Radio România Internațional

Tag: magistrates

New draft of the special pensions law, endorsed

The
Social Democrats and the Liberals, holding a majority of seats in Romania’s
Chamber of Deputies, managed to pass a new draft of the special pensions law, after
adjusting it to meet the requirements of the Constitutional Court.

The
only provisions that were revised in the new draft concerned the pensions of
magistrates, to bring the text in line with the requirements issued by the
Constitutional Court judges, and compared to the draft endorsed by the Senate
the Deputies only introduced technical amendments.

The
Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party basically rejected all
the amendments tabled by the Opposition. USR, AUR and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) criticised the bill, on grounds that it
actually preserves the high, even indecent level of pension benefits paid to
magistrates and other categories of public sector employees, and that it
continues to overlook the rule that pension benefits should depend on the
amount of contributions paid by a beneficiary to the public pension fund, as it
happens with regular pensioners.

Moreover,
Save Romania Union (USR) claims that non-permanent bonuses have been introduced
in calculations, to benefit party cronies, while UDMR mentions that its
proposal to introduce heavy taxes on all incomes in excess of the president’s salary
was dismissed.

The
Social Democrats reply that the bill complies with both the Constitutional
Court decisions and with the requirements coming from the European Union,
enabling Romania to access the EUR 2.8 bln earmarked for this chapter in the
National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

In
turn, the Liberals claim the Opposition’s amendments were against the decisions
issued by the Constitutional Court. While they admit that special pensions remain
in place, they emphasise that the new bill does take into account, to some
extent, the contributions paid during one’s working period and introduces a
taxation threshold, so that pension benefits are reduced.

Under
the new law endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in
this respect, magistrates may retire at the age of 60, with pension benefits
accounting for 80% of the average monthly incomes, including bonuses, received
during the 4 years before retirement.

The
law also allows judges, prosecutors, assistant magistrates with the supreme
court and the Constitutional Court, as well as other judicial personnel, to
retire as of next year if they have at least 25-year length of service and are
aged at least 47 years and 4 months. The retirement age is then set to increase
by 4 months per year, until it reaches 60.

Also,
pension benefits cannot exceed the net income in the last month of work, and
the tax rate is to increase gradually up to 20%. (AMP)

17 October 2023
September 17, 2023

FARMERS An alliance of Romanian farmers, unhappy
with the European Commission’s decision not to extend the ban on grain imports
from Ukraine, asks the Romanian government to suspend imports of several
Ukrainian agrifood products. The government, which has already promised
subsidies for the Diesel fuel used in farming works, announced that before
taking further measures it was waiting for Kyiv to make public on Monday a plan
regarding efficient export control to prevent the disruption of the Romanian
grain market. Depending on that plan, Bucharest will take adequate steps to
support Romanian farmers. The EC decided
not to extend its ban on Ukrainian grain imports, in exchange for certain
commitments from Kyiv. Poland, Slovakia and
Hungary have introduced unilateral restrictions, while Bulgaria announced it
did not want the embargo on Ukrainian grain imports extended.

PENSIONS A new
version of the special pension law, comprising the amendments requested by the
Constitutional Court, will be endorsed by the end of September, said the
interim Chamber of Deputies speaker, Alfred Simonis. He added the law covers
all categories of special pensions, but because the special benefits paid to
magistrates and other categories cannot be scrapped, as it happened in the case
of MPs, taxation will be introduced, which the Court has accepted. Also,
Simonis said, ceilings must be introduced for each particular profession, so as
to eliminate special pensions of EUR 8,000 or even EUR 14,000 a month. The
Constitutional Court last month sent back to Parliament the new draft pension
law, on grounds that pension benefits currently being paid cannot be readjusted
to different principles than the ones in the law under which they have been
granted.

SCHENGEN Austria’s opposition to Romania’s Schengen
accession is not targeted against Bucharest, but against this freedom of
movement system, said the Austrian minister for the EU, Karoline Edtstadler. The
statement comes after Bucharest warned it would sue Vienna over its veto to
Romania’s accession. Karoline Edtstadler told the media she understood the
position of Romanian authorities, but added Austria cannot close its eyes to an
already flawed system. She explained the EU should ensure efficient protection of its external
borders before envisioning a Europe without internal
borders. In
an interview to Austrian mass media, Romania’s PM
Marcel Ciolacu said that in case of further opposition from Austria, Romania
will have to take the matter to court and demand compensation for the losses
incurred because of its failure to join the Schengen area.

NATO NATO’s secretary general
Jens Stoltenberg has warned that we must not expect a swift end to the war in
Ukraine, in an interview published on Sunday, as Kyiv carries on its
counteroffensive against Russian forces, AFP reports. The war began in February 2022, when
Russian troops invaded Ukraine. As for Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, Jens Stoltenberg promised
that sooner or later, Ukraine will be a NATO member. In July’s NATO summit in
Vilnius, Alliance leaders agreed that Kyiv may join NATO once
certain conditions are fulfilled, with the US and Germany emphasising that
these conditions include reforms to protect democracy and the rule of law. In
mid-June the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive to push out the Russian
troops from the south and east of the country, but so far only a limited number
of localities have been freed.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team play their second
World Cup match in Bordeaux (France) today, against defending champions, South
Africa. A week ago Romania lost to Ireland 82-8 (33-8). Romania’s
rugby team is next to play against Scotland on September 30 and against Tonga on
October 8, in Lille. The 2023 Rugby World Cup
ends on October 28. The competition has been held every 4 years since 1987, when
the first edition of the World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. (AMP)

17 September 2023
No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs

This is the last week of the present session of the Legislature in Bucharest, which decided not to go on holiday before finalizing some of the most sensitive bills – that on the elimination of the MPs special pensions and the reform of the public service pensions. The elimination of the special pensions for the MPs was endorsed on Monday with a landslide majority in a joint sitting of the two chambers, a sitting marked by speeches abounding in quotations from classical literature, ironies, cries, booing and bell ringing sounds. The aforementioned voting has a special significance for the entire political class, says the Liberals president, Nicolae Ciuca, while the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, the Social-Democrat Alfred Simonis has described it as a first step towards the reform of all special pensions, which is also an objective in the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR).

