Radio România Internațional

Tag: motion

February 26, 2025

TALKS Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan is holding consultations today with each parliamentary party, regarding Romania’s position at the extraordinary European Council due at the beginning of next month. In this complicated and dynamic context with changes at international level, Romania may have to adjust its foreign policy to the new challenges, Ilie Bolojan explained in a video message. “However, there are things that will not change, namely Romania’s national interests, a safe country, a prosperous country, a trustworthy country, at peace with its neighbours,” the interim president explained. “We are a safe country because we benefit from solid defence guarantees. We owe our security and that of Europe to the NATO shield and the guarantees entailed by the Strategic Partnership with the US. The presence of US and Allied troops on Romanian territory has done nothing but strengthen the security of Europe, and we will advocate for them to stay. The EU membership has ensured our progress as a country during these years. European investments and funds, access to markets and opportunities have generated prosperity and better living conditions. It is a path we must continue on”, Ilie Bolojan added. Also today, the interim president takes part in a conference call with the leaders of EU member countries, during which the French president Emmanuel Macron presents updates on his recent meeting with the US president Donald Trump.

PARLIAMENT A no-confidence motion tabled by the self-styled sovereigntist opposition against the Romanian government is to be discussed and voted on this Friday. The signatories say that the current Cabinet is illegitimate, has lost its credibility as some of its members are linked to individuals involved in a high-profile criminal case, and is failing to implement its own governing program, in which it promised, among other things, an increase in pensions and allowances. Also in opposition, the declared pro-European USR announced that it would not back the motion. The ruling coalition comprising the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania say Romania needs serious solutions, not image strategies.

UKRAINE Kyiv announced an agreement was reached with Washington on the joint development of Ukrainian mineral resources and the reconstruction of the country after the invasion launched by Russia 3 years ago. The deal, about which few details are known, could be signed in Washington this Friday. The arrangement was agreed after the US president Donald Trump demanded access to key Ukrainian minerals as compensation for the aid given to Ukraine in the war with Russia. Official sources quoted by Western media say that Washington has given up initial demands of USD 500 billion in revenues from natural resources, but has not provided the firm security guarantees demanded in exchange by Ukraine, which would be negotiated at a later date.

VATICAN Pope Francis, 88, still in critical condition with double pneumonia, “spent a quiet night and is resting,” the Vatican said on Wednesday morning, the 13^th day of his hospitalisation. According to the latest updates released on Tuesday evening, his condition is stable. The hospitalisation, the 4^th and longest since the beginning of his term in 2013, raises serious concerns as Pope Francis is already weakened after a string of health problems in recent years, from colon and abdominal surgeries to difficulties walking.

INVESTIGATION The former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist, was taken in for questioning under a warrant by the General Prosecutor’s Office, judicial sources told AGERPRES. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors conducted dozens of searches across five counties, in a case related to the financing of his election campaign, the establishment of a fascist, racist or xenophobic organisation, as well as to promoting a cult of individuals guilty of genocide. Targeted by the investigation is also a close associate of Georgescu, Horaţiu Potra, the leader of a mercenary group that operated in Africa. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, investigations are conducted in this case for offences including actions against the constitutional order, failure to comply with the weapons and ammunition legislation, unlawful operations with pyrotechnic materials, public incitement, initiating or forming an organisation of a fascist, racist or xenophobic nature, as well as joining or otherwise supporting such a group. Investigations are also conducted for the public promotion of the cult of persons guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as the public dissemination of fascist, extreme right, racist or xenophobic ideas, views or doctrines.

CORRUPTION Twenty individuals have been detained over bribery charges in an investigation into illicit activity in the Port of Constanta (south-eastern Romania). Among others, the head of the Constanta branch of the Social Democratic Party, Ion Dumitrache, and several officers for the Maritime Ports Administration were detained. According to Anticorruption prosecutors, in 2024 and 2025 several businessmen allegedly promised and gave public officials bribes ranging from EUR 2,000 to 100,000, as well as other goods, to help them develop their businesses in the Constanta Port area, by speeding up asset transfer procedures, extending a waste collection contract, winning tenders or ensuring exclusive access to certain berths. The businessmen in question have allegedly promised an estimated EUR 6 million in bribes. The Bucharest Court dismissed prosecutor’s request for pre-trial arrest of 7 of the defendants, placing them under court supervision instead. Similar requests for another 13 defendants are yet to be heard.

EDUCATION The Romanian education minister Daniel David has encouraged all stakeholders’ involvement in the development of high school framework plans. In a fresh roundtable on the topic held in Iași (northeast), the minister promised that proposals would be taken into account, and the documents may be amended, as has already happened following discussions and meetings in recent weeks, since the projects were submitted for public review. He warned that high school curricula are of critical importance, given the high level of functional illiteracy in various fields. David explained that, after this construction period, the high school curricula will be tested in various schools. The public review period ends next week, on March 6, and the final documents are to be presented in early May. (AMP)

26 February 2025
February 25, 2025

A roundup of local and international news.

RESOLUTION – The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution calling for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. The document, which does not include any criticism of Moscow’s aggression, was also voted by the United States, after a significant softening of its tone. Europeans have said that there can be no peace that rewards aggression. From Europe’s point of view, this only highlights major rifts in the transatlantic alliance, the international media say.

DACIA – Sales of the Romanian-brand Dacia cars in Europe registered an annual decline of 5.2% in January, and the car manufacturer’s market share fell to 4.9% from 5.1%, according to data published today by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers. The statistical data is valid for the European Union, the United Kingdom and the countries of the European Free Trade Association, namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Large car manufacturers reported mixed sale developments in January: increases of 5.4% at Renault and 16.6% at Volkswagen, but a decrease of 12.2% at Ford. The European Commission is hosting talks between car manufacturers, suppliers and unions in the field, with a view to implementing plans at EU level to protect the automotive sector, vital for the prosperity of the community bloc. In recent weeks, European carmakers have announced plant closures and layoffs, amid competition from rivals in China and the prospect of additional tariffs from the US. The European car sector employs 13.2 million people and accounts for 10.3% of all jobs in the EU industry.

INFLATION – After ten months in which Romania had the highest average annual inflation in the EU, in January 2025 Hungary climbed to first position, with 5.7%, followed by Romania, with 5.3%, and Croatia, with 5 percent, according to data published by the European Statistical Office. At the opposite end, last month, the lowest average annual inflation rates in the EU were recorded in Denmark (1.4%), Ireland, Italy and Finland (1.7%). Compared to December 2024, Eurostat shows that the average annual inflation rate decreased in eight EU member states, including Romania, from 5.5% to 5.3%, remained stable in four and increased in 15 countries. The National Bank has revised upwards the inflation forecast in Romania for the end of 2025, from 3.5% to 3.8%. The Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, anticipates that this indicator will reach 3.1% at the end of 2026.

