Radio România Internațional

Tag: law

  • August 31, 2017

    August 31, 2017

    DIPLOMACY – The Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy continues in Bucharest today with a conference on the role of the Romanian business community in economic diplomacy. During Wednesdays meeting with the Romanian ambassadors and consuls abroad, President Klaus Iohannis called on diplomats to promote the rule of law and focus on protecting the rights and interests of the Romanian citizens abroad. The head of state also discussed the importance of the strategic partnership with the United States and urged the Romanian diplomats to support the trans-Atlantic relation. This years meeting of Romanian diplomats was themed A changing world: the goals of Romanias foreign policy.



    EXCISES – Romanian carriers criticise the Governments decision to increase fuel excises, and predict dark times will come for Romanian transports. The Romanian Federation of Transport Operators says each additional eurocent in the price of petrol and diesel will have a direct impact on the competitiveness of Romanian road carriers and will force many international transport operators to buy fuel from abroad. On Wednesday the Government decided to increase fuel excises in 2 stages, as of September 15 and October 1, respectively. Finance Minister Ionuţ Mişa explained that the measure would be introduced gradually so as not to generate a shock, consisting in higher prices and lower consumption, which would affect the state budget.



    LANGUAGE DAY – Today is the Romanian Language day, celebrated on the last day of August since 2013. On this occasion, the Ministry for the Romanian diaspora is organising in Bucharest, in a partnership with the Romanian Academy, a conference on Romanian language revival and renewal in the diaspora, while the Romanian Cultural Institute organises activities in major cities abroad. Conferences, roundtables, book launches, recitals and exhibitions are organised in Istanbul, New York, Madrid, Tel Aviv and Warsaw. The Romanian Language Day is also celebrated in the Republic of Moldova, and according to the ambassador of Romania to Chisinau, Daniel Ioniţă, this is further proof of the profound unity of the people living on the two banks of Prut River.




    JUDICIARY – The Romanian Justice Ministry has made public the bill modifying the laws on the judiciary, on which Minister Tudorel Toader has requested the official opinion of the Superior Council of Magistrates. The bill, which is intended to make the management of courts and prosecutor offices more efficient, stipulates changes primarily in terms of the professional assessment, promotion, and appointment to senior positions of staff in the judicial system. Some of the changes announced a while ago by Minister Tudorel Toader concern the appointment of the prosecutor general and of the chief prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism by the Superior Council of Magistrates based on a nomination by the Justice Minister, and the setup of a special directorate to investigate offences committed by magistrates. The measures have been criticised and prompted street protests. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate says this is a form of pressure on the work of prosecutors, while the Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazar, says that if endorsed, the bill would affect the independence of magistrates and the activity of judicial institutions.



    FOOTBALL – Romanias national football team is preparing for the game against Armenia, to be played on Friday on home turf, and the one against Montenegro away from home on Monday, as part of the preliminary Group E of next years World Football Cup hosted by Russia. The unchallenged leader of the group is Poland, with 16 points, followed by Montenegro and Denmark, with 10 points each, Romania and Armenia, 6, and Kazakhstan, with 2 points. In this preliminary campaign, the Romanian team is for the first time in its history managed by a foreign coach, the German Cristoph Daum.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 22, 2017

    July 22, 2017

    AIR SHOW — The 9th edition of the Bucharest International Air Show is held today at Baneasa Airport in Romania’s capital city. Attending are professionals of the civil and military aviation from Romania, Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Britain, Germany, the US, Greece, Austria and Lithuania. Over 100 civil and military aircraft and 200 pilots and parachutists are taking part in this year’s Bucharest International Air Show. A General Aviation Exhibition has also been opened on this occasion at Baneasa Airport.



    FAIR — Thousands of people are expected to atend this weekend the Maidens’ Fair on Mount Gaina, the largest and best known open-air traditional fair in Romania, first mentioned by documents in 1816. In the old times, this holiday was a good opportunity for the people in the area to get together and celebrate and for the young people to make new friendships and even get married. At present, the Maidens’ Fair is aimed at promoting traditional handicraft and costume and the countrys customs, traditions and authentic folk music.




    FRANCOPHONE GAMES – Thousands of young athletes launched the International Francophone Games in Abidjan on Friday. The 10-day Jeux de la Francophonie is held every four years and includes cultural exchanges while aiming to promote the French language. At the previous edition held in Nice, France, Romania won 9 gold medals, 10 silver and 4 bronze. This year Romania takes part only in the sports competition. The Games will include basketball, football, wrestling and cycling, among other sports. Up to 48 nations will take part in the event.