Alfred Simonis: “We begin today with the first serious pension reform, the pensions of the MPs, which we dont tax, we dont cut, but we simply eliminate. We eliminate those, which are presently paid as well as those about to be paid in the absence of such a law. The special pensions, the accumulation of the pension and salary, unmet objectives in the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, are priorities.”

Although the oppositions backed the bill, there were voices who cautioned the document could be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court; Parliament had endorsed the same law two years ago, but former MPs notified the Constitutional Court, which ruled it as unconstitutional. Furthermore, USR leader, Cătălin Drulă, has recalled that…

Catalin Drula: “We are speaking about 700 beneficiaries of special pensions, the other 210 thousand special pensions remain untouched.”

We recall that Romania has several occupational categories, whose pensions arent exclusively based on the contributions of these employees to the state social insurances before retirement, like the rest of the citizens.

And for this reason, most of the Romanians believe that MPs, magistrates, servicemen, policemen, diplomats or pilots belong to an intangible privileged cast. For now the draft bill on the reform of the entire special pension system, among other things, provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age, at least 25 years of service for the magistrates, in order to be able to benefit from a public service pension or a 15% tax levied on sums above the medium gross salary.

The provisions are actually amendments proposed by the ruling MPs after the latest talks with representatives of the European Commission in order to comply with the PNRR commitments so that the country may not lose the related funds. The political groups in the ruling coalition have hailed the amendments, whereas the opposition says they do not actually reform the special pension system.

(bill)

27 June 2023
The Week in Review

Romanias Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, and Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, visited Chișinău

Romania supports the start of EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova as soon as possible, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday in Chişinău, on his first foreign visit since he took office. He emphasized that the future of the Republic of Moldova is in the community bloc. The Romanian side showed availability to provide expertise to the Moldovan partners. In his turn, the Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean thanked Romania for all the support given to the Republic of Moldova in the process of joining the European Union, as well as in the economic and social fields. He emphasized that the relations on the two banks of the Prut River are increasingly being strengthened through the construction of bridges, roads and energy networks. Dorin Recean mentioned the existence of nine projects for the second installment of the aid provided by the Romanian Government. They are worth 28 million Euros and are aimed at investments for the development of localities in the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan PM said. Early this week, the Romanian FM, Luminița Odobescu, paid a visit to the Republic of Moldova, her first external visit since taking-over her mandate. She was received by the pro-Western president Maia Sandu and had discussions with her counterpart Nicu Popescu. The two emphasized the support which Romania offered to the Republic of Moldova, consisting in humanitarian aid, energy resources and support for increasing resilience. Last but not least, the Romanian FM said that opening the EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova in the shortest possible time is a priority of Romania’s foreign policy.

Romanian magistrates protested, discontented with the prospect of being left without special pensions

Magistrates from several courts and prosecutor’s offices across Romania suspended their activity on Wednesday, showing discontent with the Governments intention to change the conditions under which they can obtain special pensions. Judges and prosecutors argue that changing the special pension scheme would violate the independence of the judiciary. The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party – PSD and the National Liberal Party – PNL wants to gradually increase the retirement age for judges and prosecutors up to 65 years, and for the pension to be calculated based on their income from several years, not just from the last year of activity. The Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, said that she respects the magistrates’ right to free expression, but insisted that dialogue, not protest, is the solution to any problem of the judicial system. The reform of the legislative framework regarding the special pensions scheme is a promise made to the European Union by the Romanian authorities under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. On the other hand, on Thursday, the draft law on the abolition of special pensions for senators and deputies received a favorable opinion, gathering a majority of votes, in the specialized Parliament committee. The president of the committee, the Social-Democratic MP Eugen Bejinariu explained that, if unconstitutional elements of the bill are identified, other solutions will be found to reduce or eliminate the special pensions of parliamentarians.

Measures announced by the Romanian Government

The prices of some basic food products may decrease in the next period, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Thursday. He claims that this decrease will not put pressure on Romanian producers. Marcel Ciolacu stated that he received a response from the large store chains regarding the scheme for reducing markup percentages. It is a list that contains basic foodstuffs such as bread, dairy products, meat, eggs, flour, corn flour, oil, vegetables and fruit. Also on Thursday, the Government discussed, in a first reading, the state aid scheme for Romanian producers of construction materials. In principle, the authorities want more materials produced in the country to appear on the internal market at competitive prices, which will lead to a reduced import of construction materials. Now, over 70% of the materials used are imported, and the Government wants to reduce this percentage. This years budget for the aid scheme could be 150 million Euros, but the Finance Ministry will have the final say. The Executive also approved the granting of emergency aid to support the population affected by floods, landslides and dangerous meteorological phenomena, up to the amount of 1.4 million Euros. Households in the center, south-west and south of the country were affected, this month, by heavy rainfalls. The support and intervention of the military firefighters was needed to remove the negative effects generated by the bad weather.

