Radio România Internațional

Tag: finance

New economic measures during the pandemic

At a conference held in Bucharest, the Romanian finance minister Florin Citu has announced a series of economic measures aimed at supporting the Romanian business environment and economy in the coming period. The finance minister has reminded that, since the start of the crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic, the government has adopted a stimulus package for those who pay their taxes in due time, while suspending penalties for those who don’t. The period of penalties suspension is going to end on October 25. Also, the government admitted that the VAT return should be done under subsequent control.

Now, minister Citu announces that these deadlines will be prorogated and the payment of furlough by the state will also be extended. The finance minister has given assurances that “We are experiencing a difficult period, nobody has ever experienced that, nobody has found the solution and nobody knows what to do next, therefore we need dialogue. I am the first person to admit that the measures we have taken have not been perfect, but the government has subsequently improved them. We will continue to be flexible in the coming period as well.”

As to the pensions’ increase by 40%, a proposal of the opposition Social Democratic Party which holds the majority in Parliament and which voted this measure last month, the government argues that the Romanian economy is unable to support such a growth. Moreover, in an open letter, several Romanian economists, among whom the president of the Fiscal Council — Daniel Daianu, says that a 40% increase in the pension point at this moment should be avoided. The letter signatories say that the fight against the pandemic is not over yet, and that they need to manage an unprecedented economic crisis which severely affects the economy and puts people on the dole. The big challenge, they say, is to find a way for the economy to recover, to have economic growth with fiscal and budget consolidation in the coming years.

Economists show that in 2020 Romania will have a budget deficit of around 9% of the GDP which includes the 14% growth of the pension point. The document signatories also say that next year Romania will have to carry on with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic while trying to protect the economic recovery process. According to the document, the economy of the future will be different from the one existing prior to the pandemic, and economists need to be ready for the changes already occurring that have been accelerated by the health crisis, the new technologies and the states’ policies regarding climate change. (tr. L. Simion)

22 October 2020
July 2, 2020 UPDATE

Covid-19 RO — Another 450 cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported in Romania, the Strategic Communication Group- SCG announced on Thursday. The total number of contaminations thus reached 27,746. Also on Thursday 20 new deaths from Covid-19 were reported in Romania, taking the total death toll to 1,687. Of the people testing positive for COVID-19, 20,433 have been discharged from hospital. So far, 735,221 tests have been processed at national level, the SCG announced. In the Diaspora, no new case of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported in the past 24 hours. 4,795 Romanians from abroad are contaminated, with 115 Romanians having died from COVID-19 infection.

4th of July — The US Embassy in Bucharest on Thursday organized a reception party on the occasion of the 244th anniversary of Independence Day, first marked on July 4, 1776. US Ambassador Adrian Zuckerman has conveyed a message, especially for Radio Romania, in which he underlined the relationship between the two states that mark 140 years of diplomatic relations this year. He has said that Romania is one of the closest military and economic allies of the US in Europe. The US ambassador has also said it is a great privilege to celebrate Independence Day for the first time in his country of origin together with the Romanian friends and has reiterated that the Romanian people has no better friend than the American people. Ambassador Zuckerman was born and lived in Romania until the age of 10. In turn, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said that Romania will remain strongly committed to supporting a strong trans-Atlantic relation.

EC — The European Commission has warned Romania that, in a month time, it will be called to answer before the European Court of Justice due to illegal logging. The EC has called on the Romanian authorities to urgently intervene to stop illegal logging in the protected areas. The intervention of the EC is due to the many complaints filed over the past year by environment protection organizations which have drawn attention that the Romanian authorities have failed to protect Europe’s most valuables forests. Environment activists have called on the line minister to restructure the plans for managing the protected areas so as to limit as much as possible illegal logging. In another file, the EC has called on Romania to improve the implementation of EU regulations regarding certification of industrial installations.

Finance — The Romanian Ministry of Public Finances on Thursday borrowed the equivalent of more than 300 million Euros from banks, through two issuances of government bonds. An additional bid is scheduled for Friday, through which the Romanian state wants to attract another 75 million lei. The money is meant to refinance the public debt and to finance the state budget deficit.

Handball — Romania’s women’s handball champions SCM Ramnicu Valcea and the vice-champions CSM Bucharest have found out their adversaries in the future edition of the Champions League. Following the drawing of lots in Vienna, CSM Bucharest will play in Group A against the following teams: Metz, Rostov-Don, Vipers, Team Esbjerg, FTC Budapest, SG BBM Bietigheim and Krim Ljubljana. In Group B, SCM Ramnicu Valcea will play against Gyor ETO, Buducnost, Borussia Dortmund, CSKA Moscow, Brest Handball, Odense and Podravka. The competition will start in September. The two 1st ranked teams in the groups will qualify to the quarter finals. The Four Final Tournament is scheduled for May 29-30, 2021 in Budapest. SCM Ramnicu Valcea was accepted directly to the Champions League, and CSM Bucharest received a wild-card. We recall that both Romanians teams were qualified to the quarter finals of this year’s Champions League, but the competition did not take place due to the pandemic.

