, the Greek champions coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu were defeated by Galatasaray Istanbul, 3-1 in Turkey, while FCSB won against RFS (Latvia) 4-1 in Bucharest. (AMP)

  • September 24, 2024

    September 24, 2024

     

    BUDGET The government of Romania approved the adjustment of the state budget, social security budget and unemployment insurance budget, taking into account the macroeconomic forecasts made by the National Forecast Commission. The indices on which the adjustment is based include a revised 2.8% economic growth rate, an updated GDP of nearly EUR 353 bln and a 6.9% budget deficit. The adjustment focuses on 4 major areas: supporting investments, education, healthcare and social programmes for citizens.

     

    UN The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is taking part on Tuesday and Wednesday in the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, held in New York. The central theme of the current session is ‘Unity in diversity for the progress of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for everyone everywhere.’ The president’s participation in the UNGA this year is, according to the presidency, an opportunity to highlight Romania’s contribution to the global effort to step up progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Mr. Iohannis will give an address on Wednesday in the plenary meeting, when he will plead for maintaining multi-lateral dialogue, especially within the UN, as a key element of regional and global security. The Romanian official will also underscore Romania’s efforts and contribution at all levels to solving current global issues, from security crises such as the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, to major challenges for mankind, including climate change, the deterioration of human rights and cyber threats. Mr. Iohannis will also plead for a reformed UN system, able to meet all current and future challenges in an efficient and transparent manner.

     

    AMBASSADOR Romania is, along the other EU member states, among the main guardians and contributors in the field of human rights, the Romanian Ambassador to the UN, Cornel Feruţă, said in an interview to AGERPRES. He emphasised that Romania has a well-defined profile in terms of promoting international law, of a rule-based international order and the rule of law. According to the Romanian diplomat, the country has credibility in the international community thanks to its openness and willingness to support partners in various parts of the world, especially in Africa, Asia – Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, in fulfilling goals related to sustainable development and to strengthening public sector capabilities. Romania also intends to remain involved in defining global policies to fight climate change. The Romanian diplomat also said the dynamics in the diplomatic community in New York reflects the developments at global level, specifically the war of aggression waged by Russia for over 2.5 years against Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 tragedy.

     

    EDUCATION The Romanian education minister, Ligia Deca, is taking part today in a conference themed ‘A bright future beyond borders: Investing in early childhood education and care’, organised by UNICEF Moldova, Romania and the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia jointly with the LEGO Foundation. According to the education ministry, the conference is aimed at developing a shared view and deep understanding of the importance of high-quality early childhood education and care systems, including essential elements such as learning through play, consolidating partnerships and facilitating know-how exchanges in order to step up the development of high-quality early childhood education and care systems in Moldova and Romania. Success stories will also be presented, concerning the inclusion and integration of Ukrainian refugee children in Moldova and Romania.

     

    FLOODS The Danube flow rate upon entering Romanian territory will be 8,000 cubic meters per second at most, on September 29-30, the Romanian Waters Administration announced. Based on current information, the risk of major problems caused by the propagation of floods to the Romanian segment of the river is low, explained the institution’s spokesperson, Ana-Maria Agiu. In turn, the chairman of the Board of Hidroelectrica, Karoly Borbely, promised that the high level of the Danube waters entering the country can be handled safely. (AMP)

  • September 23, 2024 UPDATE

    September 23, 2024 UPDATE

    BUDGET The government in Bucharest on Monday endorsed the first budget adjustment this year. The new positive adjustment will be bringing the GDP deficit up to 6.9%, even though the Finance Ministry also forecasts income raises. The money will be mainly used for co-funding investment projects and also for pay rises approved amid a series of protests this year. According to Prime Minister Ciolacu, Europe’s developed countries, Germany and France, supported investment concurrently with the rising budget deficit. Ciolacu described this raise as sustainable, given that 8.5 lei out of 10 will be used for funding motorways, hospitals, schools, gas and water distribution networks and other objectives of local interest. Ciolacu went on to say that the invested sums would be returned eightfold to the budget as it happened in the case of the motorways built.

     

    FUNDS Romania is to receive 21.6 million Euros from the European Commission for the farmers who incurred losses from the bad weather this summer. The decision was made at the AgriFish Council, which takes place in Brussels and where Romania is being represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Florin Barbu. The European Executive has proposed the allotment of 120 million Euros out of its agriculture reserve in order to directly support farmers from Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia and Italy. According to Barbu, it’s for the first time when farmers get compensations in the same year with the calamities. Data released by the Agriculture Ministry in Bucharest says that over 16 thousand farmers have applied for investigations and the assessment of their destroyed crops. Minister Barbu says that roughly 2 million hectares of corn and sunflower crops have been affected by the extreme weather in Romania plus 100 thousand hectares of autumn crops like wheat and rape.

     

    UN President Klaus Iohannis will be heading Romania’s delegation at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly taking place in New York on the 24th and 25th September. The main theme is “Unity in diversity, for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for everyone everywhere”. According to a statement from the Romanian president’s office, Klaus Iohannis will give an address on Wednesday, in which he will call for maintaining multilateral dialogue, especially in a UN format, as an essential element of regional and global security. He is also expected to highlight his country’s efforts and contribution, at all levels, to finding solutions to current global challenges, from security crises like the war in Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East, to major challenges facing the world, including the climate emergency and cyber threats.