CONSULTATIONS – Romania’s acting President, Ilie Bolojan, will hold consultations with all parliamentary parties on Wednesday to prepare Romania’s position at the extraordinary European Council meeting on March 6. The main topics of discussion are related to support for Ukraine and the preparation of the European Union’s common defense strategy, after the American administration announced that it wants to reduce its military presence in Europe. Each of the seven parties represented in Parliament and the parliamentary group of national minorities has been allocated an hour for discussions.

MOTION – A censure motion against the PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition government in Bucharest has been submitted to Parliament today. The standing bureaus will set the calendar for the debate and the vote. The document is signed by 154 parliamentarians from the opposition parties SOS Romania, AUR and POT. However USR, also in opposition, has announced that it does not support the motion, as there are not enough votes to adopt it and that the process should have been initiated after the presidential elections in May.

POPE – The health of Pope Francis, 88, hospitalized with double pneumonia, is showing a slight improvement, but remains critical, the Vatican said in a statement. Given the complexity of his condition, doctors are cautiously avoiding commenting on it, the same source said, adding that the Pontiff thanked all the people who prayed for him in recent days. Hospitalized since February 14, the Pope’s condition suddenly deteriorated on Saturday. In a message on Sunday, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church wished Pope Francis a speedy recovery.

25 February 2025
February 15, 2025 UPDATE

MOTION The opposition SOS Romania has announced it will table a censure motion against the government led by Social-Democrat Marcel Ciolacu, a document also assumed by the opposition AUR MPs and signed by 125 MPs. The opposition USR MPs say they will announce whether they support or not the move. In turn, the ruling coalition has given assurances the motion stands no chances to get endorsed. No PSD MP will say yes to the censure motion against the Ciolacu government says the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat Daniel Suciu. He says the move initiated by the opposition would jeopardize the country’s stability. The PNL interim president, Catalin Predoiu, says that the Liberals will defend the government through their vote. Also on Monday, Education Minister, Daniel David, is expected to attend the ‘Government Hour’ hosted by the Chamber of Deputies, upon an AUR request. The AUR MPs are criticizing the measures proposed by the minister on the elimination of the compulsory studying of geography and history by high-school students. AUR has called for keeping the aforementioned subjects in the school programme so that they may contribute to the education of the new generations.

DNA Romanian prosecutors have placed the head of the Joint Logistic Command of the Romanian Army, General Catalin Stefanita Zisu, under legal control on bail for abuse of office with aggravating consequences – according to sources withy the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, known in Romania as DNA. The bail in Zisu’s case stands at 200 thousand Euros, which he must make available in seven days. Retired colonel Lucian Amoraritei has also been charged on several counts, such as forgery, use of forgery and abuse of office. Businessman Ionel Olteanu is also involved with the case. According to prosecutors, between 2022-2023, the two army officers approved the settlements of the invoices issued, although they knew that part of the works at the Ghencea Military Cemetery in Bucharest had not been done. The prejudice they caused was estimated at roughly 12 million lei.

TALKS The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed at the Security Conference in Munich on Saturday that talks are underway with the USA over raw materials exchanges for Washington’s support in countering the Russian invasion. The US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US wants access to Ukraine’s vast resources of rare earths and other critical minerals, underlining that the USA should get something in exchange for its military support. At the Security Conference in Munich, Romania is being represented by its Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, Minister Hurezeanu will be presenting Romania’s assessments of the present regional challenges, such as the deterioration of the security situation in the Black Sea area and the implications of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Romanian official is also going to underline the danger of the hybrid actions taken by the Russian Federation and the importance of countering suchlike activities. The head of the Bucharest diplomacy will be pleading for the continued solid support aimed at increasing the resilience of the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. During the same conference on Friday, the new vice-president of the United States, Republican JD Vance lashed out at the European leaders, whom he compared with the autocrats who headed the repressive regimes in Europe during the Cold War. He voiced concern over Europe, which he said is retreating from its fundamental values and gave several examples of repressive measures, including the cancellation of the presidential election in Romania late last year.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby side on Saturday conceded defeat to Portugal, 34-6, in their last match in Group B of Rugby Europe Championships 2025. Both sides have already qualified for World Cup 2027 in Australia after their wins this month in Rugby Europe Championships. The Romanians secured a 48-10 home win against Germany and an away win against Belgium, 31-14. Romania failed to qualify only in one |World Cup edition, namely in 2019, when it was disqualified due to an error of the Romanian rugby Federation, which included in its lineup an ineligible player.

(bill)

15 February 2025
March 25, 2024 UPDATE

MOTION In Bucharest, the Chamber of Deputies discussed on Monday a simple motion against the agriculture minister Florin Barbu (Social Democratic Party), accused of having backed a bill allowing the reed in the Danube Delta to be used for the financial benefit of certain politicians. The simple motion, called “Praising Ceauşescu will not save the Romanian agriculture,” was tabled by Save Romania Union in opposition, after the agriculture minister’s appreciative discourse about the country’s former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. USR also accused Florin Barbu of having treated the protesting farmers with contempt and of having ignored the MPs requests to present his activity. Barbu dismissed the motion as “a complete joke” and a string of “battle cries, propaganda and many untruths.” The Chamber is to vote on the motion on Tuesday.

DRUG TRAFFICKING The Romanian police will be able to monitor and identify drug traffickers more efficiently once a new special register in this field has become operational. The bill regulating the register was signed into law by president Klaus Iohannis on Monday. Depending on the sentence received in court, traffickers will be entered into the registry for 5 to 20 years, during which the police will be aware of the risks of the monitored person selling banned substances again, the justice minister Alina Gorghiu explained. Drug using and trafficking have seen an upward trend in Romania lately. More than one tonne of drugs was seized last year, and also last year Romanian antidrug structures seized the largest amount of Ecstasy so far (230,000 tablets), the justice minister said.

SCHENGEN Full Schengen accession by the end of this year is achievable, the Romanian interior minister Cătălin Predoiu believes. He says Romania has already completed preparation for lifting checks at the EU internal air and maritime borders, as approved by the EU Council as of the end of this week. Predoiu added that Romania and Austria cooperate very well in fields like border protection and fighting illegal migration and cross-border crime, and said he suggested extending the cooperation between the 2 countries beyond Schengen, with a focus on fighting drug trafficking and human trafficking.

INVESTIGATION Romanian prosecutors subordinated to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office seized assets worth EUR 2.4 mln from an Italian suspect subject to an investigation in Bologna concerning cross-border fuel trafficking. The total damages in the case amount to EUR 92 mln. In Romania, prosecutors seized 18 properties owned by the suspect, have frozen 14 bank accounts and assets in Romanian companies. Three Italian nationals are probed into for bringing into Italy oil products from refineries in Croatia and Slovenia, in order to resell them for lower prices to Romanian and British companies, and to bill them to Italian shell companies run by members of the crime group, the EPPO explained.