Washington — The US on Thursday expressed concern over the conditions in which the referendum on the Russian Constitution unfolded. The referendum was called to allow President Vladimir Putin to remain president until 2036. Washington quotes information according to which the voters were constrained, the power opponents were pressured and the independent observers were restricted. The spokeswoman for the US Department of State Morgan Ortagus underlined that the US was opposed to constitutional changes that favor acting presidents or extend their term in office. According to official results, 77.92% of the Russians validated the revision of the Constitution. Russian opponent Aleksei Navalnîi has labeled the vote ‘an enormous lie’. (tr. L. Simion)

2 July 2020
June 6, 2020 UPDATE

S&P Standard
and Poor’s has maintained Romania’s rating in the category recommended for
investment. However its outlook remains negative with risks over the budget
balance in the following 18 months in the absence of a political intervention
for fiscal consolidation. One of the issues would be the pension rise in
September the Finance Ministry in Bucharest has announced in a communique
hailing the agency’s decision. According to pundits, keeping the rating at BBB-
means the Romanian economy is not facing a severe crisis and for Finance
Minister Florin Citu, the agency’s decision confirms the fact that the
government measures aimed at curbing the pandemic effects and ensure
sustainable public finances have been correct. International experts believe
the economy will shrink by 5.5% this year. Romania has benefited from an
investment-friendly rating from S&P’s since 2014.

COVID-19 A possible second wave of the Covid
pandemic will not have the same intensity as the first, Romania’s Health
Minister, Nelu Tataru says. He underlined that preparation measures must be
taken, including the anti-flu vaccination of the vulnerable categories as well
as the proper supplies of medicine and equipment. The minister believes that if
people comply with the prevention measures, the situation is going to normalize
in this country in late July or early August. Authorities in Romania have so
far reported over 20,200 Covid infections, while more than 14,400 patients have
been cured and released from hospitals. The new coronavirus has killed 1318
people in Romania as well as 114 out of the 31 hundred Romanian nationals
reported infected abroad.

POLICE Romania’s Interior Ministry has increased the number of police
troops deployed during the Pentecost mini-holiday in this country. So roughly
21 thousand police, gendarme and firefighters have been deployed around the
country to ensure law and order during the holidays. Romania’s motorways will
be monitored by 17 hundred road police with over 300 radar guns backed by
helicopters from the General Aviation Inspectorate. Close to 52 hundred
gendarme troops have been deployed in the regions with a potential higher number
of visitors such as tourist resorts. More than 180 gendarmes from the mountain
corps are expected to be present on various mountain routes.

HOLIDAY Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers from all
over the world, including from Romania will be celebrating Pentecost on Sunday,
marking the day when the Holy Spirit came down upon the 12 apostles enabling
them to convey God’s message in foreign languages they had never spoken before.
On the same day, upon Apostle Peter’s speech, almost 3,000 people embraced
Christianity, making up the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the nucleus
of the future Christian Church. Thousands of Romanians have taken to various resorts
on the Prahova Valley, the Danube Delta and the Black Sea coast for this
holiday.

(translated by bill)

6 June 2020
May 11, 2020

PARLIAMENT The Chamber of Deputies is discussing today a simple motion tabled by the Social Democrats in opposition, who demand the resignation of the finance minister, Florin Cîţu. They argue that in 6 months of governing and during a state of emergency, no measure has been taken to avoid an economic disaster, and the finance minister was unable to come up with efficient measures to support the business environment. The vote on the motion is due on Wednesday. In todays Q&A session at the Chamber of Deputies, the healthcare minister Nelu Tataru is invited to present the measures taken in the fight to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, the Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru and the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu are being heard today in the Senates special committees, in respect of the measures to protect the Romanian workers who left the country to work abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 The Government is to pass a bill in todays meeting concerning measures to prevent and contain the COVID-19 epidemic as of May 15, when the state of emergency is to be replaced by a state of alert. According to the latest official data, the total number of cases in Romania is over 15,500, with 972 deaths. More than 7,200 patients have recovered. Among the Romanians living abroad, over 2,750 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, mostly in Italy and Spain, and 100 of them have died since the start of the pandemic.

DEFICIT Romania reports a trade deficit of 4.46 billion euros for the first quarter of the year, 732.4 million euro more than in the corresponding period of 2019, the National Statistics Institute announced today. According to the institution, in the first 3 months of 2020 exports amounted to 17.07 billion euro, down 2.6%, and imports to 21.526 billion euros, accounting for a 1.3% increase since Q1, 2019. In March 2020 Romanias exports dropped by nearly 700 million euro, to 5.4 billion euro, compared to March 2019. Total trade within the EU in January-March this year reached 12.34 billion euro in exports and 15.83 billion euro in imports.

REPATRIATION 85 Romanian nationals living in Saudi Arabia returned to the country last night, thanks to the combined efforts of the Foreign Ministry, Transport Ministry and Interior Ministry. The Romanian authorities also helped in the repatriation of 3 Serb citizens and 4 Hungarian nationals. The Foreign Ministry firmly reiterates its previous recommendation to avoid all non-essential travel abroad, which may entail major risks, jeopardising citizens safety and their return to Romania. The Foreign Ministry also urges all Romanian citizens living abroad to strictly comply with the rules in their host countries, and says trips to Romania must be avoided during this period. Such trips are increasingly affected by the restrictions introduced by relevant transit countries, which may hinder the Romanian authorities assistance efforts. International travel may also contribute to the spreading of the disease, jeopardising the safety of travellers and of their families at home.

PANDEMIC Its been 2 months today since the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The total number of cases worldwide so far is over 4.1 million, with the death toll standing at more than 283,000, while 1.5 million people recovered from the disease. The USA, the worst hit country in the world, announced 776 deaths in coronavirus patients in 24 hours, the smallest number since March, which takes the death toll to nearly 80,000. In Europe, the country with the largest number of deaths (32,000) is the UK, which announced an extension of restrictions to June 1. In Italy, the second worst hit country in Europe, with over 30,000 deaths, PM Giuseppe Conte is having an online meeting with regional authorities to take a decision regarding the further lifting of restrictions as of May 18, apart from the current ones that include the opening of shops, churches and museums. The measure may differ from one region to another, depending on the number of cases and future developments.

