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Tag: European Commissioner

  • European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights visits Bucharest

    European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights visits Bucharest

    The European Commissioner forJobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, has paid a visit to Bucharest, where he discussed with Romanian officials the measures that Bucharest should take to combat poverty, but also the impact of the war in Ukraine on the European economy.



    Nicolas Schmit said, that, first of all we need to make sure that this war does not lead to a new economic crisis in Europe, which is a very important issue. Of course, there are several elements that are uncertain, such as the price of energy, which can influence many sectors. Fortunately, Romania is in the situation in which its almost autonomous, and its energy situation is very good, the Commissioner said.



    Together with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, the Commissioner mainly analysed the EUs response to the crisis trigger by the Russian military aggression. The Romanian PM presented Romanias strategy for ensuring energy independence through the use of nuclear energy, developing the capacity to produce renewable energy and exploiting new offshore natural gas reserves.



    Romania had a massive inflow of Ukrainian refugees on its hands and has handled the situation remarkably well, the European Commissioner told a news conference in Bucharest on Thursday.



    Nicolas Schmit also expressed the European Commissions support for a rapid access to the funds already available to Member States and gave assurances that they would be supplemented with new resources.



    Brussels wants to support the Romanian government in its efforts to help young people find a job, the commissioner said after a meeting with Labor Minister Marius Budai. He said this could be done by implementing a community initiative called the “Youth Guarantee” and accessing the existing funds.According to the European Commissioner, the implementation of the “Child Guarantee” is also important because poverty is still a serious issue in Romania, especially among children. Children need better opportunities, better care, better education and nutrition, the Commissioner said, also stressing the issue of poverty among the elderly.



    In turn, the Romanian minister Marius Budai said that the 9.4% of the GDP cap that limits spending on pensions, as provided in the NRRP, should be made more flexible, because sticking to this cap might lead to impoverishing the population.



    Marius Budai: “I agree and support, as I told the Commissioner, any reform that would benefit the Romanian state and that would be in line with everything stipulated by the provisions of the European Union treaties. We are also deeply attached to this European project, but I will never sign a reform that will maintain or lead to the impoverishment of Romanian citizens “.



    Recently, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management have also travelled to Bucharest to support Romania against the background of the crisis it is faced with at the border with Ukraine. (MI)

  • European Commissioners in Bucharest

    European Commissioners in Bucharest

    The cohesion policies, designed to bridge the development gaps between European regions, must remain the main investment policies in the European Union, and must take into account the social and demographic characteristics of each EU member state. This is the view expressed by the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila, at an international conference that has brought to Bucharest these days two European commissioners, namely the European Commissioner for regional development Corina Cretu and the European Commissioner for budget and human resources Gunther Oettinger. Bucharest pleads for clearer eligibility criteria, contributing to a more accurate assessment of the applications for EU funding, Viorica Dancila also added.



    In the forthcoming EU budget, for 2021-2027, Bucharest will benefit from a 7 billion euro increase in allocations under the cohesion policies, the European Commissioner Corina Cretu said. The cohesion policy is actually the guarantee of improved living standards for European citizens, and its results are noticeable in Romania as well, the European official added, mentioning that since 2007 when it joined the bloc Romania has had more than 45 billion euros earmarked by Brussels for its domestic development.



    The talks held by the Romanian PM with Commissioner Gunther Oettinger focused on the multiannual financial framework. Viorica Dancila emphasised the importance of the timely endorsement of the EU budget, which would enable the Union objectives to be reached and would ensure continuity in the implementation of the programmes financed under the post-2020 cohesion policy. This is why, during its term as holder of the EU Council rotating presidency in the first half of 2019, Romania will make all efforts to facilitate consensus among the member states and to ensure that substantial progress is made in this respect, which has an outstanding impact on the overall activity of the European bloc, Dancila promised.



