Radio România Internațional

Tag: government

August 14, 2023 UPDATE

Government – The Romanian government is working on finalizing two laws aimed at reducing the budget deficit. According to a draft law made public recently, the owners of luxury cars would have to pay a tax. Those who work in the IT field, now exempt from taxation, will have to pay the tax, if their salary exceeds 10,000 lei (about 2,000 Euros) per month. Those working in constructions and agriculture will have to pay health insurance contributions, from now on. Finally, state employees who have a monthly gross salary of over 10,000 lei will no longer receive holiday vouchers. SMEs with incomes up to 300,000 lei will pay a tax of 1%, and those that exceed this income will pay a tax of 3%. Regarding the emergency ordinance that will reduce the state apparatus, the government is analyzing the possibility of abolishing 200,000 unfilled positions, merging some public institutions and reducing the number of state secretaries, the number of management positions, the number of members in the boards of administrators and of members of local authorities offices. Some of the measures mentioned in the press are already publicly contested by state employees and the business environment.

Mini-holiday – This is the busiest period on the Romanian Black Sea coast resorts this summer as many Romanians are on a mini-holiday occasioned by the Christian celebration of the Assumption of Mary also called the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. Over 120 thousand tourists are estimated to be spending this mini-holiday in Romanias seaside resorts. From the resort of Mamaia to Vama Veche, musical events, theatre performances and open-air recitals are attracting tourists as well as the demonstrative military drills due on August 15th which also marks the Navy Day in Romania. After a break of four years, people will be able to witness from the shores of the cities of Constanta and Mangalia a series of military exercises involving the participation of Romanias naval forces followed by a parade of its warships. The Romanian seamen will participate in a series of games and contests, which will be followed by fireworks at night. Numerous events are already underway on the Romanian Black Sea coast, and are likely to continue for the entire week. Standing out among them is the Festival of the ancient cities of Dobrogea at Tropaeum Traiani in Adamclisi, southern Romania.

Conviction – The former Social Democratic finance minister, Darius Vâlcov, who was definitively convicted by the Romanian justice system and fled to Italy, was brought to the country on Monday afternoon, under escort, by an airline flight. He is to serve a 6-year sentence in a penitentiary. The extradition took place after the Court of Cassation in Rome issued a final sentence in this regard. Vâlcov is the first famous fugitive that the Romanian authorities manage to bring from Italy. Several Romanians convicted by the countrys courts, mostly in corruption cases, found refuge there to escape prison.

Exercise – About 250 servicemen from France and Luxembourg and 65 pieces of military equipment from the NATO Battle Group stationed in Romania are involved as of Monday until August 18th in a military drill entitled DEPLOYEX, which is taking place in the shooting range at Babadag, south-eastern Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry has announced. The exercise is meant to test the rapid deployment of troops and military gear and contributes to improving the level of interoperability of the forces making up the NATO Battle Group, being a sequel of the training programs earlier staged in Cincu, central Romania. The NATO battle group contributes to increasing Romanias military cooperation with the rotating participant countries, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and implicitly to strengthening the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank, a Defense Ministry communiqué writes. Cooperation with the strategic partners and the existence on the national territory of relevant war structures contribute to raising the of defense and deterrence capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region, the ministry also shows.

Ice cream – Romania is the ninth producer of ice cream in the European Union, with a production of 35 million liters in 2022, according to data published on Monday by Eurostat. Germany ranks first, with a production of 620 million liters, followed by France and Italy. Besides being the largest producer of ice cream in 2022, Germany produced, on average, the cheapest ice cream in the EU, at a price of 1.5 Euros per liter. At the opposite pole, the most expensive ice cream was made in Austria, with an average price of 7 Euros per liter. The member countries produced a quantity of 3.2 billion liters of ice cream last year, increasing by 5% compared to 2021.

14 August 2023
July 30, 2023

GOVERNMENT The government
prepares to pass a set of fiscal measures in the coming days, designed to bring
more money into the state budget and to keep the deficit close to this year’s
target of 4.4% of GDP. As of this autumn, employees in agriculture,
constructions and IT may have to contribute 10% of their incomes to the public
healthcare fund. The government also intends to keep only 2 VAT rates, 9% for
foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and hospitality services, and 19% for all other
sectors. Governmental sources say the ruling coalition are also discussing a
reorganization of the public sector, by scrapping 200,000 posts which are
currently vacant. At the same time, the Cabinet is working on measures to support
citizens cope with the rising inflation. The government is considering an
increase in minimum wages in 2 stages: to roughly 670 euro in September and to
750 euro as of January next year. But the plan is opposed by private
entrepreneurs, who say they cannot afford to raise minimum wages for employees.
According to a recent poll, should this measure be introduced, more than half
of the private entrepreneurs in the country said they would raise prices for
their products and services or downsize their staff.

FIRE A Romanian fire fighter unit specialising in
wildfires is leaving for France today, as part of a redeployment programme
organised by the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and
Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). As many as 40 Romanian fire fighters
with fire engines, water tanks and other equipment will be stationed in
Marseilles, on the Mediterranean Coast.

TRIBUTE The Bucharest National
Opera orchestra performs tonight for the first time at the Musikverein hall in
Vienna, in a tribute concert to the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu. The
year 2023 was declared the year of Ciprian Porumbescu, to mark 170 years since
the birth and 140 years since the death of the famous composer. The concert
will consist exclusively of works by Ciprian Porumbescu: New Moon, the first
Romanian operetta, the Ballad, the Romanian Rhapsody. The soloists, choir
and orchestra of the National Opera House in Bucharest are conducted by Daniel
Jinga, with special guests including maestro Gheorghe Zamfir and the soloist
Maria Coman.

