Radio România Internațional

Tag: Legislature

  • End of European Parliament legislature

    End of European Parliament legislature

    In Strasbourg, the last plenary session of the current European Parliament (EP) has come to an end. The EP adopted several important directives. One of them establishes new rules that ensure that workers on online platforms have a fair professional status. They guarantee that a person working on online platforms cannot be fired based on a decision made by an algorithm or automated decision-making system. Instead, digital work platforms must ensure human oversight of important decisions that directly affect the people working on platforms.

     

    Also, new rules were adopted regarding the violation of traffic rules abroad. They expand the list of traffic violations committed by non-resident drivers. The list thus includes new elements, such as dangerous parking and overtaking, crossing the continuous white line, and leaving the scene of an accident. With around 40% of cross-border traffic offences currently going unpunished, MEPs are trying to get EU countries to cooperate more in finding foreign drivers who break the rules. The new rules oblige national authorities to answer the requests from another EU country without delay and within two months at most from collecting the necessary information.

     

    At the same time, the EP has given the green light to new rules forcing companies to reduce their negative impact on human rights and the environment. Slavery, child labor, labor exploitation, loss of biodiversity, pollution or destruction of natural heritage are among the negative effects targeted by the directive. The norms will apply to EU and non-EU companies and parent companies with more than 1,000 employees and a worldwide turnover of more than 450 million Euros. On the other hand, the first European norms on combating violence against women and domestic violence were also approved. The directive calls for stricter laws against cyber-violence, better support for victims and measures to prevent rape.

     

    The EP also adopted a revised law to improve air quality, which imposes stricter limits for 2030 for several air pollutants. Thus, the air quality indices will be comparable in all member states and access to justice and the right to compensation for citizens will be ensured if the rules are violated. Other adopted directives establish that the maximum limit of cash payments is 10,000 Euros, establish that agricultural farms with less than 10 hectares will not be penalized if they do not comply with the common agricultural policy and that certain types of single-use plastic packaging will be prohibited starting from January 1, 2030. We remind you that, between June 6-9, European Parliament elections will take place in the EU states. In Romania, they will be on June 9, together with the local ones. (LS)

  • Les priorités de la nouvelle session parlementaire

    Les priorités de la nouvelle session parlementaire

    Ouverture de la nouvelle session parlementaire à Bucarest, pendant laquelle le Sénat et la Chambre des députés doivent se prononcer tant sur les initiatives législatives avancées par les élus lors des sessions précédentes, que sur les projets et les décrets d’urgence émanant du gouvernement.



    Les sénateurs se pencheront entre autres sur l’initiative citoyenne visant à redéfinir la famille dans la Constitution, une initiative adoptée par la Chambre des députés, mais dont le parcours législatif n’est toujours pas finalisé au Sénat. Le président du Sénat, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, affirmait, fin mai, que le référendum sur la révision de la Loi fondamentale serait organisé cet automne.



    La procédure concernant l’élection de deux représentants de la société civile dans le Conseil supérieur de la magistrature est elle aussi une priorité. Cette procédure avait été démarrée en novembre 2016 et reprise en mars 2017, mais le Sénat n’a pas encore pris la décision finale.



    En ce qui la concerne, la Chambre des députés aura à débattre sur un certain nombre de projets restants, dont le plus controversé est celui adopté tacitement par le Sénat et qui porte sur la dépénalisation de certains délits.



    D’autres projets, déjà soumis au Sénat, attendent d’être débattus dans la Chambre des députés, qui est l’assemblée décisionnelle. Parmi eux, la hausse du plafond pour l’application du régime d’exemption de TVA. Les parlementaires auront également à se prononcer sur une série de décrets et de projets législatifs déjà adoptés par le Gouvernement ou qu’il est en train d’examiner. Tel est le cas du projet de loi portant sur la création du Fonds souverain de développement et d’investissements, lequel, selon les déclarations du premier ministre, Mihai Tudose, devrait être soumis au Parlement en ce mois de septembre.



    Quant au projet de modification des lois régissant la Justice, présenté par le ministre de tutelle, Tudorel Toader, il est arrivé jeudi au Conseil supérieur de la magistrature en vue d’un avis consultatif, avant d’être soumis au Parlement. Le projet de loi portant réforme des retraites devrait arriver sur la table des élus avant le 1er octobre.