Development plan for gas deposits in the Romanian area of the Black Sea

OMV Petrom and Romgaz have approved the development plan for the Domino and Pelican Sud commercial natural gas fields in the Romanian area of the Black Sea. The National Agency for Mineral Resources is to confirm this plan. The investment amounts to 4 billion Euros for the development phase, and the total production will be 100 billion cubic meters, the equivalent of the annual demand for natural gas for 4.3 million households. According to the management of OMV Petrom, in 2027, the first amounts of gas are to be extracted through the Neptun Deep project, and Romania will become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union. The project will last approximately two decades, and the revenues brought to the state budget will support Romania’s development. OMV Petrom states that the estimated revenues of the Romanian state would be 20 billion Euros. (LS)

24 June 2023
The Week in Review

Romanias Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, and Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, visited Chișinău

Romania supports the start of EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova as soon as possible, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday in Chişinău, on his first foreign visit since he took office. He emphasized that the future of the Republic of Moldova is in the community bloc. The Romanian side showed availability to provide expertise to the Moldovan partners. In his turn, the Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean thanked Romania for all the support given to the Republic of Moldova in the process of joining the European Union, as well as in the economic and social fields. He emphasized that the relations on the two banks of the Prut River are increasingly being strengthened through the construction of bridges, roads and energy networks. Dorin Recean mentioned the existence of nine projects for the second installment of the aid provided by the Romanian Government. They are worth 28 million Euros and are aimed at investments for the development of localities in the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan PM said. Early this week, the Romanian FM, Luminița Odobescu, paid a visit to the Republic of Moldova, her first external visit since taking-over her mandate. She was received by the pro-Western president Maia Sandu and had discussions with her counterpart Nicu Popescu. The two emphasized the support which Romania offered to the Republic of Moldova, consisting in humanitarian aid, energy resources and support for increasing resilience. Last but not least, the Romanian FM said that opening the EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova in the shortest possible time is a priority of Romania’s foreign policy.

Romanian magistrates protested, discontented with the prospect of being left without special pensions

Magistrates from several courts and prosecutor’s offices across Romania suspended their activity on Wednesday, showing discontent with the Governments intention to change the conditions under which they can obtain special pensions. Judges and prosecutors argue that changing the special pension scheme would violate the independence of the judiciary. The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party – PSD and the National Liberal Party – PNL wants to gradually increase the retirement age for judges and prosecutors up to 65 years, and for the pension to be calculated based on their income from several years, not just from the last year of activity. The Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, said that she respects the magistrates’ right to free expression, but insisted that dialogue, not protest, is the solution to any problem of the judicial system. The reform of the legislative framework regarding the special pensions scheme is a promise made to the European Union by the Romanian authorities under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. On the other hand, on Thursday, the draft law on the abolition of special pensions for senators and deputies received a favorable opinion, gathering a majority of votes, in the specialized Parliament committee. The president of the committee, the Social-Democratic MP Eugen Bejinariu explained that, if unconstitutional elements of the bill are identified, other solutions will be found to reduce or eliminate the special pensions of parliamentarians.

Measures announced by the Romanian Government

The prices of some basic food products may decrease in the next period, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Thursday. He claims that this decrease will not put pressure on Romanian producers. Marcel Ciolacu stated that he received a response from the large store chains regarding the scheme for reducing markup percentages. It is a list that contains basic foodstuffs such as bread, dairy products, meat, eggs, flour, corn flour, oil, vegetables and fruit. Also on Thursday, the Government discussed, in a first reading, the state aid scheme for Romanian producers of construction materials. In principle, the authorities want more materials produced in the country to appear on the internal market at competitive prices, which will lead to a reduced import of construction materials. Now, over 70% of the materials used are imported, and the Government wants to reduce this percentage. This years budget for the aid scheme could be 150 million Euros, but the Finance Ministry will have the final say. The Executive also approved the granting of emergency aid to support the population affected by floods, landslides and dangerous meteorological phenomena, up to the amount of 1.4 million Euros. Households in the center, south-west and south of the country were affected, this month, by heavy rainfalls. The support and intervention of the military firefighters was needed to remove the negative effects generated by the bad weather.

Development plan for gas deposits in the Romanian area of the Black Sea

OMV Petrom and Romgaz have approved the development plan for the Domino and Pelican Sud commercial natural gas fields in the Romanian area of the Black Sea. The National Agency for Mineral Resources is to confirm this plan. The investment amounts to 4 billion Euros for the development phase, and the total production will be 100 billion cubic meters, the equivalent of the annual demand for natural gas for 4.3 million households. According to the management of OMV Petrom, in 2027, the first amounts of gas are to be extracted through the Neptun Deep project, and Romania will become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union. The project will last approximately two decades, and the revenues brought to the state budget will support Romania’s development. OMV Petrom states that the estimated revenues of the Romanian state would be 20 billion Euros. (LS)

23 June 2023
Romania’s magistrates are protesting

Magistrates with several courts and
prosecutor’s offices in Romania on Wednesday ceased work as the imminent amendments
to the pension legislation could affect the independence of the judiciary.

