Radio România Internațional

Tag: Orban

The Week in Review (03-09.02.2020)

“Le roi est mort, vive le roi!”

The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban — the PM dismissed on Wednesday through a motion of no confidence following the vote of 261 MPs from Bucharest, was again designated, only one day after removal, to occupy the PM position and form a new government by the right wing president Klaus Iohannis. Fresh from marathon talks with the representatives of all parliamentary parties and groups, the Romanian president announced his decision and expressed his wish to hold early parliamentary elections.

Klaus Iohannis: “Returning to the voters is the correct solution. To put it simply, returning to the electorate means early elections. And holding early elections is my first option.”

But, for holding early elections, Parliament should reject two consecutive proposals for prime minister. Until then, according to the Constitution, the candidate to the PM position must ask, within 10 days from his designation, for Parliament’s vote of confidence on his program and government membership. Ludovic Orban said he would maintain the ministers of the former cabinet, because he is contented with their activity, and since the National Liberal Party is in favor of early elections, the Liberals decided to reject any proposal for a new government.

Ludovic Orban: “There is no party holding an absolute majority in Parliament on its own, therefore it’s the president who decides on the candidate for the position of PM. From my point of view, I believe we can have early elections.”

Until holding a vote in Parliament for the second Orban government, the interim leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu, announced he was considering notifying the Constitutional Court in relation to the designation of the outgoing PM Ludovic Orban as the new PM: “After obtaining the largest number of votes ever in Parliament for a no confidence motion, I doubt that the re-designation of Ludovic Orban as PM is legal. I am not an expert in constitutional matters, but we’ll certainly ask for clarifications until getting a vote in Parliament.”

In the no confidence motion, the Social Democrats alongside the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania accuse the Orban government of having infringed on the democratic principles, because they preferred assuming responsibility for the law on the election of mayors in two rounds of voting only a few months ahead of the local elections, out of political reasons and not in the interest of citizens.

According to the Social Democratic Party, the first Orban government violated decisions of the Constitutional Court and recommendations of the European institutions. The Liberals argued, however, that returning to the election of mayors in two rounds will give them more legitimacy and representation. Anticipating the scenario of a defeat during Wednesday’s vote, one evening earlier, the first Orban cabinet adopted a record number of emergency decrees, namely 25, of which some were vehemently contested by part of the public opinion in Romania.

International reactions to the sacking of the Orban cabinet

Romania’s latest political developments did not go unnoticed by the international press. According to Radio Free Europe, the Orban cabinet fell after only 3 months in office, through a no-confidence vote initiated by the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) and endorsed by a Parliament majority made up of the PSD, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and Pro Romania. The total number of yes-votes stood at 261, exceeding even the PSD estimates.

The situation was caused by several mistakes, which enraged both the Social Democrats and also the parties that used to back the Orban cabinet. In turn, Deutsche Welle believes the present political crisis in Romania looks more like an endless political loop and not a real chance to a fresh start. Bloomberg, Euronews, the New York Times, Le Monde, Le Figaro, La Croix, Courrier International, La Libre Belgique have also covered Romania’s latest political crisis and so have the Al Jazeera TV channel in English as well as several sites such as euractiv.com, euobserver.com and politico.eu.

Flu epidemic and coronavuris

Against the background of an increasing number of flu-related deaths, authorities on Thursday declared a flu epidemic in Romania. According to the National Center for the Control and Supervision of Communicable Diseases, the number of infections has doubled as compared to previous estimates and to the number registered last week and the flu virus has been confirmed in 60% of the cases tested. Officials have cautioned against the flu infections, which is likely to maintain its upward trend in the following weeks, but this is not unexpected as many people have not been vaccinated. The Romanian authorities have also given assurances they have taken all the protection measures against the coronavirus.

Winter has finally arrived in Romania

After more than two months of warm, spring-like weather, most of Romania’s territory has this week been hit by a wave a cold weather with snowfalls and blizzard. Road, rail, maritime and air traffic has been disrupted and many towns and villages have been left without electricity. Gale-force winds have broken down trees and destroyed roofs. The extreme weather phenomena have prompted the authorities to close down schools. And speaking about winter and extreme weather conditions, we cannot wrap up this programme without mentioning the performance obtained by a 45 year old Romanian, Tiberiu Useriu, who has come second in the Yukon Arctic Ultra race, staged every year close to the Arctic Circle. Tibi Useriu has covered the 500 kilometer distance in 7 days and 33 minutes. Yukon Arctic Ultra is a tougher race than 6633 Arctic Ultra, Tibi managed to win three years in a row. (translation by L. Simion and D. Bilt)

8 February 2020
February 8, 2020

Government – The PM designate of Romania, Ludovic Orban, announced he would submit, on Monday, in Parliament the list of ministers and an updated governing program with a view to starting procedures for the investment of a new government. The announcement came after President Klaus Iohannis designated the Liberal leader to from 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 assume responsibility for a bill on returning to the election of mayors in two rounds of voting, only a few months ahead of the elections. The Romanian president also reiterated his opinion that holding early elections was the best option for Romania at the moment. The interim leader of the PSD Marcel Ciolacu said he was considering notifying the Constitutional Court over the re-designation of the outgoing PM Ludovic Orban as the new PM. To call early elections the Parliament should reject two proposals of PM designate.

