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Tag: Fighting Eagles

  • The Week in Review: February 13-19

    The Week in Review: February 13-19

    Romanias 2017 Budget


    On Thursday Romanias President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the laws on the 2017 state budget and social security budget. The President has explained he decided to promulgate the laws only because Romania needed a budget, but has stressed the fact that in this budget revenues are overestimated and expenses are very high. That is why the President has called on the coalition Government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania to be responsible when implementing its governing program.



    Klaus Iohannis: “Some people say the revenues in this budget are optimistic, I would say they are overestimated. Also, expenses are very high. This hyper-optimistic approach to the state budget is visible if, for instance, we make a comparison between last years consolidated budget revenues and what has been provided for this year, which is 14% more than last year, without providing any explanation whatsoever as to what are the grounds for such a phenomenal growth. 14% is a lot for the consolidated budget.



    On the other hand, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has stated that the budget law is an ambitious project and the Executive has earmarked money for all the measures it has announced.



    Sorin Grindeanu: “Id say we have managed to come up, in a record time, with a budget that takes into account our governing program and all the measures that we have committed to implementing. We have done our job, we have adopted all the necessary legislative documents and we have included the money in the budget for all these measures.



    But which are the economic indicators that the Government can count on? According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romanias GDP went up by 4.8% in 2016 as compared to the previous year. For 2017, economic growth forecasts range between 3.7% according to the World Bank, 3.8% as estimated by the IMF, and 4.4% according to the European Commission. In its winter forecast, published on Monday, the European Commission warns, though, that the public deficit would reach 3.6% of the GDP this year, to stand at 3.9% in 2018.



    Emergency Decree and Referendum


    The emergency decree issued by the Romanian Government to abrogate the controversial amendments to the criminal law, which triggered a large-scale political crisis, has been on the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies as of Wednesday. One day before, the Senate endorsed the bill unanimously.



    Since the beginning of the crisis, on January 31st, hundreds of thousands of Romanians in the country and abroad have been calling for the resignation of the Grindeanu Cabinet, whom they accuse that, by trying to amend the criminal codes, actually intended to clean the criminal records of several influential politicians and local and central administration officials. The Social Democratic Party has denied the accusations, saying the Government only wanted to put the legislation in line with the Constitutional Courts rulings.



    In this context, President Klaus Iohannis, criticized for embracing the cause of the anti-Government protesters, initiated a referendum on continuing the fight against corruption. On Monday, the initiative was endorsed by Parliament. In order to assure Romanias European partners that the fight against corruption is one of the priorities of the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu paid a short visit to Brussels later this week, where he said:



    Sorin Grindeanu: “In the future, as regards regulations in the field of the judiciary, we would like to have such things decided in Parliament, after thorough debates involving public institutions, NGOs and, of course, the MPs, in order to have the rulings of the Constitutional Court regarding the criminal codes approved in Parliament.



    In turn, the First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans recommended more transparency in the activity of the Romanian Executive. According to Frans Timmermans it is a good thing that the Government wants to get the Romanian legislation in line with the EU regulations, but this can only be done with complete openness and transparency.



    Romania and NATOs eastern flank


    As many as 500 US troops have arrived this week at the Mihail Kogalniceanu military base in Constanta, southeastern Romania, along with a shipment of tanks, combat vehicles and artillery equipment for multinational drills. Colonel Romeo Feraru with the Romanian Land Forces has more:



    Romeo Feraru: “The 500 soldiers and artillery from the 1st Battalion ‘Fighting Eagles’ will station in Romania for a period of 9 months, after which they will be replaced by soldiers from another unit, thus ensuring a constant presence in Europe.



    The US military will take part in multinational training exercises as part of the Atlantic Resolve military operation aimed at consolidating NATOs eastern flank.



    In a statement made public by the NATO press office, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg congratulated Romania for its huge effort to increase the budget for defense to 2% of the GDP in 2017, saying it is an example for other alliance members.