FRAUD The Interpol secretary general Jurgen Stock has warned against a drastic increase in illegal sales of fake medical products linked to COVID-19. In an interview for the German agency DPA, Stock says uncertified personal protection equipment, including substandard protective masks and counterfeited hand sanitiser, is already being promoted. Global crime has quickly adapted to the pandemic, in the sense that criminals take advantage of peoples new fears and concerns, the Interpol chief emphasised. He warned that cyber-crime will grow alongside the number of people working from home. Overall, this pandemic may give a long-term impetus to crime, as people having lost their means of subsistence may resort to breaking the law, Stock predicts.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

11 May 2020
The Week in Review 8-14 December

The Liberal Government requests Parliaments confidence

The minority Liberal government in Bucharest has decided to rush a number of measures through Parliament, by taking responsibility for them instead of going through the regular parliamentary endorsement procedure. This past week, the Cabinet, which came to power thanks to a no-confidence motion against the Social Democrats, introduced 3 bills concerning amendments to the justice laws, free school transport for children, pensioners and people with disabilities, and the budgetary caps for next year.

As far as the judiciary is concerned, after the Senate, as the decision-making body in this respect, adopted some of the measures planned by the Cabinet—namely a 2-year deferral of early retirement for magistrates and a 1-year deferral of the switch from 2 to 3-judge panels—the Government is only left to take responsibility for an increase of seniority requirements for entry-level magistrates. Under the law, if a censure motion is not introduced within 3 days from this procedure, the bills tabled by the Executive come into force after being signed into law by the President.

The Social Democrats, now in opposition, announced they would refer 2 of the 3 bills to the Constitutional Court, on grounds of a 2009 ruling under which the Government may only take responsibility for legislation if the parliamentary procedure is stuck and the measures in question are urgently needed. Nonetheless, the Social Democrats say they are not thinking of introducing a no-confidence motion. They argue that both the deferral of increasing seniority for entry-level magistrates and the transport regulations that the Government is pushing through Parliament are already being discussed by the legislative body and do not require an exceptional procedure.

Meanwhile, the Government also intends to request Parliaments confidence over a number of provisions in the Emergency Order no. 114, dubbed “the greed tax order, through which a year ago the Social Democratic Government had introduced new taxes for banks and caps on electricity and gas prices charged to households.

Opposition tables simple motion against Finance Minister

This week, the Senate adopted a simple motion tabled by the Social Democratic Party against the Liberal Finance Minister Florin Citu, with 59 to 56 votes and 2 abstentions. Under the Constitution, the endorsement of a simple motion does not necessarily entail the dismissal of the minister in question, but quite a number of voices are now calling for his resignation, also mentioning that Florin Citu had not been approved by the specialist parliamentary committees prior to his appointment.

During the debates, the Social Democrats argued that the incumbent Finance Minister made irresponsible and risky statements leading to a fall in the national currencys exchange rate against the Euro and the US dollar, which will have ripple effects on the Romanian economy. They also criticized Minister Citu and the Cabinet as a whole for what they called “chaotic measures concerning the budget deficit and the minimum wages.

In reply, Florin Citu says the simple motion is a purely political move, designed to divert attention from the state of Romanias economy after 3 years of Social Democratic government. The Liberals also blame the Social Democratic Party for the recent downward adjustment of Romanias rating from stable to negative, operated by Standard&Poors agency. According to the National Liberal Party, this happened because the previous Governments excessive expenditure led to budgetary imbalances.

“How is Standrd&Poors not supposed to lower Romanias rating, when this morning the budget deficit is 3.7% of the GDP, by noon it is 4.1%, in the evening it is 4.3%, but official documents say it is 4.4% of the GDP? How is the rating not to drop, when yesterday the government debt accounted for 45% of the GDP for 2020, and today it is 40%, the Social Democrats former economy strategy expert Cristian Socol retorted in a Facebook post. For 2020, the Liberal Government targets a 3.6% of GDP budget deficit, with personnel expenditure of maximum 9.7% and an economic growth rate of 4%.

The President of Romania attends European Council meeting

Attending the meeting of the European Council in Brussels at the end of this week, President Klaus Iohannis announced that European leaders had decided to transfer the task of drafting the European Unions multi-annual budget framework from the Finnish presidency of the EU Council to the presidency of the European Council.

As regards achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2050, as desired by the new European Commission, Klaus Iohannis said that Romania is in a fairly good position to meet its targets, at least until 2030.

Last but not least, with respect to the early parliamentary elections in Britain, the Romanian President voiced satisfaction with the outcome of the ballot, as well as hopes that the resulting parliamentary majority would finalise a Brexit agreement.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

14 December 2019
Controversy regarding Romania’s finances

The finance minister Florin Cîţu said on Thursday that the economic and financial situation inherited from the
Social Democratic government, in particular his predecessor Eugen Teodorovici, exceeds
the most pessimistic expectations. He made unprecedented accusations, saying
Romania has been run in the last three years based on two budgets, one
presented publicly in Parliament and another, containing real data, used to
finance the Social Democrats’ local leaders. The mechanism, translated,
according to Cîţu, into a mafia-type double accounting system, allegedly used
budget adjustments to take money out of investments and redirect it to the
party. Minister Cîţu says he is considering getting the criminal prosecution
bodies involved to look at whether an organised criminal group was created in
relation to the situation of public finance. The deficit discovered amounts to
21 billion lei, the equivalent of 4.4 billion euros, according to the real
figures. Florin Cîţu:

The estimated revenue for the first nine months
should have been 249 billion lei. It stands at 228 billion lei, which means 21
billion is unaccounted for. 11 billion represents uncollected money from the
economy. The other half comes from European funds. The deficit for the first
nine months should have been 2.28%. The budget execution in the first nine
months stands at 2.60% and the execution for the first ten months, which I am
presenting today, is 2.84%, which is more than it should have been at the end
of the year. The pension budget has been discussed repeatedly and Parliament has
held an entire debate about the expected surplus to the pension budget. Ten
months into the year, the deficit already stands at 2.9 billion lei. The
situation looks much worse for the end of the year unless something is done.

