Radio România Internațional

Tag: Florin

  • October 11, 2021 UPDATE

    October 11, 2021 UPDATE

    TALKS Romanian president Klaus Iohannis
    on Monday decided to designate USR leader Dacian Ciolos for the position of
    Prime Minister. The announcement came at the end of the talks he held with
    representatives of the political parties and groups in Romania’s Parliament.
    Iohannis said that during the talks he reiterated the importance of a couple of
    issues that must be solved no matter who is ruling the country, namely the
    pandemic and the situation of energy prices. The PNL-UDMR government headed by
    Liberal Prime Minister Florin Citu was sacked last week through a censure
    motion. The cabinet found itself in minority after the USR had left the ruling
    coalition. The Liberals and the Social Democrats came with no proposals for the
    position of Prime Minister. And the latter have even voiced hope that the idea
    of staging early election will be backed by a majority, a position also shared
    by AUR who wants an independent Prime Minister. The USR wants to rebuild the
    coalition with PNL and UDMR but without Florin Citu as head of the Executive.
    The USR has proposed its president, Dacian Ciolos, and has come up with a
    programme of measures and reforms.








    VACCINE Romania’s interim Prime
    Minister Florin Citu on Monday announced his intention not to attend the
    upcoming round of talks on the country’s vaccine rollout in the Chamber of
    Deputies. Citu was invited to Parliament on Monday to present a report on the
    issue. The invitation was made by the USR who headed the Health Ministry until
    the alliance left the coalition government. The USR has blamed Citu for a
    failed vaccine rollout, which he wanted to control personally. With one third
    of its eligible population immunized, Romania occupies the last but one
    position in the EU in terms of vaccination.








    COVID-19 On Monday Romania reported
    9,148 COVID infections, more than one third of them in the country’s capital
    city, Bucharest. 209 Covid-related deaths have also been reported as well as
    around 17 thousand patients who are being treated in hospitals. The highest
    infection rate, 14 per thousand, has been reported in Bucharest and its
    surroundings. The county of Timis, in western Romania, comes next with an
    infection rate over 10 per thousand. The large number of infections has given
    an impetus to the country’s vaccine rollout and authorities have called on
    international organisations for assistance in their attempt to keep the
    pandemic at bay.








    TRAVEL Between October 12th
    and 26th,60 thousand
    young people with ages between 19 and 20 from Europe, Romania included, can apply
    for permits to travel for free on the EU railway networks through an initiative
    known as DiscoverEU. Those selected can travel around the member states between
    March 2022 and February 2023 for 30 days at the most. Because of the
    unpredictable pandemic, all of these young travelers are going to benefit from
    flexible reservations by means of a mobile travel permit, which is adjustable
    until departure. Every member state has been allotted a certain number of free
    travel permits and the selected ones can travel alone or with a group of up to
    five eligible persons.




    (bill)

  • September 8, 2021 UPDATE

    September 8, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 2,079 new Covid infections were reported in Romania in the past
    24 hours out of over 40 thousand tests, the Strategic Communication Group
    announced on Wednesday. 28 people have died from Covid-related issues while 470
    patients, including 8 children, are presently in ICUs. According to the
    National Institute of Public Health, over 80% of the Covid-19 infections
    reported last week were among unvaccinated people. 93% of the deceased were
    also among the unvaccinated and 5% among those who got only the first jab. A
    third dose is to become available in Romania in October after the authorities
    here will have got recommendation from the European Medicines Agency, Valeriu
    Gheorghita, the army physician in charge of Romania’s vaccine rollout, has
    said. The vaccine will be first made available to the vulnerable categories.
    31% of Romania’s population has been fully vaccinated while 49.4% of the
    Bucharest residents have been immunized so far.




    MEETING
    The works of the Annual Meeting of the Romanian Diplomacy continue in Bucharest
    in hybrid format. The session on Wednesday was dedicated to current security
    challenges, and was also attended by Helga Schmid, OSCE Secretary-General who
    said that she witnessed the devastating impact the conflict had upon people in
    eastern Ukraine. The OSCE official added that the organization facilitates the
    political dialogue for the peaceful settling of the crisis. During the talks
    Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had with his Greek counterpart Nikos
    Dendias, the latter said that Romania can count on Greece’s full support in its
    efforts to join Schengen and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
    Development.