    Entry visas for Romanians traveling to Canada to be lifted as of December 2017


    Romanians will no longer need entry visas for Canada starting December 1st, 2017. The decision is part of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, approved by the European Parliament this week. Eliminating visas for Romanians was a condition imposed by Bucharest in order to sign the free trade agreement. The agreement is to be ratified by all EU national and regional parliaments. Romanian MEP Iuliu Winkler has said that, besides eliminating visa requirements, the agreement also has numerous economic advantages.



    Iuliu Winkler: “If we refer to the very complex part of the agreement, such as trade and economic cooperation, the medium sized companies in the energy sector or in other technological sectors will have the chance to cooperate on the Canadian public services market. The protection of intellectual property, copyright, inventions and innovations will be covered by the CETA agreement.



    According to Iuliu Winkler, this may be the most important free trade agreement of the 21st century.

  • Retrospectiva săptămânii 12-18.02.2017

    Retrospectiva săptămânii 12-18.02.2017

    Bugetul României pe 2017


    Preşedintele Klaus Iohannis a
    promulgat, joi, legile bugetului de stat şi bugetului asigurărilor sociale de
    stat pe 2017. A explicat că a luat această decizie doar pentru că România are
    nevoie de buget, dar că veniturile sunt supraapreciate, iar cheltuielile foarte
    mari. De aceea, preşedintele Iohannis a cerut Guvernului de coaliţie PSD-ALDE
    responsabilitate în îndeplinirea programului asumat. Klaus Iohannis: Veniturile la buget sunt, aşa cum au spus
    unii, optimiste. Eu spun supraapreciate. Cheltuieli sunt prevăzute în sumă
    foarte mare. Abordarea hiperoptimistă a bugetului se poate vedea, de exemplu,
    făcând o comparaţie între veniturile la bugetul general consolidat de anul
    trecut şi ce se prevede pentru anul acesta, unde se constată o creştere de 14%,
    fără să fie vreo explicaţie undeva cum se ajunge la această creştere
    fenomenală. 14% este foarte mult pentru bugetul general consolidat.     Premierul Sorin Grindeanu a declarat, în schimb, că Legea bugetului de stat este un
    proiect ambiţios şi că Executivul a prevăzut bani pentru toate măsurile
    anunţate: Am reuşit, zic eu, în timp record să venim
    cu un buget care să ţină cont de programul nostru de guvernare, de toate
    măsurile pe care noi ne-am angajat să le punem în practică. Noi ne-am făcut
    treaba, am adoptat actele legislative necesare, am prevăzut banii în buget
    pentru toate aceste măsuri.     Pe ce indicatori economici se poate baza Guvernul de la Bucureşti?
    Potrivit Institutului Naţional de Statistică, produsul intern brut al ţării a crescut cu 4,8% în 2016,
    comparativ cu anul precedent. Pentru 2017, estimările privind creşterea
    economiei oscilează între 3,7%, potrivit prognozei Băncii Mondiale, 3,8% -
    potrivit celei a FMI şi 4,4% – potrivit Comisiei Europene. În previziunile
    economice de iarnă publicate luni, Executivul comunitar avertizează, însă, că
    deficitul public ar urma să ajungă, anul acesta, la 3,6% din PIB, pentru ca în
    2018 să atingă 3,9%.


