Radio România Internațional

Tag: dismissal

October 5, 2021

Covid — The Romanian authorities have decided to activate, today, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in order to purchase Tocilizumab, medication used to treat COVID-19. The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, explained that the decision was made given that in two or three weeks’ time there could emerge problems related to Tocilizumab stocks in Romanian hospitals. He added that they were also considering asking for certain equipment, especially individual medical oxygenators. More than 8,000 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were registered on Monday in Romania, out of over 32,000 tests. During the same period, 133 Covid-related deaths were reported. At least 14,000 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 are hospitalized in specialized health facilities, and almost 1,500 patients are in ICUs. The Covid incidence rate, cumulated in 14 days, is higher than or equal to 3 per thousand inhabitants in almost 190 cities and about 990 communes. On the other hand, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the administration of the third dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine to people over 18, pointing out that protection against COVID-19 may decrease in time, after the first two doses. In Romania, the third dose started being administered last week.

Motion – The minority government in Buchararest made up of the National Liberal Party — PNL and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania — UDMR headed by the Liberal Florin Citu has been dismissed today through a no confidence motion. The motion was initiated by the Social Democratic opposition and voted by Save Romania Union – USR (center-right), a former governing partner and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR. 281 parliamentarians voted for the departure of the Citu government, the minimum number required being 234. Before the vote, the prime minister, who is also the Liberal Party leader, announced that the Liberal officials would participate in the plenary debates, but would not vote.

Visit — The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, participates, as of today, in Brdo, Slovenia, in the two-day informal meeting of the European Council and in the EU – Western Balkans Summit. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, high on the agenda of the European Council meeting is the EU’s role at global level. The situation in Afghanistan, the security agreement between the US, Great Britain and Australia, as well as the relations with China will also be addressed. The EU-Western Balkans Summit will discuss issues related to reaffirming the European perspective for the countries in the region, to cooperation with these countries so as to manage the socio-economic effects of the pandemic, as well as to strengthening dialogue and cooperation in the political and security domains.

Investigation — Countries and political leaders have rejected recent revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists according to which hundreds of officials and people in their entourage have hid billions of dollars through offshore companies, mainly for tax evasion. Published on Sunday, this investigation, in which about 600 journalists have been involved, is entitled Pandora Papers and is based on about 12 million documents that have brought to light over 29,000 offshore companies. Among the officials targeted are: King Abdullah II of Jordan, people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Czech PM Andrej Babis, the Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, and also Colombian singer Shakira and the German model Claudia Schiffer. In most countries, these acts are not considered criminal, but, in the case of political leaders, journalists also talk about the contrast between their anti-corruption discourse and their money placements in tax havens. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists includes professionals from over 100 countries and territories.

Facebook — The social networking platform Facebook and its WhatsApp and Instagram services are functional again, after, on Monday, they went out of order for several hours thus being unavailable for billions of users around the world. According to Facebook, the interruption was caused by a faulty modification of its servers. Analysts noted that the incident occurred in the context in which an internal integrity alerter stated that Facebook always gave priority to benefits over safety. Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager who initially published numerous company documents on condition of anonymity, revealed her identity and is to testify in the US Senate in an internet protection investigation. She says the choices made by the Silicon Valley giants leadership represent a huge problem for children, for public safety and democracy.

Statistics – Last year Romanians earned, on average, a gross salary of about 5,100 lei (about 1,030 Euros), registered at the level of the national economy in 2020, the National Institute of Statistics shows. This is an increase of 7.4% as against the previous year. The net salary was 3,217 lei (about 650 Euros), higher by 7.7%. The most profitable sectors are IT&C, financial brokerage and insurances, Public Administration and the production and supply of electricity. At the opposite pole are the hotels and restaurants, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and real estate. (LS)

5 October 2021
September 4, 2021 UPDATE

Motion – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, said on Saturday that the new alliance made up of the Save Romania Union- PLUS – USR PLUS Alliance, a member of the ruling coalition, and the ultranationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR, is an insult to the Romanian people. He called on USR PLUS to put an end to these political gestures, which he described as irresponsible, to respect their voters and to return to dialogue, in order to work out a viable and rational solution with the Coalition partners to overcome the current situation. The head of state says that, by making an alliance with a party that does not respect the western values, USR PLUS betrays the will of the citizens who put their hopes in a center-right coalition that promised to develop Romania. Undermining the Coalition and compromising the entire reform package assumed through the government program risks throwing Romania into a deep economic and social crisis, the president warned. MPs from the USR PLUS and AUR on Friday tabled a censure motion against the cabinet led by the Liberal Florin Citu, after his refusal to resign and after the National Liberal Party – PNL refused to withdraw their political support for the PM. USR PLUS had requested the departure of the PM Florin Citu, whom they accused of cynicism and ill-will, after he unexpectedly dismissed the Justice Minister, Stelian Ion, representing USR, because he had blocked a large financing plan for the local infrastructure. The prime minister said that the only governing solution for Romania is the current coalition, an opinion shared by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, the third partner in the governing coalition. The timetable for the censure motion will be set on Monday.

Afghanistan — The inter-institutional crisis cell managed to obtain, on Saturday, the successful evacuation from Afghanistan of another 15 Afghan citizens, collaborators of the Romanian armed forces as well as students with scholarships in Romania, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. Earlier on Saturday, 45 Afghan citizens, magistrates and their families, were evacuated from Afghanistan, the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu announced at the Black Sea and the Balkans Security Forum, which takes place in Bucharest. The head of the Romanian diplomacy pointed out that another 11 Afghan citizens – judges, physicians and journalists – were evacuated from Kabul with the support of the Romanian state. All in all, the Romanian authorities contributed to the evacuation of 76 Afghan citizens, in addition to the 49 Romanian citizens and 7 citizens of the partner states. On the other hand, President Klaus Iohannis on Friday had a phone conversation about Afghanistan with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “Romania remains concerned about the serious situation in Afghanistan and is ready to contribute to NATOs efforts to address this crisis. Allied unity is essential. Afghanistan must not become a safe haven for terrorists again,” Klaus Iohannis wrote on Twitter. In his turn, the NATO secretary general wrote on Twitter that he discussed with the Romanian president and the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Spain about the developments in Afghanistan. “NATO allies will continue to bring people to safety, and we remain determined and united against international terrorism,” Stoltenberg wrote.