The conclusion of minister Cîţu is
worrying. Unless measures are taken, especially in respect of tax collection,
the budget deficit is expected to reach 4% at the end of the year, 1% more than
the figure recommended by the European Union. In response, the former finance
minister Eugen Teodorovici has accused his successor of not understanding the
budget and categorically denied the idea of double accounting. Eugen
Teodorovici:

I am profoundly disappointed that Mr.
Cîţu seems unable to understand the budget. With regard to execution, there was
always a difference, which translates as deficit, but if we look at 2019, now,
let’s say, we have 21.7 billion lei in estimated budget revenue and 21 billion
lei in budget expenditure, which very clearly shows that there is no hole in
the state budget. Also, I’ve seen Mr Cîţu’s allegation about crime groups and
double budgets. I don’t think there is a difference between what the finance
minister alleges, at least not at the time I left the finance ministry, and
reality. These are data presented clearly by my colleagues at the finance
ministry and the entire team of professionals and for which they assume
responsibility.

The priorities of the finance
ministry are the adjustment for 2019 and creating a budget for next year.

15 November 2019
The Week in Review, August 11-18

The first budget revision of 2019

The Government in Bucharest on Monday made the first budget revision this year. The Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has said the budget revision is a positive one and it secures the payment of salaries and pensions by the end of the year. The Finance Ministry, the Development Ministry, Labour Ministry, the Environment Ministry as well as the Romanian Intelligence Service will receive more money from the state budget. On the other hand, the Transport Ministry, the Ministry for the Business Environment and the Education Ministry will have their budgets slashed. The Finance Minister has said that in the first quarter of the year the economic growth stood at 5% and that the 2.76% budget deficit target is not being exceeded.

Eugen Teodorovici: “The budget revision secures the payment of salaries and pensions and the amounts needed for investment projects under way and for new projects set to begin by the end of the year. Funds will not be slashed, but certain overestimations, made when the 2019 budget was drawn up, will be corrected.

Teodorovici has also said the budget revision will make available over one billion Euros for local communities, for social welfare expenses and for investment.

The Liberals, in the parliamentary opposition, say the rectification is based on false figures. The President of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, says:

Ludovic Orban: “This budget shows in fact that the PSD-ALDE ruling coalition squandered the money collected from taxes and duties, spent public money in an unjustified manner, on things that have nothing to do with the interests of the Romanian citizens. Consequently, we have reached the point where the funds needed for vital expenses, for ensuring the activity of public services for the Romanian citizens, are threatened.

The Social Democrats have also been criticized for the budget revision by their junior partners in the ruling coalition, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). ALDE has asked for a new governing programme and a restructured and competent Cabinet.

15 August- Romanian Navy Day

August 15 is US Navy Day, celebrated in all the country’s marine and river ports. The most important events are held in Constanta, the biggest port city on the Black Sea. Over 15,000 people attended the show put on by the navy, with dozens of ships and aircraft. Over 3,000 military seamen took part in the biggest naval exercise of the year. They were joined by ships and aircraft from Italy, Ukraine, and the US. American destroyer the USS Porter was there next to Italian ships, while Italian Eurofighter jets ran mock dogfights.

The star of the events was the training sail ship Mircea, which was decorated by President Klaus Iohannis, celebrating 80 years since it was baptized into the military navy. Attending the manifestations, the president recalled the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for both NATO and the EU. Defense Minister Gabriel Les warned that the security situation in the Black Sea forced NATO to adopt a defense and deterrence measure. Navy Day festivities were also held in the Danube ports of Tulcea, Braila, and Galati, as well as in the capital Bucharest.

The 2019 Izvoru Muresului Summer University

This week, the town of Izvoru Muresului in Harghita County hosted the 17th edition of the Summer University. The theme this year was Romania and Romanians Across the World One Year from the Centennial of the Great Union. Topics included the preservation of identity among Romanians in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in view of geopolitical evolution, as well as Romanian policy related to Romanians living abroad.

The events were attended by people from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and many other countries, with lectures by academics from the country and abroad, representatives of civil society, as well as the media. Presidential adviser Sandra Pralong said in the keynote speech that the Romanian state has to pay more attention to the needs of Romanians living outside the country. Secretary of State for the Ministry of Culture and National Identity Alexandru Pugna recalled that a 2019 executive order allocated 4 million Euro for churches abroad, in order to support Romanian communities, helping their parishioners preserve their Romanian identity. Representatives of Romanians from the counties of Covasna, Harghita, and Mures called for the creation of a government structure to protect the cultural identity of Romanian communities in those counties.

Two Romanian football teams have qualified for the next stages of European competitions

Romanian football champions CFR Cluj have qualified for the Champions League play-offs, where they will play against Czech champions Slavia Prague. Their presence has been secured in the Europa League group games. Vice-champions FCSB have won their away game on Thursday against FK Mlada Boleslav, 1-0, qualifying for the Europa League play-offs. In the first leg in Bucharest the score was blank. In order to make it to the groups of the European competition, FCSB has to get past the Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes. Universitatea Craiova was halted in the third preliminary round by getting routed by AEK Athens.

