Radio România Internațional

Tag: no-confidence motion

  • 20 November 2017, UPDATE

    20 November 2017, UPDATE

    Motion. A no-confidence motion initiated by the National
    Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, both in opposition, against the
    government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals
    and Democrats was read out on Monday in Parliament before the two joint
    chambers. Filed last Friday, the motion was endorsed by 148 MPs. The latter
    criticise the government mainly for its changes to the tax code. No date has
    yet been established for a vote on the motion. Protests have taken place in
    recent weeks in Bucharest and other cities against the government’s plans to
    amend the tax code and overhaul the judiciary. The Social Democratic prime
    minister Mihai Tudose says the new tax reform brings in more money to the
    budget and the pension fund and simplifies procedures for companies.


    Patriot missiles. The Senate in Bucharest approved the purchase of
    Patriot missiles. The bill has received the approval of Parliament’s defence
    committee. On Tuesday, the bill reaches the Chamber of Deputies, the
    decision-making body in this case. Romania is to purchase seven surface-to-air
    missile systems for a total of around 4 billion dollars. The first of the seven
    has been approved for delivery by the US administration for a value of 750
    million dollars and is to be contracted by the end of the year. Right now, the
    Romanian armed forces rely on obsolete Soviet missile systems.




    EU. The Romanian
    minister delegate for European affairs Victor Negrescu on Monday attended in
    Brussels the first three-party meeting with his counterparts from France and
    Germany, Nathalie Loiseau and
    Michael Roth, respectively. The parties reiterated the need to relaunch the
    European project, in the context in which Romania will hold the EU rotating
    presidency in the first half of 2019. Negrescu said Romania’s presidency is an
    opportunity to consolidate the unity of the member states. The three officials also
    discussed the Union’s future multiannual financial framework and ways to
    consolidate the bloc’s internal security and external policy. The meeting was
    held on the margins of the General Affairs Council.




    Eu agency relocation. The EU European Affairs ministers met in
    Brussels on Monday to decide the future location of the European Medicines
    Agency. Now based in London, the agency will be relocated when the UK leaves
    the European Union. Amsterdam, which was in the running together with 18 other
    cities, including Romania’s capital Bucharest, will be the new home of the
    European Medicines Agency, a body that employs 900 people and monitors the
    safety of medication sold on a market with 500 million consumers.






    Child poverty. According to results posted on Monday by Eurostat,
    the European statistics agency, in 2016, 49.2% of Romanian children were
    exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion, the highest such figure
    among European states and double the average in the Union. At the opposite end
    are children in Denmark, Finland and Slovenia. Data for
    2016 shows that around 24.8 million children below 17 years of age in the Union
    were exposed to such danger, with the number of children in Romania standing at
    around 1.8 million. Between 2010 and 2016, the percentage of at risk children
    in the EU went down from 27.5 to 26.4%.




    Winter fuel stocks. The energy minister Toma Petcu on Monday
    gave assurances that Romania has enough energy resources for this winter, even
    in the event of very cold weather and heavy snowfall. He told a specialist
    conference that fuel stocks for the winter are higher than the estimated need.
    Although gas consumption in Romania has decreased following the closing down of
    the big consumers, 1.6% more natural gas than last year has been stocked this
    year, the energy minister has explained.




    Book
    fair.     The 24th Gaudeamus International Education Book Fair organised by
    Radio Romania begins on Wednesday. For the first time in the history of the
    fair, the special guest will not be a country, but the European Union through
    the European Commission Representation in Bucharest. Under the motto Unity in
    Diversity, the European Union encourages people to discover and explore
    Europe’s rich cultural heritage. The fair’s 2017 edition will see a number of
    anniversaries: the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Rome
    Treaty, the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Erasmus programme
    and the 10th anniversary of Romania’s joining the European Union.
    The fair brings together 300 exhibitors and features more than 800 different
    events.





  • November 17, 2017 UPDATE

    November 17, 2017 UPDATE

    NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION — The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, in opposition, tabled a no-confidence motion in Parliament, against the government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. As many as 148 MPs signed the motion. Initiated after the government amended the Fiscal Code, the no-confidence motion is also backed by the People’s Movement Party and the independent MPs. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania announced it will not sign the motion while the Pro Romania Party, led by former PM Victor Ponta will not back the motion either. The new version of the Fiscal Code switches the responsibility for social security payments from employers to employees and cuts income taxes from 16% to 10%, as of January 1, 2018. Over the past few weeks, street protests have been held in Bucharest and other major Romanian cities against the government’s plans to change the tax code and the laws on the judiciary. On the other hand, PM Mihai Tudose claims that the new fiscal reform would result in more money to the state budget and social security budget, and will reduce bureaucracy. On Friday, the Social Democratic Party announced in a report, after ten months in power, that more than 100 objectives in their governing programme have been fulfilled.