     

    HANDBALL The Romanian women’s handball vice-champions CS Rapid Bucharest lost 37-29 to the German side HB Ludwigsburg at home on Sunday evening, in a Champions League Group B match. Rapid will next play Team Esbjerg away on 6th October. The Romanian side are in 4th place in their group, with 3 points in 3 matches. Previously, the Romanian champions CSM Bucharest defeated the Croatian side RK Podravka Vegeta Koprivnica 29-28 away, while CS Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud lost at home to the Slovenian side Krim Mercator Ljubljana 30-35. CSM have four points in three matches played, and Gloria two points. The latter will play their next match away against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria on 5th October, while CSM will face the Danish side Nykobing Falster Handbold at home on 6th October.

     

    ELECTIONS The Romanian foreign ministry has published a guide for postal voting ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections this year. The voter registration deadline for Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad is 10th October for the presidential elections and 17th October for the parliamentary elections. Registration is made by filling in an online form available at votstrăinătate.ro, a website managed by the Permanent Electoral Authority.

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  • September 20, 2024 UPDATE

    September 20, 2024 UPDATE

     

    BUDGET Early next week the government of Romania is scheduled to discuss a proposed budget adjustment presented by the finance ministry, with significantly increased expenditure. This is the first state budget adjustment this year, and public healthcare, education and transportation are expected to receive additional funding. Under the draft order posted on the finance ministry website, most of the money will go to transport (about EUR 1.1 billion), with healthcare, internal affairs and investments earmarked an extra EUR 600 mln each. The social security fund is also to be increased to ensure money for the pensions raised as of September 1. There are also authorising entities that will have smaller budgets: the general secretariat of the government, the ministry of the economy, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Special Telecommunications Service. According to the draft, the budget deficit will deepen to almost 7%, 2% up compared to early-year forecasts, while the economic growth rate is now predicted to reach 2.8% as opposed to 3.4% previously forecast.

     

    INTERIOR MINISTRY The Romanian interior minister, Cătălin Predoiu, had a telephone discussion with his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper. The talks highlighted the very good cooperation between the two parties, with activities conducted both under the Romanian-British Strategic Partnership, and for the development of operative cooperation between equivalent structures. The dynamics of intelligence, data and know-how exchange has seen an upward trend in recent years. The 2 officials focused on topics of interest in the field of illegal migration and cross-border crime, and have agreed to strengthen future cooperation in the field of internal affairs.

     

    POLLS The former Deputy General Secretary of NATO, Mircea Geoană, has a minimal lead over the left-wing Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the first round of the presidential elections that will take place this autumn in Romania, according to an opinion poll conducted by the INSCOP research institute. Mircea Geoana (66), a former president of the Social Democratic Party, who lost the presidential elections in 2009 and who is now running as an independent, is predicted to get 21.4% of the votes in the first round, and the current Social Democratic leader, Marcel Ciolacu (56), 20.3%. Elena Lasconi, leader of the right of centre Save Romania Union (USR), in opposition, ranks third, with 14.2% of the votes, while the Liberal leader Nicolae Ciucă comes in sixth place, below two ultra-nationalist candidates. Eleven candidates have so far announced their plans to run for president and replace Klaus Iohannis, who ends his second and last term in office in December. Although the president’s role is largely ceremonial, his prerogatives include appointing the prime minister after elections, appointing judges and prosecutors, and sending draft legislation back to parliament for reconsideration. The presidential elections will take place in two rounds, on November 24 and December 8, respectively, with parliamentary elections in between. 1,102 people participated in the September survey, which has a margin of error of 3%.

     

    INVESTIGATION The criminal case concerning the December 1989 anti-communist revolution in Romania, in which the defendants include the former president Ion Iliescu and the former senior deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu, has been sent back to the prosecutor’s office because of irregularities on the part of the military prosecutors on the case. The decision was made by the supreme court on Friday, and it is final. The High Court of Cassation and Justice argued that the indictment was unable to define the object and the limits of the trial. In mid-June, a separate supreme court panel ruled that irregularities existed in the indictment and gave the Military Prosecutor’s Office time to address them, but prosecutors have failed to comply.

     

    AID The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a EUR 10 billion aid package from the EU Cohesion Fund for the Central European countries, including Romania, affected by floods. ‘This is an emergency response,’ she stated after a meeting with the heads of government from Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia. “For me it was (…) heartbreaking to see the destruction and devastation” caused by storm Boris, said the EC chief. Since last week, strong winds, exceptionally heavy rainfall and flooding have killed at least 24 people in the region: seven each in Romania and Poland, and five each in Austria and the Czech Republic.

