VOTE
Tomorrow is a decisive day for the cabinet led by Social-Democrat Viorica
Dancila. As Romania will see presidential election next month, senators and
deputies are to debate upon a censure motion tabled last week. The opposition
is blaming the government for having lost European funds, the lack of
infrastructure and the disastrous situations in the healthcare, justice and
education systems. The National Liberal Party of president Klaus Iohannis says
it is ready for both snap election and for ruling the country until the
Parliamentary election next year. The People’s Movement Party (PMP) has voiced
its readiness to assume a future government, while the Save Romania Union (USR)
believes that staging snap election is the main solution to the political crisis
currently facing Romania. PRO Romania, a splinter group from the ruling PSD
will cast their vote in an open ballot and the group’s leader Victor Ponta
announced that if the censure motion passed, he would propose the
Social-Democrats a government formula with an independent Prime Minister backed
by a majority made up of the PSD, ALDE and PRO Romania. ALDE, a former ruling
political group believes the Romanian president will not accept a Prime
Minister from a majority the PSD is part of. The Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) will vote the motion in a secret ballot and it is
not willing to become part of a provisional government. Prime Minister Dancila
has accused the opposition of lacking political responsibility and is convinced
her cabinet will remain in power. The motion has been signed by 237 MPs and it
needs 233 votes to pass.
RANKING Romania comes 51st, a position higher than last
year, in a ranking of the world’s most competitive economies, the latest report
published by the World Economic Forum shows. Romania scored 64.4 points out of
100 and is lagging behind countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia,
Russia, Hungary and Bulgaria, but still ahead of countries like Greece, Turkey,
Serbia and the Republic of Moldova. Singapore overtakes the United States as
the world’s most competitive economy this year. The last countries in the
ranking are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen and Chad. The report
measures economic competitiveness based on some indicators such as
infrastructure, healthcare, labour market, the financial system, the quality of
public institutions and economic openness.
HOLOCAUST Every year on October 9th
Romania pays homage to the Holocaust victims. On this day in 1941, Jews from
Romania started to be deported to Transdniester, currently in the Republic of
Moldova. On Tuesday, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis promulgated a law on the
setting up of the National History Museum of Jews and the Holocaust in Romania
in capital city Bucharest. The institution will be housing a permanent
exhibition presenting the history of the Jewish community in Romania from the
17th century up to the present day.
PARTNERSHIP The ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova will have in
Romania the most sincere and committed partner in the region and in the
European Union, the statement belongs to Romania’s Foreign Minister Ramona
Manescu currently paying a formal visit to Chisinau, the local radio station
has announced. In a news conference with her Moldovan counterpart Nicu Popescu,
the Romanian official has said that the gas pipeline linking the city of Iasi
in eastern Romania to Ungheni in the Republic of Moldova will become
operational in the spring of next year allowing the ex-soviet Republic to not
depend upon a single source of supply. The two officials have signed a roadmap,
which provides for cooperation in the transport infrastructure, finances,
agriculture, justice, education or interior affairs. The Romanian official will
also be having talks with Moldovan Prime Minister Maia Sandu.
(translated by bill 51)