    WHITE HOUSE – Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the White House new press secretary, replacing Sean Spicer who has resigned. The media sees Spicers resignation as a protest over President Trump’s decision to bring in new people. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gained prominence in recent months as she has taken on more public-facing duties on President Donald Trumps communication team. During her first appearance as press secretary, Sanders said taking the job at the White House is “one of the greatest honors that any person could ever have.”




    WARSAW – Polands upper house of parliament has approved a Supreme Court overhaul, seen by the opposition as aimed to undermine democratic checks and balances. The opposition and judges groups in Poland, as well as critics in Brussels, say the legislation is a new step by the Polish government towards authoritarianism. The parliament pushed through the change to the Supreme Court, which gives the government power to select candidates for the court. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Warsaw, in Krakow and other cities to protest against the draft bill. To become law, the bill needs to be signed by President Andrzej Duda. The European Union and the United have recently urged Poland to ensure any changes respect the constitution.




    International Tennis Federation — The coach of Romania’s Fed Cup team, the former tennis player Ilie Năstase, has said today in a Facebook post that he is disappointed but not surprised by the recent decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and that he will seek justice by appealing the decision at an independent body. We remind you that on Friday the International Tennis Federation announced that Nastase was suspended from any official position he was holding until 2021 because, according to the ITF, at a match held in Romania against the UK, in April, he used insulting words against Romania’s adversaries, against a referee and a journalist. Also Ilie Năstase received a fine worth 10 thousand dollars. According to the president of the Romanian Tennis Federation, George Cosac, the ITF’s decision is too tough and the accusations leveled against Năstase exaggerated. Năstase and the Romanian Tennis Federation can appeal the decision in an independent court in 3 weeks time.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • May 23, 2017 UPDATE

    May 23, 2017 UPDATE

    MANCHESTER ATTACK – A suicide bomber is the perpetrator of Monday nights terrorist attack on Manchester Arena at the end of a concert, the British PM Theresa May announced on Tuesday. The attack, claimed by the IS terror group, killed 22 people and wounded some 60 others, some of whom are in a serious condition. Many of the victims are children. The presumed attacker was identified as Salman Abedi, 22, Reuters reports, quoting several American officials. Born in Manchester, he was the son on Libyan refugees who had come to Britain to escape the Gaddafi regime. Security was tightened in Manchester and in the British capital, London. The Conservative PM Theresa May and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suspended their campaigns for the early parliamentary elections of June 8. This is the worst attack in Britain since the one in London on July 7, 2005, when 52 people died and nearly 700 were wounded. Two months ago, a radical Islamist rammed a vehicle into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing 5 people, including a Romanian. Bucharest joined the international community in condemning Mondays attack, and expressed solidarity with the British people. According to the authorities, there are no Romanians among the victims.




    SALARIES – On Tuesday the Romanian Senate passed the unified pay scale bill, which is supposed to raise salaries gradually for state employees until 2022. The Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu told Senators that the bill was correlated with the new Fiscal Code, and that it would provide a 56% average salary increase. The minister explained that the law was necessary in order to fix a dysfunctional public wage system. The bill goes next to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber. Public administration trade unions expressed their dissatisfaction at the bill, and announced widespread protests next week across the country, including the capital. Union leaders said they expect 120,000 to take part.




    BY-ELECTIONS – In Romania, in 49 localities in 32 counties, local by-elections will be held on June 11, for mayor posts, given that some of the incumbent officials were elected into Parliament in December 2016, and others were sentenced for various offences and can no longer act as mayors. The election campaign begins on May 27 and ends on June 10. Eligible voters in the local elections are only those citizens who live or reside in the respective constituency.




    ECONOMY – The Romanian economic model within the EU was a topic for debate at a conference held at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest by the Association for Economic and Social Studies and Forecasts. Representatives of the government, business people, academics, and civil society activists presented their perspective for the next 10 years with regard to standards of living, education and workforce. According to the latest statistics, Romania has the highest economic growth in the Union. At the same time, the EC has warned Bucharest on the risk of overstepping the stated budget on medium term.