UKRAINE A Ukrainian drone
attack on Moscow hit 2 office buildings last night, the mayor of Russia’s
capital city Sergei Sobyanin said, according to France Presse. According to the
Russian defence ministry, a drone was shot down and 2 others were neutralized but
crashed into a building compound. This was the latest in a string of attacks
that Moscow blames on Kyiv, while also claiming the US and their NATO allies
have provided assistance to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities say
at least 2 were killed and 1 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the city of
Zaporizhzhia.

SPORTS Romania finished 4th
at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Maribor (Slovenia), with 9
gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals. This is the best performance for Romania in
this competition, after the ones in 1995 (Bath) and 2003 (Paris), when it came
out 3rd. On Saturday, the last day of the event, Romania won 2 gold medals,
thanks to Alin Şavlovschi, in the men’s 2,000 m hurdles race and Bianca Maria
Tiţa, Ştefania Balint, Maria Denisa Capotă and Alexandra Ştefania Uţă, who won
the women’s relay race with a new competition record (2’06”13). Romania’s
women’s handball team won the silver after losing the final to France, 32-27. Three other
medals were won in the tennis competition, by Giulia Safina Popa in the women’s
singles, Giulia Popa and Alexia Tatu in women’s doubles and Yannick Theodor
Nicolas Alexandrescou/Alejandro Mateo Berge Vega Nourescu in the men’s doubles.
In the gymnastics competition, Alexia Gabriela Vânoagă won the silver in the
beam final. Romania participated in the Festival with a team of 92 athletes. (AMP)

30 July 2023
New ministers in Romania’s government

Nominated early this week by the main partner in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party, to take over the ministries for family and labour, respectively, the Deputies Natalia Intotero and Simona Bucura-Oprescu were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon.

The seats had been vacant since last week, when Gabriela Firea and Marius Budăi resigned following a scandal concerning grave irregularities in several care homes for the elderly and the disabled.

More than 2,000 such centres were checked by the authorities in the aftermath of the scandal, and several of these, mostly in Bucharest, were closed down. In scores of other similar institutions, operations have been discontinued and fines totalling some EUR 2 mln have been issued. Criminal investigations have also been initiated, concerning economic offences or crimes against persons, and two inspectors with the Ilfov County Agency for Social Inspection and Payments have been detained for having failed to properly assess the situation in a care centre for people with disabilities.

And, after talks with PM Marcel Ciolacu, the two relevant ministers also resigned. Ciolacu said at the time that mayors, county council presidents, chiefs of local institutions and police chiefs having connections with the institutions subject to the investigation must also take political responsibility.

Similarly, the Social Democratic Partys spokesman Lucian Romaşcanu said other officials should step down following the inspections conducted in the care centres for the elderly. “It only makes sense, at present, to conclude that the responsibility here lies not only with the government, but also with the local authorities. Decisions will certainly be made at Cabinet level, but the culprits at political and administrative level should also take a step back. It is a matter of political dignity,” the Social Democratic official argued.

For the time being, the new ministers have taken over their posts. Simona Bucura-Oprescu, 43, currently at her 3rd term in office in the Chamber of Deputies with support from the Social Democrats, is the new minister of labour and social solidarity. In a social media post on Monday, she said the law on special pensions, the pensions law and the salary law are the priorities of her ministerial term, with a view to completing the reforms undertaken under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The new minister for family, youth and equal opportunities, Natalia Intotero, is 47 and is also at her 3rd term in office as an MP. (AMP)

20 July 2023
July 19, 2023 UPDATE

WEATHER Extreme temperatures are still forecast in most of Romania,
particularly in the south and east, where the temperature-humidity index will be above
the critical 80% ceiling. The highs are expected to range between 25 and 37
degrees Celsius. Most regions will also be facing atmospheric instability, with
heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and wind. Code yellow and code orange alerts are
in place in the west of the country, where strong wind, thunderstorms, hail and
heavy rainfalls are expected.

FIREFIGHTERS On Wednesday Romania sent another 40 firefighters and
several fire engines to Greece, where the authorities requested international
assistance under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The decision to send
additional intervention equipment and personnel was made by the Romanian
government. Romania has deployed a total of 13 fire engines and 80 fire
fighters, after the Greek authorities issued a code-red alert for extreme heat
across the country, with temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius expected to
contribute to the spreading of wildfires. The Romanian fire fighters are to
stay in Greece until August 1.

CLIMATE The UN says humanity must prepare for more intense heat
waves and recommends that citizens develop their own battle plan to
face these extreme day and night temperatures. In North America, Asia, North
Africa and the Mediterranean, temperatures will keep exceeding 40 degrees
Celsius in the coming days. According to experts, heat-trapping greenhouse gas
emissions are at the origin of climate change. Italy is subject to new alerts for
particularly hot weather, while several regions in Spain have been placed under
code red alerts due to the extreme danger induced by the heat wave.

GOVERNMENT The new minister for labour and
social solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, and the new minister for family,
youth and equal opportunities, Natalia Intotero, were sworn in on Wednesday in
a ceremony held at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest. Oprescu replaces Marius
Budăi, and Intotero takes over from Gabriela Firea, who resigned following a
scandal concerning abuse in care homes for the elderly. The appointment decrees
were signed by president Klaus Iohannis earlier on Wednesday.