ALERT The government of France has raised the terror alert warning to its highest level after Friday’s massacre in Moscow. The country’s PM, Gabriel Attal, said in a social media post that “the decision was taken in light of the Islamic State’s claiming responsibility for the attack and the threats weighing on our country.” France has seen some of the bloodiest terror attacks masterminded by Islamist fighters, such as the ones in 2015-2016, which left roughly 300 dead and hundreds wounded. The government in Paris has explained that the Islamist organisation has been recently involved in a series of attempted attacks, which have been thwarted by police forces in several European countries, such as France and Germany, and the PM Monday morning summoned the heads of the services responsible for the country’s security and safety.

HANDBALL The Romanian women’s handball side Dunarea Braila has qualified for the final tournament of the EHF European League after a 26-25 home win against the Croatian side Podravka Vegeta on Sunday in the second round of the quarter finals. Dunarea, which also won the first game against Podravka, is Romania’s second representative in the EHF Finals Women, due on June 1 and 2 in Graz, Austria, after Gloria Bistrita. Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest have qualified for the quarter finals of the Champions League in women’s handball after a double win against the Slovenian side Krim Mercator Ljubljana and will be playing in the quarters against the French side Metz Handball.

25 March 2024
March 5, 2024 UPDATE

Treasure – The National Bank of Romania and MEP Eugen Tomac organized an exhibition at the European Parliament on Tuesday about the Romanian Treasure owned by Russia and which has not been returned to our country for over a hundred years. It is a unique case in history, and Bucharest wants to bring it to the attention of the European Union as another example of violation of international law by Moscow. Next week, the European Parliament is expected to demand the reparation of this injustice, through a resolution supported by all political groups. The treasure consists of 91 tons of gold, works, artifacts and archival documents, which were sent to Moscow in 1916 and 1917, during the First World War, when much of the country was occupied by the forces of the Central Powers. Later, after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1918, the Soviet Union and then the Russian Federation refused to return the treasure, except for works of art and other cultural values. The exhibition at the European Parliament presents legal evidence and historical documents regarding the sending of the Romanian Treasure to Moscow, as well as Russia’s commitments to return it at the request of our country.

Meeting – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, had a meeting, on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with his counterpart from the neighboring Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu. Earlier, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu also discussed with Maia Sandu. In the context he reconfirmed his “firm” support for Chisinau’s European path. The meetings took place a day before the Congress of the European People’s Party (EPP), scheduled in Bucharest on Wednesday and Thursday. Led by Iohannis before he became president, the National Liberal Party – PNL (today in the governing coalition with the Social Democratic Party – PSD) is affiliated with EPP. Present in Bucharest, the president of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, said that he supported the decision to have “someone from a Central or Eastern European country” at the head of the EU, in the next mandates of the community institutions. Over 1,500 representatives of the European People’s Party, including 13 heads of state and government, are in Romania to participate in the congress of this political group in the next two days.

Motion – The Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday dismissed the simple motion against Finance Minister Marcel Boloș, filed by Save Romania Union – USR and Force of the Right opposition parties. The motion was debated on Monday, opposition members criticizing the Minister for introducing a 10% tax on medical leave to cover the holes in the state budget. Minister Boloș is also accused of violating the law that stipulates that any tax must be enacted six months after its introduction. Marcel Boloș denied all accusations, slamming the opposition’s motion as a politicized initiative. The healthcare system is underfunded, and the government sought to discourage medical leave, which would bring less benefit to working employees, the Finance Minister said in response.

Tennis – The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne has shortened tennis player Simona Halep’s sentence for doping from 4 years to nine months. The Romanian, the former world number one, will be able to return to the court, as her provisional suspension began on October 7, 2022. The Court decision, published on the court’s website, is final. We remind you that the tennis player has always claimed that she took a contaminated supplement, and at the hearings in February, she sought the help of a French expert specialized in pharmacology, toxicology and biology. The International Tennis Integrity Agency stated in September 2023 that Simona intentionally violated the anti-doping rules and suspended her for 4 years.

Drugs – In Romania, high-risk drug traffickers will no longer be able to receive suspended sentences, and trading psychoactive substances will be punishable by 3 to 10 years in prison. A draft law in this regard was adopted on Tuesday by the Chamber of Deputies, which is a decision-making body. The MPs emphasized that the phenomenon of drug use has been ignored for a long time and that additional measures are needed to combat it: border scanners, rehabilitation and prevention centers. (LS)

5 March 2024
March 4, 2024

Motion. The simple motion against the Romanian Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, will be debated, today, by the Chamber of Deputies, and will be voted on Tuesday. In the text of the motion entitled ‘Minister Boloş – the inventor and guardian of the tax on sickness must go’, it is stated that the adoption of the document represents an ‘act of responsibility towards the citizens and an essential measure for the gradual restoration of trust in the state’. The initiators of the motion argue that “Marcel Boloş must leave, urgently, the Government of Romania”. Save Romania Union and Forza Dreptei MPs accuse the Minister of Finance of “taking 500,000 euros from the sick every day” – from parents with sick children, women with high-risk pregnancies and who gave birth this year. The initiators of the motion also argue that the health system needs additional money, but not from the sick, and the PNL-PSD Finance Ministers have in recent years reduced funding sources such as the percentage of the work insurance contribution to the state budget.

Budget. The Bucharest government is going to adopt this week a new normative act on cutting budget spending. The general consolidated budget deficit in January of this year stood at 0.45% – around 8 billion lei (approx. 1.6 billion euros), almost double compared to January 2023. The Executive is also working on a draft emergency ordinance regarding the merging of local elections with the European Parliament elections on June 9. The text of the emergency ordinance states that the organization of local and European parliamentary elections on the same day will save money to the state budget and stimulate a greater number of citizens to participate in the European parliamentary elections, since more voters usually turn out for the local ones . The presidential elections are scheduled for September, and the parliamentary elections will take place in December.

Moldova. The Republic of Moldova belongs to the EU, and Romania remains its main partner in this endeavor, said the Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Nicolae Ciuca, who paid a visit to Chisinau. At the meeting with the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu, he stressed that Moscow’s hybrid war had not fulfilled its goals in Moldova and that’s a victory and good news for Bucharest as well. Ciuca also met with the President of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu. The officials discussed topics regarding inter-parliamentary cooperation, cooperation in the energy field and means of speeding up infrastructure projects.

Solidarity. On Sunday, Romania and Poland celebrated, for the first time, the Romanian – Polish Solidarity Day. According to the two countries’ foreign ministries, this solidarity can be seen not only in the intense political – diplomatic dialogue, but also in the military and economic fields, in education and culture. The Romanian – Poland 2024-2025 cultural season will further enrich the friendship between the two peoples, a joint statement also reads.