    INVESTIGATION – The former Social Democratic Party chairman Mircea Geoana, defeated in the presidential elections in 2009, and his campaign manager, former Social Democratic MP Viorel Hrebenciuc, were heard on Tuesday by the Parliament committee investigating the elections of 2009. After the hearings, Geoana said there had been a deliberate and coordinated effort at top level to influence the outcome of the 2009 election. In turn, Viorel Hrebenciuc said there had been problems with the polling stations abroad and that he suspected the election had been rigged. On Monday, the committee heard the vice-president of the Permanent Election Authority, Marian Muhulet, and the controversial journalist Dan Andronic, whose allegations led to the creation of the committee. The latter said he has no further information beyond what he had published, and no evidence that the 2009 elections had been tampered with. Andronic used to be a political adviser to former president Traian Basescu, who won the 2009 election. Andronic claimed that, on the night of the second round of elections in 2009, he met in an informal setting with the Prosecutor General Laura Codruta Kovesi, the former director of intelligence George Maior and his first deputy, Florian Coldea, and that the meeting looked like the gathering of a crisis committee. He further claimed that all the people mentioned risked being fired in case Geoana won the elections.




    OO7 – The famous British actor Roger Moore, 89, died on Tuesday in Switzerland after a brief battle with cancer, The Telegraph reports. He shot to fame with his part as agent 007 in several films in the James Bond franchise, between 1973 and 1985. Roger Moore played more than 91 parts in film and television productions, and devoted much of his time to humanitarian work.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Week in Review: February 13-19

    The Week in Review: February 13-19

    Romanias 2017 Budget


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



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



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



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



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



    Emergency Decree and Referendum


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



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



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



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



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



    Romania and NATOs eastern flank


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



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



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



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



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


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



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



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

  • January 6, 2017 UPDATE

    January 6, 2017 UPDATE

    LAW – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Friday signed into law a bill scrapping 102 charges and fees, after the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect, rejected his request to have the bill revised. Previously, the head of state had also challenged the law with the Constitutional Court. The charges in question include the public radio and television license fee, the environment fee charged on second-hand vehicles, a number of consular and citizenship fees, and the ones for the re-issue or the amendment of certain documents.




    LOCAL WEATHER – The east of Romania remains subject to a code yellow alert against blizzard and snowstorms until Saturday. Snowfalls will not be substantial, but the wind is expected to reach 50 – 60 km/h and even 70 km/h in places. Several counties in the east and south-east of the country were subject to red code and orange code alerts against bad weather. The Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, announced that a person died, because the ambulance arrived too late. Tens of national roads were closed down and hundreds of villages and towns were left in the dark by power shortages. Railway traffic was temporarily suspended in the south east, while several other trains, connecting Bucharest to other European capital cities and Romanian destinations were cancelled.



    WEATHER IN EUROPE – Blizzard and extremely low temperatures are also reported in the Republic of Moldova, where a code orange alert against heavy snowfalls is in force, in the centre and the south. Operations in the international commodity and passenger port Giurgiuleşti were suspended and several checkpoints on the Romanian and Ukrainian borders were closed down. The heavy snowfalls and blizzard also disrupted air traffic at the Chisinau International Aiport. Flights from and to Bucharest, London, Istanbul and Moscow reported delays and some were cancelled altogether. The situation is similar in central Europe. Poland is swept by a wave of cold, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Heavy snowfalls are reported in the northern half of Italy and Germany is facing the same situation, with a high risk of flooding. Bad weather is also reported in Denmark, Sweden and Croatia.




    Govt – The Government of Romania Friday approved an increase of the national minimum wage from about 280 euros to 320 euro as of February 1. According to a news release issued by the Government, the measure will raise the economic growth rate by a rough 0.2% and will encourage employment. At the same time, the document reads, the increase will have a notable social impact, helping to raise living standards and bridging social gaps. Also, the salaries of artists and the personnel of performing arts institutions were raised by 50%. The Government also raised public pensions, with the minimum guaranteed social pensions set to reach 115 euros as of March 1.



    STRIKE – The coal workers at the Lupeni pit in the Jiu Valley area in south-western Romania Friday resumed the protest they had suspended on Thursday night, disgruntled with not seeing any of their demands met. Among other things, they want solutions to be found for the supply of strictly necessary materials underground, and want the management to give up plans to idle the employees for a one-week period each. Several miners and trade union leaders are on hunger strike.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Romania Has New Anti-Smoking Law

    Romania Has New Anti-Smoking Law

    Alarming data about the number of deaths caused by smoking in Romania prompted Parliament to pass a Law against smoking, initiated in 2011 and backed by a number of NGOs. The public debate on this project has been inspired from the best practice of European states. Smoking is completely banned in 17 out of the 28 EU countries in enclosed public spaces, on public transport and at the workplace.