    RATING
    The financial rating agency Fitch Ratings warns that the dissolution of the
    Romanian government coalition might disrupt fiscal consolidation efforts. These
    are critical for changing the ‘negative’ outlook that is currently associated
    with Romania’s ‘BBB minus’ rating. Fitch has repeatedly stated that the
    evolution of public finances is the main factor influencing Romania’s rating.
    The agency reports that the tensions between USR-PLUS, number two in the
    coalition, an alliance whose ministers resigned from the government, and the
    liberal prime minister Florin Citu, leave the executive without a parliamentary
    majority. This might further delay the European Commission’s approval of the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan – NRRP, which the Romanian government
    will be waiting for until the end of September, Fitch said. The rating agency
    also points out that political turmoil is a danger to the fiscal outlook. The
    executive has planned ambitious reforms on revenues and expenditures to reduce
    the deficit below 3% of GDP in 2024 from 9.3% in 2020.




    (bill)

  • July 13, 2021

    July 13, 2021

    GOALS Reforming state companies and
    streamlining fiscal administration are two of the main objectives Romanian
    Prime Minister Florin Citu says he will pursue as an interim Finance Minister.
    These two objectives were also high on the agenda of talks the Romanian
    official recently held with a World Bank delegation headed by Anna Bjerde,
    vice-president for Europe and Central Asia. On the occasion, Citu has also
    presented a series reforms assumed by the government, such as those concerning the
    pension system, public salaries as well as those aimed at achieving fiscal
    sustainability. The Prime Minister has mentioned the reform of the state
    companies and the process of streamlining the fiscal administration and the
    National Bank for Development. The World Bank has congratulated the government
    on the economic growth envisaged for 2021, Romania being among the few
    countries, which this year could entirely recover from the last year’s
    contraction.






    INS According to data released by the
    National Institute for Statistics on Tuesday, in the first five months of the
    year, Romania registered a trade deficit of roughly 9 billion Euros. Exports
    stood at nearly 30 billion Euros whereas imports totaled over 38 billion.
    Transport machinery and gear as well as other manufactured goods accounted for
    most of the international exchanges. Romania’s imports and exports were mainly done
    inside the EU. On the other hand, the annual inflation rate went up to 3.9 % in
    June 2021 and 3.8 % in May against increasing prices in food and non-food products
    as well as services. According to a quarterly report issued by Romania’s
    Central Bank, the inflation rate will be maintaining an upward trend in the
    following months to reach 4.1 % in December.






    TALKS Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is today hosting
    the inauguration event of a round of talks on the future of Europe, which also
    involves the participation of the European Commissioner for Transport Adina
    Valean. According to the presidential administration, the major objective of
    this round is the consolidation of the European project for the benefit of all
    citizens. The conference on the future of Europe kicked off in Strasbourg on
    May 9th and debates over this project are to be held all throughout the year
    and in the first half of 2022 with a view to drawing up some guidelines over
    the bloc’s future.






    VACCINE Israel has kicked off a third-shot rollout for people
    with impaired immunity in an attempt to contain the Covid-19 pandemic thus
    being the first country in the world to resort to such a measure before the US
    and European regulating authorities have approved Pfizer’s request in this
    respect. Patients are going to be tested two weeks after the third shot and if
    the level of antibodies is low, a fourth dose is to be made available. The
    decision has been made against the fast spreading Delta Plus variant at a time
    when the entire world is expecting a fourth wave of infections. In another
    development, Brazil on Monday reported 745 Covid-related fatalities and over 17
    thousand infections. Brazil ranks third in the world in terms of the number of
    infection and deaths after the United States and India. At least 188 million
    infections have so far been reported around the world and over 4 million
    fatalities, according to worldmeters.info.