JHA. The EU ministers of internal affairs and justice are participating, today and Tuesday, in Brussels, in the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA). The agenda of talks includes topics such as the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime, the security situation in the context of the conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and a legislative proposal regarding the fight against the illegal introduction of migrants. Today, the European interior ministers are discussing the general situation in the Schengen area of free movement and the evaluation of the EU legislative act establishing Frontex (the EU Border and Coast Guard Regulation). Another important point is the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime. The second day of the meeting will focus on the justice component, the agenda including, among other things, a recently approved directive on the minimum standards for preventing and combating the illegal introduction of migrants. In the context of constant debates on issues related to the rule of law, the European justice ministers will also discuss the resistance of the judicial systems to the threats represented by organized crime. The priorities of the Belgian presidency of the EU Council include the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.

Earthquake. Today Romania commemorates 47 years since the strongest earthquake ever hitting the country, on March 4, 1977. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was in the Vrancea Mountains (eastern Romania). It lasted 56 seconds. More than 1,500 people, mostly from the capital, lost their lives then, and around 11,000 were injured. 32 high- or medium-rise buildings collapsed in Bucharest and almost 33,000 homes were affected nationally. The earthquake was felt throughout Eastern Europe, but also in Russia, in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. After the earthquake, a state of emergency was declared on the territory of Romania, and more than 30,000 firefighters and soldiers were mobilized. According to the authorities, if an earthquake of the same magnitude were to occur today, it would cause more than 42,000 deaths. Bucharest would suffer the most, as it has around 2,400 buildings in seismic risk classes, most of them in the city center.

Handball. The Romanian women’s national handball team defeated the Croatian team, yesterday, in Koprivnica, 25-23, in Group 1 of the 2024 European Championship preliminaries. Romania has thus qualified and taken first place in the group, with 8 points, followed by Croatia, and Greece, each with 4 points. In the last matches, due in April, Romania will take on Bosnia-Herzegovina away from home and Greece on home turf. The first two teams in each group qualify for the final tournament, as well as the four best third-placed teams. The European Women’s Handball Championship will take place between November 28 and December 15 in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. (MI)

4 March 2024
18.12.2023 (mise à jour)

Budget – Le projet du budget d’Etat de la Roumanie et celui de la sécurité sociale pour 2024, récemment adoptés par le gouvernement, sont à compter de ce lundi en débat au Parlement, en procédure accélérée. Ces jours-ci c’est aux commissions spécialisées et au plenum du Parlement de se pencher sur le document, avant le vote final, prévu mercredi. L’Exécutif table sur une croissance économique de 3,4 %, censée lui assurer, hormis des fonds européens, des recettes budgétaires renforcées et faire diminuer l’évasion fiscale. S’y ajoutent des majorations substantielles des fonds alloués aux Transports. Les fonds destinés aux Investissements devraient augmenter jusqu’à près de 7 % du PIB et l’Education se verra allouer l’enveloppe la plus importante de son histoire. De même, les pensions de retraite augmenteront au premier janvier de 13,8 %, soit un alignement sur le taux d’inflation et un nouveau calcul des pensions est prévue pour le 1 er septembre 2024. D’autres majorations figurent aussi dans le budget construit par le gouvernement, à savoir : les allocations familiales et la sécurité sociale, les salaires des enseignants et les salaires du système public (5 %). De son côté, l’opposition a déposé des centaines d’amendements au projet du budget 2024 et accuse le gouvernement d’avoir construit le budget sur des chiffres non réalistes qui ne feront qu’accentuer le déficit.

Motion – La Chambre des Députés de Bucarest a
débattu de la motion simple déposée par l’USR et par la Force de la Droite, à
l’encontre de la ministre libérale de l’Education nationale, Ligia Deca. Le
document, porte le titre « Un ministre qui ment ne peut pas gérer l’éducation
». Les initiateurs de la démarche demandent la démission de la ministre qu’ils
accusent d’être la cause des résultats catastrophiques des élèves roumains aux
tests PISA et d’avoir essayé de truquer les résultats de ces tests, choisissant
de montrer uniquement les chiffres qui lui étaient favorables. L’opposition
reproche à Ligia Deca d’avoir provoqué « la grève des enseignants la plus grave
de Roumanie au cours des dernières 18 années » mais aussi le fait que ceux-ci
avaient été trompés par le gouvernement. L’USR et la Force de la Droite
affirment que la ministre Deca aurait dû démissionner aussi à cause des Lois de
l’éducation, résultat du projet « la Roumanie éduquée ». La ministre de
l’Education nationale a rejeté les accusations et affirme que les résultats de
la Roumanie aux tests PISA de l’année dernière se sont maintenus au même niveau
qu’en 2018. Elle a souligné que les effets des réformes introduites maintenant
dans l’enseignement roumain seront visibles avec le temps. Le vote sur cette
motion sera exprimé durant la réunion de mardi de la Chambre des Députés.

Timisoara – La commémoration des victimes de la révolution anticommuniste roumaine de décembre 1989 se poursuit à Timisoara, ville de l’ouest de la Roumanie, où a éclaté la révolution il y a 34 ans. Ce lundi une messe de commémoration est prévue à la Chapelle des Héros du Musée mémorial de la Révolution, suivie par un pèlerinage aux monuments de la Révolution à travers la ville. Pour rappel, il y a 34 ans, les forces de l’ordre du régime communiste de l’époque avaient ouvert le feu sur les manifestants, causant la mort d’une centaine de personnes et blessant d’autres centaines. Après le massacre de la veille, le 18 décembre 1989, la loi martiale avait été déclarée à Timisoara, les hôpitaux débordaient de blessés et les rues étaient occupées par les dispositifs des forces de l’ordre, plus encore tout rassemblement de plus de 3 personnes était interdit. Ce fut le jour où le plus grand nombre de jeunes ont perdu la vie, tués par balle, sur les marches de la cathédrale orthodoxe de la ville.

Météo – Les températures
sont à la hausse en ce début de semaine en Roumanie, notamment dans le sud où
elles dépassent la normale saisonnière. Le soleil sera au rendez-vous sur la
majorité des régions. Les maxima de la journée iront jusqu’à 8 degrés à
Bucarest.

18 December 2023
October 29, 2023 UPDATE

PARLIAMENT The Chamber of Deputies will discuss on
Monday the simple motion tabled by Save Romania Union and the Force of the
Right, in opposition in Romania, against the finance minister Marcel Boloş. The
Opposition argues that the enforcement of the new fiscal measures for which the
Government has taken responsibility before Parliament, will lead to tax
increases. The USR MP Claudiu Năsui says the Liberal finance minister chose to
triple taxes instead of cutting special pensions and to levy taxes on turnover,
which he believes will have countless negative effects on companies and
ultimately on consumers. The Chamber will vote on the motion on Tuesday. Also
early this week, the Senate will vote on a government emergency order
regulating the gambling sector. The document, which introduces an additional
tax for companies in the sector, has been passed by specialist committees. The
Senate is also to discuss a bill tabled by the Social Democratic MP Alfred
Simonis and banning the sale of electronic cigarettes and similar tobacco
products to minors.