    PRESIDENCY – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis spoke on Friday in Gothenburg, Sweden, at a social summit on fair jobs and growth in the EU, about education as means of easing the accwess to the labour market. He pointed out that special attention should be paid to giving access to the labour market to vulnerable categories such as the Roma, the people with disabilities and the elderly. Iohannis also said Romania will stand for an education system adapted to the needs of the economy, so that the best solutions be found to create jobs for the young people. Also on Friday, the European Pillar of Social Rights was proclaimed and signed by the Council of the EU, the European Parliament and the Commission during the Gothenburg Social Summit for fair jobs and growth. The objective of the Pillar is to contribute to social progress by supporting fair and well-functioning labour markets and welfare systems and sets out 20 principles and rights, divided into three categories, namely, equal opportunities and access to labour market, dynamic labour markets and fair working conditions and also public support, social protection and inclusion.




    TRANSCARPATHIA – Students and teachers in the Romanian language schools in Transcarpathia, a region in south-western Ukraine, that is home to over 40,000 ethnic Romanians, are currently being assessed by a commission of the Education Ministry in Kiev. Teachers are outraged, saying the evaluation, the first in many years, is in fact aimed at proving that the schools of the national ethnic minorities are not good enough, that teachers are unable to offer students high level training and that pupils are insufficiently prepared to have their national evaluation tests. Teachers say the evaluation is nothing but a disguised form of pressure and intimidation, following the contested education law in Ukraine, which infringes upon the constitutional rights of the ethnic minorities to study in their own language. In late October, experts of the Venice Commission paid a visit to Kiev to assess the newly created situation following the adoption of the education law, which has been criticised also by Bucharest.




    NICOSIA — The state secretary for bilateral and strategic affairs in the Euro-Atlantic area, George Ciamba, held consultations in Nicosia, with several Cypriot officials together with whom he approached the migration issue as well as the priorities of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019. During the meeting with the Cypriot foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides, George Ciamba has underlined the interest taken by Romania in rendering the bilateral dialogue more dynamic, given the traditional cooperation between the two states, and has also referred to the presence of a large Romanian community in Cyprus and of a Cypriot business community in Romania. In the field of migration, the officials reiterated their support for the EU’s actions to strengthen cooperation with its foreign partners, both countries of origin and transit countries, and to further implement the EU-Turkey Declaration. Relative to the Eastern Neighbourhood, the officials underlined the need to further support the Republic of Moldova on its European path. The Cypriot officials reiterated their support for Bucharest’s candidacy for a non-permanent member seat of the UN Security Council in the 2020 — 2021 period and for Romania’s Schengen accession.




    TRAVEL FAIR– The 38th edition of Romania’s Travel Fair brings together until Sunday over 200 tour operators and travel agencies. 12 foreign countries from around the globe chose to have their own stands at the fair, just like Romanian county councils, which try to promote Romania’s travel destinations.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)







  • The Liberals seek no-confidence vote against the Government

    The Liberals seek no-confidence vote against the Government

    The National
    Liberal Party in opposition is determined to bring down the government made up
    of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in
    Romania.




    Their latest
    reason for discontent is the recently adopted government decree modifying the
    Fiscal Code, which stipulates, among other things, the switch of the
    responsibility for paying social security contributions from employers to
    employees, as well as a reduction in income tax from 16 to 10%. Opposed by
    trade unions, employer associations and some sections of civil society, the
    measures have also been severely criticised by the right-of-centre opposition
    parties, starting with the Liberals.




    The move to seek
    a no-confidence vote against the government already has the support of the Save
    Romania Union, and the two parties announced they would table the no-confidence
    motion together. The Liberals have also discussed the move with the Democratic
    Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, and so far they have reasons for
    optimism, the head of the Liberal’s parliamentary group in the Chamber of
    Deputies Raluca Turcan says:




    We’ve had talks
    with the Save Romania Union, and they firmly committed themselves to backing
    this motion. We’ve also had talks on very practical aspects with the Democratic
    Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, and it was a major satisfaction to be
    able to have this thorough discussion on elements related to how the country is
    governed. This is a positive thing, for our future parliamentary activity as
    well. I am confident that what is going on today with the government and inside
    the Social Democratic Party will persuade a growing number of MPs to see this
    no-confidence motion differently.




    The People’s
    Movement Party, founded by Romania’s former right-wing president Traian
    Basescu, also announced they would support the motion against Mihai Tudose’s
    cabinet. They believe, however, that the National Liberal Party should also
    come up with an alternative for the prime minister post. The lack of
    alternatives and of counter-measures on the part of the Liberals was also
    mentioned by Victor Ponta, a former Social Democrat who currently heads a group
    of non-affiliated MPs from the Pro Romania party:




    We will not
    support this motion, and I really can’t see why they are filing it. We’ve a
    change of cabinet, and what was the use of it? We got the same thing. Let’s say
    another cabinet will be replaced. What is the Liberals’ solution? They are only
    doing this for the sake of doing it, but nothing will actually change.




    For the motion
    to pass, the Liberals need to convince as many MPs as possible, including from
    the parties in power, to back it, which is why, apart from the negotiations
    with the opposition parties, each Liberal MP will try to get one vote from a
    member of the ruling coalition group. Outside Parliament, the National Liberal
    Party intends to run nation-wide citizen information campaigns and to organise
    rallies in Bucharest and other cities. It also requested the Ombudsman to
    challenge the fiscal reform initiated by the Government in the Constitutional
    Court.