Under these circumstances, only the
urgent criminal cases such as international kidnapping, placement and
investment, adoptions, public custody, protection orders will be judged. The Superior
Council of the Magistrates (CSM) has announced it has been notified and
unconditionally supports the position expressed by the magistrates, as this
situation of severe gravity is fundamentally bearing on the independence of the
judiciary and the statute of the magistrates with direct consequences upon the
act of justice.

The highest representatives of the legal
system, CSM recalls, had a meeting with the representatives of the executive
and legislative power whom they briefed upon the impact of the legislative
amendments over the justice system, which is already being confronted with an
acute shortage of personnel against the ongoing uncertainty regarding the
statute of the professionals in the field.

On the other hand, the CSM says it
does not stand against the pension reform and is concerned with finding the
best normative solutions aimed at streamlining this process.

The country’s new Justice Minister, Alina
Gorghiu, has reacted to the radical measure the magistrates resorted to, saying
that she respects their right to free speech. She also said that dialogue is
the solution to any problem facing the legal system not the protest.

The principle according to which no
pension can exceed the salary is a moral one and the Romanian society has been
waiting for this pension reform to be implemented, Alina Gorghiu says. The
pension reform, which is only to a small extent based on the contribution made
during the period of activity, and which the magistrates mainly benefit as well
as other professional categories, is a landmark in the country’s Plan of Recovery
and Resilience. Romania’s failure to comply with the provisions of the
aforementioned plan, would be tantamount to losing 3 billion Euros.

The PSD – PNL ruling coalition wants
to gradually increase the retirement age for prosecutors and justices up to 65
years and the pensions to be calculated based on the incomes along the years
not in the last year of activity. The reform in the field would also mean higher
taxes for the pensions above a certain level as well as the elimination of the public
service pensions for a series of auxiliary categories such as the specialized personnel
around the judges and prosecutors, the personnel with specific executive
positions within the diplomatic missions as well as the personnel around the
public Parliament servants.

The number of the beneficiaries of
public service pensions in May this year exceeded 10 thousand, half of them
being magistrates. And in their case, the average pension exceeds 4,000 Euros, the
largest part of which being funded from the state budget.

(bill)

21 June 2023
June 20, 2023 UPDATE

Refugee – Romanians have shown unprecedented solidarity, offering a space of safety and peace to the Ukrainian refugees, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in his address on the World Refugee Day. “In March 2022, we got the clear picture of terror, on the cratered streets and destroyed buildings in the cities of Bucha and Irpin. We understood the horror lived by the desperate families forced to flee the war. Over 4.6 million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have chosen our country as their refuge,” Ciolacu wrote on Facebook. According to him, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Romanians have proven their ‘support and generosity in the face of terror.

Visit — Romania is a supporter of the European path of the neighboring Republic of Moldova, and this process will be covered together by the two states – said, on Tuesday, in Chisinau, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, during a press conference with her counterpart Nicu Popescu. In his turn, the Moldovan FM recalled the Romanian support offered to Chisinau in the energy, political and financial fields, especially in the context of Russias war in Ukraine. Odobescu also had discussions on Tuesday with the Prime Minister Dorin Recean and with the Parliament President Igor Grosu. She said that the Romanian authorities would continue to provide robust, priority support adapted to the needs of the Republic of Moldova. On Monday evening, Luminiţa Odobescu was received by the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, the discussions focusing on Chisinaus European agenda and the regional security situation. The Romania FM appreciated the substantial progress of the Moldovan authorities regarding the reforms agenda, in particular following the recommendations made by the European Commission in June 2022, when Moldova was granted the status of European integration candidate state. On Wednesday, Romania’s new PM Marcel Ciolacu will pay a working visit to Chisinau.

Moldova – The Constitutional Court of Moldova, an ex-soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population has ruled as unconstitutional the SOR party founded and led by the oligarch Ilan Sor. The party has been accused of actions that run against the rule of law, jeopardizing the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova, being funded from abroad and backed by the Russian secret services. The party leader fled to Israel after having received a prison sentence for his involvement in the theft of one billion Euros from Moldova’s banking system. From there he initiated jointly with the partys vice-president Marina Tauber a series of anti-government protests.

Football – Romanias national football team ended in a two-all draw their away game against Switzerland in Group 1 of the Euro 2024 preliminaries. The Romanians were dominated in the match, being led 2-0, but they managed an unexpected comeback and leveled the score towards the end of the match. In the other Group 1 matches, Belarus secured a 2-1 win against Kosovo and Israel also obtained a 2-1 victory against Andorra. Switzerland, the favorite of the group, and Romania, are ranked on the first two positions in the classification, which ensures them qualification for the final tournament in Germany.

Magistrates – Magistrates from several courts and prosecutors offices in Romania have announced that they are suspending their work as of Wednesday, as they are dissatisfied with the government’s intention to change the conditions for the special pension scheme. Judges and prosecutors argue that changing their special pension schemes violate the independence of the judiciary. The ruling coalition wants, among other things, to gradually increase the retirement age for judges and prosecutors to 65, and to calculate their pensions on the basis of their income from several years, not just from the last year of activity. Currently, judges and prosecutors are retiring after only 25 years of work. The elimination of special pension schemes for several social categories in Romania is a condition for the country to receive the following installments of European money under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Special pensions are not based on contributions, they were granted by law, and are often very high compared to normal pensions in Romania. Magistrates say they will only solve urgent cases.