Covid-19 – Against the backdrop of a low vaccination rate in Romania, the number of infections continues to grow. On Saturday, 1,568 new cases and 28 deaths were reported. 358 patients are hospitalized in ICUs. In the last 24 hours over 6,600 people have been vaccinated of whom 4,500 with the first dose or the single dose. All in all, 5.1 million people have been fully vaccinated, which means less than a third of the eligible population.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, seed no. 12, has qualified to the eighth finals of the US Open, the last grand slam tournament of the year, after she defeated, in 3 sets, on Friday, the Kazakh Elena Ribakina, ranked 20th in the WTA classification. On Sunday, Halep will play for a place in the quarterfinals against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, ranked 5th in the WTA classification. Svitolina passed, in the third round, the Russian Daria Kasatkina. The score of the matches between the two is equal, 5-5. Simona Haleps best performance at the US Open is the semifinal played in 2015.

Enescu — The 25th edition of the George Enescu International festival continues. On Saturday, Bucharest hosted the concert of the Transylvania Philharmonic Orchestra from Cluj conducted by Alexander Liebreich featuring soprano Diana Țugui, pianist Andreas Haefliger and mezzo Iulia Merca. Attending the festival for the first time was the State Orchestra from Athens which performed George Enescu’s ‘Fantasia for piano and orchestra’ featuring pianist Saskia Giorgini, winner of the Mozart Competition in Salzburg in 2016. Saturday’s program will end with one of the Enescu’s most impressive works, Symphony no. 3 performed by the famous British orchestra Philharmonia Orchestra London under the baton of Santtu-Matias Rouvali. (LS)

4 September 2021
September 3, 2021

Dismissal – The Romanian PM, the Liberal Florin Cîţu, on Friday convened a meeting of the governing coalition in order to solve the current political crisis generated by the dismissal of the justice minister, Stelian Ion representing the USR-PLUS Alliance. USR PLUS are asking for the resignation of the prime minister and his replacement with another representative of the Liberals, warning that, otherwise, they will table a censure motion. The Liberals who support Florin Cîţu believe that the solution for overcoming the political crisis is a new proposal from USR PLUS for the Justice Ministry. The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR (in the governing coalition) consider that, at this moment, there is no alternative to this coalition and hope that a solution will be reached through which the current governmental formula will remain in place. On the other hand, the “Anghel Saligny” Investment Program, which is supposed to have triggered the current crisis in the ruling coalition, will be again on the table of the government on Friday and will be discussed in a meeting which is not going to be attended by the USR PLUS ministers. The interim justice minister, the Liberal Lucian Bode, announced last night that he would approve the project, unlike his predecessor, Stelian Ion. The “Anghel Saligny” program is intended for the local infrastructure and would have a funding of 50 billion lei (about 10 billion Euros).

Forum – Romania remains a pillar of stability in the Black Sea and Western Balkans region, and one of the priorities is to defend common strategic interests, President Klaus Iohannis said in a message in the opening of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum hosted by Bucharest. The head of state said that “during all this difficult period, Romanias efforts to support its partners in the region are a concrete proof of the fact that only through unity and solidarity crisis situations can be overcome and the best solutions can be found to be able to move forward”. The 5^thedition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum takes place on Friday and Saturday in Bucharest, the Romanian Defense Ministry reports. The forum is organized by the New Strategy Center (NSC), with the support of NATOs Public Diplomacy Division, in partnership with the Defense and Foreign Ministries. NSC is a Romanian think tank founded in 2015, which operates in the field of international relations, security and defense. It organizes various events and publishes specialized studies, especially to promote the strategic importance of the Black Sea region and the Balkans.

COVID-19 Ro–While interest for vaccination is dropping in Romania, the number of new Covid-19 cases in on the rise. 1,470 new cases were reported on Thursday and 26 Covid-associated deaths. Also on Thursday the authorities announced that almost 11 thousand people have got vaccinated. The coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that people should understand that vaccination provides protection to the immunized people and reduces the pressure on the health system. On the other hand, Valeriu Gheorghiţă warns that those who buy vaccination certificates do nothing but waste money and take the risk of getting sick, being hospitalized and even losing their lives. He called for drastic sanctions against these acts and urged doctors who receive such requests to address the authorities. 400 people are being investigated in approximately 200 criminal cases related to false vaccination certificates.

List – In Bucharest, the National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of countries with an epidemiological risk for visitors. Spain moves out of the red list and enters the yellow list, while Austria moves from the green list to the yellow one, following the increase in the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Israel, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Portugal remain in the red zone, and the Netherlands and Bulgaria remain on the yellow list. The new list takes effect on Sunday.

Football – The Romanian national football team defeated, on Thursday evening, in Reykjavik, the national team of Iceland, in a match from the 2022 World Championship preliminaries. The next matches of the national team will be on September 5, with Liechtenstein in Bucharest, and on September 8, with Northern Macedonia in Skopje. Romania ranks 4^th in the 2022 World Cup qualification Group J, with 6 points, being outranked by Armenia, with 10 points, Germany, with 9 points and Northern Macedonia, with 7 points. The first-ranked team is directly qualified, and the second goes to the playoffs.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, seed no. 12, today meets Elena Ribakina from Kazakhstan, in the third round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year. Halep remained the only representative of Romania in the singles competitions. Sorana Cirstea lost, yesterday, in the second round, to the American Shelby Rogers.

Enescu – The George Enescu International Festival continues today, at the Romanian Athenaeum, with a concert given by the Royal Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Constantin Grigore. Also today, the Palace Hall in Bucharest will host a new concert by the La Scala Theater Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, featuring violinist Julian Rachlin. Friday’s program also includes a concert in Bacău, by the Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra there, under the baton of Jessica Cottis. In Cluj-Napoca, pianist Yeon-Min Park and violinist Valentin Șerban, both winners of the 2020/2021 George Enescu International Competition will give a recital. 32 orchestras from 14 countries are participating in the 2021 anniversary edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival.

Attack – Six people were injured at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, after an attack with a knife committed by an extremist who was already in the attention of the police. The attacker was a Sri Lankan citizen who had been living in New Zealand for ten years and was shot dead by the police. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the attacker was a “violent extremist” and described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. The man was allegedly inspired by attacks by the Islamic State jihadist group. Tough restrictions against COVID-19 are in place in Auckland, with only supermarkets and medical centers being open. In May, four people were stabbed in a supermarket in Dunedin, in the south of New Zealand. In March 2019, 51 people were killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch by a supporter of the white supremacy. (LS)

3 September 2021
The finance minister, dismissed

Alexandru Nazare was dismissed as head of the finance ministry on Thursday, at the request of his fellow Liberal, the PM Florin Cîţu.