MEETING The PM of Romania Marcel Ciolacu had an informal meeting
with the PM of Hungary, Viktor Orban, during a private visit by Orban to Romania. According
to a news release issued by the government, Marcel Ciolacu emphasised that the
Romanian party is seeking to maintain an open, positive, and constructive
approach in the relations between the 2 countries. He welcomed Budapest’s
support for Romania’s Schengen accession efforts, and voiced hopes that Hungary
would remain an ally in this respect for Romania. The 2 officials also
exchanged views on the topic of the EU’s current priorities, ahead of Hungary taking
over the presidency of the EU Council in January 2024.

GRAIN Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and
Slovakia would like the ban on Ukrainian grain imports to be extended at least
until the end of the year, the agriculture ministers of the 5 countries announced
on Wednesday after a meeting in Warsaw. They signed a
joint statement on the need to extend the EU preventive measures concerning the
imports of wheat, maze, rape
and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. In the same statement, the signatories also
suggest that the list of products subject to the preventive measures remain
open. According to a news release issued by the Romanian agriculture ministry,
the participants sought a joint approach to the problems facing the farmers in
these countries, which will be presented in the forthcoming AgriFish Council
meeting. Romania was represented by the agriculture minister Ionut Barbu. Meanwhile, Reuters reports, an official letter from
the Ukrainian government says Ukraine is currently working on defining a
temporary maritime transport route via Romanian territorial waters, to continue
to export grain via Black Sea ports. On Tuesday Russia pulled out of the
agreement allowing safe passage to Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. (AMP)

19 July 2023
July 17, 2023

SUMMIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis
takes part on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels in the 3rd summit of
the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The main goal of the summit is to revive the partnership
between the EU and Latin American countries, in the context of current
geopolitical developments, including Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to
the Romanian presidency, Mr. Iohannis will highlight the importance of the
cooperation between the 2 regions for the management of new global challenges,
of the complex challenges facing both regions, and of the new development
opportunities that may be capitalised on through enhanced cooperation. The
Romanian president will also emphasise that Romania’s active commitment to a
closer cooperation between the 2 regions was reconfirmed in all his meetings
with his counterparts, during his official visits to Brazil, Chile and
Argentina this April.

GOVERNMENT The
Social Democratic MPs Natalia Intotero and Simona Bucura-Oprescu have been
appointed by their party leaders today as the new ministries for family and
labour, respectively. The 2 positions were vacant after the resignation of Gabrielei
Firea as minister for family and of Marius Budăi as labour minister, following
a scandal concerning care home abuses in Ilfov County, near the capital
Bucharest, where prosecutors are investigating organised crime groups exploiting
vulnerable people. Simona Bucura-Oprescu chairs the Committee on public
administration and country planning in the Chamber of Deputies. She was elected
as Deputy for Argeş County as a Social Democratic candidate, first in 2012, and
then in 2016 and 2020. Natalia Intotero was a minister for the Romanian
diaspora in 2018-2019 and a state secretary with the Foreign Ministry. She is
also at her 3rd term in office as an MP, and since December 2020 she
has been chairing the Chamber’s committee on education.

TAXATION The government of Romania is looking at a set of
tax increases to be applied as of September 1 in order to offset the budget
deficit. The planned changes include a new 1% tax on residential buildings
worth over EUR 500,000, and higher taxes on tobacco products and gambling. According
to governmental sources, 2 VAT rates will remain in force, with a 9% tax rate
for foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and prostheses, and a 19% rate for other
products and services. The government is also considering the introduction of
public health insurance contributions for employees in agriculture and
constructions, thus eliminating current exemptions in these sectors. Additional
taxes will be charged on transfers by companies that move their profits out of
the country. As many as 85.8% of the small and medium-sized enterprises are
against these proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code, the SME Council president
Florin Jianu says.

CULTURE This week’s agenda of the Timişoara – European Capital
of Culture programme includes theatre, performing arts, cinema, exhibitions and
gastronomy. The world-famous US actor John Malkovich stars in The Infernal
Comedy staged by the National Theatre in Timişoara, supported by the Vienna
Academy Orchestra, in 3 sold-out performances on Thursday and Friday. On
Tuesday, the Revolution Memorial Museum opens an exhibition on The Berlin
Wall, a border through Germany, and Wednesday sees the first screening of a travel
documentary by Florin Iepan, entitled My journey to Romania – Letter from
Timişoara, depicting the city as seen by a Norwegian traveller, Christoffer
Johansen.

SPORTS Romanian
football champions Farul Constanţa take on Sheriff Tiraspol, of the R. of
Moldova, on Tuesday night, in the Champions League’s first qualifying round. In the first leg, Farul won 1-0 on home
turf. The winning team is next to play against the winner of the round pitting Maccabi Haifa (Israel) against Hamrun Spartans (Malta), in
which the Israeli side won the first leg 4-0. Three
Romanian teams are playing in Conference League as well. In the 2nd
qualifying round, former champions CFR Cluj take on Adana Demirspor, of Turkey.
Cup winners Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe are pitting against CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria), while
vice-champions FCSB (Bucharest) are facing CSKA 1948 Sofia. The first leg is
scheduled for July 27, with the return leg due a week later. (AMP)

17 July 2023
June 30, 2023

PRICES The government of Romania is discussing today an emergency
order introducing temporary measures to curb the excessive rise of foodstuff
prices. Under the new regulation, food processors may charge a maximum 20%
mark-up on production costs. The combined mark-up throughout the distribution
chain, regardless of the number of distributors, may not exceed 5%, while
retailers may charge an additional maximum 20% on purchase prices plus
overheads and direct expenses. The emergency order will be valid for 90 days
after endorsement.

