Radio România Internațional

Tag: new cabinet

June 14, 2023 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT – All designated
members of the Ciolacu Cabinet have been greenlit by Parliament’s special
committees. The PSD-PNL coalition, in addition to representatives of national
minorities other than Hungarian, said they have the numbers to vote in the new
government, after UDMR withdrew from the ruling coalition. Finance Minister
designate Marcel Boloș said the introduction of new taxes is out of the
question, while the Interior Minister designate Cătălin Predoiu, pointed out
his number one priority is Romania’s Schengen Accession. In committee hearings,
Labor Minister designate Marius Budăi gave assurances that the retirement age
will be increased to 65 years for all categories of workers with the exception
of magistrates, who will retire at 60. In turn, Defense Minister designate
Angel Tîlvăr referred to the priorities of the Defense Ministry, arguing that
the Black Sea is an area of increased importance where Romania should become a pillar
of regional security. Marcel Ciolacu and his cabinet will appear before
Parliament’s plenary session on Thursday to seek the vote of investiture. From
the opposition, USR and AUR said they would vote against, in addition to a
number of PNL and PSD MPs who expressed their disapproval of the new Cabinet.
UDMR MPs said they would attend the session but would not cast their votes.

COMPANIES – The number of
companies with foreign capital newly established in Romania increased in the
first four months of the year by 4.6%, compared to the similar period in 2022,
according to data centralized by the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC). The
figure represents some 2,300 new companies that had a total subscribed capital
of about 8.5 million dollars. According to the National Trade Registry, at the
end of April 2023, in Romania there were over 246 thousand companies with
foreign participation in the share capital, with a subscribed capital value of
about 68 billion dollars. The largest number of companies with foreign
participation is with investors from Italy, but the highest value of the social
capital belongs to Dutch companies.

POVERTY -
Nearly 35% of Romanians were last year exposed to poverty and social exclusion,
accounting for the largest share among EU member states, the Eurostat reports.
According to the report, the average at EU level stood at 22% in 2022, the same
as in 2021. Romania is followed by Bulgaria, Greece and Spain. Countries with
the lowest poverty risk levels are the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Poland. At
the same time, data shows that the risk of poverty and social exclusion is
higher for women compared to men in the EU.

AI – MEPs on
Wednesday adopted Parliament’s negotiation position on the AI Act and have
given the go ahead for talks for ensuring safe and transparent artificial
intelligence. According to the European Parliament, the regulations are
designed to make sure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent,
traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly. The new rules establish obligations for providers and
users depending on the level of risk from artificial intelligence. Therefore,
systems with an unacceptable risk considered a threat to people, such as those
classifying people based on behavior, socio-economic status or personal
characteristics, gender, race, ethnicity, citizenship, religion or political
orientation, are expected to be banned. MEPs will ban systems that recognize
emotions in workplaces or education institutions, in law enforcement or in the
field of border security. Last but not least, MEPs want to consolidate
citizens’ right to file complaints regarding AI systems with a high degree of
risk and have updated the role of the AI Office of the EU, which will be tasked
with monitoring the application of the regulation framework.

EUROPOL – The threat of terrorist
attacks and disinformation campaigns remains high in Europe, the Europol claims
in its annual report published on Wednesday in the Hague. Europol also states
that the biggest threat is represented by jihadist terrorist cells, although
left-wing or right-wing extremists are also likely to increase their terrorist
activity. 28 terrorist attacks took place in 2022 in the EU, killing four
people. The head of Europol, Catherine De Bolle, said that fighting terrorism
remains a priority, arguing that right now lone wolf attackers remain the
biggest threat. The war in Ukraine also affects public security, first and
foremost due to disinformation campaigns run by pro-Russian groups, which could
polarize society and fuel terrorist and extremist violence, the Europol also
states. (MI & VP)

14 June 2023
A pro-European Parliament in Moldova

Legislative
elections held in the Republic of Moldova on July 11 have set this ex-Soviet
state on the path to European integration, the goal of Maia Sandu, who last
year won the presidency. The snap election brought a landslide victory for the
Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), founded five years ago by Maia Sandu, which
grabbed 63 of the 101 seats. 32 seats went to the Bloc of Communists and
Socialists, led by the pro-Russian former presidents Vladimir Voronin and Igor
Dodon. The other 6 seats were grabbed by Shor Party, founded by the controversial
billionaire Ilan Shor. In her speech before Parliament on Monday, President
Maia Sandu said the new regime will show zero tolerance to corruption, and
warned deputies that order should start with the new Parliament.