SCHENGEN The Romanian MEP Eugen Tomac, the leader of the People’s
Movement Party, announced plans to appeal the EU Tribunal ruling dismissing his
claims regarding Austria’s alleged abuse of power with respect to Romania’s
Schengen accession. He said he would take the matter to the Court of Justice of
the European Union, and voiced hopes that the judges would approach the issue in
a more complex and more detailed manner, in line with the EU treaties and the
Schengen agreements. Moreover, Tomac said, Bucharest can only overcome the situation
by means of this appeal, in which the Romanian government would be a privileged
applicant. Austria opposes the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria,
arguing that the 2 countries are on the EU illegal migration route, an
allegation disputed by the Romanian authorities and European institutions.
Vienna also believes the Schengen area as it is at present is ineffective and
said it would oppose any enlargement project.

VISIT
The European Commission vice-president for Values and Transparency, Věra
Jourová, will be on an official visit to Romania on Monday, when she will have
meetings with president Klaus Iohannis, PM Marcel Ciolacu and other Cabinet
members. According to the European Commission, the EU official will discuss the
rule of law and reforms in the judiciary, Romania’s goals in the digital
decade, the digitisation projects included in the National Recovery and
Resilience Plan, as well as AI and fighting disinformation.

ISRAEL
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the British
PM Rishi Sunak emphasised, in a phone discussion on Sunday, the need for urgent
humanitarian support in Gaza Strip, after Israel announced stepping up its
military response to the Hamas attack of October 7. In turn, the US security
adviser called on the troops entering Gaza to make a distinction between
civilians and the Hamas terrorists, who are legitimate targets. Israel
announced that in the coming days it would allow a significant increase in aid
for the civilians in Gaza. The Israeli defence ministry asked Palestinian
civilians to move towards the south, to an area designated as humanitarian, where
aid will be delivered under a joint mechanism created by the US, Egypt and the
UN. Two aid convoys with foodstuffs, water and medicines entered the Rafah
terminal on Saturday night and Sunday morning. The UN secretary general,
Antonio Guterres, voiced his surprise at the escalation of Israel’s military
attack on the Gaza Strip after the UN General Assembly issued a resolution
calling for immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian
rallies were organised on Sunday as well in many cities in the world.

PEACE
The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attending a meeting in Malta,
called for a global model based on his 10-point plan for peace with Russia, Reuters
reports. An official list of the participants in the meeting is not yet
available, but attending were officials for European, South-American, Arab,
African and Asian countries. The plan includes clauses concerning the
restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the pull-out of Russian troops,
protection of food and energy supplies, nuclear security and the release of all
prisoners. The co-chairs of the meeting, Ukraine and Malta, issued a joint
declaration that mentions the participants’ commitment to just and sustainable
peace, based on the UN Charter. The parties will take steps to arrange for a
possible peace summit at a later date.

GOVERNMENT PM Marcel Ciolacu announced that preparations have
started for drafting the 2024 public budget. The government will analyse the projects
and programmes that went well, as well as the investment applications for next
year. On the other hand, the PM dismissed the idea of other fiscal changes in
addition to the ones for which his Cabinet has taken responsibility before
Parliament. The law on measures to ensure Romania’s long-term financial
sustainability, promulgated by presidentKlaus Iohannis on Thursday, introduces new taxes and tax raises and cuts off tax facilities. Some
of the measures take effect on November 1, while the others will be enforced as
of January 1. Marcel Ciolacu also estimated that the new pensions law will be
endorsed in Parliament by the end of next month and will take effect on January
1, 2024. (AMP)

29 October 2023
La semaine du 23 au 29 octobre 2023

Sommet

L’agenda
du chef de l’Etat roumain, Klaus Iohannis, a inclus sa participation jeudi et
vendredi aux réunions de Bruxelles du Conseil européen et du Sommet de la zone
euro en format élargi. L’occasion pour le président roumain de rappeler que la
Roumanie restera un partisan ferme de l’Ukraine voisine, victime de l’agression
russe. Et Iohannis d’insister sur la nécessité que la communauté internationale
continue à aider Kiev aussi longtemps que nécessaire. La Roumanie, a-t-il dit,
se prononce en faveur de l’ouverture d’ici la fin de l’année, des négociations
d’adhésion à l’UE de l’Ukraine et de la République de Moldova, majoritairement
roumanophone. Par ailleurs, le premier ministre roumain, Marcel Ciolacu, s’est
rendu jeudi à Bruxelles pour rencontrer la commissaire européenne chargée des
Transports, la Roumaine, Adina Valean et le responsable européen aux Affaires
économiques et monétaires, Paolo Gentiloni. Les discussions avec les
représentants de la Commission sont intervenues après que le gouvernement de
Bucarest a transmis le projet de loi du système public de retraite, un des
jalons du PNRR.

Salaires

Lors des
pourparlers avec les syndicats et les patronats, le gouvernement roumain a majoré
le Smic dans le secteur du BTT, en Agriculture et dans l’Industrie alimentaire.
Cela permettra aux salariés concernés de verser leurs contributions à la
Sécurité sociale dont ils étaient jusqu’alors exonérés, sans voir leurs revenus
diminuer. Le représentant des patronats, Cristian Erbaşu, considère que la
mesure était nécessaire pour décourager le travail au noir et combattre la
diminution de la main d’œuvre dans le domaine du BTT qui, de toute façon, se
confronte à une pénurie d’ouvriers.

Ordonnance

Le
gouvernement de coalition PSD-PNL continue à encourager la prudence dans
l’utilisation de l’argent public afin de réduire le déficit budgétaire.
L’Exécutif a donc élaboré une nouvelle ordonnance d’urgence pour réduire les
dépenses publiques d’ici la fin de l’année. Une série de restrictions
financières seront donc imposées aux institutions d’Etat et aux mairies. Les
administrateurs de crédits n’auront plus le droit de signer des demandes
d’approvisionnement des services municipaux en fournitures de bureau ou en
d’autres biens et services. Au terme du nouvel acte normatif, le paiement des
droits salariaux gagnés par les fonctionnaires publics suite à une action en
justice est reporté en 2024. Le premier ministre Marcel Ciolacu affirme qu’il
n’y a pas de raison d’inquiétude puisque le budget permet le paiement aussi
bien des salaires que du reste des dépenses publiques assumées par les
autorités. Les pensions de retraite seront indexées sur l’inflation, de 13,5%,
à partir de l’année prochaine. Les nouvelles mesures adoptées par le gouvernement
surviennent peu de temps après que l’Eurostat a montré que la Hongrie (6,6%) et
la Roumanie (6,3%) sont les pays européens affichant le déficit
gouvernemental le plus élevé parmi les 27.