This is the second member sacked from the coalition government comprising the National Liberal Party, USR-PLUS, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, after the former health minister Vlad Voiculescu in mid-April. Voiculescus dismissal was requested by many at the time, and came in the wake of serious incidents that affected Romanian hospitals and of communication flaws, which outweighed his good intentions.

But now, Nazares rather surprising sacking fuels speculations that it has to do with the race for the presidency of the Liberal party, in which PM Cîţu runs against the incumbent speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban.

PM Florin Cîţu explains, however, that the decision was prompted by an analysis of the finance ministrys activity. The review apparently revealed delays in major projects related to the spending of EU funds and to fighting tax evasion.

Florin Cîţu: “Minister Nazare was given the chance to resign, but he chose to be dismissed. All the coalition leaders were informed as early as on Tuesday afternoon.

Alexandru Nazare tells a different story. In a post on a social network, the former minister said he was sacked for failing to join the team supporting PM Florin Cîţu in the race for party president. The decision is not based on objective reasons, Ludovic Orban said in Nazares defence, and warned that the appointment of a new finance minister should be decided in the Liberal Partys decision-making bodies and by the ruling coalition.

Ludovic Orban: “There are no serious reasons behind this removal. Normally, any such discussion should have first taken place within the National Liberal Party and within the ruling coalition.

The Social Democrats, in opposition, seized this opportunity to once again criticise the government. They believe government replacements are made only in order to soothe the egos of the politicians in power. The Social Democrats spokesman, Radu Oprea, argued,

Radu Oprea: “Unfortunately, the incumbent PM sets the country on fire, prices are going up, our people are getting poorer. Instead of doing his job in the government, he is only busy with his party campaign.

The dispute in the Liberal Party only proves the governments sheer disregard for the citizens problems, the Social Democrats claim. Ironically, only 4 years ago, the Social Democratic Party generated a political crisis when it dismissed its own government through a no-confidence motion. The reason was the then prime ministers alarming insubordination to the partys authoritarian leader, Liviu Dragnea, currently serving a corruption sentence.

In constitutional terms, it is within the prime ministers powers to request the dismissal of a cabinet member. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

9 July 2021
July 8, 2021

Covid – 19 ▪ The Romanian government has approved, at the proposal of the National Committee for Emergency Situations, the extension of the state of alert across Romania for another 30 days, starting with July 12. The prevention and control measures in force at the moment will continue to be applied, with some changes. The most important is the extension from 90 to 180 days of the period of exemption from these measures for those persons who have already had the infection. On the other hand, the head of the vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, has drawn attention to the fact that, as of mid-August, the number of COVID-19 cases in Romania will increase due to the new ‘Delta’ virus strain and he has again called for the population to get vaccinated. Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign in Romania, in December last year, almost 4.8 million people have been vaccinated, of whom about 4.6 million with both doses. 30 new cases of contamination and 3 deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, and 57 patients are in ICUs.

Covid world ▪ Tens of new cases of infection with the ‘Delta’ strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and one case of ‘Beta’ variant infection have been identified in Bulgaria, Romania’s neighbor. In Japan, the government has today confirmed its intention to introduce a new state of emergency during the Tokyo Olympics, a competition that is set to begin in two weeks time, given that the number of new cases of contamination continues to rise. The Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, first identified in India, continues to spread rapidly around the world. The Australian city of Sydney on Wednesday recorded the highest number of new cases this year, South Korea reported the highest rate since the onset of the pandemic, and a study published in London shows that the number of infections in England has increased 4 times since June until now. In Spain there has been an increase in the number of new cases: 17,000 yesterday, especially among young people. 1% of young people between 20 and 24 who have been infected should be hospitalized – the Spanish authorities have warned. Globally, more than 185 million cases of infection have been reported so far and at least 4 million people have died, according to wordlmeters.info. Most cases and deaths were recorded in the United States, India and Brazil.

Dismissal ▪ Romanias Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu announced on Thursday that he had submitted to President Klaus Iohannis the request for the dismissal of the Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare. PM Citu pointed out that he had informed the leaders of the PNL – USR PLUS – UDMR governing coalition about his decision. The PM explained that, upon evaluating the activity of the finance ministry, he discovered delays of some important projects which are aimed at eliminating tax dodging and attracting European funds. Meanwhile, PM Citu will be the interim finance minister.

Summit ▪ Sofia, in Bulgaria, is hosting as of today the 6th summit of the Three Seas Initiative. The summit will assess the progress made so far in the main areas of interest and will equally tackle the functioning of the Investment Fund of the Three Seas Initiative. The organization is a flexible, informal political platform at presidential level, bringing together the 12 EU member states located between the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. Romania is represented by President Klaus Iohannis, who will emphasize the importance of implementing priority strategic interconnection projects, with a focus on projects of high interest for Romania, namely Rail2Sea and Via Carpatia. From Bucharests standpoint, these projects are essential for the Initiative to really bring about long-term economic development, and to make the economy of the participating states more strategically resilient, also in the context of post-pandemic economic recovery efforts. Alongside the leaders of the Initiative countries, this years summit will be attended by representatives of the US, Germany, the European Commission and the IMF, as partners, and by Greece’s representatives as guests. The initiative is meant to develop the economies of the participating states by boosting digital interconnectivity in transport and energy fields, by increasing real convergence between EU member states and also by strengthening the transatlantic relationship, including by stimulating the US economic presence in the region. We recall that Bucharest hosted the Three Seas Initiative summit in September 2018.

Football ▪ England and Italy will play in the final of the European Football Championship to take place on Sunday. On Wednesday evening, in the second semifinal, England defeated Denmark 2-1 after extra time. Previously Italy had outclassed Spain 4-2 after the penalty shoot-out, after a 1-all score in 120 minutes. Both semifinals and the finals have been scheduled in London. Bucharest hosted four games from the final tournament, three in the groups’ stage and one in the Round of 16. After a mediocre run in the preliminaries, Romania failed to qualify for the EURO. In exchange, Romanias Under-23 team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Romania is playing in Group B and will face Honduras on July 22, South Korea on July 25 and New Zealand on July 28. The Romanian footballers have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after having reached the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2019, hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th also in Tokyo. Before 1964, Romania had participated only in the European Championships of Paris in 1924 and of Helsinki in 1952. (LS)

8 July 2021
Parliament dismisses Ombudsman

The Romanian Parliament on Wednesday
dismissed Renate Weber from her position as Ombudsman with 247 MPs voting in
favour and 32 against. The parties in the ruling coalition, namely the Liberal
Party, the Save Romania Union and PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians, accuse her of overstepping her powers and violating the Constitution
and say she did not support the authorities and did not initiate actions with
respect to the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism and did not investigate accusations
of illegal actions from the administration or of corruption from public
servants.