The
Republic of Moldova will soon mark 30 years of independence. After so many
failures, at least now, after 30 years, we can build a country for all the
people, not for privileged groups that have been abusing citizens’ confidence
to amass unjustified fortunes and subjugate the state in their own interest.

In a
country shaken for many years by top-level corruption cases, many of which are
still pending, the new Parliament has now a difficult task ahead: to reform the
judiciary and accelerate the investigation of high-level fraud. It is time to
revolutionize the way the country is being governed. We need a Parliament that
abides by the law. New pieces of legislation must first be submitted to public
debate. People must be encouraged to voice their opinion, and experts must also
contribute, president Sandu said. As regards the future Cabinet, Maia Sandu
said she expects it to deliver a new model of economic development. To
overcome poverty and ensure prosperity for all, we need to develop the economy.
[…] We have been presented with a historic opportunity of aligning politics to
the citizens’ interests. It is all up to us. The country is what we make of it.
We reap what we sow. Speaking about Maia Sandu’s chances of turning Moldova
around and making it a citizen-oriented country, professor Dan Dungaciu told
Radio Romania: It would be the first time this happens outside the EU, a
European process implemented without proper integration. In that respect,
however optimistic the outlook, we need to realize this is an experiment and keep
our feet on the ground. The way things are progressing, the situation seems
positive. Pro-European forces have never had a more robust and comprehensive
regime, professor Dungaciu went on to say. (VP)

27 July 2021
Negotiations and hearings

The members of Florin Citu’s
Cabinet are this week appearing before Parliament’s specialist committees, a procedural
step before the investiture vote. This is the third round of hearings in a matter
of months. The committees will interview the same ministers whom they
interviewed last November, after the leader of the National Liberal Party
Ludovic Orban, took over as Prime Minister from Social-Democrat Viorica
Dancila, the same Orban who last month was ousted under a no-confidence motion
in Parliament. Orban was again nominated by the President, but the Constitutional
Court ruled against this nomination.

The only modification brought to the
current cabinet is Lucian Heius as the new Finance Minister, a position left
vacant when Florin Citu was designated Prime Minister. The Liberals say they
are negotiating with the other parliamentary parties, except the
Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, in order to
form a majority. The Liberals account for 20% of Parliament’s seats, where the
Social-Democrats still hold the majority.

Therefore in order to pass, Citu’s
Cabinet needs votes from all sides of the political spectrum. Dan Barna, the
leader of the third-largest party in Parliament, Save Romania Union, said
following Monday’s talks that the Liberal Party has made no requests regarding
the investiture of the new Cabinet and that the meeting with Florin Citu was
strictly technical. In turn, Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Union
of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, says his party has not yet made any decision
to support the Liberal Government. The Pro Romania Party, made up of dissidents
from the Social-Democratic Party and led by the former Prime Minister Victor
Ponta, announced its members will vote against the new Cabinet. Finally, the votes
of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats seem
to be of little interest to the Liberals, whose obvious disinterest in the
current negotiations has prompted political pundits to say the Liberal Party
might still try to force early elections, based on its superior position in
surveys.