Motion

Les
partis d’opposition, l’USR et la Force de la Droite, ont avancé une motion
simple contre le ministre des Finances, le libéral Marcel Bolos, qu’ils
accusent d’avoir permis durant son mandat, la flambée des dépenses publiques.
Selon les signataires du document, pour remplir les caisses de l’Etat, le ministre
et le premier ministre ont décidé d’une nouvelle série de taxes aux
répercussions négatives sur les petits entrepreneurs. Pratiquement, ils ont
choisi des avantages financiers à court terme au détriment de la stabilité et
la prospérité à long terme. La motion simple sera examinée lundi avant d’être
soumise au vote mardi, selon la décision du Bureau permanent de la Chambre des
députés.

Corruption

Le Sénat
roumain a adopté un projet de loi initié par le gouvernement, au terme duquel,
les personnes condamnées qui essaient d’échapper à la justice et ne se
présentent pas aux portes de la prison dans la semaine suivant la sentence,
risquent trois ans de prison supplémentaires. La ministre de la Justice, la
libérale, Alina Gorghiu, considère qu’une telle modification législative
découragera les personnes faisant l’objet des dossiers de corruption d’essayer
d’échapper à la justice. La Roumanie fait toujours des efforts pour retrouver
et rapatrier plusieurs personnalités condamnées pour des faits de corruption
ayant pris la fuite. Parmi elles, l’ancienne cheffe de la DIICOT, le Parquet
anti-mafia, Alina Bica et le président social-démocrate du Conseil
départemental Neamt, Ionel Arsene, les deux se trouvant en Italie. La liste se
complète par l’ancien édile de Bucarest, Sorin Oprescu, actuellement en Grèce
ou parl’homme d’affaires, Sebastian
Ghita, ancien membre de la commission parlementaire de contrôle sur les
activités des Services secrets roumains, qui se cache en Serbie.

Pèlerinages

Des
dizaines de milliers de fidèles orthodoxes ont vénéré cette semaine les
reliques du Saint Démètre le Nouveau, le patron de Bucarest dont la célébration
a lieu chaque année, le 27 octobre. Réunis plusieurs jours d’affilée dans la
cour de la Cathédrale patriarcale de Bucarest, les pèlerins ont pu se signer
aussi devant les reliques des Saints Empereurs Constantin et Hélène et du Saint
Nectaire. Lors du recensement de 2022, 85,3% des Roumains ayant déclaré leur appartenance
religieuse étaient orthodoxes, 4,5% catholiques, 3% protestants et 2,5%
pentecôtistes. 0,3% des Roumains ont affirmé être athées ou sans religion.

29 October 2023
Government pushes on with tax and budget measures

The
bill that the Government of Romania is seeking to push through Parliament is
intended to increase the effectiveness of the fight against tax evasion, to
curb the squandering of public funds and to ensure tax equity by scrapping
exemptions and privileges.

Under
the new legislation, all employees will pay public healthcare contributions,
including the staff in constructions and agriculture, who benefited from
exemptions so far, while IT personnel with salaries above EUR 2,000 a month
will now have to pay income taxes as well.

On
the other hand, public sector staff with salaries above EUR 1,600 will no
longer receive holiday vouchers and meal allowances. A special tax is
introduced for owners of houses worth over EUR 500,000, unless they have taken
out bank loans to pay for them. Large companies and banks will pay a 1% tax on
turnover.

As
for the VAT, there are no substantial changes. According to PM Marcel Ciolacu, the
9% rate for foodstuffs and medicines and the 5% rate for power, firewood,
natural gas and books will stay in place.

The
PM dismisses claims that these are austerity measures. But, he says, Romania
can no longer afford to grant privileges and facilities amounting to EUR 15
bln, nor can it allow tax evasion to account for 15% of its GDP (i.e. EUR 30 bln
a year). Marcel Ciolacu mentioned that minimum wages will be raised by 10%,
while in the constructions sector the raise will reach 12.5%.

The
PM argues that this set of measures will implement the most ambitious reform of
the public sector in post-communist Romania. The Opposition, however,
criticises the draft law and says it must be stopped by all constitutional
means available.

According
to procedure, one such option is a no-confidence vote, which would lead to
dismissing the Cabinet if the Opposition wins. But this is only possible in
theory, given that the actual parliamentary make-up favours the Social
Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, the current ruling coalition. Another
option is to challenge the bill before the Constitutional Court.

But
the most dangerous scenario would be for the new measures to be invalidated by
economic reality. The Economic and Social Council, an independent body, has
already passed a negative opinion on the legislation, stating that the measures
to cut public expenditure are unconvincing and will have a negative impact on
the economy. In the past, covering the budget deficit by increasing the tax
burden on the business sector ended up having the opposite effect, and very
likely revenues to the state budget would decrease instead of going up, the
Council warns. (AMP)

26 September 2023
September 20, 2023

UN – Romania has achieved 62% of its national targets with respect to the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said at a summit held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He also said Romania made significant progress in respect of the goals relating to environmental protection and curbing climate change. Iohannis pointed out that in the seven years left until 2030 the international community must intensify cooperation, for actions that generate results are not possible without unity, solidarity and strong multilateral involvement. He also said Romania is a partner “in building a sustainable society and economy.”

GOVERNMENT — Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is today holding talks with trade unions and employers’ associations on the new fiscal measures set to take effect in Romania. The bill is first to be passed by the PSD-PNL Government, and then the ruling coalition will take responsibility for it before Parliament, most likely next week. The document includes new fiscal measures aimed at strengthening the fight against tax evasion and cutting budget spending. The Opposition argues that the proposed measures will have a negative impact on the economy, on entrepreneurs and the liberal professions. Save Romania Union announced it was already discussing with other parliamentary parties the options for a no-confidence motion.

COURT – Romania is participating, today in The Hague, before the International Court of Justice, as an intervening state, in the pleadings in the case initiated by Ukraine against the Russian Federation regarding accusations of genocide. According to a press release of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, for reasons of efficiency and good administration of justice, considering the extremely close legal positions in this case and the very large number of interveners, Romania, together with Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden, will present a joint plea. The Ministry emphasizes that the participation in these procedures reflects the importance Romania gives to complying with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as the trust in the role of the International Court of Justice, the main judicial body of the UN.

MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies has today rejected the simple motion tabled by Save Romania Union and the Force of the Right, from the centre-right opposition, against the Social-Democratic Minister of Health Alexandru Rafila. The initiators are blaming Rafila, among other things, for the way he managed the health reforms and investment stipulated in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Rafila has rejected the allegations and has deemed the oppositions move as demagogical.

EXPLOSION – An explosion took place on Wednesday morning on a Togo-flagged ship in the Black Sea, near the Romanian port of Sulina. The Regional Port Authority said that, at the request of the ships captain, all 12 crew members were brought to Sulina safely and are undergoing medical investigations. Representatives of the Coast Guard and the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Life at Sea also participated in the rescue operation of the l ships crew. “The cause of the explosion is unknown for the time being. Whether or not it was due to a mine remains to be established by the Ministry of Defense”, the port authority said. The Naval Forces General Staff decided to send to Sulina a military ship specialized in the detection of sea mines. Sulina is located close to Romanias border with Ukraine.