  • November 14, 2017 UPDATE

    November 14, 2017 UPDATE


    MOTION – The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, both in the opposition, have announced they will file together a no-confidence motion against the government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania. Also, the Liberals will call on the Ombudsman to challenge at the Constitutional Court the fiscal reform promoted by the Government. According to the Executive, however, the changes adopted last week, including shifting the responsibility for paying social security contributions from employers to employees and the reduction of the income tax from 16 to 10%, will bring more money to the state budget and to the pension fund and will provide simpler procedures for companies. The measures are due to come into force on January 1st.



    ECONOMIC GROWTH – Romania ranks first in the EU in terms of economic growth, and this is the only way to ensure higher living standards, said on Tuesday the Finance Minister Ionut Misa. According to the Romanian official, the countrys economic situation is significantly better than in 2016, and the current development direction is appreciated by investors and international bodies. According to the Statistical Office of the European Union, in the third quarter of this year Romania registered the highest GDP growth in the EU, 8.6%, as compared to 2016. According to the Romanian Statistics Institute, in 2017 Romanias GDP grew by 2.6% in the third quarter, as compared to the previous quarter, and by 8.8% as compared to the previous year.



    PERSONA NON GRATA – On Tuesday, the Bucharest Court of Appeal declared the Serbian citizen Bratislav Zivkovic, a self-proclaimed commander of a paramilitary group, persona non grata in Romania for a period of 15 years. Between 2012 and 2014 Zivkovic took part in the conflict in eastern Ukraine on the pro-Russian separatists side. According to the Romanian Intelligence Service, he has traveled to Romania several times to collect intelligence. He has drawn up preparatory documents with the aim of procuring and transmitting such information to foreign powers and agencies and of setting up intelligence networks on Romanian soil. He has shown interest in classified documents concerning critical national and allied infrastructure in south-eastern Romania. According to the Service, though, the Serbian has not managed to get any document or classified information.



    CELEBRATION – On Tuesday, Romania celebrated 139 years since the south-eastern province of Dobruja was unified with the country. The province had been, up to that point, under Ottoman rule. In 1878, following the Russian-Romanian-Turkish war, the Congress of Berlin recognized Romanias independence and the province of Dobruja together with the tiny Snake Island in the Black Sea as part of its territory. Authorities in the counties of Tulcea and Constanta staged ceremonies to celebrate this historic event.



    ATP WORLD TOUR – The tennis pair made up of the Romanian Horia Tecau and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer stands no chances of qualifying for the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour in London. On Tuesday, they were defeated by Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia 7-6, 7-6. In their first match on Sunday, the pair also lost to the all French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert / Nicolas Mahut. The next game is due on Thursday, against the pair made up of the American Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus of the New Zealand. This year, Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer have won four titles.




  • September 13, 2017 UPDATE

    September 13, 2017 UPDATE


    Romanias President Klaus Iohannis appreciated in a communiqué issued on Wednesday the call for unity with the aim of consolidating the European project made by the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker during his state of the Union address in the European Parliament. The Romanian head of state also hailed the proposal made by Juncker that a special EU summit be held in Sibiu, central Romania, on March 30th 2019, when Romania will be holding the sixth month presidency of the EU Council. The summit would focus on strategic matters concerning the future of the EU. Also, the Romanian president appreciated the Commissions support for Romanias Schengen accession. Jean-Claude Juncker said that Romania and Bulgaria should be accepted immediately into the free movement area. He also stood for the introduction of measures to help the EU members that wish to adopt the Euro. Juncker tackled other issues such as Brexit, terrorism, illegal migration, economic growth and jobs. He also said that the products sold in Eastern Europe should not be lower in quality than those marketed in the West.



    On Wednesday, the Romanian Government approved the first adjustment of the 2017 budget, maintaining the budget deficit of 2.95% of the GDP. The Finance Minister Ionut Misa has stated that the adjustment is positive, given that in the first six months of the year, Romania registered an economic growth higher that estimated initially, which triggered a GDP growth of some 4.8 billion Euros. According to the Government, all public institutions will fully benefit from the allocated amounts. The ministries of agriculture, health, internal affairs and the ministry for the business environment will get more money. On the other hand, the ministries of regional development, transportation and communications will get less.



    The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has rejected the simple motion of no-confidence filed by the opposition National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union against the proposals made by the Justice Minister. The signatories say the amendments proposed by Tudorel Toader to the justice laws are an attempt to cancel the progress made in this area. Minister Toader has responded that the amendments are necessary, given that the laws in question date from 2004 and the Superior Council of Magistracy has called for them to be updated. Some of the changes, criticized by both civil society and the media, refer to the fact that the president is no longer to appoint the heads of the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, the transfer of the Judicial Inspectorate to the Ministry of Justice and increasing the length of service required to promote magistrates. Earlier this year, a government attempt to ease criminal legislation on corruption triggered some of the largest street protests in post-communist Romania.



    The 26th edition of the most important annual meeting of public broadcasters from around the world, organized by Radio Romania, ended on Wednesday. Gathered in the mountain resort of Sinaia, in central Romania, the participants discussed the future of public media, its role in defending cultural diversity and the pride of serving communities. On Tuesday, the 150 participants in the conference agreed that, regardless of financing methods and the development of technology, public media institutions must continue to focus on three fundamental directions: information, education and entertainment.