The chair of the Senate’s
legal committee, the Liberal MP Iulia
Scântei, explains why the legal committees also previously rejected the
Ombudsman’s activity reports:

The Ombudsman did not act constantly in the relationship
with Parliament and the other authorities, based on the principle of loyal
cooperation. Neither did she fulfil, in 2020, her role and duties with respect
to the defence, protection and promotion of the rights of children, who were
strongly affected by the restrictions adopted during the pandemic.

Save Romania Union MP Andrei
Lupu accused Renate Weber of being in the service of those who appointed her:

I am absolutely convinced
that you are a competent person, but there is one major problem in your
activity more recently. You have done your job in a selfish way, in your own
interest and of those who appointed you to your post.

From the opposition, the
Social Democrats, who refused to take part in the vote in Parliament, say they
will challenge the result in the Constitutional Court because the Ombudsman’s
dismissal is not justified. The Social Democrats are accusing the Liberals of
wanting someone in this position who won’t challenge the government’s orders.
The Social Democrat MP Titus
Corlăţean:

The Ombudsman safeguards the fundamental rights and
freedoms of citizens, not of those of the government, of those in power. This clearly
shows the unsophisticated manner in which the current right-wing government understands
democracy and seeks to subordinate a fundamental institution that should be
independent in any western-type democracy.

The leader of the Alliance of the Union of Romanians Claudiu
Târziu described the dismissal of the Ombudsman as a public execution. At the
end of the debates in Parliament, Renate Weber said she has nothing to blame
herself for while Ombudsman:

I believe I have acted with dignity in this office. For
me, rights and freedoms are sacred.

The ruling coalition is yet to propose a replacement but
promised to do so before Parliament goes into recess.

17 June 2021
April 14, 2021 UPDATE

DISMISSAL – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
on Wednesday signed the decree designating Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu
as interim Health Minister, after the latter sacked Health Minister Vlad
Voiculescu, from the Save Romania Union. Florin Cîţu motivated his decision,
saying he wanted to maintain public confidence in state institutions, to be
able to overcome the difficult period generated by the pandemic. Dan Barna, the
co-president of the USR PLUS Alliance, which is part of the ruling coalition
alongside the Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
Romania, said the prime minister no longer has the Alliance’s political
support. Dacian Cioloş, the other co-president of the USR PLUS Alliance,
described as unacceptable the fact that the prime minister did not consult the
USR-PLUS leadership before sacking the health minister. In turn, deputy prime
minister Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians, said his party accepted the prime minister’s decision and that the
coalition must go ahead. From the opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the
Social Democratic Party, said Vlad Voiculescu’s dismissal came too late for
many Romanians who lost their lives and ruined their health.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement, the leader of the Social-Democrat
group in the Romanian Parliament, Alfred Simonis, said his party will withdraw
the simple motion filed against the Health Minister following the latter’s
dismissal.

COVID-19
IN ROMANIA – 4,076
new COVID-19 infections have been reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the
group for strategic communication announced on Wednesday. Another 164 related
fatalities have also been reported during the interval, and 1,521 patients are
currently in intensive care. On the other hand, new criteria for the
implementation of quarantine have been published in the Official Journal. The
new system will keep track of infection rates based on a reference score grid.
Quarantine may be imposed when large cities reach a score of 60 and small
cities a score of 70. Some 50 towns and villages are currently in quarantine in
Romania.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD –As many countries in Eastern Europe
are faced with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Bulgarian hotels and
travel agencies are worried that more and more Romanians are cancelling their
Easter bookings in the absence of clear rules for entering the country, while
Israel’s tourism and health ministries are considering opening borders for
groups of foreign tourists at the end of May, on certain conditions. In France,
the government has decided to postpone the local elections because of the
pandemic and in Austria, health minister Rudolf Anschober resigned due to
exhaustion caused by the management of the Covid crisis.

PROTESTS – Trade
unions on Wednesday staged anti-government protests outside the government
headquarters in Bucharest. They demand a rise in the minimum wage to a decent
level, fair pensions, quality public services, unblocking collective
bargaining, fair taxation and a fair application of the law. Trade unions say
they are unhappy with the measures taken by the government and its refusal to
engage in social dialogue and demand its resignation. The gendarmerie recalls
that a maximum of 100 persons are allowed to take part in public demonstrations
under the current coronavirus restrictions and have recommended protesters to
respect the hygiene and physical distancing rules in place and wear facemasks.

GYMNASTICS –Six Romanian gymnasts, three female
and three male, are taking part in the European Artistic Gymnastics
Championships hosted by Basel between 21st and 25th April, the Romanian
Gymnastics Federation has announced. Romania is pursuing two goals at these
championships: to have two more gymnasts qualified for the Olympic Games, one
in the men’s and one in the women’s events, and win medals in the individual
and team competitions. Only two Romanian gymnasts have so far booked their
tickets for the Tokyo Olympics: Marian Drăgulescu, in the men’s vault competition,
and Maria Holbură in the women’s all-around event. (C.M. & V.P.)

14 April 2021
June 22, 2020 UPDATE

Coronavirus RO — In Romania, another 11 people infected with COVID-19 have died in the past 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group announced. Also in the past 24 hours 246 new cases of infection have been identified as compared to the 315 announced on Sunday. The total number of infections is nearing 24,300, with 1,523 deaths being reported. In another move another 5 states — Italy, Finland, Estonia, Ireland and France were added by the Romanian authorities to the list of countries excepted from the enforcement of quarantine or isolation measures. Flights to and from these countries can be resumed from all of Romania’s airports. The assessment of these countries was made according to the average number of new cases reported in the past 14 days, namely less than 5 cases in one million inhabitants.

COVID-19 world — The WHO has warned that the coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate and its economic effects and other consequences are going to be felt for many decades from now. The WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has denounced the lack of solidarity and global authority which, in his opinion, were exacerbated by the politicization of the pandemic, adding that the virus cannot be defeated in a divided world. The number of infections worldwide has exceeded 9 million, with about 470 thousand people dead and 4.8 million recovered.

NATO — Romania could boost the American military presence on its territory, and the Mihail Kogalniceanu base (south east) is ideal for an expeditionary military unit — said the NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana. He also said that the increase in the number of US troops could be justified in the context in which Russia continues to substantially consolidate its military capabilities in the Black Sea region.