     

    NOKIAN TYRES Partnership with the private sector is the sure way for Romania’s development, the Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday, during a working visit to the Nokian Tyres factory in Oradea (west), which was inaugurated on Thursday. Relocated from Russia to Romania, the factory is a success story that brings together a world-class investor, local authorities and the Government of Romania, which strongly supported such an investment, he added. Nokian Tyres is the world’s first tyre factory with zero carbon dioxide emissions. As of 2025, its 550 employees will produce 6 million car tyres annually, including for large SUVs. The factory uses green energy only, and all the technological steam is obtained without fossil fuels. The Finnish investment in Oradea, put at EUR 650 million, to which the Government contributed with a state aid of EUR 100 million, is one of the most valuable made in Romania in recent years.

     

    ELECTION The foreign ministry Friday posted the Guidelines for postal voting for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections. The deadline for the Romanian nationals living abroad to register as voters by mail is October 10 for the presidential election and October 17 for the general election. All the necessary information has been made public on the foreign ministry’s home page, at www.mae.ro.

  • The Week in Review

    The Week in Review

    Amnesty for debtors

     

    The government of Romania Wednesday passed a draft emergency order introducing a tax amnesty for companies and individuals. The document provides for bonuses for those who pay their taxes on time, and for those who agree to pay their back taxes. At the end of August, legal entities and private taxpayers had a total of over EUR 14 billion in debts to the state budget. The government invites taxpayers to cover these amounts by November 25, in exchange for having their interests and penalties written off. On the other hand, the government offers a 3% deduction for the taxpayers who do not fall behind on their taxes. The bill, drafted by the finance ministry, also comprises austerity measures for the public sector, which involve ceilings on the procurement of goods and services.

     

    Donation for Ukraine

     

    The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Thursday signed into law the bill on the donation of a Patriot surface-to-air missile system purchased from the USA to third countries. The legislation, previously endorsed in Parliament, approves a donation agreed on with the American partner to Russia-invaded Ukraine. Also, under the law, “the government of Romania is authorised to take the required measures to rebuild the ground-based air defence capability” by assigning contracts to the US government for the procurement of another Patriot system.

     

    Support for Israel

     

    Romania firmly condemns the terror attacks against Israel and calls on all the parties involved to help restore security and to contribute to a ceasefire agreement. This was the message conveyed on Thursday in Jerusalem by the PM Marcel Ciolacu, at a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, Ciolacu voiced concern with respect to the security situation and the risk of conflict escalation. Accompanied by the ministers of defence, foreign affairs and economy, the PM was on an official working visit to Israel, whose agenda also included a meeting with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog. This is the second visit by the Romanian PM to Israel in less than a year, after the one on October 17, 2023, ten days after Israel had been attacked by the Hamas Islamist group.

     

    European Commissioner Post for Romania

     

    The Social Democratic MEP Roxana Mînzatu is Romania’s official proposal for the post of European Commissioner. The announcement was made on Monday by Prime Minister Ciolacu, who said that he would discuss with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the portfolio that Romania will manage. The makeup of the future European Executive is to be announced on September 11. Also in Brussels, the Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan (from the European People’s Party Group) was designated by the political groups of the European Parliament as chief negotiator of the future multiannual budget of the European Union post-2027. Covering a period of over 7 years, it has a total value of approximately 1,300 billion Euros, being the pool from which the member states receive the largest part of the non-reimbursable European funds for investments and for agricultural subsidies. The Parliament is to set its priorities regarding the EU’s multiannual budget. They will be forwarded to the European Commission to be included in the draft budget. From the current multi-annual financial year, 2021 – 2027, Romania benefits from around 46 billion Euros, to which the amounts from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are also added.

     

    Jam on the road to presidency

     

    The Romanian Mircea Geoană resigned on Tuesday from the position of NATO Deputy Secretary General. It is the end of a five-year mandate, marked by the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of allied troops from Afghanistan. Geoana said, in an interview for Radio Romania, that he would continue to use his influence to promote Romanians in international forums, including NATO, and that he felt the need to return to domestic politics. The press had been anticipating this announcement for more than two years already, and considered Geoană’s candidacy, as an independent, very likely in the presidential election due at the end of the year. A former ambassador to the United States, a former foreign minister and former Social Democratic leader, Geoană also ran for presidency in 2009, when he lost to Traian Băsescu. Other candidates to  Romania’s presidency are all the leaders of the parliamentary parties: Marcel Ciolacu (Social Democratic Party – PSD), Nicolae Ciucă (National Liberal Party – PNL), Elena Lasconi (Save Romania Union – USR), George Simion (The Alliance for the Union for Romanians – AUR) or Kelemen Hunor (The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR). (AMP, LS)

  • September 4, 2024 – UPDATE

    September 4, 2024 – UPDATE

     

    VISIT PM Marcel Ciolacu makes a one-day visit to Israel on Thursday, to express solidarity with the authorities of that country in the current context in the Middle East. He is accompanied by the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu, and by the economy minister, Radu Oprea. The Romanian PM will have a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and will be received by the Israeli president, Itzhak Herzog, and the Parliament speaker. The Romanian delegation travels to Israel on a military aircraft.