17 August 2019
June 8, 2019

G20 The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici is heading the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will adopt an official declaration comprising the outcomes of the meeting, the news release also says.

UN The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Meleșcanu Friday attended the elections in the UN Security Council held in New York. Romania was a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the Council in 2020 – 2021, but was outrun by Estonia, which won with 132 votes against Romanias 58. The Security Council includes 5 permanent members with veto rights: the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK. Another 10 members have 2-year terms, after which they are replaced by countries from the same region. Next year 5 seats will be vacant, 2 for Africa, one for Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and one for Eastern Europe. To be elected in the UN Security Council, a country needs the support of two-thirds of the General Assembly members, which means at least 129 votes out of the 193 voting member states.

TENSIONS PM Viorica Dăncilă called for respect for Romanias state symbols and for public order, and urged responsibility in all political statements and actions concerning the situation in Valea Uzului, Harghita County. She also emphasised that a political approach of the situation is not likely to contribute to a constructive solution, and criticised attempts at deriving political capital by certain politicians. The Romanian Police opened a criminal investigation concerning the destruction of the access gate to the Valea Uzului graveyard, where military of various nationalities are buried, after on Thursday members of several Romanian organisations forced their way into the war cemetery to commemorate the Romanian soldiers buried there. According to the gendarmes, tensions were reported, but there were no violent clashes between the Romanian and the Hungarian ethnics in the area, as some Hungarian politicians had claimed.

TIFF The Ambassador of France to Bucharest, Michele Ramis, is in Cluj today to attend the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF). This years guest of honour is France, in the context of the France-Romania cultural season. A special programme is devoted to French cinema, including a complete Michel Gondry retrospective, a portrait of director Agnes Varda, music concerts, and the most original French project in TIFF, Uzina de filme (The Film Factory), a film studio where the public can experience a film shooting from scratch. The French Ambassador will also attend a concert entitled Soundtrack of Dreams and will participate in the TIFF closing gala. Established in 2002, TIFF is the first and largest film festival in Romania. Twelve works take part in the official competition this year, but a total of over 200 films will be screened as part of this 18th edition of the Festival.

RESIGNATION Theresa May Friday stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party and implicitly as a PM, after failing to persuade the Commons to accept her Brexit agreement with Brussels, leading to a postponement of Britains withdrawal from the EU to October 31st. May stays in office until a replacement is chosen, which will likely take place in the second half of July, as the Conservative Party announced. The official campaign is set to begin on Monday, with 11 contenders for Theresa Mays position in the party.

MOLDOVA The pro-Russian president of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, Saturday postponed signing a decree to dissolve the parliament, because MPs may still reach an agreement. He said the republic is on the verge of being destabilised, which is why he urged citizens not to start or join protests and turbulence. Dodon added that, if necessary, on Monday he will hold consultations on dissolving the national parliament. Moldovas Constitutional Court had ruled that parliament was to form a government by June 7, otherwise the head of state could dismantle parliament. MPs said that since their election had been confirmed on March 9, they have until June 9 to form a government.

FOOTBALL Romanias football team drew against Norway on Friday, 2-all away from home, in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Monday Romania will play away from home against Malta. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romanias team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

8 June 2019
Romanian Senate rejects simple motion against the finance minister

In Romania, simple motions have the only purpose of sparking debates on the activity of ministers and assessments of the sectors they are in charge of. Things were no different in the Senate, where a simple motion against Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, filed by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, both in the opposition, was discussed. Liberal Senator Florin Citu tried to prove that Minister Teodorovici was incompetent. He supported his statement with messages received from citizens, a first in Romanian politics in terms of simple motion practice.

Florin Citu: “His presence at the helm of the Finance Ministry puts Romania at major economic risk and in an embarrassing position before our European and Euro-Atlantic partners. Eugen Teodorovici can no longer be minister of public finance and this idea is supported by politicians and regular citizens alike.

Minister Teodorovici and the leftist power in general are being criticised by the opposition for raising taxes in some economic sectors, in spite of promises to decrease them, for putting Romania on one of the first places in Europe in terms of inflation after having one of the lowest inflation rates before the leftist coalition came to power, for hiding the fact that Romania pays monthly interest rates that are higher than those of countries with smaller ratings, such as Greece.

Not least, the Liberal Senator Florin Citu accused the ruling coalition made up of the National Liberal Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of deepening the budget deficit, unlike what responsible politicians should do in periods with economic growth, such as consolidating fiscal policy and reducing deficits, in keeping with the European fiscal treaty.

Minister Teodorovici dismissed the oppositions accusations and said this approach is demagogic.

Eugen Teodorovici: “The GDP has gone up since 2016, from 160 billion euros to an estimated 215 billion euros, which is an increase by more than 33% in only two years time. Given that the GDP is much higher than last year, its natural for the amount borrowed by the Romanian government from the foreign markets to be bigger as well. Also, the Finance Ministry presented publicly its financing strategy, at the start of each year, as it usually does.

Minister Eugen Teodorovici mentioned in his favor figures that prove the government invests more in healthcare and education, as promised, that they have raised pensions and have created more than 600,000 new jobs since January 1, 2017. Romania, Minister Teodorovici also said, had the most significant increase in labour productivity, 4 times the European average.

The governing coalition has defended its minister and has rejected the simple motion filed by the opposition against him.