Dismissal — The ruling National Liberal Party on Monday submitted to Parliament a request related to the dismissal of Renate Weber from the position of Ombudsman. They accuse her of overstepping her authority by notifying the Constitutional Court against the taxation of the so-called special pensions. They add that through this move Renate Weber is actually protecting her own special pension which she is entitled to as Ombudsman. Renate Weber announced she had nothing to say about the Liberal’s move and that she was waiting for the parliamentary procedure to take its course. The leftist opposition, dominating Parliament, announced they did not support Renate Weber’s dismissal.

Motion — The Chamber of Deputies is debating, on Tuesday, the simple motion initiated by the Social Democrats against the Liberal health minister Nelu Tataru. The Social Democrats accuse him of having failed to properly manage the health crisis, thus placing Romania on top position in a classification of countries from Central and Eastern Europe rated according to the number of COVID-19 deaths reported in one million inhabitants. The motion signatories also claim that the health ministry is preventing people with chronic diseases from getting specialized treatment. The vote on the motion is scheduled for Wednesday, in the Chamber’s plenary meeting. Previously, Parliament had adopted other simple motions against Liberal ministers but the passing of these motions does not entail the dismissal of the respective ministers.

Baccalaureate – As many as 135 thousand pupils on Monday sat for the Romanian language and literature exam, the first one within the Baccalaureate examination — the Education Ministry officials announced. 3,643 were absent. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic exams are held in special conditions. The first results will be announced on June 30 and the final ones on July 5, without disclosing the names of the candidates. Just as was the case with secondary school graduates, 12th graders who could not take the exam now, will be allowed to take the Baccalaureate exam in a special session.

Banks — The banks from Romania have so far dealt with 90% of the customer requests regarding the suspension of monthly loan payments. According to a communiqué of the Romanian Association of Banks in the first 3 months since the onset of the pandemic customers have submitted 362 thousand requests. Of the ones approved by June 15, more than 60% were dealt with and almost 40% were solved based on the support measures adopted by banks as of March. 41 thousand requests are still to be solved, and are currently being processed, the cited source announced.

Repatriations — The Romanian Foreign Ministry informs that, on Saturday and Sunday, 394 Romanian citizens were repatriated from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain and Tunisia. The action was part of the joint effort of the Foreign, Interior and Transport Ministries aimed at facilitating the return home of the Romanian citizens from abroad who were affected by the measures restricting air traffic in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. These people could no longer extend their stay on the territory of those respective states.

Theater — The first special online edition of the Sibiu International Theater Festival ‘The power to believe/Empowered’, which came to an end on Sunday evening, reported 217,918 unique viewers and 804,328 views for 10 days, the organizers announced in a press release on Monday. Held exclusively online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Festival featured 138 events from 30 countries that could be watched online on the festival’s official website www.sibfest.ro, Facebook page and YouTube channel. The biggest performing arts festival in central and eastern Europe has provided viewers with 250 hours of theater, dance, music, circus, conferences, debates, reading shows, as well as shows for children. (translation by Lacramioara Simion)

22 June 2020
The Week in Review (03-09.02.2020)

“Le roi est mort, vive le roi!”

The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban — the PM dismissed on Wednesday through a motion of no confidence following the vote of 261 MPs from Bucharest, was again designated, only one day after removal, to occupy the PM position and form a new government by the right wing president Klaus Iohannis. Fresh from marathon talks with the representatives of all parliamentary parties and groups, the Romanian president announced his decision and expressed his wish to hold early parliamentary elections.

Klaus Iohannis: “Returning to the voters is the correct solution. To put it simply, returning to the electorate means early elections. And holding early elections is my first option.”

But, for holding early elections, Parliament should reject two consecutive proposals for prime minister. Until then, according to the Constitution, the candidate to the PM position must ask, within 10 days from his designation, for Parliament’s vote of confidence on his program and government membership. Ludovic Orban said he would maintain the ministers of the former cabinet, because he is contented with their activity, and since the National Liberal Party is in favor of early elections, the Liberals decided to reject any proposal for a new government.

Ludovic Orban: “There is no party holding an absolute majority in Parliament on its own, therefore it’s the president who decides on the candidate for the position of PM. From my point of view, I believe we can have early elections.”

Until holding a vote in Parliament for the second Orban government, the interim leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu, announced he was considering notifying the Constitutional Court in relation to the designation of the outgoing PM Ludovic Orban as the new PM: “After obtaining the largest number of votes ever in Parliament for a no confidence motion, I doubt that the re-designation of Ludovic Orban as PM is legal. I am not an expert in constitutional matters, but we’ll certainly ask for clarifications until getting a vote in Parliament.”

In the no confidence motion, the Social Democrats alongside the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania accuse the Orban government of having infringed on the democratic principles, because they preferred assuming responsibility for the law on the election of mayors in two rounds of voting only a few months ahead of the local elections, out of political reasons and not in the interest of citizens.

According to the Social Democratic Party, the first Orban government violated decisions of the Constitutional Court and recommendations of the European institutions. The Liberals argued, however, that returning to the election of mayors in two rounds will give them more legitimacy and representation. Anticipating the scenario of a defeat during Wednesday’s vote, one evening earlier, the first Orban cabinet adopted a record number of emergency decrees, namely 25, of which some were vehemently contested by part of the public opinion in Romania.

International reactions to the sacking of the Orban cabinet

Romania’s latest political developments did not go unnoticed by the international press. According to Radio Free Europe, the Orban cabinet fell after only 3 months in office, through a no-confidence vote initiated by the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) and endorsed by a Parliament majority made up of the PSD, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and Pro Romania. The total number of yes-votes stood at 261, exceeding even the PSD estimates.

The situation was caused by several mistakes, which enraged both the Social Democrats and also the parties that used to back the Orban cabinet. In turn, Deutsche Welle believes the present political crisis in Romania looks more like an endless political loop and not a real chance to a fresh start. Bloomberg, Euronews, the New York Times, Le Monde, Le Figaro, La Croix, Courrier International, La Libre Belgique have also covered Romania’s latest political crisis and so have the Al Jazeera TV channel in English as well as several sites such as euractiv.com, euobserver.com and politico.eu.

