Radio România Internațional

Tag: Orban Cabinet

  • Fiscal measures at the start of 2020

    Fiscal measures at the start of 2020

    On January 1 the laws on the state budget and social security budget for 2020, originally
    adopted on December 23 by the Government by taking responsibility in Parliament
    and subsequently ratified by President Klaus Iohannis, were published in the
    Official Gazette. The Social-Democrat speakers of the Senate and Chamber of
    Deputies have challenged the Government’s choice of method when adopting the
    two laws at the Constitutional Court. Magistrates are expecting the opinions
    from the Government and Parliament regarding a potential legal conflict in this
    matter.

    Interim Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu recently said that Liberal
    Prime Minister Ludovic Orban should resign if Court judges decide that the
    Government generated such a conflict. In turn, Prime Minister Orban said the Constitution
    has no provision preventing the Government from taking responsibility over the
    budget law, whereas invoking a constitutional conflict is just a subterfuge of
    the Social-Democrats. The budget was built on a 4.1% growth rate, an inflation
    rate of 3.1% and on an average exchange rate of 4.75 lei for a Euro. Convened
    in its first session in 2020, the Government passed an emergency decree
    modifying some of the provisions of the emergency decree 114, which in 2018
    introduced additional taxes for companies in the energy, telecommunications and
    banking sectors.

    The new decree allows for the implementation of certain
    measures included in the budget law for 2020. The new measures stipulate a cap
    on the allowances of high-ranking officials at the level of December, 2019, a
    one-year postponement of the law on special pensions for elected officials, a 30-euro
    cap for 1 point of fine for road traffic offences, and a ban on the temporary
    transfer of employees from the private to the public sector. Additional
    measures were adopted compelling private pension funds to supplement their
    capital and increase their administration fees. The 2% tax will be slashed for
    companies in the energy sector, in addition to taxes on banking assets.
    Although the Government was also planning to proscribe the accumulation of state-paid
    salaries and pensions, it finally decided to wait for the Constitutional Court
    to express its opinion in this matter. Finally, the Government gave assurances
    that the holiday vouchers for public sector employees will be distributed in
    2020 as well.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • November 4, 2019

    November 4, 2019

    VOTE -
    Parliament is today convening in a joint session to vote on the program and
    structure of the Liberal Government led by Ludovic Orban. The Orban Cabinet
    needs 233 votes to be sworn into office. Ludovic Orban has signed political
    agreements with Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians,
    the People’s Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and the
    group of national minorities. The Social-Democratic Party has chosen not to attend
    Monday’s vote, while the PRO Romania Party claims it will not vote the new
    government.

    NATO -
    The King Ferdinand Frigate of the Romanian Military Navy, joined by a Puma
    battleship and a unit of the Special Ops Navy Forces onboard, are taking part
    in the NATO-led Sea Guardian 19 military operation until Thursday. The frigate
    is carrying out missions to deter any illegal activities on the eastern flank
    of NATO and the EU, under maritime allied command. Today the frigate is making
    a stopover in the port of Haifa, Israel. The frigate has previously made stops
    in Askaz, southern Turkey, as well as in Alexandria, Egypt, where the crew met
    with members of the Romanian community in Egypt.

    ELECTION -
    The candidate of the Moldovan Socialist Party, Ion Ceban, has won the election
    for the Chisinau city hall in Sunday’s second round of local elections.
    According to preliminary results made public by the Central Election
    Commission, Ceban won 52% of the vote, while his main opponent, pro-European
    Andrei Nastase, won only 47% of the vote. The voter turnout stood at some 38%. The
    second round of the local election was held in 384 towns and villages in the
    Republic of Moldova, with total voter turnout close to 40%.

    PROTEST -
    Thousands protested on Sunday night in Bucharest and other cities across the
    country in the Forest Rally, staged to voice protest both with the rising death
    toll of forest rangers and against illegal logging. Representatives of
    environment NGOs claim conservationists and forest officers must call on the
    authorities to take effective measures that should put an end to illegal
    logging.

    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona
    Halep will end the season in 4th position in WTA standings. She
    climbed one spot in the tables after the WTA finals in Shenzhen, China, where
    she failed to qualify to the semi-finals after losing to Karolina Pliskova of
    the Czech Republic, world no. 2. Halep had ended 2017 and 2018 in the number
    one position in the standings. Romanian-born Canadian player Bianca Andreescu
    will finish her first season in the top 100 in 5th place. Romania
    has another two players in the top 100 at present: Sorana Cirstea (72) and
    Irina-Camelia Begu (99). Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, this year the winner of
    Roland Garros and the Shenzhen tournament, will end the season in top place,
    followed by Karolina Pliskova and Naomi Osaka of Japan.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)