Radio România Internațional

Tag: convergence

  • June 26, 2024 UPDATE

    June 26, 2024 UPDATE

     

    SUMMIT The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, attends the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. Support for the neighbouring Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the new structure of the European Parliament, are on the meeting’s agenda, according to a press release from the Presidency. EU leaders will also continue discussions on appointments at the top of the EU institutions, following the recent European elections.

     

    CURRENCY Romania does not meet the conditions for switching to the single currency, the European Commission said after assessing judicial compatibility and the fulfillment of the so-called convergence criteria. The European Commission looked at price stability, the soundness of public finances, the currency exchange rate stability and the stability of long-term interest rates, areas in which Romania still has a lot to do. Bulgaria, on the other hand, does meet the criteria, but it is not yet a member of the exchange rate mechanism. One of the requirements for joining the Euro zone is a minimum 2-year participation in the mechanism, without major monetary tensions.

     

     

    CITIZENSHIP A bill modifying the Citizenship Act was endorsed by the Parliament of Romania on Wednesday. A provision allowing foreign citizens who are married and living together with a Romanian national abroad for at least 10 years to be granted Romanian citizenship has been scrapped. The prerequisite for applicants to obtain Romanian citizenship is for them to have legally resided in Romania for at least 8 years or, if they are married to Romanian citizens, for at least 5 years. Refugees may also be granted Romanian citizenship after 3 years, instead of 8 years previously. The document also provides for biometric checks such as fingerprints and face recognition, for those who apply for Romanian citizenship, so as to prevent fraud. Also on Wednesday, Romanian MPs passed legislation binding business operators to card customers who purchase alcohol, energy drinks and tobacco in order to make sure they are over 18. The fines for failure to comply range from EUR 2,000 to 6,000.

     

     

    REHAB Detoxification and rehabilitation centres for drug addicts will be established in each of the 8 development regions in Romania, under a bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies in this respect. Dan Tănasă, a member of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR, in opposition) says drug trafficking is a topic on the agenda of the Supreme Defence Council, which is a clear sign that Romania has been hijacked by drug trafficking networks. Tănasă also said setting up such centres does not tackle the core issue. In response, the Social Democrat Florin Buicu, whose party is the main partner in the ruling coalition, said prevention is necessary with respect to drug consumption, but that the need for addict treatment centres is undeniable. The bill is to be submitted to the president of Romania for promulgation.

     

     

    USR The ex-journalist Elena Lasconi, the mayor of Câmpulung Muscel (southern Romania), was elected president of Save Romania Union (in opposition, affiliated to RENEW in the European Parliament) with 68% of the online votes of party members. Lasconi said the reconstruction of USR would now begin, with a party congress scheduled for this weekend, when the members of the party’s leading structure, the National Bureau, will also be elected. The former USR leader Cătălin Drulă resigned following the local and EP elections of June 9, when the United Right Alliance, comprising USR, the People’s Movement Party and the Force of the Right came below the Social Democrats and the Liberals (in the ruling coalition) and AUR party.

     

     

    NATO The 32 NATO member countries Wednesday confirmed the nomination of the Dutch PM Mark Rutte for secretary general. France Press says the withdrawal of the candidacy of Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis and of the objections raised by Hungary and Slovakia paved the way for Rutte securing the top NATO post. He is to take office on October 1, when the last extension of the current secretary general Jens Stoltenberg’s term in office expires. Appointed in 2014, Stoltenberg saw his term in office extended 4 times in the context of the war in Ukraine. (AMP)

  • Romania, Poland share views on European funds

    Romania, Poland share views on European funds

    Romania and Poland are against making the disbursement of European funds to member states conditional on the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in those respective countries, the two foreign ministers said in a joint statement made in Bucharest on Thursday.



    Teodor Melescanu and Jacek Czaputowicz thus answered a question regarding messages coming from Brussels, according to which the allocation of community funds to certain states might be influenced by possible changes in the justice system. European funds are not a favor, and both Romania and Poland contribute to the extent of their capacity to the EU budget, said Minister Melescanu:



    Teodor Melescanu: “In my opinion, this would be a gross infringement not only of the provisions of the EU Treaties but also of the fundamental principles of the EU, whose main objective is to ensure solidarity and convergence between the economies of member states. Obviously, the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy are instruments aimed at boosting convergence between the economies of the more developed countries of the EU and our countries. It is by no means an act of charity.