    ELECTION Romania hails the results of the recent
    election in the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova and pledges
    support in the country’s European integration process, after the presidential
    party Action and Solidarity registered a landslide victory with 53% of the
    votes. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has congratulated the Moldovan
    citizens on their clear option for reforms and the rule of law and President
    Maia Sandu on her courage, perseverance and vision. According to the local public
    radio, this has been the highest number of votes ever registered by a right-wing
    party in the republic and the party’s interim president Igor Grosu has
    announced the government team is ready. According to Russian news agency TASS,
    socialist leader Igor Dodon has said he will build a responsible opposition but
    the period of good relations with Russia has ended.




    (bill)





  • Two candidates for the presidency of the National Liberal Party

    Two candidates for the presidency of the National Liberal Party

    Romanian Liberals convened in
    Bucharest on Sunday in a National Council with a view to electing their new
    president during the Congress they are going to stage on September 25th.
    Two candidates are vying for this position, the incumbent leader Ludovic Orban
    and the country’s present Prime Minister Florin Citu. Whether Orban’s intention
    to run for the PNL presidency had been known for quite some time, Citu made
    public his intention during the aforementioned Council.




    However, the two politicians’
    intentions were predictable as they had increased their public appearance of
    late. The incumbent president has paid a series of visits to the party branches
    in an attempt to gather support and had some media appearances in the company
    of several PNL mayors. In turn the Prime Minister has focused on the vaccine
    rollout and his latest efforts have been largely covered by the media.




    According to Prime Minister Citu, the
    PNL, the main political group of the centre-to-right government in Bucharest
    needs a fresh impetus. He has also mentioned his intention to keep the party in
    power for at least 8 years. Romania is changing. Europe is changing. The world
    is changing and there is a need for another kind of politicians, the Prime
    Minister went on to say.




    Ludovic Orban, who was Romania’s
    Prime Minister last year, has hailed Citu’s decision to run for the party’s
    presidency adding that this situation is not going to affect either the party’s
    activity or its ruling abilities. He has given assurances that there is going
    to be no rift between him and his opponent caused by intestine fights as they
    have a series of common objectives such as the ruling programme, the anti-Covid
    vaccine rollout and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.




    ‘Even if there is competition, which
    is only natural because every four years we stage elections in our party, we
    are making all decisions together and are all attending the party sessions’
    says Ludovic Orban, who is currently the president of the Chamber of Deputies.




    The Prime Minister has also mentioned
    the team work and common goals, but newspapers in Bucharest have pointed out
    the two leaders have not been seen together for quite some time now, not even
    at the 146th anniversary of their political party.




    The party is going to elect its local
    leaders over 1st June and 15th July, while elections for county
    leaders are due between 1st July and 10th August. After
    these first rounds, the two presidential candidates must submit a motion to the
    local branches, which must decide what candidate they are going to support.




    However, if a local branch makes a
    decision to support a certain candidate, it doesn’t mean that all its members must
    endorse that candidate. And in order to win the election a candidate must be
    supported by 10 county branches.


    (bill)

  • Romania’s Health Minister has been sacked

    Romania’s Health Minister has been sacked

    It is difficult to say whether this
    moment is ending a complicated situation within the government in Bucharest or
    is actually deepening the crisis of a very sensitive ruling formula. Although
    Vlad Voiculescu was seemingly ready to carry on with the job, the country’s
    Prime Minister Florin Citu decided to call on the president to sack Minister
    Voiculescu. The last straw seems to have been the release of some regulations
    on the quarantine measures to be imposed on some regions without the consultation
    of the Prime Minister or state secretary Raed Arafat, head of the Department
    for Emergency Situations, presently coordinating Romania’s fight against the
    Covid-19 pandemic.




    Andreea Moldovan, a controversial
    state secretary with the Health Ministry, has also been sacked. She is the one
    to have signed the new quarantine criteria. Vlad Voiculescu’s resignation has
    been asked for quite some time now by the public opinion and politicians alike.