(translated by: Elena Enache)

7 May 2019
September 6, 2018 UPDATE

MADRID — Romanian PM Viorica Dancila and her Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, signed in Madrid on Thursday bilateral cooperation agreements in the field of defense and public administration, respectively. The two ministers hailed the excellent level of cooperation in the economic field as well as at the level of bilateral trade exchanges, which stand at some 4 bn Euros. The Romanian Pm is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Paul Stanescu, Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, Defense Minister Mihai Fifor, Business Minister Stefan Oprea and Minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb. Romania and Spain have a Strategic Partnership, which they signed five years ago. Spain is also hosting a large Romanian community, standing at 870,000 people, according to estimates made at the start of the year. Actually, Romanians are making up the largest foreign community in Spain.

JUSTICE — Romanian Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader on Thursday nominated Adina Florea to become the next head of the Anti-corruption Directorate. She is a prosecutor with the Constanta Tribunal. The nomination will be forwarded to the prosecutor section of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, which has to endorse the appointment, then sent for endorsement to President Klaus Iohannis. The position became vacant in May, when the president was compelled by the Constitutional Court to dismiss former head prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, as requested by Justice Minister Toader.

BUDGET REVISION — Romania’s Ombudsman, Victor Ciorbea, has announced he will analyze the request made by President Klaus Iohannis related to an unconstitutionality exception regarding an emergency ordinance on budget revision, after it was published in the Official Gazette . The president made the request after on Wednesday, the leftist government in Bucharest approved by an emergency ordinance a budget revision, without getting the approval of Romania’s Supreme Defense Council. In another move, president Iohannis said PM Viorica Dăncilă ignored the invitation to dialogue on the issue of the budget revision, which represents, in the president’s opinion, a dangerous precedent with respect to the institutional relations. Instead of talks between the president and the prime minister, a meeting was held between finance and justice ministers, Eugen Teodorovici and Tudorel Toader, respectively and two presidential advisers. The government motivated the prime minister’s absence by saying she was on a visit to Spain.

ECONOMY — Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici, said he will have talks with the IMF representative to Bucharest, Alejandro Hajdenberg. The latter announced on Thursday that the financial institution might downgrade the outlook for Romania. The minister said such declarations should be well grounded especially when they are made public. Hajdenberg told a press conference that the IMF is considering downgrading Romania’s economic growth outlook for this year from 5.1% , down to 4-4.5%, against the backdrop of a decreasing economic activity.

PIPELINE-Romanian economy minister, Dănuţ Andruşcă, and his Moldovan counterpart, Chiril Gaburici, on Thursday signed a document allowing for the extension of the gas pipeline which connects Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The document is actually the certificate attesting that the sale-purchasing procedure of a Moldovan company was finalized. It ahs been taken over by a gas conveyor from Romania, as part of an operation which allows fro the extension of the gas pipe line linking Iasi in eastern Romania to Ungheni , near Chishinau, in Moldova. According to the Romanian economy minister, Romania is thus further complying with the commitments it has made in the relation with the Republic of Moldova, which is securing its access to the European natural gas market. In turn, the Moldovan official said that by this project, the Republic of Moldova is reducing its dependency on Russian gas.

EU — The government will publish in November the calendar of events related to the Romanian presidency of the EU Council. The announcement was made by Minister for European Affairs Victor Negrescu, specifying that Romania is prepared to manage in terms of organization and logistics events during its term, occurring in the first half of next year. The estimated budget that Romania manages during its term is estimated at 60 to 80 billion Euro, said Daniel Gosa, general manager of the unit for preparing the presidency. According to him, a review was made for local resources in terms of allocating accommodation for meetings and lodging, as well as transportation for the events to be held next year in Bucharest and Sibiu.

KIEV — The Ukrainian parliament has ratified the agreement between Ukraine and Romania on cooperation in the field of military transports. The respective agreement was signed on April 21, 2016 by the defence ministers of the two countries, during the visit to Bucharest by Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko. Romania ratified the agreement in December 2017.

6 September 2018
Romania will meet its deficit target

The Romanian Minister for Finances Eugen Teodorovici reiterated, during a meeting with the head of the IMF’s European Department Poul Thomsen in the USA, the promise that Romania will comply with its commitments before international financial institutions with respect to keeping the budget deficit below 3%.

According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the Romanian official also promised that the measures taken this year by the Government will ensure sustainable economic growth for 2018 and for the next years. On April 20 and 21, Eugen Teodorovici took part in the spring meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund group, held in Washington.

“Romania is going in the right direction, resuming its sustainable economic growth based on investments. The dynamics of budget revenues in the first quarter is better than the forecast annual GDP dynamics, and with the exception of the level reported for the first quarter of 2015, it is the best since the economic crisis,” Teodorovici said.

The Finance Minister also had a meeting with Cyrill Muller, the World Bank vice-president for Europe and Central Asia, with whom he analysed the projects currently financed by the WB in Romania, including one on the modernisation of the National Fiscal Administration Agency.

Eugen Teodorovici proposed to the WB officials a new approach concerning the loan granting method, which would give more flexibility to the spending of loan money depending on the stage of preparedness and implementation of the projects. The agenda of the Romanian delegation also included meetings with representatives of investment banks, financial rating agencies and international financial institutions. The topics approached included the macroeconomic environment, macro-prudential oversight, the inflation and priorities for the forthcoming period.

The IMF has recently revised its estimates on Romania’s economic growth this year, from 4.4% to 5.1%. Romania may see this year the second-highest economic growth rate in Europe after Malta. The Fund also adjusted its forecast on Romania’s current account deficit, from 2.9% to 3.7% of the GDP in 2018, and the same figure for 2019.