    The Commission has drafted a balanced multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027, Commissioner Oettinger also said, and admitted that some cuts have been necessary in order to ensure adequate financial resources for solving urgent problems like migration, security and defence. However, Oettinger added, the Unions cohesion policy, which enables the countries and regions lingering below the European average to strengthen their economies, has been reformed and remains one of the key pillars of the European project.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Week in Review 23 – 29 October

    The Week in Review 23 – 29 October

    Proposals for the amendment of the Fiscal Code


    The Romanian government on Thursday analysed, in a first reading, a bill on the amendment of the Fiscal Code, with the finance minister Ionut Misa presenting the main measures planned by the government. He said the income tax is to drop from 16 to 10%, not just in the case of salary incomes, but also in the case of pensions, rents, interest rates and farming activities. Those practising independent activities, such as doctors, lawyers, journalists, notaries, writers and artists, will no longer pay their social security contributions based on the sums obtained from these activities, but based on the minimum wage. Beginning on 1st January 2018, employers are to pay a 2.25% tax following the transfer of the payment of social security contributions to employees. Misa also announced several changes to stimulate the business environment. In the case of 450,000 companies whose turnover is below 1 million euros, a 1% turnover tax will be levied to replace the 16% profit tax charged at the moment. Another measure adopted by the finance ministry refers to the implementation, as of 2018, of the European directive to deter profit shifting by multinational companies. Labour minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu also said the minimum pension would grow to 640 lei and the child-rearing allowance would grow to 1,250 lei. Another planned measure is the reduction of the contribution to the pension funds Pillar 2 from 5.1% to 3.7%.



    The European commissioner for the budget and human resources Gunther Oettinger travels to Bucharest


    The European commissioner for the budget and human resources Gunther Oettinger said on Thursday in Bucharest that there are premises for Romania to meet the 3% deficit target this year and the next. He made this statement after a meeting in Parliament with the members of the joint parliamentary committees for European affairs and the budget, finances and banks. Gunther Oettinger also said Romania played an important role in the talks on the future financial framework of the European Union, given that it will hold the rotating presidency of the Union in the first half of 2019.



    Justice Minister presents proposes changes to the laws on the judiciary


    The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader on Wednesday presented to the members of the special Parliament committee the bills designed to amend the justice laws. The ruling coalition decided that the new draft would be tabled by their parliamentary group rather than as a government bill.


    Among other things, the controversial bills, on which the Higher Council of Magistrates has already given its negative opinion, narrow the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, which will no longer be entitled to investigate magistrates. Other changes concern the procedure for appointing high-ranking prosecutors and the establishment of a special unit to investigate offences committed by magistrates. Toader announced he wanted the judicial inspection corps to be an autonomous institution, subordinated neither to the Higher Council of Magistrates nor to the Justice Ministry. He also added that a special law regulating the status of this institution must be endorsed within 6 months. As far as the responsibility of magistrates goes, Minister Tudorel Toader explained that judges would be subject to pecuniary liability for errors made in bad faith.


    The supreme court ordered Parliament to return the bills to the Justice Ministry on grounds that legislative transparency requirements had been breached, and, more importantly, that the texts were against the rules on the drafting and endorsement of laws.


    As of next week, the bills will be discussed in the special parliamentary committee. They will then be referred to the Chamber of Deputies, with the final vote on the matter to be given by the Senate.


    In another development, the Appeal for compensation law has come into force in Romania these days. The act stipulates that for every 30 days served in penitentiaries in improper conditions, convicts have 6 days taken off of their sentence. According to the Justice Minister, thanks to the new law, nearly 530 people have been released, and over 3,300 are eligible for parole. The detainees who have already served their sentences but whose cases are pending with the European Court of Human Rights may receive between 5 and 8 euros in compensations for each day of imprisonment in improper conditions.



    Bucharest host a new edition of the Indagra International Fair


    Romania has huge potential in the agriculture sector, and it should capitalise on it in an intelligent and sustainable manner, so as to become a leader in this sector, said President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday, at the opening of Indagra, the largest agriculture trade fair held in Bucharest. Iohannis also said Romania should get itself out of a vicious circle in which it exports raw materials and implicitly subsidies, and imports high value-added products. The President also noted that in the first half of the year farming and foodstuff imports went up by 17% compared to last year, whereas exports only increased by 4.5%. He mentioned that until 2020, under the Common Agricultural Policy Romania benefits from European funds of up to 20 billion euros.