     

    DEFENCE A meeting of the B.9 defence ministers will be hosted by Bucharest this September, under a resolution passed by the Government on Wednesday. B.9 meetings are held regularly at head of state, foreign minister and defence minister level, as “opportunities to harmonise” member states’ national positions on topics to be included on the agenda of NATO summits and assemblies. Launched at the initiative of Romania and Poland in 2015, the Bucharest 9 format is a platform to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the Allies on NATO’s eastern flank: Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

     

    BUDGET The Romanian government Wednesday passed measures to improve the collection of budget claims, to better utilise the funds earmarked for public services and to support investments implemented by local and central authorities from foreign financing sources. Bonuses are stipulated for those who pay their taxes on time. Another set of measures concerns taxpayers with debts at the end of August 2024. In their case, interests and late filing and late payment penalties are written off, provided that the principal debt is paid by November 25, 2024. The budget deficit target for this year could be reached, the finance ministry says, if measures are implemented to improve the collection of debts to the state budget, which were over EUR 14 bln at the end of August. Economists expect the budget deficit to be over 7% of GDP this year.

     

    UKRAINE Ukraine needs “fresh energy” after two and a half years of war against Russia, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, to explain an on-going government reshuffle that includes the country’s foreign minister, AFP and Reuters report. The reshuffle is the largest in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, 5 other ministers and deputy PMs, as well as the official in charge of the privatization of state assets, have submitted their resignations to Parliament. Dmytro Kuleba has been one of the most vocal Ukrainian officials since the start of the war against Russia. He has constantly requested stronger Western assistance for Ukraine, and has tried to win over the countries wooed by Moscow, especially in Africa and Asia.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team Friday begin their new season in the UEFA Nations’ League. The Romanian footballers will play their first match away from home against Kosovo, and on Monday, September 9, they will face Lithuania at home. Cyprus is also part of Romania’s group, C2. First place in the group means direct promotion to League B in the next edition of the League, while second place leads to play-offs for promotion. On the other hand, the 4th place leads to direct relegation to League D, while the 3rd place keeps the national team in League C for the next edition as well. Being ranked in the League of Nations groups also has a direct influence on the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Championship. The new coach of the national team is Mircea Lucescu, who returns to this post after almost 4 decades. Edward Iordanescu left the post after Euro 2024, in which Romania qualified for the round of 16. (AMP)

  • August 28, 2024 UPDATE

    August 28, 2024 UPDATE

    ELECTION The Government in Bucharest has set the calendar of the upcoming election in detail, including the technical measures and expenses for the preparation, organization and unfolding of the presidential election in Romania. So, November 24th 2024 will be seeing the first round of voting and, if needed, a second round will take place on December 8. October 5th is the deadline for submitting candidatures and election signs to the Central Election Office, while the election campaign kicks off on October 25th. In another development, the government has extended the National Programme for Local Development for another two years in order to support the over 3 thousand projects currently underway. Also on Wednesday, the Executive approved “The National Plan for a Safe School Environment” completing the measures focusing on fighting violence in the country’s education system. Discounts will be made available for therapy sessions for children victims of violence, or who were involved in such acts. The programme also includes training courses for teachers as well as an online library devoted to combating violence in schools. Under another bill endorsed in the education sector, students will be granted scholarships through state-funded cultural projects.

     

    OECD Romania on Wednesday received a positive review in the competition sector as part of its OECD accession process. According to Romania’s Competition Council, the review was issued after an assessment that took place between 2018 and 2022. During the review, the Council must demonstrate that its work meets the requirements of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Recommendations have also been made, and the stage of their implementation will be presented next year. Accession to the OECD is a priority for Romania, and is the country’s 3rd strategic goal after the NATO and EU accession.

     

    DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit exceeds 4% of GDP after the first 7 months of the year, according to finance ministry data. In January – July, the government had total revenues of over EUR 66 bln, up 15% compared to the first 7 months of 2023. Budget expenditure however increased by over 23%, to more than EUR 80 bln. This year’s budget law is based on a 5% deficit level. Meanwhile, the minister for EU investments and projects Adrian Câciu has announced that Romania has so far received EUR23.84 bln under the cohesion policy in 2014-2020, reaching a 99.1% absorption rate.

     

    INDEPENDENCE The Republic of Moldova Tuesday celebrated 33 years since the proclamation of its independence from the former Soviet Union. Attending the ceremonies, the presidents of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia signed a joint statement of support for the country’s EU accession. In his message on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis promised Romania will continue to provide strategic support to Moldova in all areas. In turn, PM Marcel Ciolacu reassured his Moldovan counterpart, Dorin Recean, that Romania will remain in the front line of the efforts to consolidate Moldova’s EU accession efforts, its stability and democratic development.

     

    WEATHER Thunderstorms were reported on Tuesday night in several parts of the country. Weather experts have issued scores of extreme weather warnings. In Iaşi, in the north-east, the wind brought several trees down and damaged vehicles, while entire streets in the city were flooded. Also in the north-east, in Botoşani County, firefighters were called to put out a fire after lightning struck a tree. Tens of streets and basements were also flooded in Cluj-Napoca (north-west).