    The former Minister’s support
    came from the alliance, which proposed him for this position. USR Plus boasts
    the largest number of votes in the ruling coalition second only to the National
    Liberal Party (PNL), which has also nominated the Prime Minister


    After the legislative elections
    in December, Florin Citu’s cabinet has been forged and enjoyed support from the
    PNL, USR Plus and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. In
    Parliament it also benefits from the support of the Group of National
    Minorities in Romania.


    In other words, every MP of this
    parties must enjoy support so that the government may function in its present formula.
    Vlad Voiculescu’s mandate took place against the dramatic background of the
    pandemic, which is seeing its third wave these days in Romania. Furthermore,
    the last 4 months of this government have seen tragic events, which enraged the
    Romanian society. In late January, a blaze ripped through the section where the
    most severe Covid-19 cases were being treated at the National Institute for
    Infectious Diseases Matei Balş in Bucharest killing five patients. Others died
    later from wounds in the hospitals they were transferred to.


    Already under public scrutiny,
    the country’s healthcare system grabbed the highlights again on April 9th,
    after live transmissions from the evacuation of the orthopedic hospital Foisor
    in Bucharest had been aired. Foisor was to be turned into a hospital for the
    exclusive treatment of Covid infections but live footages during the evacuation
    process at midnight in cold weather have enraged the Romanians. Political
    reactions seemed to have been appeased on Monday in the wake of the USR’s
    support for its minister. However, on Tuesday, a new tragedy struck at another
    major hospital in Romania, the Victor Babes hospital for the treatment of
    infectious diseases. The faulty functioning of the oxygen machines fitting a
    mobile unit for the treatment of Covid-infected patients killed another three
    people at the aforementioned hospital.


    (bill)

  • April 1, 2021 UPDATE

    April 1, 2021 UPDATE

    VACCINE President Klaus Iohannis on
    Thursday announced that in the forthcoming period Romania would receive a
    substantial number of anti-Covid doses and the vaccine rollout can be stepped
    up. The head of state urged Romanians to have confidence in the benefits of
    immunisation. Romania is drawing close to 1 million infections since the start
    of the pandemic, with over 6,000 cases reported in the past 24 hours alone and
    a record-high number of patients in intensive care (1,434). The most cases were
    reported in Bucharest, but the highest infection rate is in Ilfov County, near
    the capital city. The death toll is now over 23,500. Meanwhile, over 3 million
    vaccine doses have been given since the end of December to more than 2 million
    people. Over 400,000 doses of Astra Zeneca vaccine are expected to arrive in
    Bucharest on Friday, the largest quantity Romania has received so far.






    PROTESTS In Bucharest and several other
    cities in Romania protests continued on Wednesday, for the 4th night
    in a row, against the anti-COVID measures introduced by the authorities. Unlike
    previous nights, on Wednesday protests were more low-key. Participants
    chanted anti-government slogans, and demanded the lifting of restrictions such
    as mandatory outdoor face covering, online schooling and the closing of
    restaurants and gyms. The authorities argue however that the measures are
    necessary if the accelerated spread of the novel coronavirus is to be curbed.








    INSTITUTE Bucharest on Thursday
    celebrated 100 years since the Cantacuzino Institute was founded under an order
    signed by King Ferdinand. Since 2017, the Institute has been subordinated to
    the National Defence Ministry. Over the years, the institution conducted
    research in microbiology and related fields, produced vaccines and serums and
    was involved in public healthcare. Cantacuzino Institute works with other
    prestigious institutes and universities from the world over. Speaking on this
    event, Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Citu said that fund shortage, the
    frequent changes in its management and the involvement of the political class had
    nearly brought this famous Romanian research institution on the verge of
    bankruptcy. The Romanian official recalled that remarkable internationally-recognized
    scientific breakthroughs and the incessant efforts made by passionate
    researchers were the main pillars, which enabled this institute to make it
    through difficult times.