    Romania ranks 42nd out of 130 countries around the world in terms of human capital development, reads a report published on Wednesday by the World Economic Forum. Although above the world average, Romania, with 66% of its human capital developed, lags behind countries in the region, such as Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic, but it is ranked better than Portugal, Spain and Greece. According to the report, only 62% of the worlds human capital is developed. Top of the list is Norway, with more than 77%, followed by Finland, Switzerland, the US, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Sweden.



    The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that the procedure for the repatriation from Syria, through Lebanon, of a group of five Romanians and one Syrian member of their family had been completed. Since the start of the evacuation operations from Syria, in 2011, 735 Romanians and family members have been repatriated. The Romanian Embassy in Damascus provides protection and support also for citizens from Australia, Canadian, France, the Republic of Moldova and Portugal, currently on Syrian soil.




  • June 21, 2017 UPDATE

    June 21, 2017 UPDATE

    NO CONFIDENCE MOTION – The Romanian Parliament on Wednesday adopted the no confidence motion tabled by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania against its own government, led by PM Sorin Grindeanu. 241 MPs endorsed the motion, exceeding the minimum number of required votes, that is 233. The other parliamentary parties, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the Peoples Movement Party refrained from voting, saying the issue was an internal problem of the coalition. The motion was tabled after the prime minister refused to step down and the coalition parties withdrew their political support. Grindeanu dismissed as ungrounded the conclusions of a report drafted by PSD and assessing the activity of the cabinet six months after it took office, a report which signalled delays in implementing the governing program. President Klaus Iohannis will hold talks with the parliamentary parties on Monday on the formation of a new government, his spokesperson has announced.



    THE NATIONAL CURRENCY– The Romanian national currency, the leu, on Wednesday plunged to a new record low, against the backdrop of the current political crisis. The National Bank of Romania announced one Euro stands at 4.59 lei, plunging to a record low since August 2012, when the leu sold for 4.64 lei, against the backdrop of another political crisis, generated by the suspension of the then president, Traian Basescu.

    ECONOMIC
    POLICY-     The IMF Resident Representative for Romania and Bulgaria,
    Alejandro Hajdenberg recommends to the Romanian authorities to show fiscal
    prudence after having recently operated many tax cuts and having increased
    salaries and pensions. He says a cautious salary policy is very important to
    protect the competitiveness of the Romanian private sector on foreign markets.
    The fight against corruption should also be continued, Hajdenberg added.



    FARMING – Business in the farming sector has doubled in the last seven years, to reach some 3,5 billion euros in 2015, reads a recent KeysFin survey. Over 7,000 enterprises with more than 40,000 employees are currently operating in the field, a number which went up by nearly 30% as compared to 2009. The KeysFin analysis also shows that, according to the latest data provided by the European Commission at the end of May, Romania has become the main cereal exporter at EU level. On the other hand, National Bank Deputy Governor Liviu Voinea said Romania has been making constant progress in bridging the development gaps separating it from other developed states.



    SUMMER EUROPEAN COUNCIL – President Klaus Iohannis will attend the proceedings of the Summer European Council in Brussels, on Thursday and Friday. On the sidelines of the summit, Iohannis will have bilateral talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. The Romanian President flies to Brussels directly from Germany, where he paid a visit during which he met on Monday with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the federal chancellor, Angela Merkel. We recall that in early June, the Romanian presidents foreign policy agenda included a 5-day working visit to the US, during which he had a meeting with US President, Donald Trump, at the White House.



    2017 SELECTUSA INVESTMENT SUMMIT- 23 Romanian delegates representing 17 companies from the mining, ICT, engineering and distilling industries attended the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, over June 18 and 20. The Summit is the highest profile event to connect global companies and U.S. economic development organizations to facilitate business investment in the United States. This year’s Romanian delegation was the largest in history to the SelectUSA Summit, more specifically a 600% increase over last year’s. Delegates have each had numerous matchmaking meetings with US Companies and Economic Development Organizations. “We are thrilled to welcome 23 Investors to the Summit and to the United States, said U.S. Ambassador to Romania Hans Klemm, who underlined that “the Summit brings business opportunities and resources from across the United States together in a single place, enabling participants to complete weeks of work in fewer than three days. Attending the event was also the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who said “this is an exciting time for global companies to explore the U.S. market and find partners that can help them create a footprint, expand operations, and achieve growth. There is no better place to make those connections than this Summit.



    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that any persons with an expired prison sentence, who have been pardoned or rehabilitated or whove been sentenced for something that is no longer considered a crime, can be members of the Government. Court judges claim the law is inconsistent in this respect, as someone who is criminally prosecuted cannot be part of the Government, although he can be president or a member of Parliament. The Court thus responded to a notification filed by the Ombudsmans Office earlier this year. The legislation in force did not allow Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea to be Prime Minister, after his party won the December 2016 legislative elections. Dragnea got a suspended sentence for election fraud attempt in the 2012 referendum to impeach the then president, Traian Basescu.



    FINANCING – Over 400 million euros will be made available for funding Romanian SMEs after the European Investment Bank signed funding protocols with six local banks. Based on these agreements, banks can give loans both for starting SMEs as well as for developing those already on the market. The collaboration agreement between the EIB, the European Commission and the Government of Romania was signed in October last year.