EU Europe’s relations with China
are on the agenda of Friday’s talks at the European Council meeting in Brussels.
Some member states believe the West relies too much on an undemocratic country
that has close ties with Russia. The invasion of Ukraine highlighted the West’s
dependence on Russian oil and gas, and there are concerns that a similar
mistake is being made with respect to China, the source of many consumer goods,
the BBC notes. On Thursday, the first day of the Council meeting, the situation
in Ukraine and Russia was in the focus on the talks. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, EU leaders have undertaken
to help Ukraine in the long run to defend itself against Russia’s military
aggression. The meeting was also attended by the NATO secretary general Jens
Stoltenberg, with the president of Ukraine Volodymyr
Zelenskyy joining in via video link. The
president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said both the EU and NATO must provide
proportional support to the R. of Moldova as well, which is waiting to take the
next step towards European integration. As regards the transit of Ukrainian
grain, which has affected Romanian farmers, the president says Romania may
provide an answer to Kyiv’s request for more intensive use of the Danube as a
transit option.

SALARIES Teaching staff in the Romanian public
undergraduate education sector will receive more benefits under the new
collective bargaining agreement signed on Thursday. The announcement was made
by the education minister, Ligia Deca. On the other hand, Sanitas trade union
announced they have secured pay raises for public healthcare staff.

PENSIONS The Constitutional Court of Romania will discuss on 26 July
a notification filed by the High Court of Cassation and Justice against the
scrapping of special pensions and the law prohibiting the payment of both
public sector salaries and pensions to the same person at the same time. Both
bills were passed on Wednesday in Parliament and are being checked for
compliance with the Constitution, before being sent for promulgation by
president Klaus Iohannis. Supreme Court judges decided to notify the
Constitutional Court with respect to the two bills, which they claim violates
several of their rights.

SUPPORT The PM of Spain Pedro Sanchez travels to Kyiv on Saturday to
reiterate the EU’s unwavering support for Ukraine, on the first day of Spain’s
rotating presidency of the EU Council, 1 July. The announcement was made by the
president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine is an EU candidate country
and is hoping to open accession negotiations at the end of this year.

EUROPEAN GAMES Romania is placed 13th in the nations
ranking at the European Games in Krakow-Malopolska (Poland), 9 days into the
competition. Romanian athletes have so far won 14 medals (5 gold, 4 silver and
5 bronze). Cyclist Vlad Dascălu in the mountain bike event, athlete Claudia
Bobocea in the 1,500m race, Bernadette Szocs in the table tennis final, as well
as Kinga Barabasi and Apor Gyorgydeak in teqball are Romania’s gold medallists.
Silver medals went to athletes Bianca Ghelber in the hammer throw event and
Daniela Stanciu in the high jump, to rower Cătălin Chirilă in the 500m canoe
race and to Ilinca Pantiş in the saber event. Ştefan Comănescu in the 67 kg kumite,
Andrea Miklos in the 400 m race, Mălina Călugăreanu in the foil event, Ovidiu
Ionescu/Bernadette Szocs in the mixed doubles and Elizabeta Samara in the women’s
table tennis competitions, respectively, won bronze medals. Romania takes part
in this year’s edition of the European Games with 150 athletes in 18 sports. (AMP)

30 June 2023
June 9, 2023

STRIKE Disgruntled by the government’s failure to meet their
claims, trade unions in Romania’s education system have today kicked off another
protest in Bucharest. Protests are also taking place in other major cities
across the country. Also today, the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca will
be having a new round of talks with trade union representatives. The government
on Thursday endorsed a memorandum on pay rises granted to the personnel in the
country’s education system under the future salary law – through which the
government guarantees this domain as a priority. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca
has given assurances the salary of the beginner teachers will be based on the
average gross salary as trade unions have requested. The memorandum also mentions
a holiday bonus for the employees according to their salaries as well as other
bonuses. The protesters say though the political statement on Thursday doesn’t
have any legal value, which prompted them to carry on the protests they started
on May 22. They say they don’t trust Romania’s political class as there have
been numerous cases since 2010, when politicians have chosen not to implement
the laws they issued. Field minister
Ligia Deca has announced that applications for the Baccalaureate and the
national assessment exams for 8th graders will be extended until
June 13 and the competency tests from the Baccalaureate exam will take place
over 14 – 23 June.

DIPLOMACY The Russian
Foreign Ministry has deemed a decision by the Romanian authorities to reduce Russia’s
diplomatic presence in Romania as a hostile act, which will not remain
unanswered. Specific measures will be announced in due time, Maria Zakharova,
the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. The Romanian Foreign
Ministry has announced the ambasador of the Russian Federation in Bucharest was
briefed on Thursday upon the decision of the Romanian authorities to reduce the
diplomatic and technical-administrative personnel of the Russian Federation in
Romania by limiting their number to a level close to Romania’s diplomatical
representation in the Russian Federation. Within 30 days, the number of
diplomats must be reduced by 21 and the auxiliary personnel by 30. The measure
has been endorsed according to the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic
relations and reflects the present level of the bilateral relations sharply
reduced by Romania after the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Romanian
Foreign Ministry has specified.

TIFF As of today, the city of Cluj in
northwestern Romania, will be the capital of the international cinematography
for the next ten days. The Transylvania Film Festival, known as TIFF, has
kicked off with roughly 200 films to be screened and 12 vying in the official
contest. Famous actors and directors from Romania and abroad, including US
director Oliver Stone, have announced their participation. At TIFF, film goers
will be able to meet Oscar winners or actors who starred in the famous series
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ or ‘Harry Potter’. Inspired from real events, which
took place in Sibiu, central Romania, back in 1989, ‘Freedom’, the latest film
of Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu will be premiered at TIFF. Romanian actor
Horatiu Malaele, who is going to give a performance at the aforementioned film
festival, will be awarded the excellence award.