    Reste encore à débattre d’une série de décrets d’urgence aussi, dont ceux relatifs au plafonnement des pensions spéciales, au plafonnement des indemnités parentales à 8.500 lei (soit environ 1900 euros), à la majoration des salaires des policiers et du personnel civil des institutions de sécurité nationale de 10% et respectivement 15%. A cela s’ajoutent des décrets adoptés par l’Exécutif, tel celui sur la modification du Code fiscal, dans le sens de la majoration progressive des accises sur les carburants. Enfin, la Commission parlementaire chargée d’enquêter sur l’éventuelle fraude électorale lors des élections présidentielles de 2009 devrait présenter son rapport le 8 septembre. (trad. : Mariana Tudose)

  • December 27, 2016 UPDATE

    December 27, 2016 UPDATE

    REJECTION – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday rejected Sevil Shhaideh, the Social Democrats’ nomination for the position of Prime Minister and called on the majority PSD — ALDE coalition to come up with another nomination. In response, the Social-Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea announced the coalition would make a decision until Thursday adding that the options include the procedure of impeaching the president. Dragnea has accused Iohannis of trying to trigger a political crisis in Romania. The UDMR (Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania), which has a Parliamentary support agreement with the PSD-ALDE coalition said the Social Democrats must come up with another nomination. According to the UDMR leader there are no constitutional reasons for the impeachment of the president and that the UDMR does not agree with such a move. The opposition has hailed the president’s refusal to nominate Shhaideh for the position of Prime Minister. Raluca Turcan, the interim leader of the National Liberal Party has called on the Social Democrats to refrain from threatening the president with impeachment and make another nomination. The former Development Minister, Shhaideh was proposed by the Social Democrats before Christmas during the talks president Iohannis had with the political parties that had made it to Parliament following the December the 11th election. The PSD-ALDE coalition holds 54% of the seats and is backed in the Legislature by the UDMR.



    WEATHER – Romanian meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert for snow and blizzard in all the mountainous regions valid until Thursday. Snow will fall in these regions as well as in the east and southeast. Minimum temperatures will be ranging between – 6 and + 3 degrees Celsius, while the highs will stay between – 2 and + 6 degrees centigrade. Beginning December 29th the weather is expected to become cold and frosty during the night and morning particularly in northern and central Romania.



    TAXES The Senate of Romania on Tuesday rejected a request from president Iohannis to reassess a bill on the elimination of 102 non-fiscal duties, including the radio-TV fee. On December 23rd, the president called on the Legislature to reassess this bill, which had been declared constitutional, for the effects it is going to have on citizens. The move to eliminate the radio-TV fee has attracted a lot of heat from domestic and international media organisations, which argued that it could affect the editorial autonomy of the two public institutions. The Chamber of Deputies is to make a final decision on this law.

  • The leaders of the new Parliament

    The leaders of the new Parliament

    Calin Popescu Tariceanu will hold on to his position as Senate Speaker, while Liviu Dragnea will be the new Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. The two leaders of the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats were the only nominations for these positions and their votes show just how solid a majority the two parties enjoy in the two chambers of Parliament.



    Calin Popescu Tariceanu was trusted with a new mandate as Senate Speaker by 87 votes in favour and 40 against. He was nominated by both the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, which shows that the alliance of the two parties is strong, also enjoying the support of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Tariceanu has urged his fellow Senators to take their jobs seriously so as to make Parliament a powerful institution that should protect citizens’ rights and liberties. The Senate Speaker went on to say that Parliament should assume the role of primary legislator. Tariceanu said Parliament is the foundation of Liberal democracy, and a strong Parliament can only be beneficial for Romania.



    In turn, Liviu Dragnea, elected as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies with 216 votes in favour and 101 against, has called on Deputies, irrespective of their political affiliation, to join efforts to support projects that are important for the country. Liviu Dragnea says reforming the Constitution and restoring citizens’ trust in Parliament should be the main priorities of the new Parliament.



    Also worth noting is that at least six MPs in the opposition have voted to nominate Dragnea and Tariceanu as the heads of the two chambers. As regards the majority in Parliament, the Social Democrats, who won 45% of the parliamentary vote on December 11, and its junior partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, grabbed 6% of the vote. Accordingly, the two parties enjoy a fairly solid majority in Parliament. A total of six political parties made it to Parliament.



    The new legislative body will have 465 members, 120 less than the previous legislature. In addition, the parties have also decided on the membership of Parliament’s subcommittees. The Social-Democrats have secured the leadership of the committees on budget, defense, labour and healthcare. The National Liberal Party, the second-largest parliamentary party, will control four committees. The Save Romania Union and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats got two committees while the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the People’s Movement Party will control one committee each. In the Senate, the Social-Democrats have taken hold of 11 committees, while five committees have been placed under Liberal leadership.


    (Translated by Vlad Palcu)