Flu epidemic and coronavuris

Against the background of an increasing number of flu-related deaths, authorities on Thursday declared a flu epidemic in Romania. According to the National Center for the Control and Supervision of Communicable Diseases, the number of infections has doubled as compared to previous estimates and to the number registered last week and the flu virus has been confirmed in 60% of the cases tested. Officials have cautioned against the flu infections, which is likely to maintain its upward trend in the following weeks, but this is not unexpected as many people have not been vaccinated. The Romanian authorities have also given assurances they have taken all the protection measures against the coronavirus.

Winter has finally arrived in Romania

After more than two months of warm, spring-like weather, most of Romania’s territory has this week been hit by a wave a cold weather with snowfalls and blizzard. Road, rail, maritime and air traffic has been disrupted and many towns and villages have been left without electricity. Gale-force winds have broken down trees and destroyed roofs. The extreme weather phenomena have prompted the authorities to close down schools. And speaking about winter and extreme weather conditions, we cannot wrap up this programme without mentioning the performance obtained by a 45 year old Romanian, Tiberiu Useriu, who has come second in the Yukon Arctic Ultra race, staged every year close to the Arctic Circle. Tibi Useriu has covered the 500 kilometer distance in 7 days and 33 minutes. Yukon Arctic Ultra is a tougher race than 6633 Arctic Ultra, Tibi managed to win three years in a row. (translation by L. Simion and D. Bilt)

8 February 2020
December 27, 2018 UPDATE

DEFENCE The Supreme Defence Council convenes in Bucharest on Friday to review the request made by the Defence Minister, Gabriel Leş, regarding the filling of high-level vacancies in the Romanian Army, the Presidency announced. The Defence Minister had previously announced he would not extend Gen. Nicolae Ciucăs term in office as Chief of Staff, due to conclude on December 31st. The latest Supreme Defence Council meeting was held on December 19th, when the Armys procurement plan for 2019 – 2028 was approved, along with the forces and equipment that Romania will deploy next year for missions and operations abroad. 1902 Romanian troops will take part in international operations, which is 127 more than this year, while the Interior Ministry will contribute 759 troops and police to EU, OSCE, NATO and UN missions. Romania will continue to take part in NATOs Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan and will maintain its contribution to Allied operations in the Western Balkans. Also, for the first time, a transport and evacuation helicopter unit will participate in the UN mission in Mali.

JUDICIARY The Prosecutor General of Romania, Augustin Lazar, says his dismissal as requested by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader disregards the law and the EU recommendations, and is of a strictly political nature. Lazar argues that Minister Toaders statements and measures are liable to undermine the public confidence in the ability of the judicial system to perform its constitutional role. The Justice Minister had announced he would send President Klaus Iohannis the documents to complete Lazars removal from office, initiated in October. The head of state described the measure as a mistake, and the prosecutor section of the Higher Council of Magistracy did not agree with the dismissal. Lazar, accused by the Justice Minister of professional and managerial underperformance, filed a lawsuit against the decision, which is to be tried by the Supreme Court. The Opposition in Bucharest says that the attempt to dismiss Lazar, after this summer the National Anti-Corruption Directorate chief Laura Codruta Kovesi was also sacked, is a form of political retaliation and a move designed to hinder the fight against corruption.

BORDER Border police from Romania and the Republic of Moldova will set up joint teams to monitor the common state line. The joint patrols will help improve cooperation in view of combating cross-border crime, the authorities of the 2 states explain. A protocol in this respect was signed on November 22nd in Bucharest, during a joint meeting of the 2 national governments. The Republic of Moldova has a similar agreement signed with its other neighbour, Ukraine.

HANDBALL Romanias mens handball team is playing against the Czech Republic on Friday, in the semi-finals of the “4 Nations Cup held in Poland. In the other semi-final, the host country is facing Japan. On Saturday the 2 winners will play against each other, and so will the other 2 semi-finalists. After New Years the national team, coached by Spains Manuel Montoya and the Romanian Eliodor Voica will be on a training session in Slovakia, followed by a tournament with Croatia and Netherlands also taking part. The Romanians failed to qualify to the World Championship due in Germany and Denmark next month. The Romanian womens team however has already booked its ticket to next years World Championship in Japan, after finishing 4th in the European Championship in France this month.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

27 December 2018
December 26, 2018 UPDATE

Justice — The Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader announced he would finalize, on Thursday, December 27, the procedure for the dismissal of Romania’s prosecutor general Augustin Lazar, which was started in October. Toader accused Lazar of professional and managerial errors and Augustin Lazar took legal action against the justice ministry. The issue is to be judged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The opponents of the governing coalition claim that the dismissal of Augustin Lazar, which follows that of the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, is a form of political vendetta and an attempt to stop the anti-corruption fight.

Trade statistics — In 2018 as well Romania continued to import more than it exported, show the latest data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. In the first 10 months of the year, the trade balance deficit rose by more than one and a half billion Euros as against the same period of 2017. From January 1st to October 31st exports rose by a little over 9%. At the same time, imports rose by almost 10%. Therefore the trade balance deficit reached almost 12 billion Euros. Around three quarters of Romania’s international trade exchanges were with partner countries from the EU.

Handball — Romania’s national men’s handball team will go to Poland on Thursday to participate in the 4 Nations Cup alongside the teams of Poland, the Czech Republic and Japan. After January 1st Romania’s national team trained by Spanish Manuel Montoya and the former Romanian-born international handballer Eliodor Voica will go on a training camp to Slovakia and then they will participate in a tournament also involving the participation of the host country and the Netherlands. We remind you that the Romanian handballers failed to qualify to the World Championship due next month, which is organized by Germany and Denmark. In exchange, Romania’s national women’s team has already qualified to the World Championships to be held next year in Japan, after in December they ended on 4th place the European Championship hosted by France.

Tourist statistics — Many Romanians wanted to spend the Christmas holidays in rural guesthouses across Romania, where the occupancy rate exceeded 90%. According to data made public by the Romanian Tourism Business Owners’ Federation, the most sought-after destinations in the rural areas were Bran, the area of Sibiu (in the center), Maramures (in the north) and Bukovina (in the northeast). Second in the top of tourist attractions were the spa resorts. Also some Romanians chose to spend the Christmas mini-holiday abroad, opting for city breaks to European countries or for trips to warm climate countries. Many tourists chose the ski resorts from Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland and France where they also visited the Christmas Fairs. As for exotic destinations, most Romanians chose Dubai, Egypt and Morocco.