Early elections can be held if two consecutive governments are rejected
over 60 days and Parliament is dissolved. The President favors this scenario
and reacted to the Constitutional Court’s ruling against Orban’s second
nomination as Prime Minister, saying that chances to organize snap elections
have dropped below 50%. Experts say June 21 is the deadline for early
elections, as after this date Parliament can no longer be dissolved, as it enters
its last six months in office. Early elections have never been held in Romania
since the anticommunist revolution of 1989, no matter how much instability our
country has seen at political level.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

3 March 2020
February 10, 2020

GOVERNMENT – Prime Minister designate Ludovic Orban announced he would submit today the list of ministers and an updated governing program in Parliament with a view to starting procedures for swearing in the new government. Ludovic Orban said the Executive Bureau of the National Liberal Party has unanimously approved the structure of the new Cabinet. The announcement comes after President Klaus Iohannis designated the Liberal leader to form a new cabinet. The decision was made after the first Orban government was dismissed on Wednesday through a no confidence motion initiated by the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party, following the government’s decision to take responsibility for a bill on returning to the two-round voting system for local elections, only a few months ahead of the elections. The Liberals have already said they would not vote their own Cabinet, hoping this would trigger early elections. The Social-Democrats are opposing early elections, although they claim they are ready for any kind of election. Meanwhile the Social-Democratic Party is today notifying the Constitutional Court over Orban’s second appointment, after the latter had just been removed from office, claiming there is an institutional conflict between Parliament and the presidency.

IAEA – Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Monday will co-preside the ministerial meeting of the International Conference for Nuclear Security, held under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Conference is held every three years. Co-presiding alongside Romania this year is Panama. Both states are managing the negotiation of the Ministerial Declaration to be adopted on this occasion. The Conference, venued in Vienna, will also include a scientific and technical section, where Romania will also be represented. On the sidelines of the conference, Minister Aurescu will hold bilateral meetings with the Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and the OSCE Secretary General, Thomas Greminger.

STATISTICS – The trade balance deficit deepened in Romania in 2019, standing at 17.28 billion euros, by 2.16 billion more than in 2018. Exports increased by 1.9% and imports by 4.2%, according to data released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute. The highest shares in the structure of exports and imports are represented by automobiles and transport equipment and other manufactured goods. 6.9% of total exports was represented by foodstuffs and livestock, while the imports of the same category of goods stood at 7.8%. According to the Institute, Romania’s exports of raw materials, non-food products, mineral fuels and lubricants dropped.

FLU VIURS – The number of people who died to the flu virus this season has reached 25, after another two people, two women, aged 64 and 66, respectively, have died. Both had previous medical conditions. On Thursday authorities officially declared a flu epidemic. Over 16,000 students nationwide are affected by the partial or full suspension of classes. Specialists warn the number of sick is likely to increase next week as well, given that few Romanians have taken the anti-flu shot.

CORONAVIRUS – Two Romanian citizens, transported from China to Germany via emergency medical evacuation flights, have been brought to Bucharest by a military aircraft. According to the Health Ministry, their condition is stable and neither is exhibiting any symptoms. The two will remain under medical observation for 14 days. The new coronavirus has killed over 900 people in continental China, where the number of the infected has exceeded 40,000, according to the latest figures released by the authorities today. The authorities have also confirmed a relative slowdown in the epidemic’s progression. Most international airliners have cancelled all flights to continental China.

ACADEMY AWARDS – The South-Korean feature film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, has made history at the 92nd edition of the Oscar Awards, after scooping 4 trophies, becoming the first foreign-language film to win the award for best film. Parasite is a satire about the gap between the rich and the poor in South Korea. The film also won the award for best directing, best foreign film and best original script. 1917, Sam Mendes’s film about World War One, won three Oscars, for best image, best sound editing and best visual effects. Joaquin Phoenix grabbed the best lead actor award for his part in Joker, the story of an aspiring artist turned serial killer. Renee Zellweger was awarded the award for best lead actress for her interpretation of the legendary Judy Garland. Bradd Pitt won the award for best supporting actor in once Upon a Time in Hollywood, while Laura Dern was bestowed the award for best supporting actress for her part in Marriage Story, where she’s interpreting a divorce lawyer.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

10 February 2020
February 7, 2020

DESIGNATION
– President Klaus Iohannis has designated Liberal leader Ludovic Orban as Prime
Minister of Romania. Orban must make up a new Government which will need
Parliament’s vote of confidence. Iohannis made the decision after consultations
with parliamentary parties, reiterating early elections is the best option
right now. The previous Orban Cabinet was ousted on Wednesday after the censure
motion filed by the Social-Democrats in opposition and the Democratic Union of
Ethnic Hungarians passed. The motion criticized Orban’s choice to take
responsibility in Parliament over the law reintroducing the two-round voting
system for the local elections. Under the Constitution, the designated
candidate has 10 days to make up a Cabinet and a governing program before
Parliament’s vote of confidence.