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  • August 28, 2024

    August 28, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS In its meeting today, the government of Romania is to set the calendar for the presidential election scheduled this autumn, on November 24 and December 8. The ballot will be held in parallel with the parliamentary election, which will be organized on December 1. The campaign for the parliamentary election begins on November 1 and ends on November 30, in the morning. In the country, polling stations will be open between 7 am and 9 pm, while Romanians living abroad will be able to vote between 7 am on November 30 and 9 pm on December 1. This is the first time that all the 4 types of elections (local, parliamentary, presidential, and the election for the European Parliament) are held in Romania in the same year.

     

    OECD Romania has today received a positive review in the competition sector as part of its OECD accession process. According to Romania’s Competition Council, the review was issued after an assessment that took place between 2018 and 2022. During the review, the Council had to demonstrate that its work meets the requirements of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Recommendations have also been made, and the stage of their implementation will be presented next year. Accession to the OECD is a priority for Romania, and is the country’s 3rd strategic goal after the NATO and EU accession.

     

    DEFICIT Romania’s budget deficit exceeds 4% of GDP after the first 7 months of the year, according to finance ministry data. In January – July, the government had total revenues of over EUR 66 bln, up 15% compared to the first 7 months of 2023. Budget expenditure however increased by over 23%, to more than EUR 80 bln. This year’s budget law is based on a 5% deficit level. Meanwhile, the minister for EU investments and projects Adrian Câciu announced that Romania has so far received EUR 23.84 bln under the cohesion policy in 2014-2020, reaching a 99.1% absorption rate.

     

    INDEPENDENCE The Republic of Moldova Tuesday celebrated 33 years since the proclamation of its independence from the former Soviet Union. Attending the ceremonies, the presidents of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia signed a joint statement of support for the country’s EU accession. In his message on this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis promised Romania will continue to provide strategic support to Moldova in all areas. In turn, PM Marcel Ciolacu reassured his Moldovan counterpart, Dorin Recean, that Romania will remain in the front line of the efforts to consolidate Moldova’s EU accession efforts, its stability and democratic development.

     

    WEATHER Thunderstorms were reported last night in several parts of the country. Weather experts have issued scores of extreme weather warnings. In Iaşi, in the north-east, the wind brought several trees down and damaged vehicles, while entire streets in the city were flooded. Also in the north-east, in Botoşani County, firefighters were called to put out a fire after lightning struck a tree. Tens of streets and basements were also flooded in Cluj-Napoca (north-west).

     

    PARALYMPICS Paris is hosting tonight the opening ceremony for the Summer Paralympic Games, which will end on September 8. From Champs-Elysées to the world-famed Place de la Concorde, hundreds of dancers and performers will stage a show called “Paradox”, which according to the organisers is designed to make people think about their uniqueness. Romania is represented by 6 athletes at this year’s Paralympic Games, in 3 events: para judo (Alexandru Bologa and Daniel Vargoczki), para cycling (Eduard Novak and Theodor Matican) şi para table tennis (Camelia Ciripan and Bobi Simion). The first to compete are Camelia Ciripan and Bobi Simion, on Thursday afternoon, in the mixed doubles event, against the Japanese pair Yuri Tomono and Koyo Iwabuchi. (AMP)

  • The Annual Report of the Fiscal Council

    The Annual Report of the Fiscal Council

    According to the Fiscal Council, Romania may this year register a lower economic growth than the government’s previous forecast of 3.4 %. In its annual report, the Council also warns that the budget deficit will exceed 7% of the GDP in the absence of a series of measures of fiscal-budgetary consolidation. The Fiscal Council recalls that the deficit, caused by higher expenses than returns, has exceeded in the first six months of this year 3.6% of the GDP, being 1.3% higher than in the same period last year. Calculations have revealed the risk that the budget deficit may even account for 8% of the GDP, as the new pension law and the recent pay rises in the public sector will generate additional costs in the second half of the year.

    Against this background, the Council representatives have pointed out that in the absence of concrete and credible policies aimed at supporting the fiscal-budgetary consolidation on medium term as well as an improved tax collection system, the deficit stands chances to exceed the figures initially forecast by the national and European authorities for the period 2025-2027.

    The Fiscal Council is made up of representatives of the Central Bank, the Romanian Association of Banks, the Romanian Academy, the Academy of Economic Sciences and the Romanian Banking Institute, being appointed by Parliament for a period of 9 years.

    Romania, which already has an excessive deficit procedure launched by Brussels in its name, has, under the fresh European fiscal rules, seven years to go back to a budget deficit of 3% of the GDP. Pundits believe that in order to gradually curb this deficit one needs to implement a realistic programme.

    The latest report Romania – Euro Zone Monitor made by a team of Central Bank experts coordinated by Academician Daniel Daianu, points to the fact that a rise in budget incomes is absolutely necessary and cannot be limited to only an improved tax collection system, but calls for amendments to the present fiscal regime, and a budgetary correction for a period of over four years.

    In essence, the budget deficit is caused by excessive spending in a context of higher nominal incomes and rapidly growing expenditures, according to the report.