    GAC – State Secretary with the Romanian Foreign Ministry Bogdan Manoiu on Tuesday attended the General Affairs Council meeting held in Luxembourg, focusing on preparing the European Council meeting of June 22-23. The Romanian official said security and defence measures to be adopted must be balanced, lead to more cohesion between Member States and ensure added value for the EUs security contribution and its complementarity with NATO measures in this field. At the same time, Secretary Manoiu reiterated Romanias interest to implement all measures aimed at strengthening the EUs external borders. Referring to migration, the Romanian official underscored the need to consolidate progress reported in cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries based on the Partnership Framework adopted in 2016. Bogdan Manoiu also expressed Romanias readiness to continue dialogue in order to identify a consensual solution in terms of reforming the Common European Asylum System.



    ATTACK –Belgian prosecutors say the suicide bomber shot dead by the police on Tuesday evening in Central Station in Brussels was trying to detonate a gas and nail bomb he was carrying in a suitcase. The bomber was a Moroccan citizen, aged 36, whose home has been searched by the Belgian security forces. They found items showing the bomber might have been an ISIS supporter. In March 2016 Brussels was hit by a wave of suicide bomb attacks at the airport and the subway system, which killed 32 people. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State terrorist organisation.



    US-UKRAINE RELATIONS – US President Donald trump on Tuesday met in Washington with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, on the very day the White House announced harsher sanctions against Moscow, whom they accuse of supporting pro-Russian rebel separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Russian immediately criticized the call and promised to retaliate. Broke out in 2014, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has so far killed over ten thousand people. The US and its European allies have called on Russia to observe the Minsk ceasefire agreements of 2015. The White House said that sanctions regarding the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has illegally occupied wouldnt be lifted unless Moscow withdraws its troops from the region.

  • June 21, 2017

    June 21, 2017

    MOTION – Romanias Parliament is today discussing and voting on the no-confidence motion filed by the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the ruling coalition against Sorin Grindeanus Cabinet. Grindeanu refused to step down after coalition parties withdrew their political support for him. Grindeanu has dismissed the conclusions of an analysis of the Governments first six months in office conducted at party level. The other parliamentary factions, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Peoples Movement Party announced they would not vote on the motion, as this is a matter for the Social-Democrats to solve on their own. President Klaus Iohannis has called for an immediate way out of this crisis, saying, however, that Romania remains a stable country despite this political crisis, with a strong economy, seen as a trusted partner.



    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that any persons with an expired prison sentence, who have been pardoned or rehabilitated or whove been sentenced for something that is no longer considered a crime, can be members of the Government. Court judges claim the law is inconsistent in this respect, as someone who is criminally prosecuted cannot be part of the Government, although he can be president or a member of Parliament. The Court thus responded to a notification filed by the Ombudsmans Office earlier this year. The legislation in force did not allow Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea to be Prime Minister, after his party won the December 2016 legislative elections. Dragnea got a suspended sentence for election fraud attempt in the 2012 referendum to impeach the then president, Traian Basescu.



    FARMING – Business in the farming sector has doubled in the last seven years, to reach some 3,5 billion euros in 2015, reads a recent KeysFin survey. Over 7,000 enterprises with more than 40,000 employees are currently operating in the field, a number which went up by nearly 30% as compared to 2009. The KeysFin analysis also shows that, according to the latest data provided by the European Commission at the end of May, Romania has become the main cereal exporter at EU level. On the other hand, National Bank Deputy Governor Liviu Voinea said Romania has been making constant progress in bridging the development gaps separating it from other developed states.



    FINANCING – Over 400 million euros will be made available for funding Romanian SMEs after the European Investment Bank signed funding protocols with six local banks. Based on these agreements, banks can give loans both for starting SMEs as well as for developing those already on the market. The collaboration agreement between the EIB, the European Commission and the Government of Romania was signed in October last year.



    GAC – State Secretary with the Romanian Foreign Ministry Bogdan Manoiu on Tuesday attended the General Affairs Council meeting held in Luxembourg, focusing on preparing the European Council meeting of June 22-23. The Romanian official said security and defense measures to be adopted must be balanced, lead to more cohesion between Member States and ensure added value for the EUs security contribution and its complementarity with NATO measures in this field. At the same time, Secretary Manoiu reiterated Romanias interest to implement all measures aimed at strengthening the EUs external borders. Referring to migration, the Romanian official underscored the need to consolidate progress reported in cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries based on the Partnership Framework adopted in 2016. Bogdan Manoiu also expressed Romanias readiness to continue dialogue in order to identify a consensual solution in terms of reforming the Common European Asylum System.



    ATTACK –Belgian security forces shot dead a man suspected of being a suicide bomber on Tuesday evening in Central Station in Brussels. Previously he had detonated a small explosive device, without killing anyone. The incident is investigated as a terrorist attack. In March 2016 Brussels was hit by a wave of suicide bomb attacks at the airport and the subway system, which killed 32 people.