MEETING – Romanian President Klaus
Iohannis is today meeting in Brussels with European Council President, Charles
Michel. It is part of a wider series of meetings the EU official is preparing
with leaders of Member States, ahead of the extraordinary European Council
meeting, aimed at negotiating the upcoming multiannual budget, considering the
UK, one of the Union’s largest contributors, has left the community bloc.
Charles Michel has this week held consultations with several heads of
government regarding the 2021-2027 financial framework. Charles Michel wants
the Council meeting, scheduled for February 20, to result in an agreement that
should benefit citizens. Several European states fear the next agreement would
result in major budget cuts, heightened by the end of budget contributions from
Britain starting 2021. The European Commission and the European Parliament have
asked member states to increase their contributions to cover the gap left by
Great Britain. Representatives of the biggest budget contributors have however
argued in favor of shrinking the EU budget by slashing cohesion and agriculture
funds.

CORONAVIRUS – The death toll of the coronavirus epidemic has reached 636 today,
with the number of infected reported in China exceeding 31,000. The Chinese
doctor who warned in December last year against the upcoming epidemic died on
Friday due to the virus, triggering a wave of discontent and criticism in China
targeting the Government. Some 320 cases have been reported in 27 other
countries and regions outside continental China, two people being killed, in
Hong Kong and the Philippines. In Hong Kong, 3,600 passengers and crew members
are kept in quarantine for the third day in a row, after three people onboard
had been confirmed to be carriers of the coronavirus. Another 41 people on
board a cruise ship kept in quarantine in Japan tested positive for coronavirus
on Friday, increasing the number of confirmed cases to 61, while thousands of
passengers have been confined to their cabins while the testing continues. 17
Romanians are on board this ship, two tourists and 15 crew members.

YUKON ARCTIC
ULTRA – 45-year-old Tiberiu Useriu, representing Romania, on Thursday
finished in second place the Yukon Artic Ultramarathon in Canada, close to the
Polar Circle, after covering 500 kilometers in 7 days. Ranking first was a
Swiss. The two were the only ones to reach the finish line, the other 19 competitors
having withdrawn. Yukon Artic Ultra is tougher than the 6633 Artic
ultramarathon, which Useriu won three years in a row. This was the second
participation in the Yukon Artic Ultra for Tiberiu Useriu. In 2019 he dropped
from the race due to frostbite.

FED CUP
– Romania’s Fed Cup team is playing Russia today and tomorrow, matches being
venued in Cluj-Napoca. Today, Elena Gabriela Ruse (166 WTA) is playing
Ekaterina Alexandrova (28 WTA), while Ana Bogdan (90 WTA) will take on Veronika
Kudermetova (38 WTA). Simona Halep, Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu will not be
representing Romania, preferring to focus on WTA tournaments so as to qualify
to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Fed Cup matches will decide which team qualifies
to the final tournament in Budapest, to be held over April 14-19. Romania has
never played Russia in the Fed Cup, although it did play the USSR twice, in
1978 in the quarterfinals in Melbourne (nil-3), and in 1986 in Prague in the
second round (nil-3).