    The pressure on the public budget is going to rise if we take into account Romania’s pledge to also spend 2.5% of the GDP for military purposes as a NATO member, the authors of the report say.

    The extremely lower level of fiscal returns is the exclusive result of a fiscal regime which favored tax evasion and the inclusion of personal spending in the budget of various companies as well as illegal working contracts, the report also says.

    (bill)

  • Romania’s trade deficit

    Romania’s trade deficit

     

    In the first 4 months of this year, Romania’s trade deficit (imports minus exports) was over EUR 9.3 bln, that is, EUR 440 mln deeper than in the corresponding period of last year, the National Statistics Institute announced on Monday.

     

    During this period, exports reached a rough EUR 31.3 bln, and imports exceeded EUR 40.6 bln. According to the National Statistics Institute, in the first 4 months of the year a big part of Romania’s imports and exports was accounted for by vehicles and transport equipment, as well as other manufactured products. Intra-EU trade accounted for approx. 73% of both imports, and exports.

     

    In this context, analysts believe the trade deficit is, alongside the budget deficit, one of the major weaknesses of the national economy. On the one hand, the government spends more than it makes, and on the other hand exports are lower than imports. Experts say that after a period in which the trade deficit showed signs of improvement, the trend now is for it to resume its negative trend, which also puts pressure on the national currency’s exchange rate.

     

    However, the same specialists argue, Romania’s foreign currency reserves should offset the trade deficit, which has stayed rather deep for several years, making the exports more competitive.

     

    Just days ago, the National Statistics Institute announced that the country’s forex reserves had exceeded EUR 65 bln, as against roughly 62.5 bln at the end of April, which is an all-time high for an indicator that impacts directly on the stability of the exchange rate and, consequently, on price stability. This has positive effects both in terms of strengthening the confidence of financial markets and of investors in Romania, and in terms of supporting the exchange rate stability.

     

    Analysts also point out that the rising trend in currency reserves has already been evident for a long time, and is a positive trend for Romania in the face of the highly volatile international situation and the uncertainty of the world’s financial markets as regards future developments. They also explain that a large chunk of the foreign currency reserves comes from European funds, which are exchanged into lei and used by the Finance Ministry to finance various investment projects.

     

    As financial experts argue, international reserves work as a safety net against prospective disruptions. But, they also warn, the rise in foreign currency reserves may also have less favourable effects. Romania’s currency exchange rate stability, all the more remarkable in the last few years given the various disruptions in the markets, has its downsides as well. Specifically, with a national inflation rising steeply to 16%, but a currency exchange rate staying roughly the same, Romania’s exports are affected, as they are less competitive in terms of prices. (AMP)

  • Romania in the EU: a net beneficiary

    Romania in the EU: a net beneficiary

     

    “Romania is a major chapter in the history of the European Union. It means a chance given together with the money from Brussels, for modern infrastructure and opportunities for all Romanians.”

     

    The statement was made by the finance minister Marcel Boloş on May 9th, Europe Day. Boloş voiced his confidence that the European funds are indeed changing lives. If only in financial terms, Romania’s EU membership has been a huge benefit, translating into funds that most likely the country could not have been able to receive from other sources.

     

    According to minister Boloş, for each euro contributed by Romania to the bloc’s budget, it has received 3 euros back. “Specifically, since its accession in 2007, Romania has received over EUR 95 billion, and it has contributed EUR 30 bln to the European Union budget. So the net financial balance points to benefits of EUR 65 bln,” the finance minister explained.

     

    According to him, due to these funds Romania managed in 2020 to have more than EUR 6 bln in EU funding invested in one year, and last year it has reached a record-high EUR 16 bln.

     

    On the other hand, Romania’s EU accession also meant integration in the single market, and the free movement of goods, people, services and capital, Mr. Boloş said. He argued that since the accession foreign investment has doubled, to approx. EUR 108 bln in 2022, and the fact that Romania has become attractive for EU companies meant not only investments, but also the development of sectors that had previously been neglected.

     

    For Romanians, the development entailed by the EU accession also meant higher salaries. Over the past 17 years, minimum wages have been increased 20 times, to a monthly gross EUR 660. Marcel Boloş also mentioned the dozens of schools and kindergartens built or revamped using EU funds, including in villages and small towns, and the 1,300 km of roads built or upgraded.

     

    The EU funding for the period 2014 – 2020 has helped over 95,000 Romanian companies to become more productive, thanks to investments in new equipment, automation, personnel training, and enhanced energy efficiency, the finance minister pointed out. Other projects funded from the EU budget include modernised regional airports, as well as thousands of km of utility networks.

     

    But what the EU accession has meant for Romania, even more important than access to resources and welfare, was embracing the values and principles governing the European bloc: the rule of law, freedom of expression, social inclusion, tolerance—the ingredients of a functioning democracy.