    Professor Iulian Chifu, the president of the Conflict Prevention Center, has commented on the issue:



    Iulian Chifu: “These are two half answers. The Romanian Foreign Minister is right when he talks about the purpose of these funds, which are meant for the less developed countries, with lower capacity and competitiveness, and are designed to help them develop and reach the European average level or the level of important European countries. On the other hand, failure to observe the criteria of the rule of law, of the independence of the judiciary and of the fight against corruption raises questions regarding the usefulness of these funds.



    In the case of Poland, the messages sent by Brussels are even harsher than those sent to Romania so far. The violation of the rule of law and of the independence of the judiciary might trigger the activation of Article 7 in the EU Treaty, which entails the suspension of Warsaws right to vote in the European Council. Minister Melescanu also expressed Bucharests stand in this regard:



    Teodor Melescanu: “Our interest and wish is to avoid by all means a vote that would not help anybody and would only create unnecessary problems.



    According to the Polish Foreign Minister, Jacek Czaputowicz, Poland has received signals from other states, such as Hungary, that they will not vote for the activation of Article 7. The Polish official also underscored that, should Poland identify instances of EU institutions not treating EU countries in the region properly, it would defend them. But it seems that nobody in Bucharest wants this to happen.

  • La Roumanie et l’euro

    La Roumanie et l’euro


    En dépit du fait qu’elle veut adhérer à la zone euro, la Roumanie ne remplit pas intégralement les critères pour ce processus. Selon le Traité de l’UE toutes les deux années ou à la demande d’un Etat membre qui veut y adhérer, la Commission Européenne analyse l’accomplissement des conditions nécessaires pour adopter la monnaie unique. Le dernier en date des rapports de convergence de l’Exécutif européen constate que les progrès enregistrés par la Bulgarie, la République Tchèque, la Croatie, la Lituanie, la Hongrie, la Pologne, la Roumanie et la Suède, Etats qui désirent adopter la monnaie euro le 1-er janvier 2015, sont hétérogènes.



    Au cas de la Roumanie, les officiels de Bruxelles disent que notre pays ne remplit deux des cinq critères de convergence nominale pour adopter l’euro, respectivement le taux d’inflation et le cours de change mais remplit les points concernent le déficit budgétaire, la dette publique et les taux d’intérêt à long terme.



    Selon ce rapport, l’inflation moyenne des 12 derniers mois jusqu’en avril 2014 a été de 2,1%, au delà de la valeur de référence de 1,7%. Cet indicateur est calculé comme une moyenne des 12 derniers mois des taux d’inflation de Lituanie, du Portugal et d’Irlande — les plus performants de l’UE à ce chapitre — plus de 1,5%. Les estimations de la CE indiquent le fait que l’inflation va augmenter et va parvenir à 3,3% en 2015. En matière de cours de change, il résulte que la Roumanie pratique un régime de flottaison contrôlée qui permet des interventions de la banque centrale au niveau du marché des devises.



    Après la crise financière internationale de 2009, le leu roumain s’est stabilisé ces deux dernières années se dépréciant vis-à-vis de l’euro de 1,9% – montre-t-on dans le rapport. En échange, la Roumanie ne se situe pas en procédure de déficit excessif.



    En 2013, le déficit budgétaire a été de 2,3% du PIB et selon les prédictions de la CE il va se réduire à 2,2% du PIB cette année et à 1,9% en 2015 tandis que la dette publique va augmenter des 38% du PIB en 2013 à 40% en 2015. Les taux des intérêts à long terme, eux, ont baissé au mois d’avril à 5,3%, en dessous de la valeur de référence de 6,2%.



    Le milieu d’affaires n’a pas été tout aussi performant que dans d’autres Etats de la zone euro et la législation bancaire n’est pas intégralement compatible à l’adoption de la monnaie unique. Le seul pays ayant rempli tous les critères de convergence est la Lituanie de sorte que, à partir du 1-er janvier 2015, la zone euro comptera 19 membres, Lituanie comprise , le cinquième pays ex-communiste de la zone euro après la Slovaquie, la Slovénie, l’Estonie et la Lettonie. La Roumanie, la Bulgarie, la République Tchèque, la Croatie, la Hongrie, la Pologne et la Suède ne replissent pas actuellement toutes les conditions pour adopter l’euro et bénéficient d’une dérogation, leur situation devant être re-évaluée au cours des deux années à venir. (Trad. Costin Grigore)