    Nevertheless, Romanian MPs are divided over this law. 33 parliament members from all parties challenged the definition of “enclosed space where smoking is forbidden, which they see as discriminatory, and took the matter to the Constitutional Court. The Court dismissed the appeal on Wednesday, and ruled that the Law against smoking was constitutional. The head of state is now to sign it into law, and the act will take effect 45 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.



    Under the new law, smoking is banned in clubs, bars, restaurants, taxis, education institutions, hospitals and also in both indoor and outdoor childrens playgrounds. However, smoking restrictions will not apply to maximum-security prison cells and designated smoking areas in international airports. People who break this law will be fined up to 500 lei, while in the case of clubs, bars and restaurants the fine can go up to as much as 15,000 lei or the respective units can be closed down. There are several MPs however who disagree with the Courts decision. Cristiana Anghel, a Conservative Senator, is one of them:



    Cristiana Anghel: “In my opinion this law is ridiculous, in that it violates smokers rights. Germany, for instance, has reconsidered its decision and has allowed, among other things, those special smoking areas at the workplace, because labor productivity had decreased dramatically. But where there is a law there is no room for negotiation.



    Other MPs approve of the no-smoking law, which brings Romania in line with the other European states. Horia Cristian, a Liberal MP, argues in favour of the new legislation:



    Horia Cristian: “The Courts ruling came as no surprise, because it is not at all discriminatory. On the contrary, I believe that non-smokers have been discriminated against for a long time now. This is an important step forward for Romania and for its disease prevention strategy.



    The law against smoking has been appreciated by almost 80% of the participants in an opinion poll conducted this month in Romania. Three quarters of those questioned have said they dont smoke, four out of ten have tried to quit smoking, while one-fifth of them are planning to do that in the following month.

  • January 5, 2016

    January 5, 2016

    Although temperatures are slightly increasing, the weather remains very cold for this time of the year in Romania. Snowfalls are still reported in the south-east and north-west. The highs range between minus 8 and 5 degrees Celsius, with a minus 6 degree reading in Bucharest at noon. Over the past few days, 3 people died because of the biting cold, and 42 others have been rescued by the authorities. Road, railway and air transport is disrupted by the snow and wind.



    Bulgaria, Romanias southern neighbour, announced a code yellow alert against snow, black ice and strong wind, valid today in several parts of the country, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. Romanian citizens who travel or intend to travel to Bulgaria are urged to have their vehicles properly equipped and to check the latest news in this respect. The Foreign Ministry previously warned Romanian tourists that a similar alert was in place in Bosnia-Herzegovina.



    The importance of guaranteeing the freedom of the press is vital to any democratic country, particularly in a EU member state, said the Liberal Deputy Ionuţ Stroe, the head of Romanias delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In a statement to Radio Romania, he described as disquieting the fact that a law drafted by the new Conservative power in Poland, under which the directors of the public radio and television stations are to be appointed by the finance minister, was passed by the Parliament in Warsaw without public debate. On Monday, 4 international media freedom watchdogs filed a complaint in this respect with the Council of Europe. They criticise the law as threatening the independence of public media. The authors of the protest urge the Polish Conservative party “Law and Justice to immediately scrap this law, which is pending for promulgation by President Andrzej Duda, from the same party.



    Copenhagen announced temporary controls on its German border, shortly after Sweden had taken similar measures at its border with Denmark. The Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen warned that unless the EU manages to protect its borders, several countries will have to tighten security checks. He explained that, following the restrictions imposed by Sweden, Denmark might be faced with a large number of illegal immigrants. In turn, the Swedish authorities claim that they are trying to reduce the number of refugees reaching their country. Last year, 160,000 people applied for asylum in Sweden, the largest number in Europe after Germany. Denmark and Sweden are the last states to introduce border checks in the Schengen zone. In September 2015, Germany introduced controls on its Austrian border, and last week Norway, which is not an EU member but is part of the visa-free area, announced that travelers without a visa would be denied access to the country.