    Ordonanţă de
    urgenţă şi referendum


    Ordonanţa de
    urgenţă a Guvernului de la Bucureşti care abrogă controversatele modificări ale
    Codurilor penale, aflate la originea recentei crize politice de amploare, este,
    de miercuri, pe agenda Camerei Deputaţilor, for decizional. Cu o zi înainte,
    plenul Senatului a adoptat actul normativ în unanimitate. De la începutul
    crizei, pe 31 ianuarie, sute de mii de români din ţară şi din diaspora au cerut
    demisia Cabinetului Grindeanu, pe care-l acuză că, prin încercarea de
    modificare a Codurilor, ar fi vrut să exonereze de responsabilitate penală
    personaje politice influente şi funcţionari din administraţia centrală şi
    locală. PSD a negat acuzaţiile, afirmând că Guvernul dorea să pună în acord
    legislaţia din domeniu cu decizii ale Curţii Constituţionale. În acest context,
    preşedintele Klaus Iohannis -
    criticat, şi el, pentru că a îmbrăţişat cauza protestatarilor
    antiguvernamentali – a
    iniţiat un referendum pe tema continuării luptei anticorupţie. Demersul a
    primit, luni, avizul favorabil al Parlamentului. Pentru a-i asigura pe toţi partenerii României
    din instituţiile europene că lupta împotriva corupţiei este unul din
    obiectivele prioritare ale Guvernului PSD-ALDE, premierul Sorin Grindeanu a
    făcut, la finele acestei săptămâni, o scurtă vizită la Bruxelles. Cu acest prilej, el a declarat: Ne dorim în viitor, dacă vorbim despre
    reglementările din domeniul justiţiei, ca aceste lucruri să se întâmple în
    Parlament, printr-o dezbatere cât mai largă care să implice instituţii din
    România, ONG-uri, parlamentari, bineînţeles, astfel încât deciziile Curţii
    Constituţionale care se referă la articole din Codul Penal şi Codul de
    Procedură Penală să poată fi aprobate în Parlament.     La rândul său,
    prim-vicepreşedintele Comisiei Europene, Frans Timmermans, a recomandat
    Executivului de la Bucureşti mai multă transparenţă. Este bine că Guvernul vrea
    să armonizeze legislaţia naţională cu normele Uniunii Europene, dar acest lucru
    trebuie făcut cu totală deschidere – a mai spus Frans Timmermans.


    România şi flancul estic al NATO


    La baza aeriană Mihail Kogălniceanu
    din sud-estul României au sosit, în această săptămână, 500 de militari
    americani. Au adus cu ei tancuri, transportoare blindate şi tunuri
    autopropulsate necesare pentru participarea la exerciţii multinaţionale.
    Colonelul Romeo Feraru, din partea Statului Major al Forţelor Terestre române,
    a detaliat: Cei 500 de militari şi
    tehnica de luptă din forţele terestre americane aparţinând Batalionului 1
    Fighting Eagles vor staţiona în România pentru o perioadă de 9 luni, după care
    vor fi înlocuiţi cu militari dintr-o altă unitate de luptă, asigurându-se,
    astfel, o prezenţă consistentă continuă în Europa.     Sosirea militarilor
    SUA, care vor participa la aplicaţii militare în cadrul operaţiunii Atlantic
    Resolve, se înscrie în demersurile NATO de întărire a flancului estic al
    Alianţei. Într-o declaraţie transmisă de serviciul de presă al Alianţei, secretarul general al NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, a felicitat
    România pentru eforturile majore de a creşte bugetul pentru Apărare la 2% din PIB în 2017, spunând că este un exemplu de urmat şi de alte
    state membre ale Alianţei Nord-Atlantice.


    Românii, fără vize în Canada


    Toţi românii vor putea călători fără
    vize în Canada începând de la 1 decembrie 2017. Decizia este parte integrantă
    din acordul de liber-schimb între Uniunea Europeană şi Canada (CETA), aprobat,
    săptămâna aceasta, la Strasbourg, de Parlamentul European. Eliminarea vizelor
    era, de altfel, condiţia pusă de Bucureşti pentru a-şi da consimţământul pentru
    tratat. Acesta urmează să intre în vigoare provizoriu, pâna când va fi
    ratificat de toate Parlamentele naţionale şi regionale din Uniune.
    Europarlamentarul Iuliu Winkler a precizat că, pe lângă eliminarea vizelor,
    există numeroase beneficii economice ale acordului: Dacă trecem la partea
    foarte complexă de comerţ şi cooperare economică, întreprinderile mijlocii în
    domeniul energetic, spre exemplu, sau în alte domenii tehnologice vor avea
    posibilitatea de a colabora pe piaţa serviciilor publice din Canada. Protecţia
    drepturilor de proprietate intelectuală, protecţia patentelor, a invenţiilor şi
    a inovaţiilor va fi asigurată prin acordul CETA.     În opinia lui Iuliu
    Winkler, acordul CETA poate fi cel mai important document de liber schimb al
    secolului 21.