(translated by V. Palcu)

7 February 2020
January 29, 2018

GOVERNMENT — The ministers nominated to be part of the new PSD-ALDE cabinet led by Viorica Dancila are today being heard by the relevant committees of the Romanian Parliament. Also today the Parliament of Romania, meeting in a plenary session, is due to vote on the validation of the new cabinet. Improving the healthcare system, amending the Education Law, modernising legislation in the judicial system, going ahead with the process of decentralisation, increasing the pension point and reducing the VAT are some of the measures included in the governing program. Furthermore, as regards this year, the PSD-ALDE ruling coalition wants to simplify the taxation system and eliminate some taxes, among which the solidarity tax and the tax on food additives. The opposition parties, the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party have made public their decision to vote against the new cabinet, whom they do not expect to have a spectacular performance. The Liberals are also discontent about the hearings timetable, saying the timeslot allotted to each person nominated at the helm of a ministry is too short to have solid talks. The seat allocation formula shows PSD and ALDE are holding a fragile majority, and if several MPs in power are absent from the vote or vote against the cabinet, the government led by Viorica Dăncilă might not be validated. The new cabinet is made up of 28 members, having four deputy prime ministers, as compared to three in the previous cabinet.

TALKS — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, will meet in Brussels on Wednesday with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The focal points on the agenda of talks include the judicial overhaul, the fight against corruption and Romania’s holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. The Commission has recently voiced its concern about the latest developments in Romania and called on the Romanian Parliament to reconsider the changes brought to the justice laws. The independence of the judiciary and its capacity to efficiently fight corruption are the fundaments of having a strong Romania within the EU, the President and the First Vice-President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and Frans Timmermans, respectively, have stated in a joint declaration. At the end of 2017, the parliamentary majority made up of the Social Democratic Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania adopted changes to the justice laws, raising concern among European bodies and states, generating wide-scale protests in the country and stirring harsh criticism from the magistrates and the right wing opposition.

EU FUNDS — Romania received European funds worth 45.7 billion Euros from the EU budget, accounting, on an average, for 2.8% of the GDP, in the 2007-2017 period, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, has today said in a conference also attended by the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu. The central bank governor has also said that after taking into consideration Romania’s contribution to the EU budget, net inflows of European funds stood at 30.4 billion Euro, that is 1.8% of the GDP per year on an average. Corina Creţu has today started a two-day official visit to Romania. The agenda of the visit also includes a meeting with the prime minister designated by the PSD-ALDE ruling coalition, Viorica Dăncilă, for talks on European funds. The European official has said she comes to Bucharest to lay the foundations for a tight and fruitful cooperation with the new Government, with regard to the optimal use of resources available under the multi-annual 2014-2020 financial framework and to hold talks on the new post-2020 financial framework.

TENNIS — Romanian women tennis players Sorana Cîrstea (no.36 WTA) and Irina Begu (no.37 WTA) are taking part in the Saint Petersburg tennis tournament, this week, with 750,000 dollars in prize money up for grabs. On Tuesday, Cîrstea will meet Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova (no.26 WTA), whereas Begu will face a player coming from the playoffs. The first seed of the tournament is Danish Caroline Wozniacki, who this week has become no.1 WTA, instead of Romanian Simona Halep. The two tennis players met on Saturday in the finals of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Halep gave up playing in the tournament in Russia.

29 January 2018
January 22, 2018 UPDATE

CABINET – The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania (PSD- ALDE) convened in a session in Bucharest on Monday. The Social-Democrat leader, Liviu Dragnea, and the ALDE leader, Călin Popescu Tăriceanu, said the validation of the list of nominations for the new cabinet led by Social Democrat Viorica Dăncilă has been postponed for Friday. There will be no major changes in the governing program and the number of cabinet ministers will not be changed, the two leaders have said. The previous PSD – ALDE Government had 27 ministers, three Deputy Prime Ministers and two delegate ministers, apart from the Prime Minister. Meanwhile the opposition is taking action, the Liberals saying they will start talks with the other political parties and MPs to persuade them to vote against the new Cabinet. The Liberals aim to win as many votes as possible to prevent the new cabinet from being sworn in. Parliaments vote is scheduled for January 29.

EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY– The national document on the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council will be approved by September, at the latest. The announcement was made in Bucharest on Monday by the minister delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu, fresh from a first meeting with his Finnish and Croatian counterparts, whose countries will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council, after Romania. The three countries will prepare a common agenda with major topics that will be tackled in the Council over a period of 18 months. Romania will have its own six-month program, based on this agenda. The priority of Romanias mandate is preparing the European Parliament elections, scheduled for May 2019. Bucharest authorities want to adjust Romanias priorities depending on the evolution of key topics of EU interest, of which the most important are Brexit and the post-2020 multi-annual financial framework.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL – Romanian foreign minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, on Monday
participated in the Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels. According
to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the main issues on the agenda of talks were:
Libya and the Middle East Peace Process. Meleşcanu underlined the need for a
just and sustainable solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and
reiterated the appeal for unblocking the Peace Process and for the resumption of
a direct dialogue between the
sides. Also, the EU foreign ministers
attended a working lunch, having Israeli president Mahmoud Abbas as honorary
guest. The participants analysed ways
in which the EU and the member states can support, in a constructive way, the
re-launch of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The EU’s support for strengthening
Palestinian institutions has been reiterated. On the sidelines of the Foreign
Affairs Council meeting, a working breakfast was organised together with the
President of the European Investment Bank, EIB, Werner Hoyer, who came up with
the proposal of setting up an EIB development branch. The Romanian foreign
minister has had bilateral meetings with the new foreign ministers of Austria
and Poland.

DEFENCE – Romanian defence minister, Mihai Fifor, on Tuesday will meet in Câmpulung Muscel (in the south) with military of the 30th Battalion “The Carpathian Eagles ahead of their new mission on the theatre of operations in Afghanistan. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry, between February and August 2018, the Romanian troops will carry out specific protection missions of the Kandahar Military Air Base force, as well as missions of training, counselling and assisting the Afghan National Forces. According to the same source, the troops from Câmpulung Muscel have proved that they can accomplish some of the most complex missions in the country and on theatres of operations, in Kosovo (in 2005 and 2007), and Afghanistan (in 2008). 627 Romanian military are currently taking action in Afghanistan.

TENNIS – Romanias tennis player Simona Halep, no. 1 WTA, on Monday qualified to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, where she is seeded first. In the round of 16 she ousted Naomi Osaka of Japan, 6-3, 6-2. In the quarter-finals, Halep, the only Romanian woman tennis player still playing in the Australian Open main table will play against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, no. 6 WTA. Halep and Pliskova have met seven times so far, with the Romanian tennis player boasting five wins. In the womens doubles, tenth-seeded Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu are playing Jennifer Brady and Vania King of the United States in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

22 January 2018
June 30, 2017 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT – The new government in Bucharest, led by the Social Democrat PM Mihai Tudose, on Friday met in a first session after getting a vote of investiture in Parliament on Thursday. On its agenda was the emergency ordinance on increasing social benefits for pensioners and doubling aid for the severely disabled. The members of the cabinet also decided to draft a bill by September on establishing a Sovereign Fund for Development and Investment and to submit it to Parliament. Not achieving these aims was one of the reasons for which the coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania withdrew political support for the former cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu, who was toppled by a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

REP. OF MOLDOVA – The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip, on Friday congratulated his Romanian counterpart, Mihai Tudose, on becoming prime minister. According to a communiqué issued by the Moldovan government, the two officials had a phone conversation and decided to have a first meeting in the near future. PM Filip reiterated Moldovas high interest in having a privileged relation with Romania.

WEATHER – Extreme weather grips Romania, with the temperature-humidity index exceeding the critical threshold of 80 units in the centre, south and the east. The lows will stand at 13 degrees Celsius, whereas the highs are projected to reach 43 and even 44 degrees Celsius. The extreme heat is expected to last until the end of the week. The National Meteorology Agency announced it is possible for this to be the hottest early July on record. Meteorologists have issued a code red alert for 19 counties and the city of Bucharest. Code orange and yellow alerts are valid for the rest of the territory. First aid tents have been mounted and traffic restrictions are in place in the big cities.

BRUSSELS – On June 30, Estonia took over from Malta the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The agenda of the Estonian presidency is focused on the economy, especially the digital market. This is the first time Estonia leads the union, and will seek to find common ground on various topics, from migration to Brexit. European Commission President, Jean-Claude Junker, and European Council President, Donald Tusk, are in Tallinn, attending ceremonies.