Earthquake — A 3.1 magnitude quake took place on Tuesday night in Vrancea region, southeastern Romania, at a depth of 126 kms. The most powerful earthquake of 2018 in Romania measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and occurred on October 28 in the same area. The quake was felt in the capital Bucharest as well. (translation by L. Simion)

26 December 2018
December 24, 2018

Christmas Eve — Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Catholic Christians from all over the world on Monday mark Christmas Eve and make the last preparations for the Nativity of Jesus, one of the greatest celebrations of Christianity marked on December 25. A famous tradition in Romania on Christmas Eve is caroling, with carolers symbolizing the angels and shepherds who announced the Birth of Jesus. They make wishes of good health and wealth and receive fruit, bagels, sweets or money. The old rite Christians who form the majority in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia will celebrate Christmas on January 7. These days many pilgrims visit the holy sites from Israel and the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.

Justice — The Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader announced he would finalize, on Thursday, December 27, the procedure for the dismissal of Romania’s prosecutor general Augustin Lazar, which was started in October. Toader accused Lazar of professional and managerial errors and Lazar took legal action against the justice ministry. The issue is to be judged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The opponents of the governing coalition claim that the dismissal of Augustin Lazar, which follows that of the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, was a form of political vendetta and an attempt to stop the anti-corruption fight. In another development, minister Toader announced he signed the documents for the release from prison of a former Romanian minister Elena Udrea and a former chief of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, Alina Bica, who are in prison in Costa Rica upon the request of the Romanian authorities. The two had received definitive sentences in Romania in cases of high-level corruption. The High Court of Cassation and Justice decided on the suspension of the imprisonment conviction in their case, after the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled as illegal the setting up of the panels of 5 judges at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The ruling also led to the suspension of the imprisonment convictions in many other cases involving former ministers and incumbent politicians.

Brexit — Romania supports the Brexit deal as well as the political declaration on the future framework of the post-Brexit relation between the EU and the UK, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu told the BBC on Sunday. He added that, from Romania’s point of view, it was important for the UK to stay as close as possible to the EU. Teodor Melescanu also said that Romania envisaged to start bilateral negotiations with the UK as part of the strategic partnership concluded by the two sides. Minister Melescanu also reminded that at the meeting held with the former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson he received assurances that the more than 400 thousand Romanians who are in the UK would not be affected by Brexit and he gave the example of the Romanian physicians and nurses who went to the UK. Boris Johnson had stated that if these people left the UK the country’s healthcare system would be severely affected.

Jakarta — The death toll in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Indonesia following a volcanic eruption has reached 300 dead and more than 1,000 injured, the National Agency for Disaster Management announced on Monday. Scores of people are still reported missing. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the tsunami that, on Saturday, hit the southern coasts of Sumatra and the western side of the Java island.

Border traffic — More than 250 thousand people, both Romanian and foreign citizens, have crossed Romania’s borders over the past 24 hours in more than 60 thousand cars, the border police announced. Of them as many as 170 thousand entered Romania while almost 83 thousand left the country. In the same period of time, the border police identified 30 cases of crimes and 37 cases of offences perpetrated by both Romanian and foreign citizens. Also, 29 foreign citizens were denied entry to Romania as they did not comply with the legal provisions, and 16 Romanian citizens were prevented from leaving the country from various legal reasons. (translation by L. Simion)

24 December 2018
June 3, 2018 UPDATE

KOVESI — The National Liberal Party will support President Klaus Iohannis in his decision over the dismissal of the Chief Prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) Laura Codruta Kovesi, Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said on Sunday. On Wednesday the Constitutional Court ruled that President Klaus Iohannis has to dismiss the Anti-Corruption Directorate chief, Laura Codruţa Kovesi. The Court ruling was criticised in the street by thousands of protesters, particularly in Bucharest. The Justice Minister Tudorel Toader moved to dismiss the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Following a negative opinion of the Higher Council of Magistracy on the request, President Iohannis refused to dismiss Kovesi, who in turn denied all accusations. After the President announced this decision, Minister Toader referred the matter to the Constitutional Court.

EXERCISE — Until June 17, 30 Romanian marines and two staff officers are participating in the multinational drill BALTOPS 18, one of the biggest joint drills in northern Europe. The maneuvers are to be held in Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the international waters of the Baltic Sea. BALTOPS 18 is an annual drill staged and funded by the United States European Command (EUCOM). The participation of the Romanian troops in these maneuvers significantly increase their training level at the same time boosting the image of Romania and its naval forces in terms of cooperation with NATO structures, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Navy has pointed out.

BOOKFEST — The 2018 BookFest Trade Fair came to an end on Sunday. Bringing together over 150 publishers, Bookfest this year played host to hundreds of events, from book launches to film screenings. For the third consecutive year, Bookfest was organized under the high patronage of Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis. In his opening address, President Iohannis said he believes in the link between books, education and the consolidation of democracy. This year’s guest of honor was the United States of America.

NORTH KOREA — US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said North Korea must make verifiable and irreversible steps towards denuclearization if it wants the UN to lift the sanctions. The US official is attending a security summit in Singapore. US President Donald Trump will meet North-Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on June 12 in Singapore, for talks over a peaceful solution to North Korea’s nuclear programme. Pyongyang accepted to start talks on denuclearization, provided the process goes both ways.

TIFF — Marcelo Martinessi’s The Heiresses has scooped the grand prize of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), one of Europe’s biggest such events hosted by Cluj-Napoca, northwestern Romania. The awards gala also brought an homage to Romanian director Lucian Pintilie, who recently passed away. French actress Fanny Ardant grabbed the lifelong achievement award. This year’s edition included 227 productions, 178 feature films and 49 short reels from all over the world. In the Romanian film section some 35 local productions were screened, among which Adina Pintilie’s Touch Me Not, which won the Golden Bear this year, as well as Andrei Cretulescu’s debut feature Charleston. This year’s guest of honor was opera singer Angela Gheorghiu.

CYCLING — Romanian professional racing cyclist Sergey Tsvetcov on Sunday won the Tour de Korea race in South Korea. Stepan Astafiev of Kazakhstan was runner up while Matteo Busato of Italy came in third. This is Tsvetkov’s most important win. He is part of Romania’s national road bycicle team and is currently competing for a US-based club.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number one and seeded first at Roland Garros on Monday is playing Elise Mertens of Belgium in the round of 16 at the French Open. Another Romanian, Mihaela Buzarnescu, on Sunday lost to Madison Keys of the United States. A total of six Romanians made it to the main draw this year. Irina Maria Bara and Mihaela Buzarnescu will compete in the doubles’ round of 16, playing against Jennifer Brady and Vania King of the United States.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

3 June 2018
May 31, 2018 UPDATE

ANTI-CORRUPTION – Prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate Thursday issued a news release warning and expressing concerns with respect to a possible infringement upon the independence of prosecutors. It is the prosecutors response after on Wednesday the Constitutional Court ruled that President Klaus Iohannis has to dismiss the Anti-Corruption Directorate chief, Laura Codruţa Kovesi. The US Embassy to Bucharest confirmed that it was closely monitoring the developments following the Constitutional Courts ruling to dismiss the anti-corruption chief, but emphasised that this is a matter of Romanian domestic politics. The Court ruling was criticised in the street by thousands of protesters, particularly in Bucharest. The Justice Minister Tudorel Toader moved to dismiss the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Following a negative opinion of the Higher Council of Magistracy on the request, President Iohannis refused to dismiss Kovesi, who in turn denied all accusations. After the President announced this decision, Minister Toader referred the matter to the Constitutional Court.