23 April 2018
October 31, 2017 UPDATE

Developping(23.25 Romania’s time): SECURITY ALERT IN NEW YORK: 8 people confirmed dead, more than a dozen injured

Eight people have
been killed in New York after the driver of a truck rammed into people on a cycle
path in Lower Manhattan. The driver made a statement when exiting the truck, thus prompting the US police to call his action an act of terror.

The 29 year old suspect has been shot in the abdomen and is now in hospital, the NY autorities told a press conference.

New York Mayor: The FBI is now leading the investigation, jointly with
NYPD.

The act was carried out by a lone wolf

RADIO ROMANIA – The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation celebrates on Wednesday 89 years of operation, its first broadcast being aired on November 1, 1928. An information, education and entertainment medium, the public radio broadcaster addresses the Romanian society as a whole, all generations and all tastes. Adding to the nation-wide “News and Current Affairs, “Culture, “Music and “Village Antenna channels are regional and local stations and the online children and youth stations. Radio Romania first started to broadcast programmes abroad in the 1930s. At present, Radio Romania International has programmes in 11 foreign languages, in Romanian and the Aromanian dialect.

CONFERENCE – Over 600 people will attend on Wednesday and Thursday in Bucharest a conference of Francophone women on the role of women in creation, innovation, entrepreneurship, economic growth and development. Officials from 48 Francophone countries will discuss the rights and access of women to the labour market and their contribution to innovation and entrepreneurship. The forum is also intended to establish a network of Francophone women entrepreneurs. The conclusions of the conference in Bucharest will be used in drafting a Francophone Gender Equality Strategy, which will be discussed in the forthcoming Summit of La Francophonie in 2018.

MOTION – The National Liberal Party, the Peoples Movement Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition Tuesday filed a simple motion in the Senate against Finance Minister Ionut Misa. The opposition criticizes the Governments fiscal measures, saying they will negatively impact the economy and all social classes. The Government wants to transfer the payment of social security contributions from employers to employees and to introduce the so-called “employment insurance tax for employers. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said this new contribution will increase taxation. In another development on Tuesday, the Senate passed a draft law on adopting the Governments emergency decree on the spaced-out payment of VAT. The plenary session paid heed to a report of the Senates Budget and Finance Committee, which modified the text of the decree, stipulating the measure applies only for insolvent companies or any companies with outstanding VAT-related debts at the end of 2017. The draft law will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body.

DIGITIZATION – The future of Europe will be digital or “there wont be one, and Romania will hold the upper hand in this context due to its very active network of startups, European Commissioner for Economy and the Digital Society, Mariya Gabriel, said today in Bucharest. According to the EU official, Southeastern Europe will have a great impact on the development of this field. Mariya Gabriel is attending a conference hosted by Bucharest titled “Digital Romania International Forum – Startups in 4.0 Industries. The forum brings together leaders from the industry, entrepreneurs, investors, European decision-makers, authorities and academia with a view to finding solutions for Romania to contribute to and benefit from the digitization of the industry, the economy and society at EU level. According to a survey by the PwC audit and consultancy group, Romania has a very high development potential in the IT sector, despite ranking last in the Union in terms of digitization.

UKRAINE – Venice Commission experts are in Kiev to examine the tensions prompted by the adoption of the new education law in this country. Attending a meeting with ethnic minorities on Wednesday will also be a delegation of Romanian nationals from the region of Cernauti. According to minority representatives, the new education law severely restricts the minorities rights to education in their native language. Recently, representatives of the 500,000-strong Romanian community in Ukraine have referred the matter to the Venice Commission, demanding that the new education law be examined to check its compliance with Ukraines commitments before the Council of Europe to safeguard the rights of national minorities to education in their own languages. Bucharest has repeatedly criticized the law.

(translated by Ana-Maria Popescu, updated by Diana Vijeu)

31 October 2017
Proposals to amend the Fiscal Code

The Romanian government has analysed, in a first reading, the bill on the modification of the Fiscal Code, which provides for a number of measures which, they believe, will benefit the business environment. Among these measures is the proposal to reduce the income tax to 10% for certain categories of incomes. The government has also discussed several ordinances, which stipulate, among other things, an increase in the minimum gross salary and the reduction of employees contribution to the privately managed pension fund known as Pillar 2.

The finance minister Ionuţ Mişa has presented the fiscal measures that the government intends to take next year.

“We intend to cut income tax from 16% to 10% and to also reduce social security contributions, whose payment will become the responsibility of employees. Social security contributions will drop by 2%. The contributions to be paid by employers will also be reduced to 2.25% and will cover the payment of unemployment risk, hazards, medical leave and salary debts.”

The labour minister Lia Olguţa Vasilescu has announced the governments intention to increase, as of January 1, the minimum gross salary to more than 400 euros. At present, over one million Romanian employees, that is one fifth of the total number of employees, earn the minimum salary. According to the labour minister, the minimum pension and the child-rearing allowance will also be increased.

“The minimum child-rearing allowance will increase as of January 2018 to 1,250 lei as compared to 1,233 lei at present. The minimum pension will increase to 640 lei and the pension point will go up to 1,100 lei as of July 1, 2018.”

Minister Vasilescu has also added that the amount to be paid to Pillar 2 will drop from 5.1% to 3.7%. The pension funds Pillar 2 has caused a lot of debates this year, despite the Social Democrats constantly denying rumours that they plan to nationalise this fund. Analysts say the Bucharest Stock Exchange will be most affected by the reduction of Pillar 2 contributions because they will no longer have money for purchasing shares.