     

    And while self-styled sovereignsts and purported conservatives criticise and despise the European project, they know they have nothing sustainable to replace it with. (AMP)

  • L’OTAN et la guerre en Ukraine

    L’OTAN et la guerre en Ukraine

    C’est un modèle qui ne fait que se répéter : lorsque l’armée russe d’invasion lance des attaques aux drones contre les ports ukrainiens au Danube, des alarmes sont déclenchées aussi en Roumanie voisine, pays membre de l’OTAN et de l’Union européenne. La population civile des départements de Tulcea et de Galati, dans le sud-est, à proximité de l’Ukraine, a été avertie aussi à la fin de la semaine dernière par le biais de messages d’urgence RO-ALERT, les premières de ce type en 2024 – a fait savoir l’Inspection des Situation d’urgences du delta du Danube. Les habitants des lieux ont été avertis quant à la possibilité de chutes d’objets depuis l’espace aérien et les autorités ont recommandé d’adopter des mesures de protection et de chercher un abri, si la situation l’impose. Sur les réseaux de partage, de nombreux habitants des lieux ont affirmé avoir entendu de fortes explosions depuis l’Ukraine.

    Les propos de Donald Trump provoquent un tollé

    Une alerte différente a été déclenchée dans les rangs de l’Alliance de l’Atlantique nord, suite aux propos de l’ex président américain, le républicain Donald Trump, dont le retour à la Maison Blanche semble de plus en plus plausible. Même les collègues républicains de celui-ci l’ont critiqué après que celui-ci avait dit que les Etats Unis ne devraient plus défendre les pays alliés qui ne paient pas leurs contributions à l’OTAN. L’ex-président avait critiqué par le passé les Etats de l’OTAN qui n’allouent pas les enveloppes nécessaires à la défense, mais cette fois-ci, ses propos ont été carrément choquants. Il a laissé entendre qu’il encouragerait même la Russie d’attaquer des Etats qui ne paient pas leurs factures envers l’Alliance. Ses affirmations ont été condamnés tant par le président démocrate Joe Biden que par le secrétaire général de l’OTAN, Jens Stoltenberg, qui ont souligné que de telles suggestions ne font que miner la sécurité de l’Alliance dans son entier, qui repose sur la défense commune et met en danger les soldats américains et européens. Les médias notent que M Trump décrit d’une manière inexacte la manière dont fonctionne le financement de l’OTAN.

    L’Alliance a décidé d’une obligation des Etats membres d’allouer 2% de leur PIB aux dépenses militaires de chaque Etat membre, mais la majorité d’entre eux ne le font pas. Ce chiffre n’est qu’une recommandation et non pas un contrat obligatoire et aucune « facture » n’est émise. Ce qui plus est, aucun Etat membre n’enregistre des arriérés de paiement de ses contributions au budget commun de l’OTAN.

    Le nouveau président finlandais, un partisan de l’OTAN

    Entre temps, dimanche, le membre le plus récent de l’Alliance de l’Atlantique nord, la Finlande a élu un nouveau président, l’ex-premier ministre conservateur Alexander Stubb, devenu entre temps un partisan convaincu de l’Alliance, après que son pays eut renoncé aux décennies de stricte neutralité qui ont suivie la deuxième guerre mondiale. Premier ministre de 2014 à 2015, M Stubb avouait qu’une de ses plus grandes erreurs en tant que chef du gouvernement d’Helsinki a été de donner le feu vert à la construction d’une centrale nucléaire en coopération avec la société russe Rosatom. Après la victoire d’Alexander Stubb aux élections, le président roumain, Klaus Iohannis félicité son homologue finlandais et affirmé qu’il attendait « avec impatience de travailler ensemble et de développer le partenariat européen étroit entre la Roumanie et la Finlande » et de « défendre les valeurs euro-atlantiques ».

  • January 31, 2024 UPDATE

    January 31, 2024 UPDATE

    PROTESTS In Romania, local administration
    staff in rural areas were on a token strike on Wednesday, with demands
    primarily related to salaries. According to trade unions, almost 11,000
    employees in over 800 town halls in the country signed for the protest. Unionists threaten with an all-out strike
    starting on February 5 unless their demands are met. On the other hand, trade
    unions in the healthcare sector announced they would carry on protests, as the
    government’s current offer to raise salaries by 13.9% this year is not what
    they had expected. Solidaritatea Sanitară Union Federation notified the
    government of their plans to go on an all-out strike. According to the
    federation, under the law the government has 10 days to negotiate with the unions
    and avoid a labour dispute.






    DEFICIT Romania ended the year 2023 with a
    budget deficit of 5.68% of the GDP, as against the 4.4% originally forecast
    when the state budget for last year was drawn up. The deficit is however below
    the 6.3% estimated by the European Commission in its forecast. According to
    data supplied by the Finance Ministry, the difference between revenues and
    expenditure was almost EUR 18 bln.








    REPORT With 46 points out of 100, Romania
    remains one of the EU countries with the poorest results in the implementation
    of anti-corruption measures, according to Transparency International’s annual
    Corruption Perceptions Index. The organisation’s recommendations for Romania
    include updating the legislation in the field of public integrity, improving
    organisational and decision-making transparency, standardising and clarifying
    administrative procedures.