    ENVIRONMENT The US
    president Joe Biden yesterday put forth a USD 2-billion investment plan targeting among others the
    creation of jobs and fighting climate change. The American Jobs Plan is
    an investment in America that will create millions of good jobs, rebuild our
    country’s infrastructure, and position the United States to out-compete China,
    Biden said. According to the RRA
    correspondent in Washington, Biden’s advisers say the pandemic changed the US
    citizens’ attitude regarding the role of the government, and created
    expectations of unprecedented investments in the reconstruction of the country.






    (bill)



  • August 8, 2020 UPDATE

    August 8, 2020 UPDATE

    ASSISTANCE Romania has joined the international efforts to grant assistance to
    Lebanon in the wake of the devastating explosion at an ammonium nitrate
    storehouse on Tuesday. The government in Bucharest, civil society and
    representatives of the Lebanese Diaspora have quickly responded to the
    assistance appeal from the Lebanese government and through joint efforts
    roughly 8 tons of medical equipment and medicine have been donated and are
    being flown to Lebanon on board of two Romanian Air Force planes. ‘Lebanon is a
    country close to the Romanian society, a country, which is also home to many Romanians
    and our thoughts and our entire compassion go out to the people of Beirut
    affected by this tragedy,’ Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said before
    the aforementioned planes had taken off. Police in Lebanon have fired tear gas
    at the protesters who took to the streets to protest the country’s politicians
    whom they blame for the devastating explosion on Tuesday, which killed at least
    150 and wounded more than 5 thousand people. Hundreds have been made
    temporarily homeless while the collective loss is expected to reach billions of
    dollars. France has announced a video-conference of donors on Sunday aimed at
    raising humanitarian aid for Lebanon.










    ECONOMY Romania is
    going to avoid technical recession and see a contraction lower than the
    estimates of the rating agencies, the European Commission, the IMF and banks
    due to the prompt and effective response of the economic policy, Romanian Finance
    Minister Florin Citu says. In a Facebook post, the minister explains that
    Romania is going to see an economic recovery in the third trimester and this will
    translate into economic growth in 2021. According to the minister, although the
    country entered the crisis with a 3.7% budget deficit, at the first adjustment
    the government has risen the deficit by three percentage points and will continue
    to inject money into the economy during the second adjustment stage.














    MAE According
    to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, authorities in Germany have revised the
    conditions required for entering this country after 7 Romanian counties, Arges,
    Bihor, Buzau, Neamt, Ialomita, Mehedinti and Timis have been included on a list
    of risky regions. So all people coming from these regions, irrespective of
    their citizenship, must produce a negative Covid test carried out 48 hours
    before their arrival or take a free test 72 hours since their arrival on German
    soil. Those who refuse to comply can be denied entry or can be imposed
    self-isolation. If the test is carried out while on German soil, self-isolation
    is imposed until the result of the test is known.








    TOURISM Almost 150 thousand tourists are expected to arrive in the seaside
    resorts on the Romanian Black Sea coast this weekend, which are running to full
    capacity thanks to the hot weather. Tourists are requested to pay attention to
    several aspects such as the extreme hot weather, the rough sea or the issues
    caused by the novel coronavirus. As the seaside resorts are the most crowded tourist
    areas in Romania, tourists are facing an increased risk of infection. Teams
    made up of police troops, gendarmes, firefighters as well as representatives of
    the public healthcare institutions and consumers’ protection have been deployed
    to assess the observance of safety regulations. 150 fines totaling 11 thousand
    Euros have been applied in the past 24 hours.








    (translated by bill)

  • June 6, 2020 UPDATE

    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)

  • Economic Prospects

    Economic Prospects


    According
    to Romania’s Finance Minister Florin Cîţu, the country’s
    economy is going to look a little bit different after this period of
    crisis; a lot of companies are going to invest in technology while a
    new challenge for the government is to create fresh jobs in order to
    keep at home the over one million Romanians who came back home during
    the crisis.





    In
    an interview to a TV channel Cîţu said that new jobs could be
    created in the retail sector, which currently needs 10,000 people, as
    well as in the industry of hotels, restaurants and cafes. The
    minister estimates that a lot of companies are going to invest in
    technology and more employees will be needed in these sectors as
    well. The corona crisis has created a lot of problems for the
    Romanian employees.