    US-UKRAINE RELATIONS – US President Donald trump on Tuesday met in Washington with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, on the very day the White House announced harsher sanctions against Moscow, whom they accuse of supporting pro-Russian rebel separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Russian immediately criticized the call and promised to retaliate. Broke out in 2014, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has so far killed over ten thousand people. The US and its European allies have called on Russia to observe the Minsk ceasefire agreements of 2015. The White House said that sanctions regarding the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has illegally occupied wouldnt be lifted unless Moscow withdraws its troops from the region.

  • No confidence motion against the government

    No confidence motion against the government

    Today’s vote in Parliament of a majority coalition against its own government was a first in Romania’s post-Communist history. Dissident Social Democrat PM Sorin Grindeanu and another two rebel ministers were blamed for their lack of political maturity and responsibility and for deciding to govern on their own behalf although the PSD had withdrawn their political support.



    The motion was the only constitutional solution to which the PSD and ALDE could resort, in the context in which PM Sorin Grindeanu refused to step down, in spite of losing the political support of the PSD and most of his ministers and of being excluded from the PSD.



    In his defense, PM Sorin Grindeanu told Parliament that he did not understand why the PSD wanted to remove its own government at a moment when the governing process was going well, as proved by economic statistics. He has warned that passing the no confidence motion means that the PSD is no longer the governing party, thus becoming dependant on President Klaus Iohannis.



    In retort, the PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, said the government and the prime minister did not perform well and that Wednesday’s vote meant the continuation of the PSD-ALDE governance, as the Romanian citizens voted in the December 2016 legislative elections. The scandal in the governing coalition started from the assessment of the Grindeanu cabinet’s activity, 6 months after the government was installed. The assessment pointed to big delays in implementing the governing program.



    PM Grindeanu rejected the assessment as ungrounded and defied the assessor, a former finance minister investigated for serious corruption acts, considering him unreliable. Grindeanu’s opposition to Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the PSD, is the political surprise of the summer, according to commentators.



    Apparently submissive to the party leader, Grindeanu has proved unexpected courage. He denounced Dragnea’s authoritarian style conditioning his resignation on Dragnea’s own resignation. Some observers claim that the real reason behind the vote against Grindeanu is the government’s delay in promoting the justice law and the criminal codes in the relaxed forms that would help Dragnea in a criminal case in which he is accused of incitement to abuse of office.



    PM Sorin Grindeanu’s revolt and the PSD leadership’s reaction to it, a no confidence motion against its own government, will surely have consequences within the PSD. Their voters will wonder what happened with the party’s force and cohesion in only 6 months after taking power, in the context in which, in the absence of a strong parliamentary opposition, the president and the citizens were the only ones to sanction the government’s actions.



    For Romania, Wednesday’s vote should be a first step towards solving the political crisis. President Klaus Iohannis has given assurances that, despite the political crisis, Romania is a stable country, because it has a very good economic situation and is seen as a trustworthy partner.

  • Uncertainty in Chisinau

    Uncertainty in Chisinau

    Political pundits in Chisinau have for some time now been talking
    about the end of an era. Six years after taking power, against the backdrop of
    street protests that put en end to the long pro-Russian, Communist governance
    of 2001 – 2009, the three-party government alliance, an avowed pro-western
    coalition, is more divided than ever. Seriously discredited by top-level
    corruption scandals and the increasing degradation of the living standards, the
    power in the Republic of Moldova, a state ranked as the poorest in Europe by
    many specialist classifications, has now to take the test of a no-confidence
    motion tabled by the leftist opposition.

    42 Socialist and Communist deputies
    are calling for the resignation of the Liberal Democrat PM Valeriu Strelet, who
    is accused of defending his former party chief, Vlad Filat, now arrested on
    corruption charges. The deputies also accuse Strelet of being involved in
    dubious affairs himself. The Socialist leader, Igor Dodon, one of the Kremlin’s
    favorites, also calls for the resignation of the country’s President Nicolae
    Timofti and for holding early elections, meant to reshuffle the administration
    from top to bottom.

    In turn, the former Moldovan Communist president, Vladimir
    Voronin, has suggested the setting up of a government of technocrats to be
    supported by a large parliamentary majority, but without the participation of
    the Liberal Democratic Party. For the no-confidence motion to pass, another 9
    votes are needed besides the half plus one of the votes of the 101 MPs. But,
    according to Radio Romania’s correspondents to Chisinau, after Filat’s arrest,
    disagreements within the governing alliance, self-styled as the Alliance for European
    Integration, have become more visible, and the Democrats and Liberals, partners
    of the Liberal Democratic Party, started to vote in Parliament alongside the
    Socialists and Communists on punctual issues.

    Furthermore, the speaker of
    Moldova’s Parliament, Andrian Candu, announced his party would decide next week
    if they would support or not the no-confidence motion against the government
    they are part of. Given the context, the Moldovan mass media has taken the
    opportunity to remind of the Communist past of some of the party’s top figures
    such as Marian Lupu, Dumitru Diacov, who was frequently accused of being a
    member of the Soviet secret services and Vlad Plahotniuc, the oligarch
    connected with the mafia and considered the de facto leader of the Democratic
    Party.