WEATHER And now a look at the weather
which is generally unstable in the country’s west, north-west, central regions
as well as in the mountains. The sky is overcast with thunderstorms and heavy
downpours reported in some areas. In the other Romanian regions, the weather is
predominantly warm and even hot with temperatures ranging from 21 to 30 degrees
Celsius and a noon reading in Bucharest of 30 degrees.

(bill)

9 June 2023
May 26, 2023

Strike – The Romanian government met, today, in a special session, to increase by 9% the salaries of the education non-teaching staff, in response to the all-out strike in the education system started on Monday. The trade unionists request a 25% increase in all salaries in the education sector, including the teaching staff, and for beginner teachers an average gross salary of 3,000 lei (the equivalent of about 600 Euros). Instead, the government wants to give teachers only bonuses for their teaching career in June and October. The unions rejected the offer and announced that they would continue the protest. On Thursday, more than 10,000 teachers gathered in front of the Government headquarters in downtown Bucharest. Protests were also held in other cities across Romania.

Government – The power sharing arrangement of the parties in the governing coalition in Bucharest is postponed until the resolution of the teachers all-out strike, the liberal Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă announced. He was supposed to resign his mandate today, to be taken over by the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu. In fact, Nicolae Ciucă made the announcement alongside Marcel Ciolacu, and Kelemen Hunor, from the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR, the third party in ruling coalition in Romania. The Prime Minister Ciucă appealed to the “reason of all teaching staff”, telling them that the Government cannot assume to unbalance the State budget by granting them the salary increases requested, and that the discussions with the unions will continue. In turn, the head of the PSD, Marcel Ciolacu, said that the decision is correct, and that the teachers and employees in the healthcare system are a priority. Predictability and responsibility are needed, the leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, also said. The agreement between the Liberal Party – PNL and PSD stipulated that each of them would hold the position of prime minister for a year and a half. In the last few days, there have been discussions between PSD and PNL regarding the distribution of ministries in the future government. A retired general, Nicolae Ciucă was sworn in as prime minister in December 2021.

Visit — The German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is on the third day of his official visit to Romania. Today, in Timisoara (west), he will take a walk through Timisoara’s old town, will go to the German High School and the Cetate Synagogue and will visit a fine art exhibition as part of the program “Timişoara, European Capital of Culture”. The German official arrived, last night, in Timisoara, where he laid a wreath of flowers on the Heroes Day at the crucifix in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral, dedicated to the martyrs of the anti-communist Revolution of December 1989, and participated in a symphony concert. Earlier, also on Thursday, Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Sibiu (center).

Fair – Romania participates in the Madrid Book Fair under the slogan “Creating good chemistry with Romanian literature” (“Creando buena quimica con las letras rumanas”). Until June 11, Romania’s stand will display numerous volumes signed by Romanian authors, including those translated, in recent years, into Spanish, with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. The public has a wide range of activities to choose from: literary activities, book presentations, recitals, debates, round tables, scientific workshops for children and autograph sessions. There will also be events promoting Romanian culture, especially contemporary culture. The Madrid Fair has reached the 82^nd edition, in 2023 marking nine decades of existence, and it is one of the most important literary events of its kind in Europe.

Sanctions — The Consumer Protection Authority announces that it has sanctioned eight other banks present in Romania with fines of 400,000 lei each (the equivalent of about 80 thousand euros). ANPC claims that it found irregularities regarding bank loans in lei or foreign currency, in the medium and long term, with a repayment term of over 10 years. Inspectors with the Consumer Protection Authority say that the sanctioned banks would have cheated the customers, because in the first years the rate was composed of 75% interest and of only a quarter of the principal to be repaid. The representatives of the Romanian Association of Banks claim that they respect the law and that they might challenge the sanctions in court.

Trains – Romania will have, as of the month of December, the first new trains in the last 20 years, the Transport Ministry officials have promised, giving that there are no delays in the delivery of the 37 contracted train sets, already in production in Poland. Deliveries will start this summer, but the train will actually start operating in winter, after the completion of technical tests. The first new trains will run on the Bucharest-Constanța route (south-east), then on the routes to Braşov (centre), Timisoara (west) and Iași-Suceava (east and north-east). The average age of CFR-Romanian Railway Authority trains is currently 44 years. They break down frequently, the air conditioning works intermittently, and on heavily trafficked lines, additional trains are brought through transfers from other routes. (LS)

26 May 2023
Preparations for government swap

The Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă announced he would hand over the post on May 26, to the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu, who in turn is to step down as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and take over as prime minister until the elections due in 2024.

The talks between the Liberals and the Social Democrats regarding the new government are to begin on Wednesday, after both Ciucă and Ciolacu received flexible negotiation authority from the leading bodies of their respective parties.

The Liberals want fewer state secretaries and under-secretaries, and want the protocol on which the ruling coalition is based to stay in force. PM Nicolae Ciucă said that unless the protocol remains valid, the Liberals would seek to renegotiate the distribution of all ministry positions.

Nicolae Ciucă: “The National Liberal Party has not asked for anything but to keep the protocol in effect. The National Political Bureau entrusted these negotiations to us, and during these negotiations, after we have seen the requests made by the other partners, we will make a decision. If the protocol is discarded, the alternative is to renegotiate all posts in ministries, on one condition that I mentioned before, namely to lower the number of ministries and all the posts in the public system-state secretary, under secretary, agencies, public corporations and so on.

In turn, the Social Democrats want a streamlined cabinet, with fewer ministries, state secretaries and government agencies. The Social Democratic leader announced he would like the right people to be appointed to lead public institutions.