BACCALAUREATE – Students graduating high school in Romania have taken the optional test of the baccalaureate exam. 135,000 students have registered for the test. Statistics indicate that in the 2016-2017 school year, the total number of students at all levels of education was 3.6 million, 45,000 fewer than last year.

WASHINGTON – People from six predominantly Muslim countries and refugees overall are facing stricter hurdles for entering the US after the application of a controversial ban issued by US President Donald Trump. The ban applies to Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, as well as to refugees of all kinds. The president explained that the ban was motivated by national security needs, pointing to the terror attacks in Paris, London, Brussels and Berlin.

CULTURAL INFO – Over 14 million people in Romania visited over 400 museums and public collections last year, data released on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics show. Institutions and companies active in the field of visual arts put up over 22 thousand shows, which enjoyed the participation of 5.7 million spectators. The figures issued by the National Institute of Statistics show that in 2016 libraries lent 11 volumes to each active user, on average, and that over 1,500 magazines were issued across the country.

30 June 2017
June 28, 2017

NEW CABINET — Romania’s Social Democrats are today gathering in a session of their National Executive Committee to finalise the membership of the new cabinet. The other party in the ruling coalition, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania has announced its wish to further keep, in the future cabinet, the foreign affairs, environment, energy and the relation with Parliament portfolios, as well as their holders. Talks on the membership of the new cabinet are held after on Monday the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, nominated the Social Democrat Mihai Tudose for the position of prime minister, following consultations with the parliamentary parties. The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, has said Parliament might vote on Thursday whether it validates the new cabinet or not. The Tudose cabinet is to replace that led by the Social-Democrat Sorin Grindeanu, which was toppled last week, following a no-confidence motion tabled by the ruling coalition.

ROMANIAN-BULGARIAN RELATIONS — Romania is ready to share with Bulgaria its experience and expertise in the fight against corruption, President Klaus Iohannis said in Bucharest during a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart, Rumen Radev. The Romanian president also said he also talked with president Radev about his recent visit to Washington, about the two countries’ common interest in having a strong transatlantic relation as well as about security challenges in the Black Sea region. The two leaders have also approached the issue of Schengen accession. Rumen Radev has explained that if European citizens want to have highly secured external borders, they should be aware that this can’t be achieved without Romania and Bulgaria being Schenghen members and having access to the Schengen information system. The agenda of the talks also covered economic relations, cooperation within NATO and at regional level. The two presidents have also analysed concrete ways to coordinate themselves in an effort to promote common interests and objectives within the EU, in the context in which Bulgaria and Romania will hold the rotating Presidency of the Council in the first half of 2018 and in the first half of 2019, respectively. On Thursday, the two presidents will attend the opening of the Romania-Bulgaria Business Forum. The visiting Bulgarian president, Rumen Radev, will also meet in Bucharest with ethnic Bulgarians living in Romania.

JUDICIARY — The Romanian Justice Ministry is today organising the first public debate on amending criminal legislation on the crime of “abuse of office”, in agreement with the rulings issued by the Constitutional Court. Attending today’s talks will be representatives of civil society and of the business circle. A second debate, scheduled for July 3, will be attended by representatives of institutions in the judicial system, the magistrates’ professional associations, academics, and representatives of legal liberal professions. The talks will be held at the headquarters of the Justice Ministry. Last week, the Constitutional Court noticed that the legal provisions in force on the crime of “abuse of office” are formulated in broad, vague terms. The Court also ruled that the provisions of an article on preventing, discovering and punishing acts of corruption, relative to attempted abuse of office, are not constitutional.

ROAD ACCIDENTS — The number of deadly road accidents in Romania exceeded 1,900 last year, more than the double of the EU average, an analysis posted on the blog of the World Bank shows. According to it, the costs of road accidents with fatalities in Romania are incredibly high, being estimated at over 1.2 billion Euros per year. The number of road accidents is high because of an increasing number of cars running in Romania, high speed and poor road infrastructure. Furthermore, the legislation in the field is complicated, obsolete and inflexible or it is improperly enforced and Romania is lacking training programs for professional drivers, the analysis made by the World Bank shows.