    According
    to the Labour Ministry, over 400 contracts have been terminated in
    this period, particularly in the retail, car and bike repair
    businesses, as well as in the sectors of processing and construction.
    The number of contracts suspended comes close to 600 thousand. On the
    other hand, Cîţu announced that the government is also considering
    incentives for investors in order to enable them to use their
    resources for investment and increase their output capabilities.





    At
    the same time all the resources Romania has are going to be channeled
    towards investment, the Romanian minister has explained adding the
    purchasing power will increase as inflation and interest rates are
    going down.



    ‘As
    for the inflation, things improved from one month to the other. The
    inflation rate went down and is continuing this trend in the coming
    period. And the same goes for interest rates, which means the
    purchasing power of the Romanians will increase against the lowering
    prices and interest rates. We have elements indicating the purchasing
    power will definitely increase in the coming period’, the Finance
    Minister has explained.



    As
    for the law on the pension raise starting September 1st,
    this creates sustainability issues with the budget for the following
    2 years, Florin Cîţu says. Furthermore, international financial
    institutions and rating agencies have pointed out that the issue
    represents a major risk for the health of the economy.





    According
    to Cîţu, for this law and for others endorsed by Parliament there
    are no funds and measures must be taken to avoid destabilizing the
    economy. We recall that last week, the government in Bucharest
    announced a partnership with the banks to help jump-starting the
    economy, as according to Florin Cîţu, the banks have both the
    expertise and the necessary channels to transfer money towards the
    economy’s best performing sectors.





    (translated
    by bill)

  • Romanian Parliament is going to re-discuss the 2019 state budget bill

    Romanian Parliament is going to re-discuss the 2019 state budget bill


    Romania’s 2010
    state budget bill is back in parliament because,
    according to president Klaus Iohannis, the macroeconomic framework on which it
    was based is devoid of the realism needed for a credible budgeting.






    Romania’s 2019
    state budget should have been passed and promulgated four months ago. However,
    it is still circulating and at the core of major disputes between the Government
    formed by the Social Democratic Party – Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
    coalition on the one hand and the country’s president on the other.








    The bill reached
    parliament quite late, in February, and it was then sent by the president to
    the Constitutional Court. Despite the latter’s ruling, according to which the
    bill was constitutional, the president decided to send it back to Parliament,
    describing it as a ‘budget of national shame’. The budget was built on a
    fantasy scenario, with no guarantees for a proper implementation, a fact which
    has been confirmed by European and international institutions, says Klaus
    Iohannis, supported by the right wing opposition.








    Presidential
    advisor Cosmin Marinescu, which has presented the presidency’s arguments, has
    stated that many other economies, partner to Romania’s, are already facing
    slow-downs, and recent assessments conducted by agencies in the field show that
    forecasts showing negative prospects are expected to follow. He has stressed
    the fact that revenues are overestimated in the bill by some 2.1 billion Euros,
    accounting for 1% of the GDP, which is quite a lot as to the estimated budget
    deficit.








    Also, budget
    analyses have revealed underestimations of expenditures and even deliberate
    negative adjustments, as it happens in the case of pensions. According to the presidential administration,
    this is a budget that questions the observance of the international treaties
    that Romania is a party to, as well as the legislation in the field, a budget
    that was devised to cater to the political interests of a group.








    According to the
    Social Democratic Party, however, the 2019 budget was built carefully and
    rigorously, and the head of state’s attitude is affecting the functioning of
    all institutions. The Social – Democrats
    say that the budget ensures all the necessary resources for all the major
    sectors of the economy that the bill is a revolutionary one, aimed at
    supporting health-care and education, and the president’s trying to delay it is
    a matter of political bias.








    Through the
    Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies Florin Iordache, the Social Democrats
    have already announced that they will submit the budget bill to Parliament for promulgation
    in the same form as it was initially adopted by Parliament, namely based on an
    economic growth rate of 5.5% and a GDP of some 200 billion Euros.