    EU
    Romanian President Klaus Iohannisis in Brussels to take part in a
    ceremony organised by the European Commission in memory of Jacques Delors (1925
    – 2023), a former European Commission president between 1985 and 1995, and to
    attend an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on Thursday. The
    Council meeting will focus on an agreement on the main elements of the proposed
    revision of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework. The most important
    decisions are the support for Ukraine, including military support under the
    European Peace Facility, in keeping with the country’s needs. Klaus Iohannis
    will firmly plead for Ukraine to remain a top priority on the EU agenda.






    VISIT The Turkish foreign minister, Hakan
    Fidan, was on a visit to Bucharest, for a meeting with his Romanian counterpart
    Luminiţa Odobescu. The Turkish official also had talks with Prime Minister
    Marcel Ciolacu and the Senate Speaker, Nicolae Ciucă. According to the Turkish
    media, Hakan Fidan is meeting with his counterparts in Albania, Bulgaria and
    Romania ‘to discuss bilateral relations, as well as current regional and global
    developments’. Romania and Turkey signed a Strategic Partnership in 2011,
    followed by a joint action plan, signed in 2013 by the two countries’ foreign
    ministers. (AMP)

  • 29.12.2023 (mise à jour)

    29.12.2023 (mise à jour)


    Budget – Le chef de l’Etat roumain, Klaus Iohannis, a promulgué la loi du budget
    d’Etat et de la sécurité sociale 2024. La nouvelle construction budgétaire
    repose sur des investissements à hauteur de 7% du PIB et sur une croissance
    économique de 3,4%. Le déficit budgétaire est estimé à 5% du PIB. Le 15
    décembre, le gouvernement a approuvé les projets de loi du budget d’Etat et de
    celui de la Sécurité sociale 2024. Cinq jours plus tard et suite à une
    procédure accélérée, le Parlement a également donné son feu vert.




    Stratégie– Le gouvernement roumain a approuvé vendredi la
    Stratégie nationale pour l’éducation des adultes 2024-2027 qui se propose de
    développer la qualité en matière de formation continue d’adultes à travers le
    développement des compétences clé. D’ici 2027, la Roumanie se propose d’accroître
    le taux de participation des adultes à de tels programmes de 5,9% à 12%, en
    sachant que la moyenne européenne est de 11,9%. Le groupe ciblé par une telle
    stratégie est formé par des adultes actifs en capacité de travailler et de
    suivre des formations profesionnelles.


    Pays des Sicules -Le Sénat
    roumain a rejeté vendredi les initiatives législatives de l’UDMR quant à une
    potentielle autonomie du Pays des Sicules, au centre de la Roumanie. Jeudi, les
    documents ont reçu le vote négatif de la Chambre des députés aussi. Selon les
    députés de tous les autres partis parlementaires, les actes normatifs contreviennent
    à la Loi fondamentale du pays et portent préjudice à l’Etat de droit. Pour leur
    part, les initiateurs affirment que l’autonomie territoriale fonctionne déjà
    dans plusieurs pays européens. Les textes prévoient que les départements de
    Harghita et de Covasna et une partie du département de Mures deviennent
    autonomes, avec personnalité juridique. Cela permettrait à la langue hongroise
    d’acquérir le même statut que la langue roumaine. La région autonome aurait
    même un président élu par vote universel, pour un mandat de 4 ans. Le soi-disant
    Pays des Sicules, seule région de Roumanie à population mpajoritairement
    hongroise, a déjà bénéficié d’une telle autonomie entre 1952 et 1968.
    Les historiens affirment que ce fut un projet imposé
    à la Roumanie par le dictateur russe Staline, pour répondre aux insistances des
    leaders communistes de Budapest. Depuis 1990 et jusqu’à présent, le principal
    parti politique de la minorité hongroise de Roumanie, l’UDMR, a été représenté
    continuellement au Parlement. Depuis 1996, la formation a été cooptée à
    plusieurs reprises dans des coalitions politiques.








    Handball – La sélection de handball masculin de Roumanie a
    remporté vendredi le Trophée des Carpates après avoir battu la Géorgie, 31 à
    25. Dans la petite finale, la Géorgie a vaincu la Slovénie, 35 à 23. Le tournoi
    s’est déroulé à Pitesti, dans le sud de la Roumanie. Pour l’équipe roumaine
    ayant à sa tête le célèbre sélectionneur espagnol, Xavi Pascual, le Trophée des
    Carpates est le dernier teste avant le Championnat d’Europe – EHF Euro 2024 qui
    aura lieu en Allemagne, du 10 au 28 janvier. La Roumanie sera dans la poule B,
    aux côtés de l’Espagne, l’Autriche et la Croatie. Les deux équipes premièrement
    classées obtiendront leur qualification dans les groupes principaux. Quatre
    fois championne mondiale dans les années 1960-1970, la Roumanie avait raté
    toutes ses qualifications au Championnat d’Europe depuis 1996.




    Météo
    – En Roumanie, les températures continuent à dépasser la moyenne saisonnière.
    Samedi, elles monteront jusqu’à 13 degrés. Des pluies éparses sont prévues dans
    le centre du territoire et à la montagne. 13 degrés également à midi, dans la
    capitale.