Marcel Ciolacu: “My fellow party members authorised us to discuss with each minister, after the new cabinet has been formed, and especially with the cabinet members who held positions in the previous governmental team, and together with the president of the National Liberal Party, Mr. Nicolae Ciucă, to discuss the number and the responsibilities of state secretaries in each ministry, depending on the importance of that particular ministry. What I wish for is to have a cabinet with the right people in the right places, I want this new political approach, where the best people become part of the new government.”

Nicolae Ciucă and Marcel Ciolacu emphasised that they want the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania to stay in the ruling coalition, after its officials warned that the party would leave the government if they lost any positions following the changeover.

The political basis for this PM rotation is an agreement signed in November 2021, with the establishment of the National Coalition for Romania, which comprises the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, and which is supported by the parliamentary group representing ethnic minorities.

It is for the first time in Romanias post-1989 history when a prime minister rotation takes place. (AMP)

17 May 2023
May 12, 2023 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT The Government of Romania passed an emergency
order on rebalancing the state budget, in a special meeting on Friday, the
finance minister Adrian Câciu announced. He outlined the key measures in the plan, including a 10% reduction on
expenditure with products and services, except for expenses in public
healthcare and education, and a ban on procuring, leasing and rentals of automobiles
and office equipment in public institutions. One exception is the car scrapping
programme for the public authorities purchasing non-polluting vehicles. The
programme is designed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport
sector, by encouraging the use of eco-friendly vehicles. The
finance minister also announced that the number of advisers to officials in
central administration structures, currently standing at around 900, will be
reduced by one-half following the implementation of the emergency order aimed
at making public spending more efficient.

INFLATION In Romania,
the year-on-year inflation rate dropped significantly in April, to 11.23% compared
to nearly 15% in March. While this does not mean that products and services are
growing cheaper, the rise in prices has nonetheless slowed down. According to
data released by the National Statistics Institute on Friday, there are
products that were more affordable in April than in March, including sunflower
oil. Also on Friday, the National Bank confirmed that this downward trend in
consumer price increase will continue. But the central bank governor Mugur
Isărescu also warned those who have or are planning to take out loans in
foreign currencies, and said that interest rates for the euro and US dollar
will increase further. The National Bank forecasts a 7.1% inflation rate for
the end of this year, as against 7% announced previously, and a 4.2% rate for
the end of next year. Mugur Isărescu added that prices for fruit and vegetables
will likely continue to go up for another 2 months, as the yield will be
affected by the weather conditions in Europe, the drought in Spain and the
aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey.

ENERGY The Polytechnic University in Bucharest officially launched
the first NuScale Energy Exploration (E2) Centre outside the United States on
Friday. The centre hosts a simulator of the NuScale Power’s VOYGR™ small
modular reactor (SMR) power plant control room, and will educate and train the
next generation of nuclear engineers to operate advanced civil nuclear reactor
technologies while establishing Romania as a regional educational and training
hub for the next stage of civil nuclear deployments across Romania and Europe,
reads a news release issued by the US Embassy in Bucharest.

MUSEUMS
The National Network of Romanian Museums has announced an absolute record
number of cultural events enlisted as part of the Night of Museums – 297 in
Romania and 14 in the Republic of Moldova. Bucharest will host around 60 events
proposed by museums, art galleries, cultural centres, opera houses, choirs,
palaces, institutes, high schools and music festivals. The special guest of the
current edition is the War Childhood Museum, for the first time in Romania. The
exhibition, entitled Listen, is hosted by the Romanian Peasant Museum. Access
is free of charge.

AWARD – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will receive the Franz
Werfel Human Rights Award granted by the German Centre against Expulsions, DPA
reports. Aged 63, Iohannis will become the 11th winner of this award, granted
to him for his tireless and multilateral commitment to defending human rights
and minority rights in Romania and Europe. The award, granted every two years,
comes along with a money prize of 10,000 euros. Among the previous laureates
are former German president Joachim Gauck, the winner of Nobel prize in
Literature, Herta Muller and historian Karl Schlögel. The prize will be awarded
during a ceremony held on June 4 in Frankfurt, Germany, when a congratulatory
speech will delivered by former European Commission President Jean Claude
Juncker.

YOUTH Over 1,400 Romanian 18-year olds are among the 35,000 beneficiaries
of free EU travel passes granted this year under the Discover EU programme. In
order to find out more about the culture and history of the EU and to come in
touch with people across the continent, the beneficiaries will be able to
travel by train, individually or in groups of up to 5 people, between June 2023
and September 2024. The current round of the programme saw more than 145,000 applicants
from EU member states and Erasmus Plus countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). (AMP)

12 May 2023
Government to save more money

With revenue receipts in the first part of the year lower than the estimates, the Romanian government finds itself in the situation of resorting to more spending cuts in an attempt to maintain the budget deficit within its admitted limits. After having assessed the budget structure, experts cautioned over the possibility of overrated budgeted revenues and underrated expenses, as early as last year.

The coalition government in Bucharest is expected to officially make public the reform package aimed at saving billions of euros by the end of the year. The aforementioned measures have been listed in a draft bill to be approved in the first government sitting. The countrys Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has again given assurances the measures arent going to affect salaries, jobs or investment as they arent austerity measures but aimed at streamlining the economy.

Nicolae Ciuca: “Through these fiscal measures, we are going to approve after having made a decision within the coalition, we want to make sure we are going to meet the deficit target. And we are not speaking here of austerity measures because we have seen in the past years that not only the Romanian economy, but any other economy cannot develop and function within its normal parameters based on austerity measures. However, we can definitely speak about improvement measures and the appropriate management of public money.”