Museum – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday approved, with a majority of votes, the setting up of the National Museum of History and Culture of the Roma in Romania – a public institution of national importance, subordinated to the National Agency for Roma. The purpose of the museum is, among other things, to present and promote the history, culture and traditions of this national minority, to know, at national and international levels, its contribution to the evolution and modernization of Romanian society over time, as well as to combat racism and discrimination. The initiator of the proposal, a deputy representing the national minorities, Cătălin Manea, declared that the vote in the Chamber of Deputies – decision-making body in this case – is historic. The National Museum of Roma History and Culture will contribute to revealing historical truths.

Exams – 8th graders had a day off on Tuesday, after taking the written exam in the Romanian language and literature as part of the National Assessment on Monday. On Wednesday, the next test in mathematics is scheduled and on Thursday the students who belong to national minorities will take the exam in their native language and literature. The first results will be published on June 28, and the final ones, after resolving the appeals, on July 4. From this year, high school enrollment will be based only on the mean obtained at the National Assessment, and the mean of the middle school points will no longer be taken into account as before. Students who did not register for the exam can only attend the courses of a professional or dual school. Almost 10% of those who started the eighth grade in the fall are in this situation. (LS)

20 June 2023
October 4, 2022 UPDATE

ESPIONAGE Prosecutors with the Directorate Investigating Organised
Crime and Terrorism Offences (DIICOT) have indicted 4 Romanian and foreign
nationals as part of an espionage inquiry targeting the Serbian company NIS
Petrol, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Gazprom. Prosecutors have
ordered searches in Bucharest and Timișoara, both at the company headquarters, and
at the homes of a number of employees, confiscating documents and data storage devices.
The four are accused of having traded classified information and of
facilitating the unauthorised transfer of data concerning Romania’s mineral reserves,
prosecutors say. In 2009, Gazprom bought the majority stake in NIS under an
agreement signed by Belgrade and Moscow.

ECONOMY Romania’s economy
is expected to grow by 4.6% this year, the World Bank announced on Tuesday. The
estimate is better than the one made public in June, when the figure only
stood at 2.9%. The improvement is based on robust private consumption and early
signs that investments would pick up, but the outlook depends on the
developments in Ukraine and their impact on the European economy on the whole,
the institution says.

MOTION USR Deputies, in opposition, together with MPs from the Force
of the Right, have tabled a simple motion in the Chamber of Deputies against
the interior minister Lucian Bode, whom they accuse of incompetence and
protecting party interests. The USR leader Cătălin Drulă says Bode must answer,
among other things, to allegations that the Romanian Police purchased new cars
through public procurement procedures that favoured companies linked to the Liberal
Party. Bode is also criticised for failing to reach a number of targets,
including the electronic monitoring of offenders and the interior
ministry reform. The motion will be discussed and voted on next Tuesday.

LEGISLATION A draft law regulating the judge and prosecutor
professions was endorsed on Tuesday in the Chamber of Deputies. The bill had
passed all the required stages of the legislative process, including the approval
of the Higher Council of Magistrates, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu said.
The act was criticised however by the USR and AUR parties, in opposition. The
decision-making body in this case is the Senate. The bill is the 3rd
normative act in a law package regulating the judiciary, next to one on the
Higher Council of Magistrates and the organisation of courts, which have
already been endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies.

FUNDING Romania may get about EUR 1.5 billion for energy
independence projects and for fighting energy poverty, following the
endorsement of the REpowerEU plan by the Economic and Financial Council in
Luxembourg. Romania is the 6th EU member state to benefit from the
new funding, said the finance minister Adrian Câciu. He explained that during
negotiations the funding earmarked for Romania practically doubled compared to
the original proposal made by the European Commission this May.

NOBEL The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to
Alain Aspect (France), John F. Clauser (USA) and Anton Zeillinger (Austria) for
their revolutionary experiments with entangled photons, establishing the
violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science.
Their findings have laid the foundation for a new era of quantum technology. (AMP)

4 October 2022
September 28, 2022

ECONOMY The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has
upgraded its estimates on Romania’s economic performance in 2022 and 2023, but warns that a significant slow-down is expected next year,
according to a report made public on Wednesday. According to the new forecasts,
Romania’s economy is expected to grow by 5.4% this year and 1.9% next year, a
significant improvement from the 2.9% for 2022 and negative 1.1% for 2023,
estimated in May. EBRD is a major institutional investor in Romania, running
nearly 500 projects with a combined budget of close to EUR 10 billion.

TRADE Trade
exchanges between Romania and the US reached USD 5.4 billion last year, as
against USD 2.4 billion in 2011, according to a report released by the American
Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania, AmCham, as part of the U.S. -
Romania Economic Forum on Wednesday. Direct and indirect US investment in
Romania went up from USD 6.5 billion in 2019, to USD 7.5 billion in 2020. The
US is Romania’s 5th-largest trade partner, accounting for 6.8% of the country’s
international trade, and the largest outside the EU. The biggest US investments
in Romania by turnover are in manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare. As
many as 900 companies in Romania are running on US capital, ranking 3rd after
Hungary and the Czech Republic.

PLAGIARISM The University of
Bucharest says the plagiarism accusations against the education minister Sorin
Cîmpeanu must be analysed thoroughly, outside any type of pressure, by the
relevant bodies in the university in question and other public institutions. The
University condemns any measure that breaches academic ethics and integrity. In
turn, the National School of Political and Administrative Studies condemns all
forms of plagiarism and highlights that the education minister’s decision to
dismantle the National Council Attesting
University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates is not constructive and does not
contribute to a true reform of the education sector. On the other hand, USR and Force of the Right MPs, in
opposition in Romania, have tabled a simple motion entitled Romania
educated to steal. Sorin Cîmpeanu is a disgrace for education. Plagiarism
allegations against the education minister have been circulated in the media. Cîmpeanu
denied the allegations and argued that they are a move to undermine the
education laws.