    The leaders of the Moldovan pro-Western Liberal and Democratic parties, announced they would hold new talks in order to form a new parliamentary majority and a new government. The announcement comes after on Monday the prime minister designate, Ion Sturza, failed to get the votes of a sufficient number of MPs in the Moldovan Parliament, more than half of whose members were absent from the session. The Parliament Speaker, Adrian Candu, said that the vote is failed according to the Constitutional Court rules, and the head of state Nicolae Timofti is now to nominate a new candidate for the PM seat. Should the new attempt fail as well, Timofti must dissolve the Parliament and announce early elections. The previous cabinet, headed by the Liberal-Democrat Valeriu Streleţ, was dismissed on October 29, following a no-confidence motion tabled by the pro-Russian Communists and Socialists, but backed by the Democratic Party as well.



    The UN Security Council strongly criticized the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, and Saudi Arabia suspended diplomatic ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was stormed and set alight by violent protesters, disgruntled with the execution of Shia Muslim cleric Nimr Baaqer al-Nimr by Riyadh. As tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran escalate, Russia expressed willingness to host negotiations between the two foreign ministers. In turn, the EU and USA call for calm following the row between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran.



    The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 2 in the world, has withdrawn from the Brisbane tournament in Australia, having nearly 900,000 US dollars in prize money, and so did the current trophy holder, no. 4 WTA Maria Sharapova of Russia. Simona said that, in spite of the problem with her left leg, she would take part in the Sydney tournament next week. Two other Romanian players, Andreea Mitu and Patricia Maria Ţig, have qualified in the doubles quarter-finals of the Shenzhen tournament in China, which has 500,000 US dollars in prize money. In the first round, they defeated Zarina Dias / Ling Zhang (Kazakhstan/China), 6-2, 6-4.

  • Law on Funding Political Parties

    Law on Funding Political Parties

    Money makes the world go round and political parties too. Political parties are not founded solely on ideas, doctrines, values and principles. They also need money, say malicious commentators, who are convinced that the main goal of those who choose to go into politics, at least in Romania, is to make a fortune. The Romanian Parliament has eventually tried to make things clear in terms of funding for political parties and election campaigns. This was long called for, given that all these years there have been suspicions in terms of political parties receiving big sums of money from businesspeople, who, in exchange, expected politicians to favour them and help them get lucrative contracts with the Romanian state. This vicious mechanism has been exposed by the radical anti-corruption campaign of the past years, but only strict laws can do away with these practices.



    On Saturday President Klaus Iohannis endorsed the law that amends and completes the old law on funding political parties and election campaigns. The Romanian President had asked Parliament to revise the bill, which the MPs eventually did, thus eliminating possibilities for illegal funding.



    According to an amendment made by the Joint Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, political parties can take out loans only based on authenticated notarized documents. The contract must stipulate the manner and deadline for returning the borrowed amounts, and the deadline cannot exceed three years. Also, money loans and repayments can only be made by bank transfers, and the amount that has not been returned by the deadline stipulated in the contract shall be considered a donation.



    The Romanian President has also asked Parliament to clarify the rules regulating the loans granted to political parties by individuals or legal entities, donations and the control of funding, as well as to clarify certain provisions that threatened to jeopardise the principle of political pluralism. The joint effort of the Parliament and President has eventually led to a clearer, if not better law regarding the funding of political parties. Sceptics however claim that those accustomed to go around the law will carry on their illegal practices and the lack of transparency in this sector will remain the rule and not the exception.

  • Political party switching

    The government emergency ordinance regulating party switching has been published this week in the Official Journal of Romania. The government, made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the Conservatives and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, claims this new piece of legislation is intended to streamline the work of local administration offices, paralysed by political reconfigurations since the 2012 elections.



    The Christian Liberal Alliance in opposition argues however that this encourages the already widespread practice of party switching. Threatened to lose many of its local elected officials, the Opposition initiated a motion of censure, challenged the ordinance at the Bucharest Court of Appeal and urged the Ombudsman to take measures against it. Victor Ciorbea, speaking for the Ombudsman, had this to say:



    “The ordinance has finally been published in the Official Journal, so now we have the text, we have the written memo from the Christian Liberal Alliance, and other arguments. We will try to come up with an official position as soon as possible.”



    Observers believe that pragmatic electoral purposes are in fact underlying the move. The Social Democratic Party, which controls the central government, has far less influence in the local administration, which is precisely why it tries to win over mayors from opposition parties. This, analysts argue, would benefit the Romanian Socialists in more than one way. On the one hand, it would strengthen their position in the local administration, and on the other hand it would pave the way for the election of prime minister Victor Ponta, the Social Democratic candidate in this autumn’s presidential ballot.