In turn, Finance Minister, Adrian Câciu, explains that it all comes down to streamlining public spending so that it may create the needed fiscal room for support measures for the economy and people. Various publications in Romania have already made public the aforementioned bill aimed at curbing expenditures, which also provides for freezing state employment in 2023 and canceling any pay rise. So personnel expenses in public institutions arent going to exceed those in 2022.

The bill also provides for procurement and bans any purchase, hire or lease takeovers of cars or office equipment. Only the newly-established public authorities and institutions as well as investment objectives are exempted from this decision. The ordinance also bans the pension-salary accumulation for a state employee except for those working as teachers in various education institutions as well as the specialized personnel in medical units. The measure also targets pensioners from the armed forces, including the incumbent Prime Minister, who is a career serviceman. According to political sources, the document hasnt been endorsed by the coalition yet.

Against the background of the latest debates on the appropriate public spending, pundits are asking a legitimate question: why temperance and discipline in spending public money are being considered only at times of budget deficit?

(bill)

24 April 2023
Education Employees protest in Iasi

The city of Iasi in northeastern Romania on Thursday saw the first episode in a series of protests put up by trade unionists from the countrys preuniversity education. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets and picketed for an hour the Prefects office to protest the small salaries of both the teaching and non-teaching staffers in Romanias education system.

According to organizers, that was the first protest in a nationwide series against the current level of salaries in this field of activity, which they described as gruesome. All the categories of employees in this sector from teachers to auxiliary personnel and even managers have been affected by the authorities failure to raise payment in education.

According to trade unionists the latest series of talks they held with government representatives has led to no significant results and authorities failed to implement the 25% rise, which was supposed to offset the present inflation rate.

Protesters have also denounced the authorities refusal to pay for the extra-hours worked as well as to grant the bonuses negotiated. Here is trade union leader Laviniu Lăcustă, with more on the aforementioned protest:

Laviniu Lacusta: “Unfortunately government officials failed to implement the things they promised during the talks we held with them in December, January or February. And if they continue to do so, we are very determined to have an all-out strike in May.”

In an interview to Radio Romania, Education Minister, Ligia Deca, says that the protesters are disgruntled with the present legislation. She pledges that the authorities are presently working on a new legislation that will include new provisions on the progressive payment starting from the average medium salary, a thing agreed upon with the trade unions.

Ligia Deca: “The protests announced arent against the new package of laws we are presently working on. They are against the salary scale under the present salary law. This is another discussion. The measure included in the new legislation, namely that the salary scale has the medium wages as a starting point has been welcomed by the trade unions, which have cooperated with Education Ministry experts in this respect. They presented the Labour Ministry with a new payment scheme based on this value so that people may feel motivated to embrace a career in education.”

But since government pledges can in no way compensate for the employees lack of money, we expect that protest actions like the one in Iasi to be seen all over the country, including in its capital city, Bucharest.

(bill)

3 March 2023
January 31, 2023

BUDGET In 2022 Romania saw a budget deficit
of roughly EUR 16.5 bln, nearly 1% smaller than in the previous year. According
to the finance ministry, the deficit dropped from 6.73% to 5.68% of GDP. Revenues
amounted to approx.. EUR 94 bln, up 21% since 2021, fuelled by the VAT rise,
growing EU funding and revenues in the energy sector. Expenditure exceeded EUR
110 bln, down 0.8% since the previous year.

DIPLOMACY Lithuania firmly
supports Romania’s Schengen accession and
voices willingness to carry on an active dialogue with the other EU partners in
this respect, especially in today’s extremely difficult security context, the
Lithuanian foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis told his Romanian
counterpart, Bogdan Aurescu, in a telephone discussion. The talks were held as
Romania is set to resume this year its participation in the air policing
missions in the Baltic Sea region. The 2 officials praised the very good
bilateral relations and the efficient coordination as part of the EU, NATO and
regional projects such as the Three Seas Initiative and The Bucharest Nine.

CORRUPTION The former manager of Romania’s national football team, Victor Piţurcă, has
today left the Bucharest Police Detention Centre, where he was held for 24 hours by
anti-corruption prosecutors in an influence peddling investigation. According
to judicial sources, Victor Piţurcă was placed under court supervision, and prosecutors
also initiated criminal proceedings against his son, Alexandru. The case
concerns the procurement of non-compliant production lines and the sale of face
masks to the Defence Ministry during the Covid-19 pandemic.Gabriel
Ţuţu, the head of military producer and exporter Romarm, was also involved in
the operation.

GOVERNMENT The government of Romania is to pass today a
bill authorising 2 loans from the European Investment Bank. The nearly EUR 294
mln will be used for investments, upgrade and rehabilitation works in 26 hospitals in Romania. Another bill on today’s agenda
provides for up to 50% increases of the monthly allowances paid to the county
council chairpersons and deputies and to the mayors and deputy mayors of the
administrative units that implement projects financed from non-reimbursable EU
funds, foreign loans and under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. The
government is also to amend an order regulating energy subsidies and other
support measures for vulnerable citizens.

NATO NATO will continue to strengthen its partnership
with Japan amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg said on Tuesday during a visit to Japan, where he had a meeting
with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Jens Stoltenberg’s tour, which included a
stop in South Korea, is designed to strengthen ties with the Asian allies in
the context of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China. In an
address in Seoul, the NATO official called on South Korea to increase its military
support to Ukraine.