MEETING – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, discussed at the UN headquarters in New York, with his Kazakh counterpart, Kasîm-Jomart Tokaev, about boosting bilateral trade and cooperation in the energy sector. Iohannis wrote on X, the former Twitter, that he had fruitful talks with the leader of Romania’s largest economic partner in Central Asia. (EE)

20 September 2023
The Government and measures to reduce public spending

The Bucharest Government plans to take responsibility in Parliament for the package of laws aimed at reforming the state institutions, fiscal balancing measures and measures to combat tax evasion. The waste of public money, not paying taxes and fiscal evasion hinder the country’s development, says Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu: I will put my mandate on the table in Parliament for reforms and social justice. We have to separate the waters so that Romanians can see who really wants to make reforms and take this country forward and who is against that and fights for privileges and big fortunes. I believe that this is the way Im letting you know I will move forward with all firmness.

Subject to excessive deficit procedure since 2019 and, after the data showed that the budgetary situation after the first months of this year is worse than the Government had anticipated, Romania is in the position of taking urgent adjustment measures, including to avoid losing the European funds. The Governments taking responsibility in Parliament for the fiscal measures means these measures will be adopted without any debate, so much faster.

The Government has prepared more than 50 measures to reduce spending in the public system, and, according to the PM, this is the first real reform in this respect. Among the measures are cutting 200,000 vacant jobs in the public system, the reduction of the number of dignitaries and management positions, the merger between institutions, the decentralization of some services, as well as the prioritization of national investment programs, but also the capping of bonuses or cancellation of holiday vouchers for employees of the public system with incomes above a certain level. All these are measures meant to reduce public spending.

The Government order will also drastically reduce the employees’ salaries, trade unions have argued, saying that the normative act is, in fact, a package of austerity measures. According to the Cartel Alfa trade unionists the solution is not to cut off the employees’ means of subsisting, taxing meal vouchers or food allowances, but rather to significantly reduce the overburdened central government apparatus or even cut public subsidies for political parties.

PM Ciolacu and a number of ministers will go to Brussels next week to discuss with the chief of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the modification of the budget deficit target of 4.4% of the GDP assumed for 2023. Talks will also cover the package of fiscal measures. In Bucharest, USR (democratic opposition) have already announced that they will table censure motion against the PSD-PNL Government and that, in order for it to pass, they will collaborate with all the political forces in Parliament, except for AUR (a populist, ultranationalist party). The Alliance for the Union of Romanians will also table a censure motion to block the normative acts that, in the opinion of this party, are likely to push Romanian companies into bankruptcy. (EE)

25 August 2023
19.04.2023 (mise à jour)

Céréales – La Roumanie mettra en
place des restrictions sur les importations de céréales ukrainiennes et
instituera des contrôles aux frontières sur les produits agricoles originaires de
l’Ukraine voisine, a annoncé mercredi le ministre de l’Agriculture et du
Développement régional. La décision fait suite à une discussion en ligne que le
responsable de Bucarest a eue avec son homologue de Kiev, Mikola Solski. Les
deux ministres se rencontreront vendredi, 21 avril, dans la capitale roumaine,
afin de transposer en pratique les meilleures solutions pour leurs pays. Petre
Daea a réitéré le fait que la Roumanie, en tant que pays membre de l’UE,
soutient les démarches de Bruxelles d’appuyer l’Ukraine face à l’agression
russe et continuera à assurer le transit des céréales ukrainiennes vers les
pays tiers. Des mesures similaires ont été adoptées par d’autres pays de
l’Europe de l’Est afin de protéger leurs propres agriculteurs. Mercredi encore,
la CE a annoncé une nouvelle enveloppe de 100 millions d’euros d’aide accordée
aux agriculteurs européens impactés par les importations des céréales
ukrainiennes. Ce nouvel appui succède à un autre, de 36,3 millions d’euros
destinés aux cultivateurs des pays voisins de l’Ukraine.

Motion – La Chambre des députés a
rejeté mercredi la motion simple avancée par l’USR et la Force de droite, les
deux en opposition, contre le ministre de l’Agriculture, Petre Daea. La motion
a fait l’objet d’un débat en session plénière. Les signataires du décret
tiennent le ministre Daea pour responsable de la majoration des prix aux
aliments de base et pour la mauvaise gestion des crises provoquées par la peste
porcine et la grippe aviaire. Ils accusent le ministre d’avoir également raté
l’octroi de fonds européens pour les agriculteurs roumains touchés par les
importations de céréales d’Ukraine. Pour sa part, Petre Daea rejette toutes les
accusations.

Moldavie – Le Parlement européen
réitère son engagement envers l’adhésion de la République de Moldavie à l’UE.
Dans une résolution adoptée mercredi, les députés européens affirment que
l’intégration européenne de la Moldavie serait un investissement géostratégique
dans une Europe unie et forte. A leurs dires, les négociations d’adhésion
devraient commencer avant la fin de l’année, une fois accomplies les neuf
étapes identifiées par la Commission européenne. Et eux d’ajouter que Bruxelles
doit continuer à appuyer la République de Moldavie pour qu’elle obtienne son
indépendance énergétique. Ce pays reste vulnérable à la pression russe, au
chantage énergétique, aux troubles économiques provoquées par la guerre en Ukraine
et aux tentatives déstabilisatrices du Kremlin.

Brésil – Le président roumain Klaus Iohannis poursuit sa tournée officielle
au Brésil. Mardi, Klaus Iohannis a
rencontré son homologue, le président Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Les deux dirigeants
ont signé une déclaration commune concernant la relation bilatérale entre les
deux pays. Klaus Iohannis a également assuré le président brésilien de son
soutien au partenariat entre l’Union européenne et le Brésil visant à mener des
projets au bénéfice des citoyens. Après le Brésil, le président roumain se
rendra au Chili et en Argentine. Ces visites officielles ont pour but de
relancer le dialogue au plus haut niveau entre ces différents Etats et de
présenter la position de la Roumanie, en tant que membre de l’UE et de l’OTAN,
sur la guerre menée en Ukraine par la Russie.

Météo – En Roumanie, la météo demeure instable, avec des pluies
sur le sud et sur l’est du territoire. Mercredi, les températures iront de 12 à
21 degrés. De la pluie et 18 degrés mercredi, à Bucarest.

19 April 2023
April 19, 2023

VISIT The president of Romania
Klaus Iohannis is carrying on his visit to Brazil today. He travels to Rio
de Janeiro, where he has meetings scheduled with the deputy governor and the deputy
mayor of the city, and will pay tribute to the World War II heroes. On Monday, Mr.
Iohannis met with his counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The two officials
signed a joint statement on the development of bilateral relations. Klaus
Iohannis assured his counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of Romania’s
support for advancing the EU – Brazil agenda through projects designed to
benefit citizens. This is the first stage of the Romanian president’s
south-American tour, which also includes Chile and Argentina. The goal is to rekindle
the top-level dialogue with these countries and to present Romania’s position,
as an EU and NATO member, with respect to the war launched by Russia in
neighbouring Ukraine.