JUDICIARY A special parliamentary committee on the justice laws today
carries on talks on the draft statute regulating the judge and prosecutor
professions. On Tuesday, the committee accepted some amendments brought by the
National Liberal Party (in power) and the Higher Council of Magistrates, but
dismissed all the amendments tabled by the opposition. USR and AUR parties
requested changes in judge and prosecutor secondment and delegation procedures,
and in the procedures for dismissing magistrates. The bill is next to be
reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies. This is the 3rd act in the
justice law package to be discussed by the committee, after the ones concerning
the Higher Council of Magistrates and the organisation of courts, which have
already been endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is the
decision-making parliamentary body in this respect.

UKRAINE Ukraine’s foreign ministry Wednesday called for a substantial
increase of Western military support, one day after the so-called referendums
regarding the annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions by Russia. The ballots have
been criticised by a large part of the international community, France Presse
reports. Kyiv also urged all countries and international organisations to
condemn Kremlin’s illegal actions in the territories occupied in Ukraine. The
pro-Russian authorities in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk,
Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Tuesday announced the votes were in favour of the
annexation by Russia. In the next stage, Russia’s parliament is to vote on a
document making the integration of the 4 regions in the Russian Federation
official. The EU announced it would
never recognise the results of the referendums. (A.M.P.)

28 September 2022
The Section for the Investigation of the magistrates is being dismantled

The story of one of the most controversial
structures in the Romanian judiciary is coming to an end these days. The
government in Bucharest on Monday endorsed a draft law on dismantling the
special Section for the Investigation of the Judiciary, known in Romania as
SIIJ. The head of the coalition government, Liberal Nicolae Ciucă, has recalled
that this is an objective Romania has also assumed within the Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism (CVM) through which Brussels has been monitoring the
rule of law in Romania ever since the country’s entry into the European Union
in 2007.

Under the new amendments, other structures
have been authorized to take over the SIIJ files and their resolutions are to
be made public within 60 days since the law has come into effect, by the
Prosecutor’s Office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the other
the competent offices, which are carrying on work on the aforementioned files.

High-ranking prosecutors and justices
accused of various offences are to be investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office
with the High Court of Cassation and Justice whereas the other prosecutors and
judges by prosecutor’s offices of other courts.

The jobs in the organizational chart of
the SIIJ will remain in the organizational chart of the Prosecutor’s Office
with the High Court of Cassation and Justice, part of the Penal and Crime Investigation
Department. Starting with the date of the SIIJ dismantling, its prosecutors,
including those in higher positions, will be returning to the prosecutor’s
offices they belonged to. The aforementioned draft will be submitted for
Parliament debates and approval.

The largest part of the press in
Bucharest, as well as legal experts, have constantly denounced the SIIJ as a
means of putting pressure on the magistrates and hindering Romania’s anti-graft
actions.

The initiator of this project was believed
to be the former Social Democratic strongman Liviu Dragnea who had dominated
Romania’s political life for a couple of years before being arrested on corruption
charges in 2019.

The present head of European Public
Prosecutor’s Office, EPPO, Laura Codruta Kovesi, who had previously headed
Romania’s Anti-Corruption Directorate with unmatched effectiveness, confessed
shortly before her dismissal by president Klaus Iohannis in June 2018,
following a Constitutional Court ruling, that in those years, the biggest
challenge for the Romanian judiciary was keeping its judges and prosecutors
independent.

There have been repeated tries at
amending the anti-corruption legislation in order to limit the legislative
instruments used by anti-corruption prosecutors or attempts at decriminalizing
some actions. There were situations in which requests for lifting the immunity
of corrupt politicians had been turned down, Kovesi went on to say.

(bill)

15 February 2022
Talks on dismantling the special section investigating magistrates

The dismantling of the special section investigating criminal offences within the judiciary is back in the public spotlight after the Venice Commission said this was a good thing and reaffirmed that super-immunity for magistrates should be eliminated and that the Higher Council of Magistrates should not be in a position to filter out criminal charges against judges and prosecutors.

The Justice Minister Stelian Ion explained the position of the Venice Commission, namely that the so-called guarantees for magistrates actually provide them with special immunity, which would merely “cast a shadow on the judicial process. According to the minister, there are no arguments to keep this special section in place, and a decision in this respect may be taken next week in the Senate.

Previously, the Chamber of Deputies had upheld the position of the Higher Council of Magistrates concerning the trying of judges and prosecutors for any criminal offences, including corruption.

Stelian Ion: “With this confirmation from an independent body of the Council of Europe, a body comprising mainly constitutional law experts, whom I would like to thank especially for answering our requests with such swiftness, and leaving aside this local turmoil, these disputes and clashes over the topic, so with all this in mind, I can see no further impediments.

The opinion of the Venice Commission confirms that my efforts as chair of the Legal Committee and the efforts of my fellow Liberal Senators towards scrapping super-immunity for magistrates, were justified, the Liberal Senator Iulia Scântei said in her turn. According to her, by dismantling the special section, a shameful chapter of recent history will be ended, a period when the independence of magistrates was under siege.