KOREA Also in Seoul, the US defence secretary Lloyd
Austin and his South-Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, promised to extend the
scope of the 2 countries’ joint military exercises, in a move by Washington to
reassure its Asian ally of its support amid growing threats from North Korea. Tensions
in the Korean Peninsula deepened in 2022, following North Korea’s frequent
military tests, including launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. (AMP)

31 January 2023
Criticism of the government after one year in power

One year since the cabinet headed by the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă took power in Bucharest, the opposition released critical reports on the governments work. A huge inflation rate, the lack of interest in reducing expenditure in ministries and keeping special pensions in place for elected officials are listed in a “Black Book of the Government” presented by the president of Save Romania Union (USR) Cătălin Drulă:

Cătălin Drulă: “One year with the Social Democrats and Liberals in power meant record-high price rises, plagiarism and failed projects. And this government could not have been otherwise. For the members of this cabinet, the state secretaries and their junior staff, the only concern is with feeding their huge party clientele. And during this time, Romanians have seen the most severe price rises of the past 19 years. We have the highest inflation rate since 2003. Banking loan interests have gone up nearly four times this year.ʺ

In turn, AUR party came up with its own critical document against the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. AUR accuses the government of incompetence and unwillingness to take measures able to help the people and the economy. AUR president George Simion:

George Simion: ʺTackling the energy issue was delayed, what we, the parliamentary opposition requested, namely the energy mix and the market regulation, which should have been done as far back as last year, has not been done. The much-praised pension increase is a sham: instead of increasing pensions by a fixed amount, say RON 1,250 for all pensions, so as to reach a somewhat reasonable level, they chose the 12.5% option, which doesnt even cover the inflation rate.ʺ

The Social Democrats were no late in replying, at least to USR, which was in power together with the Liberals for about a year. According to the Social Democratic Party, with the USR in power Romania was stuck and went from one crisis to the next, whereas now Romania has met all the EUs justice-related standards, is seeing the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism lifted and is on the verge of its Schengen accession.

The current government, comprising the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania came to power on November 25, 2021, with substantial parliamentary support. According to an agreement between the main coalition members, the Liberals appointed the prime minister for the next one and a half years, in the person of Nicolae Ciucă. When this term ends, on May 25, 2023, the PM office will be taken over by the Social Democrats. (AMP)

25 November 2022
November 23, 2022 – UPDATE

JUDICIARY The Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis has hailed the conclusions of a European Commission report saying that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in Romania’s judicial
sector would be lifted. A stage has
ended, but further efforts must be made as reforms are vital, Iohannis said. In
turn, PM Nicolae Ciuca said the European Commission’s report encourages the government
to stay on the path of supporting the independence of the judiciary and the
fight against corruption to the benefit of the Romanian society.

VISIT The joint
effort to support Ukraine and the strength of the Romanian-Latvian cooperation
were highlighted in Riga by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, in a joint
press conference with his Latvian counterpart, Egils Levits. The Romanian
official’s visit to Riga takes place in the context of the celebration of 100
years of diplomatic relations between the 2 countries. The two presidents also
discussed Romania’s Schengen accession. Klaus Iohannis emphasised that Romania
has never been and will never be a country that allows uncontrolled migration
through illegal border crossing. The president of Latvia highlighted the common
approach of the two countries with respect to the future of the EU and welcomed
Romania’s participation in the NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states
in 2023. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis will be on an official visit to Lithuania,
in Vilnius, while on Friday he will take part, jointly with his counterparts
from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, in a summit devoted to strengthening NATO’s
eastern flank and to supporting Ukraine and the R. of Moldova.

COOPERATION Romania and Spain are pleading for a more capable and
responsible European Union, one which is able to provide support and play a
relevant role in implementing the Strategic Compass, fully complementary to
NATO and avoiding redundancies, including in the current security context,
marked by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, reads a joint statement
signed on Wednesday in Castellón de
la Plana, Spain, by the heads of the Romanian and Spanish governments. Bucharest and
Madrid have also reiterated their commitment to a strong NATO, focusing on the
full implementation of the Strategic Concept adopted in Madrid, with special
emphasis on consolidating defence and deterrence on the eastern flank. The PM
of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă, was received with military honours in Castellon de
la Plana by the head of Spain’s government, Pedro Sanchez. According to Ciucă, bilateral relations are even stronger
thanks to the nearly one-million strong, highly integrated and active Romanian
community contributing to the development of Spain’s economy and society.

NATO – A meeting of NATO
foreign ministers will be held in Bucharest on November 29-30, 2022. The
meeting will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
Attending will also be the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and
Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden.

DRILL NATO troops
Wednesday conducted a military exercise to test the air and missile defence in
Romania, one week after a stray missile crashed in Poland and revealed
weaknesses in the Alliance’s air shield, Reuters reports. The French air defence
system deployed to Romania repelled a simulated attack by Allied fighter jets,
NATO’s Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany said. Taking part in the
exercise were Turkish F-16 fighter jets, Spanish Eurofighters, US growler
aircraft designed for electronic warfare and French Rafale jets.

FOOTBALL Japan produced the second big surprise of the Qatar football World
Cup, after defeating 4-times Cup winners Germany 2-1, on Wednesday in Group
E. Also on Wednesday, world vice-champions Croatia drew against Morocco,
0-0, in Group F. Another former world champion, Spain, takes on Costa Rica, and
Belgium plays against Canada. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia stunned football fans
with one of the biggest upsets in the history of the World Cup, defeating
2-times champions Argentina 2-1. Also on Tuesday, the defending champions, France,
defeated Australia 4-1, while Denmark and Poland drew against Tunisia and
Mexico, respectively, 0 – 0. (AMP)

23 November 2022