AGRICULTURE A
simple motion tabled by the opposition against the agriculture minister Petre
Daea has been dismissed in the Chamber of Deputies today. The motion was
discussed in parliament on Tuesday. The initiators argued that
Daea
was directly responsible for the steep rise in the prices of basic foodstuffs, for
the poor handling of the swine fever and avian influenza crises, and also for
the failure to secure EU funding for the Romanian farmers affected by the grain
imports from Ukraine. The agriculture minister said none of the allegations
were based on actual figures. On the other hand, he is set to discuss with his
Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi today, about the situation created by the duty-free
Ukrainian grain imports to the EU. Last week, Poland and Hungary, followed by
Slovakia, announced a temporary ban on these imports. Poland also suspended
grain transit on its territory, but following talks between the two parties an
agreement was reached on Tuesday to resume transit, provided that the grains
are not sold in that country. Hungary also announced that Ukrainian grain
shipments would be sealed and monitored while on Hungarian territory. In
Bucharest, the Social Democratic Party intends to persuade the ruling coalition
to temporarily suspend these imports, in order to protect Romanian farmers, in
the absence of sufficient compensation from the European Commission. Brussels
on the other hand finds the measure unacceptable and has called for coordinated
decisions, while promising a new aid package for the affected farmers.

ART Since the
start of the Timisoara – 2023 European Capital of Culture programme this
February, over 12,000 Romanian and foreign art lovers have visited the National
Art Museum in Timişoara, western Romania, to see the first retrospective
exhibition devoted to Victor Brauner. Probably no other exhibition in the
history of the museum has attracted so many visitors as ‘Victor Brauner: Inventions
and magic did in only two months, the museum director Filip Petcu said on
Monday. Some 100 works, including paintings, drawings, sketches, etchings and
documents by the Romanian surrealist artist are on display in Timişoara. Of
these, 40 are on loan from the Pompidou Centre in Paris, while others have been
made available by Saint-Etienne Metropole, Musee Cantini Marseilles and other
museums or private collections in Romania and abroad.

FINANCE One of
the indicators taken into account by Fitch Agency when improving Bucharest’s
long-term issuer default rating was the adjustment of expenditure to revenues, the
mayor Nicuşor Dan announced on Wednesday. In a Facebook post, he says that the
municipality’s efforts to achieve financial stability are beginning to yield
fruit, given that Fitch has improved Bucharest’s standalone credit profile from
‘BBB+’ to ‘A’, a class higher than the national rating, which means a good
capacity to meet financial obligations. On April 15, Fitch Ratings reconfirmed
Bucharest’s ‘BBB-‘ ratings for long-term foreign and local currency debt and
upgraded the outlook from negative to stable. Last month Fitch had also
reconfirmed Romania’s BBB-/F3 rating for long and short-term foreign currency
debt and upgraded the outlook from negative to stable. With a population of approx.
2.16 million, Bucharest accounts for over 30% of
Romania’s economy, and its local wealth level is more than four times the
national average.

USA
Fox News, the TV channel of choice of US Conservatives, has agreed to pay USD
787.5 million to the voting technology company Dominion, after a last-minute
settlement to avoid a lawsuit concerning its coverage of the 2020 presidential
elections, France Presse reports. Dominion had originally claimed USD 1.6 bln.
The settlement saves the pearl of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire from what the New
York Times described as the defamation trial of the century. The lawsuit was generally
viewed in the US as a test for the limits of the freedom of expression
guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and of the fight
against misinformation. (AMP)

19 April 2023
18.04.2023 (mise à jour)

Brésil
– Le président roumain, Klaus Iohannis est arrivé mardi au Brésil, première
étape d’une tournée officielle en Amérique du Sud, qui implique aussi des
visites au Chili et en Argentine. L’objectif de ces visites est de relancer le
dialogue au plus haut niveau avec ces Etats et de présenter la position de la
Roumanie, en tant que membre de l’UE et de l’OTAN, au sujet de la guerre menée
par la Russie en Ukraine. Cela faisait
23 ans qu’un chef d’Etat roumain ne s’était pas déplacé au Brésil. Mardi, Klaus
Iohannis a rencontré son homologue brésilien, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Le
renforcement de la relation avec le Brésil qui est le principal partenaire
commercial de la Roumanie en Amérique latine constitue l’objectif principal de
cette visite.

Motion
– La Chambre des députés a examiné une motion simple avancée par l’opposition
contre le ministre de l’Agriculture, Petre Daea. Celui-ci est tenu pour
responsable pour le montant insuffisant de l’aide que la Commission européenne
a versée aux agriculteurs roumains impactés par les importations de céréales
bon marché d’Ukraine. Selon les signataires de la motion, le ministre est également
responsable de la flambée des prix aux aliments de base et de la mauvaise
gestion des crises provoquées par la peste porcine et la grippe aviaire. Petre
Daea rejette toutes ces accusations et affirme que les subventions pour les
cultivateurs seront versées à temps.

Gouvernement
– L’exécutif de Bucarest se penche cette semaine sur les propositions
ministérielles de réduction des dépenses budgétaires, après que le chef du
gouvernement eut attiré l’attention sur un déficit plus élevé que prévu. Le
gouvernement est prêt à renoncer à acquérir certains biens et services et à
réduire le nombre des déplacements. Pour sa part, le premier ministre s’est
engagé à ne pas toucher aux salaires ou aux investissements. Aux dires du
ministre des finances, Adrian Câciu, son ministère est en train d’élaborer un
paquet de mesures au terme duquel il sera interdit de cumuler la pension de retraite avec le
salaire, de majorer les salaires et de faire des embauches dans le système public.
Parallèlement, le gouvernement devrait améliorer la collecte des recettes
fiscales, a ajouté le responsable des finances.

Anti-corruption
– La Roumanie s’est vu inviter par l’Organisation pour la coopération et le
développement économique de rejoindre le groupe de travail sur la corruption et
d’adhérer à la convention anti-corruption de l’organisation. Par ce geste, le
pays se voit transmettre un signal très fort sur ses capacités de respecter les
normes et les bonnes pratiques dans la lutte contre la corruption, a déclaré le
chef du gouvernement de Bucarest. Par conséquent, les sociétés roumaines se
verront accroître leur réputation et elles pourront rejoindre les chaînes mondiales
d’approvisionnement.

Météo
– En Roumanie, la météo sera plutôt instable, avec des températures inférieures
à la moyenne saisonnière. Il pleuvra sur le sud-est. Les températures iront
mercredi de 11 à 18 degrés. Nous aurons 17 degrés à midi, à Bucarest.

18 April 2023