    Invested as PM this summer, Valeriu Strelet labels the no-confidence
    motion against his cabinet as an attempt to politically and economically
    destabilize the Republic of Moldova and to divert it from its European
    integration path. Romania is concerned with the worsening political situation
    in the neighboring Republic of Moldova, to which it has recently granted a loan
    worth 150 million euros. The PM Victor
    Ponta has warned that Romania will continue to support the Republic of Moldova
    if and only if they have a pro-western government. The breaking of the
    alliance, the Romanian PM has also warned, could create advantageous
    opportunities for the Russian Federation, which it will not fail to take.

  • No-confidence Motion against the Victor Ponta Cabinet

    No-confidence Motion against the Victor Ponta Cabinet

    The Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta
    Tuesday faced another no-confidence motion, the fourth so far. As expected, the
    275 votes required for the motion to pass were not gathered, so the Romanian
    Government stays in office. The argument put forth by the main party in
    opposition, the National Liberal Party, had to do with the prime minister’s
    legal problems. The Liberals argued that Victor Ponta can no longer head the
    government, because he lost his credibility after being sent to court by the
    National Anti-Corruption Directorate under corruption charges. Forgery of
    private documents, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering are the
    charges brought against him in a case involving legal assistance contracts
    signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies in the south of the country.
    In Parliament, Alina Gorghiu, the co-president of the National Liberal Party in
    Opposition said before the vote that Victor Ponta was a prime minister who
    could no longer represent Romania with dignity:


    Victor Ponta will leave
    his seat, sooner or later. And by the time local elections are held, we will
    have a new PM, because you will not be able to protect him forever. Eventually,
    you will have to release him from office. But my colleagues and I call on you
    to do it now, to do it today, while the wounds he has caused can still be
    repaired. Obviously, you, the MPs from the Social Democratic Party, the
    National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Alliance of Liberals and
    Democrats, will tell me that keeping Victor Ponta in office is fully democratic
    and constitutional. It is. But it is also deeply immoral and completely
    unfair.


    Ponta has repeatedly dismissed the
    accusations and has turned down President Klaus Iohannis and the Liberal
    Opposition’s calls for his resignation. On Tuesday he told Parliament that he
    did not see this as a no-confidence motion, because he was not criticized for
    the activity of his Cabinet. He said that the national economy was growing, and
    Romania was a source of stability in the region.


    I was prepared for a
    no-confidence motion with figures, economic data, social and legislative
    measures. But given that the Opposition has nothing critical about the
    government to say, I don’t think I need to present them once again here. I
    believe the intention of the National Liberal Party and Liberal Democratic
    Party, namely to hide behind prosecutors, to wait them to do the Opposition’s
    job in their place, is fundamentally wrong, has nothing to do with the
    principles of democracy, and I also believe that in Parliament we are in charge
    of politics, not justice.


    The ruling partners of the Social
    Democratic Party said the motion was based on political reasons and attended
    the meeting, but did not vote.

  • The Week in Review: September 21-25

    The Week in Review: September 21-25

    EU leaders meet in Brussels to address the refugee crisis



    The refugee crisis, the worst since the end of the Second World War, was top on the agenda of the emergency meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs Council and of the heads of state and government held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels. EU Interior Ministers adopted by a large majority the European Commissions plan to relocate 120,000 immigrants to the 28 Member States. Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic voted against, while Finland abstained. Poland voted in favour, although it had previously expressed its disagreement with the mandatory quotas. Under the new plan, Romania must take in an additional 2,475 refugees, on top of the original set target of 1,785 which Romania committed to accommodate under the voluntary quota scheme agreed by the European Council in June. This week the leaders of EU states, including president Klaus Iohannis, agreed to disburse an additional 1 billion euros to the UN agencies supporting the refugees in Syrias neighbour countries – Turkey, Jordan and the Lebanon.



    Klaus Iohannis: “It is obvious that if we want to manage the migration phenomenon effectively we must first go to its root causes, that is the crisis areas, such as Syria, and do our best to put an end to the conflict and restore peace to those areas.



    The president went on to say that Romania would earmark 300,000 euros to refugees fleeing conflict areas in the coming three years under the World Food Programme. EU leaders also decided, among other things to consolidate the Unions external border, which they see as a priority for all Member States. Another decision taken by the European leaders is that the so-called hotspots, the EU-run reception centres in frontline member states such as Italy and Greece, where asylum applications are processed, would become operational by the end of November. In Romania, Deputy Prime Minister for National Security and Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea will take charge of coordinating the reception of refugees.





    No-confidence motion filed in Parliament against Victor Pontas Cabinet


    On Wednesday a no-confidence motion was filed by the opposition against the Government led by the Social-Democrat Victor Ponta. The Liberals say the Prime Ministers indictment for forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering risks affecting the image of Romania, and hence the Prime Minister must step down. Some 180 MPs have signed the motion, of which 176 are Liberals and four represent the group of independent MPs or deputies of the National Group of Democrats. In order to pass, the motion needs at least 276 votes. Parliament is scheduled to vote the no-confidence motion next Tuesday.