GOVERNMENT – The Government of Romania decided on Thursday to establish a National Office for Centralised Procurement, under an emergency order. The institution is designed to handle all procurement operations by public authorities. The goal is to avoid situations where the same products are purchased at variable prices. Also on Thursday, the Government approved a memorandum on putting together the Economic Code, which should comprise the Tax Code, the Code of Fiscal procedure, the Law on the incorporation of trade companies, the Tax Evasion Law and other laws in the economic field.

TRADE – The US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced on Thursday that as of Friday, June 1, the USA will charge duties for the steel and aluminium imports from the EU. The US thus decided not to extend the temporary exemption granted to the Union. As a result, steel imports from EU member countries will be subject to 25% duties, and aluminium imports will be charged 10%. Previously, the French Economy Minister, Bruno le Maire, had said Europe would take all the necessary measures should the USA impose customs duties. France Press comments that Washington made this decision in order to protect the American industry, which was forced to run below its capacity because of the surplus of steel and aluminium in the international market.

MOTORWAY – The European Commission announced on Thursday that 265 million euros out of the Cohesion Fund will be invested in extending a Hungarian motorway to the Romanian border. According to the Commission, the new project will connect the 2 capital cities, Budapest and Bucharest. The project will also support local and regional economies and will promote tourism, the European Commission pointed out.

FOOTBALL – Romanias national football team Thursday beat the defending South American champions Chile, 3-2, in a friendly match in Graz, Austria. The 2 teams, which failed to qualify to next months World Cup in Russia, also played against each other last year, in Cluj, where the Romanians won by the same score. On Tuesday, Romania will play at home against Finland, in a training session for the newly created UEFA Nations League, where it plays in League C, against Serbia, Montenegro and Lithuania this autumn.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

31 May 2018
The Week in Review (18-24 February)

Justice Minister formally asks for the dismissal of the anti-corruption directorates chief prosecutor

The decision of Romanias Justice Minister Tudorel Toader to formally ask for the dismissal of the National Anti-Corruption Directorates chief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, has sparked fresh protests throughout the country, with thousands of Romanians taking to the streets shortly after Minister Toaders announcement. In a news conference on Thursday evening, the Justice Minister presented the findings of a report on the activity of the DNAs leadership, in which chief prosecutor Kovesi is being criticised.

Tudorel Toader accuses Laura Codruta Kovesi of “acts and deeds that are intolerable in a rule of law, such as serious violation of duty, putting pressure on the government and other institutions, postponing sentences in a number of cases, not checking the professional activity and behaviour of certain prosecutors, as well as certain public statements, to name but a few. At the same time, Minister Toader accuses the chief-prosecutor of having breached the constitution and the separation of powers principle.

Tudorel Toader: “The National Anti-Corruption Directorate does not identify itself with its chief-prosecutor, whose actions in the past year have proven likely to endanger the very institution that she leads, by having an excessively authoritarian and discretionary behaviour, defying Parliaments authority and the Governments role and attributions and contesting the Constitutional Courts decisions and authority.

Once the procedure is initiated, the chief prosecutors dismissal cannot be done without the head of states approval, after the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) gives advice on the request submitted by the Minister of Justice.

President Klaus Iohannis however, maintains his support for the DNAs activity and its leadership, according to a release by the presidency soon after the proposal for dismissal was made public. President Iohannis believes that the Justice Ministers presentation of the report is lacking in clarity, for which reason the report will be thoroughly analysed by the Presidential Administrations departments. The presidential release also says that the head of state will make use of all his constitutional prerogatives to ensure the functioning of an independent justice system and the consolidation of the rule of law.

Romanias Prosecutor-General Augustin Lazar has said that there is no legal reason for the dismissal of the DNAs chief prosecutor. On the political stage, the reactions to Minister Toaders announcement were very prompt. The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) sees the Justice Ministers request as grounded and well documented. On the other hand, the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party, sees the request as ungrounded, made under the pressure of influential people who have problems with the law.

The Romanian PM travels to Brussels

Having paid this week her first official visit to Brussels since being appointed prime minister, the former MEP Viorica Dancila discussed with the European officials about Romanias holding the EU Council presidency in the first half of 2019, financial aspects and the countrys joining the Schengen area. The European Commission President, Jean Claude Junker has said, on this occasion, that there is no reason for Romania not to join the Schengen area. Junker has also voiced hope that the Bucharest Government will make efforts for the countrys judicial system to work. In his opinion, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in place for Bulgaria and Romania should be lifted before the mandate of the current Commission ends.

The Romanian PM also held talks in Brussels with the European Council President Donald Tusk and the head of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani. The latter urged the Romanian Government to continue the battle against corruption and for the consolidation of the rule of law.

Viorica Dancila: “I believe that good cooperation is beneficial for Europe and for Romania. I will go before the European Parliament to talk about the future of Europe, which Romania must be an active part of, given the countrys taking over the EU Council presidency and the challenges lying ahead.

The slow absorption of European funds is another topic tackled by PM Dancila at a meeting with the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu. Commissioner Cretu has again warned the Bucharest authorities over the fact that procedures for using European money must be sped up and simplified.

The opposition files no-confidence motion against the Labour Minister

The simple motion filed against the Social Democrat Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu was rejected on Wednesday in the Chamber of Deputies. Its signatories, 60 Liberal MPs, accuse the ruling coalition of disrupting the fiscal and social systems and creating serious imbalances between the public and private systems, following the transfer of social security contributions from employers to employees starting January 1st, 2018. Following the implementation of this measure, the incomes of around 2 million Romanians have gone down. At the debates in the Chamber of Deputies, Minister Olguta Vasilescu has said that salaries cannot decrease if employers act in good faith.

(translated by: Elena Enache)

24 February 2018