USR PLUS, the Liberals partners in the ruling coalition, believes the position of the Venice Commission comes as no surprise, given that the creation of this special division had been criticised by all European institutions. Investigating corruption must be brought back into the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, and the relevant amendments to the law must be scrapped, USR PLUS says.

Conversely, the Social Democrats in opposition remain adamant that no changes should be operated on the laws regulating the judiciary without a broad consensus of magistrates over the protection of judges from any type of pressure and abuse.

Several magistrate associations in Romania believe the head of the Higher Council of Magistrates should resign following the opinion communicated by the Venice Commission. Making the prosecution of magistrates for corruption conditional on the approval of the Higher Council of Magistrates is an unconstitutional filter and decreases public confidence in the judicial process, professional associations argue. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

6 July 2021
Senate passes controversial laws

The Senate of
Romania on Monday endorsed to major initiatives by the ruling PNL and USR
amending a couple of draft laws, which sparked off heated debates in society when
they were first issued.

The first one repeals
the regulation introduced during the PSD ruling in 2018, allowing for the early
retirement of judges and prosecutors at the age of only 45 after only 20 years
on the job. According to the Liberals, the law was defying the Romanians in a
country where most of the people retire at 65, and that the new amendments
represent a return to normalcy, under which magistrates can retire at 60 after
25 years of work. Other personal criteria for early retirement, such as illness
or other issues, have also been covered by the law, the initiators explained.

According to
them, in its initial form, the law would have allowed for the early retirement
of a significant number of magistrates, a situation with a major impact upon
the good functioning of courts and prosecutor’s offices

The shortage of
magistrates would have also significantly impacted the quality of the Judiciary,
prolonging resolution time in certain files. For this reason, the provision
never came into effect but was prorogued every year. We recall that in this
case, the Senate is a decision-making body.

Also on Monday,
Romanian senators repealed a provision, which banned the selling of state-owned
shares in national companies and enterprises to loan institutions or to other
company where the state is a shareholder.

A provision on
the two-year suspension of any operations regarding the selling of state-owned
shares under realization was also repealed.

The draft,
initiated by the center-to-right coalition, allows for capitalizing on shares
with a view to avoiding severe impacts on social relations regarding the
economic freedom of operators where the state is a shareholder and of the free
movement of capital.

At the same
time, by diversifying shareholders, the government intends to achieve market
competitiveness and performance. Opposition senators from PSD and AUR have
opposed the project arguing that it is not the right time for state shares to
be listed on the stock exchange blaming the government for trying to sell the
state shares in major companies. The draft law will be submitted to the Chamber
of Deputies for approval.

(bill)

23 March 2021
January 22, 2020

Visit — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is on a visit to Israel where he met on Wednesday with the leader of the opposition Blue and White Alliance, Beny Ganz. This evening he will participate in the official dinner offered by the Israeli president Reuven Rivlin, to the more than 40 heads of delegations attending the Global Forum “Remembering Holocaust – Fighting anti-Semitism”. On Tuesday the Romanian president had talks with his Israeli counterpart whom he ensured that Romania remained fully committed to preserving the Holocaust memory, to combating anti-Semitism and preventing discrimination and any form of violence. The Romanian president’s participation in this forum is part of the actions undertaken by the Romanian state meant to promote the European values, tolerance and the respect of fundamental human rights and liberties — the Romanian presidential administration announced.

Protests – Romanian magistrates’ protests against a possible abrogation of special pensions are gaining momentum. Many courts across the country, among which the Bucharest Tribunal and Court of Appeal on Wednesday announced that they would suspend activity in court rooms for an unlimited period of time. They will deal only with those criminal cases that require preventive measures and with urgent civil cases involving minors and the provisional suspension of enforcement measures. The Chamber of Deputies will meet next week in an extraordinary session to debate a bill on the abrogation of the so-called special pensions which also benefit magistrates and which are not based on the contribution principle. The Judicial Inspection Department representatives claim that the bill on the elimination of special pensions ‘brutally’ infringes on the principles of judges’ independence and immovability as well as on articles from the Constitution and provisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

Court — Romania’s Constitutional Court is again debating today the request of the Speaker of the Senate, Teodor Melescanu, related to the resolution of a legal conflict between Parliament and the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the setting up of judicial panels. The Constitutional Court judges have postponed several times giving a ruling in this case. In his notification, Teodor Melescanu said that only the Parliament of Romania could establishe, according to an organic law, the way in which courts are organized and function, including the way of setting up judicial panels. The High Court of Cassation and Justice claims, however, in its opinion conveyed to the Constitutional Court, that there is no legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the two aforementioned institutions.

Virus — The World Health Organization (WHO) is today holding an emergency meeting to discuss if the new coronavirus that appeared in China one month ago, represented an international public health emergency. Cases of infection with the new virus have been reported in Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the US. The WHO experts are discussing the ways the new virus is transmitted among humans, how fast it is transmitted and how serious consequences are on people’s health condition. The WHO can declare the coronavirus outbreak as an international emergency and can issue travel warnings as restriction measures. In Romania, the authorities have today set up an inter-ministerial working group for the monitoring and rapid intervention in the event of coronavirus outbreaks in Romania. If such cases are identified they will be treated in hospitals from Bucharest, Iasi (northeast), Cluj (center) and Timisoara (west).