In another development, a survey conducted last month among the members of the Foreign Investors Council has shown that the investors sentiment regarding Romanias business environment is considerably deteriorating, especially as regards legislative predictability and the stability of the fiscal framework. 90% of the respondents said the permanently changing legislation affected the planning of their business. 65% claim the tax burden has increased and 3 quarters believe the business environment has recently deteriorated and that the latest developments have led to a drop in companies trust. The Foreign Investors Council says the authorities should develop a more coherent policy meant to attract direct foreign investments and make the area of fiscal policy more predictable.

27 October 2017
October 10, 2017 UPDATE

RESHUFFLE — A decision on the relations between the Romanian Government and the main ruling party, the Social Democratic Party, PSD, as well as another decision on a prospective reshuffle of the Government will be made on Thursday by the National Executive Committee of PSD, Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and the PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, announced on Tuesday. Earlier, the Prime Minister had made public his decision to reshuffle his cabinet. He underlined that several members of the Government who are involved in criminal investigations or whose performance has been unsatisfactory will be replaced. According to the Prime Minister, these Ministers mar the image of the Government and in some cases its relationship with the European Commission. Also on Tuesday, PM Mihai Tudose met with President Klaus Iohannis for talks about his intention to replace several members of his cabinet. According to the spokesperson for the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis considers that the ministers who have problems should either withdraw or be sacked from the Government. The Liberal Opposition has also called on the Prime Minister to replace all ministers who are involved in criminal investigations. We recall that three members of the Government, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Sevil Shhaideh, Minister Delegate for European Funds Rovana Plumb and Minister Delegate for Liaison with Parliament, Viorel Ilie, are being investigated by anticorruption prosecutors.

MOTION — The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday debated a simple motion filed by the right-wing opposition against Health Minister Florian Bodog. The National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party are calling for his resignation and for quick solutions in the field of healthcare. The opposition is criticizing the vaccine crisis and the ministry’s failure to implement infrastructure projects, in particular as regards emergency hospitals in Cluj, Craiova and Iasi. The vote is scheduled on Wednesday. The opposition also wants Bodog to step down amidst allegations of plagiarism over his PhD thesis, which Bodog has firmly dismissed.

ROMANIAN ECONOMY- The International Monetary Fund has revised the outlook for the Romanian economy upward, from 4.2% to 5.5%, according to the institution’s “World Economic Outlook”, released on Tuesday. The IMF has also improved the forecast for the growth rate of the Romanian economy in 2018, from 3.4% as was estimated in April, to 4.4%. According to the institutions’ world economic outlook, Romania and Iceland will report the biggest economic growth in Europe, of 5.5%. Also on Tuesday, the National Institute for Statistics upgraded Romania’s economic growth rate from 5.9 to 6.1% for the second quarter of the year, as compared to the same period of last year.

DEFENSE COOPERATION — Bucharest authorities on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the US security giant General Dynamics for the manufacturing of armoured vehicles in Romania, the Government has announced. Defence Minister Mihai Fifor recently said that based on the contract with General Dynamics, the Bucharest Mechanical Factory will make 8×8 Piranha transporters for the Romanian Army.

FINANCE — Finance Minister Ionut Misa is as of Wednesday taking part in the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to a ministry release, Misa will meet with representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, First Vice President Philip Bennett and Vice-President Alain Pilloux. The agenda of talks will focus on Romania’s fiscal and budget strategy in the 2017-2019 period.

10 October 2017
German investments in Romania

German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, recommends to Romania to step up the process of making investments, also by using European funds and to try to access the Investment Plan for Europe launched by Jean-Claude Juncker, in order to catch up with other European states, relative to this issue. Schäuble travelled to Bucharest for a conference on the business opportunities provided by Romania and met with high-ranking officials here. The German minister said two-way trade exchanges are on the rise and hailed the way in which the Romanian economy is developing.

Wolfgang Schäuble: “Romania has one of the most dynamic economic growth rates in the European Union, which is extremely significant at such difficult moments. It is also worth noting that the indebting rate stands below 40% of the Gross Domestic Product, which is a very important element for a finance minister. I advise you to maintain this level and not put it into jeopardy by taking careless measures”

The German minister said the Romanian authorities should prevent the emergence of conflicts between local and foreign investors, as well as between big companies and SMEs. He also mentioned the relatively low unemployment rate in Romania, pointing however to the fact that, just like in many other European countries, young people are the most affected category from this point of view. He called on the relevant authorities to make use of the so-called dual professional education system, in the effort to solve this issue.

During the talks with Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, the German official tackled the EU’s current challenges, among which migration and Great Britain’s leaving the community bloc. Another issue on the agenda of the talks between the two officials was the possibility to reduce the gaps between the EU member states.

The German finance minister also held talks in Bucharest with Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, on the prospect of fresh German investments being made in Romania.

According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Romania and Germany have jointly built complex and lasting bilateral relations, based on common membership to the EU and NATO. In political and economic terms, bilateral relations have followed an upward trend in recent times, particularly after Romania joined the EU.

An essential role in consolidating bilateral ties is played by the German ethnic minority in Romania, as well as by the ethnic Germans and Romanians who emigrated to Germany and who create a solid bridge between the two countries, at social, cultural, economic and political level.

German President Joachim Gauck paid a visit to Romania in June 2016 and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis travelled to Berlin in February 2015 and September 2016.

Germany is Romania’s largest trade partner, bilateral trade accounting for one fifth of Romania’s foreign trade. Also, Germany is the third largest investor in the Romanian economy (after the Netherlands and Austria), with 4.5 billion Euro, the equivalent of 11.5% of the total volume of investments. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

27 October 2016