  • February 14, 2017 UPDATE

    February 14, 2017 UPDATE

    SENATE– In a plenary meeting on Tuesday, the Senate of Romania unanimously endorsed an emergency decree that repeals the controversial amendments to the criminal codes, which generated the current political crisis in Bucharest. The draft was sent to the Chamber of Deputies. Amendments can be submitted by Friday, and a plenary session of Parliament is due early next week to vote on the document. The Government building was once again picketed last night by over 1,500 protesters. For two weeks, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in the country and abroad have been demanding the resignation of the government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania. They accuse the Cabinet of amending the criminal codes in order to exempt influential politicians and local and central administration officers from criminal liability. Concurrently, several hundreds of supporters of the Government request the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis, who they claimed has stepped out of his role as a mediator by joining in the anti-government protests. A referendum regarding the fight against corruption has been initiated by the President, and was approved on Monday by the Senate. Well have more on this after the news.



    BUDGET– The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has voiced concern after discussing in Bucharest with PM Sorin Grindeanu and the Finance Minister, Viorel Stefan, about the state budget bill and the social security budget bill, sent to the President for promulgation. The head of state sees the 2017 state budget as problematic, because the budget deficit risks exceeding 3%. In his opinion, the budget bill relies on overestimated revenues and very high expenditure. In exchange, the president of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, said the 2017 state budget is sustainable and it should come into effect without any delays. On Monday, the European Commission estimated that this year Romanias budget deficit would account for 3.6% of the GDP, which might lead to the initiation of the excessive deficit procedure. On the other hand, the economic growth forecast for Romania was improved to 4.4%, which is nonetheless below the 5.2% rate estimated by the Government.



    JUSTICE – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest has postponed for March 28 the trial of the case in which the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and head of the ruling Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, is charged with instigation of abuse of office. According to the National Anti-corruption Directorate, Dragnea ordered the fictitious employment of two members of his party with the Directorate General for Social Assistance and Child Protection in Teleorman County in the south. The two were paid from public funds although they were actually working for the Social Democratic Party alone. Last year Dragnea received a suspended two-year prison sentence, for having attempted in 2012 to rig a referendum to dismiss then-president Traian Basescu.



    FIGHTING EAGLES – The 500 US soldiers of the First Battalion “Fighting Eagles on Tuesday arrived at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in south-eastern Romania. They are equipped with tanks, armoured vehicles and self-propelled mortars. During their nine-month stay in Romania, the US military will take part in the drills, planned jointly with the Romanian Ground Forces. In the opinion of the US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, the presence of the US forces in Romania is a confirmation of the strong Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In turn, the Romanian foreign minister, Teodor Melescanu, has said that apart from taking part in missions, the decision to increase defence spending to 2% of the GDP, according to a NATO objective, is further proof of Romanias firm commitment towards its international partners. The deployment of US troops in Romania is meant to strengthen NATOs eastern flank.



    TENNIS – Romanias womens tennis team will play against Great Britain at home on April 22 and 23, in the play-offs for Fed Cup World Group II. The drawing was held in London on Tuesday. Last weekend Romania was defeated in Bucharest by Belgium, 3-1, in the first round of World Group II. The national team now has to play to keep its spot in the second group. Fed Cup is the most important international team competition in women’s tennis.(Translated by Ana-Maria Popescu and Diana Vijeu)