    Joint session of the Governments of Romania and the Republic of Moldova



    Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his Moldovan counterpart Valeriu Strelet met on Tuesday in the eastern city of Neptun during a new joint session of the two countrys Governments. Victor Ponta said Romania planned to give Moldova some 150 million euros in a refundable loan over the next five years, as well as non-reimbursable financial assistance for its future projects. The Romanian official also said that the inter-connection of the two countries power and natural gas grids represents a strategic effort, which must be continued so that the Republic of Moldova might achieve energy self-sufficiency. The two officials also discussed the possibility of carrying on projects in other fields, such as transport, environment, healthcare and education.






    Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on a visit to USA


    Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is paying an official visit to the United States until September 29. The President met in New York with American investors, whom he invited to do business in Romania, a country with a good potential of becoming a key player in the regional energy market. Iohannis pointed out that although the security issue is underlying the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States, the economic dimension of bilateral relations has the potential of becoming a landmark of cooperation as well. According to the president, in the last five years two-way trade nearly doubled, standing at 2 billion dollars in 2014. We hope this upward trend will continue, so that the United States should become one of Romanias leading investors, Klaus Iohannis said. Apart from the capital market or the energy sector, the president mentioned other fields of Romanian economy with a good investment potential, such as transport, the car-making industry, telecommunications and IT, medial services or agriculture. The presidents agenda over the coming days includes his participation in the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York and in the Summit on countering the Islamic State terrorist group. In Washington, Klaus Iohannis will meet with US Vice-president Joe Biden to discuss the prospect of consolidating the Strategic Partnership between the two states.

  • September 21, 2015 UPDATE

    September 21, 2015 UPDATE

    The ruling coalition in Romania Monday decided to continue to support the Social Democrat Victor Ponta as PM. His situation was analysed by the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, after on Thursday the anti-corruption prosecutors formally indicted him for offences committed prior to his appointment as prime minister, when he was a lawyer. Victor Ponta faces charges of forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering, in a corruption case involving contracts signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies. Ponta has repeatedly denied the charges. Meanwhile, the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in Romania, Monday tabled a no-confidence motion on the governments lack of credibility as a result of Prime Minister Victor Pontas legal problems. The motion will be read out in Parliament on Wednesday, and the vote is scheduled for September 29. For the motion to pass, it needs 276 votes in Parliament. The proceedings against the prime minister and four other individuals, including the Social Democrat Senator Dan Sova, were initiated on Monday at Romanias Supreme Court.



    A joint meeting of the cabinets of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will be held on Tuesday in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Neptun. According to a news release issued by the Romanian government, special attention will be given to ways to carry on energy infrastructure projects, to ensure the inter-connection of the national electricity and natural gas systems. Other joint projects, in the field of transportation, agriculture, healthcare and education, will also be discussed. During the joint meeting, talks will also focus on the financial difficulties that the Republic of Moldova is experiencing, on Chisinaus efforts to stabilise the banking system and to sign an agreement with the IMF. On the other hand, Romania will reiterate its strong support for Moldovas European accession efforts.



    The Romanian deputy PM and Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, takes part on Tuesday in Brussels in an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council focusing on the migration issue. He announced that Romania stands by its position as regards the number of migrants it can receive, namely 1,785 people, and if a vote is held, Romania will vote against mandatory relocation quotas. On Wednesday, also in Brussels, a special summit of the EU heads of state and government will be held, in an attempt to find solutions to the current migrant crisis in Europe. Many EU countries, particularly the central and east-European ones, oppose the mandatory redistribution of the 160 thousand migrants. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on EU leaders to share the responsibility for the most serious migration crisis since the Second World War.



    The Romanian authorities are making preparations for the possible arrival of refugees in Romania. According to the interior ministry, an exercise is carried out in the western county of Timis, near the border with Serbia, related to the creation of temporary refugee camps. These military-type shelters are guarded by security forces and may accommodate hundreds of people. Meanwhile, the Romanian interior ministry Monday tabled a bill imposing harsher penalties for migrant smugglers. The bill increases the minimum penalty from 3 to 5 years in prison and the maximum one from 10 to 12 years. The proceeds from people trafficking operations are also to be seized. This initiative is designed to deter the recruitment, transport and people smuggling across the Romanian border.



    Romanias president Klaus Iohannis Monday received the new US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, who also had a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. According to the Foreign Ministry, the two discussed the bilateral political and military cooperation, means to broaden the economic cooperation, and aspects related to regional stability and security, with a focus on developments in Romanias neighbouring regions. Hans Klemm said that during his term he would focus on developing Romanian-American economic ties and providing assistance to Romania in the fight against corruption. Mark Gittenstein was the latest US ambassador to serve in Romania, his term ending in December 2012. Since then, the US embassy in Bucharest has been run by a charge daffaires.



    The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Monday called on the radical left-wing Syriza partys Alexis Tsipras, elected PM on Sunday, to maintain the stability of the country and comply with the reform calendar undertaken by Greece. Alexis Tsipras left-wing Syriza party won Sundays early elections in Greece, and will have 145 out of the 300 seats in Parliament, according to the final vote count. The Conservative leader Vangelis Meimarakis, Tsipras main rival, whose party will have 75 seats in Parliament, has conceded defeat. Alexis Tsipras said he would try to form a new ruling coalition together with the small right-wing Independent Greeks Party (10 seats in Parliament) in order to implement Greeces third bailout agreed in July in exchange for 86 billion euros.