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (74 WTA) was defeated today in Melbourne by the young American player Cori Gauff (67 WTA) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the second round of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The only Romanian woman player left in competition is Simona Halep, who will play on Thursday in the second round against the British Harriet Dart (173 WTA). Also today in Melbourne, the pair Horia Tecău/ Jean-Julien Rojer has qualified to the second round of the men’s doubles after defeating the pair Dominic Inglot (the UK)/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. In the 3rd round, Tecau and Rojer will be up against the Australians Max Purcell and Luke Saville. (translation by L. Simion)

22 January 2020
March 27, 2019

Bucharest — President Klaus Iohannis is discussing today with the representatives of the magistrates about the situation of the Romanian judiciary. On Tuesday, the Romanian head of state had consultations with the civil society representatives on the issue of a referendum on justice. After the meeting, one of the participating organizations announced the referendum would be held on May 26, at the same time with the EP elections. APADOR-CH, a human rights defense association, criticized the organization of the referendum on the same day with the EP elections, stating that such a referendum cannot be used to influence the result of elections. The Constitutional Court has recently decided that a referendum can be held on the day of EP elections.

Motion — The opposition Liberal and Save Romania Union parties on Wednesday called on justice minister Tudorel Toader, in a simple motion submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, to give up the ‘harmful’ legislative changes, to support the initiative of dismantling the special section for the investigation of magistrates and to observe the recommendations of international institutions. The motion initiators say that the justice minister should resign if he is not able to comply with these requests. Also on Wednesday the Liberal Party and the People’s Movement Party submitted to the Chamber of Deputies a simple motion on transports against the transport minister Razvan Cuc. The opposition believes that, in one month since he took office, two strategic domains for Romania’s economy, the rail and air sectors, are faced with an unprecedented crisis because of his irresponsible decisions regarding the management of these sectors.

Strasbourg — Representatives of the Trade Union Federation in Romanian Transports and Public Service will participate, today, in Strasbourg, in the protest organized by the European Transport Workers’ Federation, which includes organizations from 41 countries. The protest ends a campaign launched by the European Federation one week ago, which promotes fair transportation across Europe. Transport workers are asking for halting social dumping and pay exploitation of European transporters, for decent jobs, safe transportation accessible to all citizens, and ending unfair competition in this field. The protest is meant to show unity, solidarity and the power of the European trade unionist movement.

Football — Romania’s national football team on Tuesday defeated, 4-1, the team of Faeroe Islands in Cluj, northwest, in Group F of the preliminaries of the 2020 European Championship. On Saturday the Romanian footballers lost the first match in the group, 0-1, to Sweden. Also on Tuesday, Spain won against Malta and Norway drew the match with Sweden. Romania is ranked 3rd in the group, after Spain and Sweden. Qualifying to the final tournament are the first and second ranking teams. In another development, in women’s volleyball, Romania’s and Europe’s vice-champions, CSM Alba Blaj also lost, on Tuesday, the second leg of the CEV Cup final against the Italians from Busto Arsizio, 3-1, in the sets. The Italians had won the first leg 3-0.

Washington — The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila met in Washington with the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the American Congress, Nancy Pelosi. According to a Romanian government communiqué, the Romanian premier mentioned the good development of bilateral cooperation in terms of security, including the implementation of an ambitious endowment program of the Romanian armed forces. PM Dancila highlighted the attention granted by the American legislative to strengthening solidarity within NATO and the security of its eastern allies. In turn, Nancy Pelosi has given assurances that the American legislative is willing to provide strong support to NATO. The official underlined that consolidating relations between the Romanian and American legislatives will have an important contribution to building a trans-Atlantic alliance based on common interests and values. (translation by L. Simion)

27 March 2019
Anti-government protests

Thousands of people again took to the streets in Romania on Sunday evening to show their solidarity with the magistrates who say Emergency Order no. 7 recently adopted by the government hinders their activity. In Bucharest and other cities around the country such as Sibiu, Cluj, Constanta, Iasi, Timisoara and Galati, the protesters demanded the resignation of the justice minister Tudorel Toader, the repeal of the order and the dismantling of the special department for investigating magistrates. A march was held in Bucharest and the actors of the National Theatre staged a protest on the stairs of the theatre.

The government said it had no intention to give up the order that has sparked massive protests among magistrates. Last week, Tudorel Toader said, however, that he drafted an emergency order that would repeal a number of provisions contained in the previous order. The document was presented to prime minister Viorica Dancila and submitted to the Superior Council of Magistrates. According to the president of this body, Livia Savonea, the provisions in questions refer to re-assignments and the prerequisite of good reputation.

The street protests come as magistrates from prosecutors offices and courts around the country voiced their dissatisfaction, including by stopping working. The anti-governmental protests also targeted another emergency order, known as no. 114, one that was mentioned by the European Commission in its six-month country report as a risk factor threatening the normal running of the financial sector.

The Social Democratic Party, the main force in the ruling coalition, has admitted that changes can be made to this order as long as the main objectives are retained, namely for the population and businesses to benefit from loans at lower interest rates.

Meanwhile, the representatives of the finance ministry are having talks with those of the Romanian Association of Banks to analyse the need for changes to this order in respect of a number of fiscal measures. The representatives of the Association of Building Entrepreneurs have submitted amendments to the order ahead of its being discussed by the Chamber of Deputies. They say the order contains some good provisions for the constructions sector, but also measures that should be modified. In turn, representatives of local gas companies have warned that implementing the order would have a negative impact on both investors in the sector and the state budget.

(translated by: Cristina Mateescu)

4 March 2019