28 June 2017
January 6, 2017

WEATHER — It is gradually getting colder in Romania, with freezing temperatures especially in the west, centre and the north. The sky is overcast and it is snowing on large areas, more heavily in the south, the east and the mountains. Gusty wind is also reported in places, particularly in the south and southeast, where it exceeds 70-85 km/h in places. The highs of the day range from minus 10 to 0 degrees Celsius. The southeastern part of the country is under red code alert against blizzard, in the first part of the day. The code yellow alert against snow is valid for the south and the east and a code orange alert against blizzard is valid for the south-east, Bucharest included. The counties in the east will further be under code yellow alert until Saturday. Tens of national roads have been closed and hundreds of localities have been left without electricity because of the blizzard.

MOLDOVA — Blizzard and extremely low temperatures are also reported in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, where a code orange alert against heavy snowfalls is in force, in the centre and the south. Moldovan meteorologists have forecast temperatures of minus 17 degrees Celsius and issued a code yellow alert against low temperatures, between January 6 and 9. In this context, the Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service has warned car drivers to properly equip their cars for winter conditions. The situation is similar in central Europe. Poland is swept by a wave of cold, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Heavy snowfalls are reported in the northern half of Italy and Germany is facing the same situation, with a high risk of flooding. Bad weather is also reported in Denmark, Sweden and Croatia.

GOVERNMENT MEETING — The new government in Bucharest is analysing in today’s meeting, a 16% increase in the minimum gross salary, as of February 1, up to 1,450 lei (some 300 Euro). Representatives of major trade unions have hailed the announcement made by the government, but the employers’ associations show reservation. Also today, the salaries of public servants working in local administration will be increased by 20%, just like those of the actors and of other categories of artists. On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies voted in a plenary session the law amending the Fiscal Code, and consequently pensioners with pensions of up to 2,000 lei (some 400 Euros) will be exempted from paying taxes on these sums. They will no longer pay for their health insurances, whose costs will be covered from the state budget. Sworn in on Wednesday, the cabinet led by the Social Democrat Sorin Grindeanu also pledges to reduce taxes, cut red-tape, build new factories and highways as well as high-speed railways. Economic analysts describe the governing program as very ambitious and point to the risks and impact on the budget.

BRUSSELS- The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has posted on his Twitter page a message congratulating the Prime Minister of Romania, Sorin Grindeanu, on his recent appointment. The EU’s message reads: “we look forward to the continuation of the positive trend in Romania regarding a stable government, robust economic growth, increased productivity, rising living standards and an independent justice system that can sustain the fight against corruption.” The EU Commissioner assures PM Grindeanu that the EU executive remains a constant and reliable partner to Romania, be it through financial support or technical expertise.

BORDER POLICE — The Romanian border policemen deployed in Greece have rescued 34 refugees from Syria and Congo from the international waters of the Aegean Sea. The refugees, among whom 9 children, were on board an overloaded light boat, which was on point of overturning. It was the first intervention of its kind by the Romanian policemen. A patrolling and intervention boat of the Romanian Interior Ministry, with a 23 member crew, is carrying out surveillance missions along the external borders of the EU, in the Aegean Sea, for four months, as of January 1, as part of the Maritime Joint Operation “EPN POSEIDON SEA”, coordinated by the FRONTEX Agency. The border policemen carry out individual patrolling, search and rescue missions, alongside colleagues from other EU member states participating in the mission.

WikiLeaks — The CIA claims it has identified several Russian officials who, under the coordination of the Kremlin leader, Vladimir Putin, have sent stolen DNC emails to WikiLeaks. According to the CIA report, quoted by the CNN, Russia got involved in the electoral process in the US by supporting the campaign of the US President elect, Republican Donald Trump. The latter has expressed his scepticism over Russia’s involvement and, in his turn, continued to reject the accusations. Recently, the acting US President, Barack Obama, has ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the US over the alleged hacking.

EPIPHANY-The majority Christian orthodox believers in Romania are today celebrating the Epiphany, commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

6 January 2017