USR — The political committee of the Save Romania Union party (USR) represented in the Romanian Parliament and the National Council of PLUS, led by the former PM and European Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, are meeting today in separate meetings to decide on a merger. The USR deputy Ionut Mosteanu pointed out that the national bureaus proposed that a merger congress should take place in July, but the decision lies with the leaderships of the two parties. In another development, following internal elections, 91% of the USR members voted for their party to be positioned on the center-right side of the political spectrum. The referendum called at the initiative of the USR president Dan Barna unfolded for 7 days starting on February 1.

Flu — 23 Romanians have so far died of the flu since the beginning of the flu season. The latest flu victims are two women and three men aged between 26 and 67. They all suffered from other diseases and had not been allegedly vaccinated. On Thursday the Romanian healthcare authorities officially declared a flu epidemic. More than 16 thousand pupils from across Romania are affected by the partial or full suspension of classes due to the flu. Experts say that the upward trend of flu cases will be maintained in the coming weeks, since lots of Romanians have not got a flu shot.

Tennis – The matches pitting the Romanian and Russian teams in the playoff of the Fed Cup World Group continue Saturday in the northwestern Romanian town of Cluj Napoca. In the singles competition Ana Bogdan will play against Ekaterina Alexandrova and Elena Gabriela Ruse against Veronika Kudermetova while in the doubles the pair Irina Bara/Raluca Olaru will be up against Ana Blinkova/Ana Kalinskaia. On Friday evening, after the first day of competition, the two teams were on a par with the same number of points 1-1. The Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse (166 WTA) was defeated in 2 sets by Ekaterina Alexandrova (28 WTA), and Ana Bogdan (90 WTA) won against the Russian Veronika Kudermetova (38 WTA) in 3 sets. The winning nations will advance to the inaugural Fed Cup Finals in Budapest scheduled for April 14 to 19.

Rugby — Romania’s national rugby team is playing today against Portugal, away from home, in the 2nd round of the Rugby Europe Championship, after having been defeated in the first round by Georgia. This is the 25th match between Romania and Portugal, with the Romanians winning 21 of the 24 matches played since 1967. In the 3rd round of the Rugby Europe Championship, Romania will take on Spain on February 22 in Botosani, northeastern Romania.(translation by L. Simion)

8 February 2020
Orban Cabinet out: what comes next?

Criticised by his political opponents for trying to change the election laws without proper parliamentary debate just months ahead of the local elections, the Liberal PM Ludovic Orban Wednesday failed the test of a no-confidence motion tabled against his team. The 4th government since the 2016 parliamentary election and the first Liberal government in the same period only lasted for 3 months in power.

The Social Democrats, now in opposition following a no-confidence motion passed in October, joined forces with Pro Romania, the party headed by the former prime minister Victor Ponta, and, also backed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, came up with more than enough votes to bring the Orban Government down.

The stakes are high: the voting system for the forthcoming local election. The current format, with only one round of voting, favours the big parties, including the Social Democrats. And although its approval rates are declining, the Social Democratic Party continues to have the largest number of seats in Parliament and the largest number of mayors in the country. So the change in the voting system pushed forth by the Liberal Party would first and foremost affect the Social Democrats.

In turn, the National Liberal Party, whose number of supporters has almost doubled since 2016 to around 47% according to opinion polls, also has a substantial number of mayors, but says a 2-round election system would ensure more legitimacy to local officials.

The fall of the Orban Cabinet also paves the way to early elections, a scenario that both the Liberal Party and president Klaus Iohannis favour at present. According to president Iohannis, turning to voters is, at present, the most reasonable solution for the country. But the procedure for holding early elections is rather complicated, according to the Constitution. For the president to be able to dismantle Parliament, 2 prime minister nominations must be rejected within the coming 60 days.

This outcome is desirable for both the Liberals and the Social Democrats, for different reasons, says political analyst Cristian Pirvulescu. As he put it, “the Social Democratic Party found itself in a position to choose the lesser evil, between the 2-round voting in local elections and early parliamentary elections.

Another political analyst, Radu Magdin, agrees that the current result is good for the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians as well. “The Liberals target a 35% score in the parliamentary election, which is quite likely in the current circumstances, whereas the Social Democrats and the Ethnic Hungarian party focus on keeping the single-round voting for mayors. “Beyond going through the motions of political competition, Radu Magdin also says, this result also indicates heavy backstage negotiations. And the only party that stands to lose, according to opinion polls, is the 3rd placed actor, the USR-PLUS alliance.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

6 February 2020
February 6, 2020

TALKS Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis is today having talks with Parliament parties summoned
after the sacking of the Liberal cabinet led by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban.
The Legislature on Wednesday endorsed a censure motion tabled by the opposition
Social Democrats backed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania
after the cabinet had assumed responsibility for returning to the two-round
voting system in the upcoming local election. PSD and Pro Romania, a group
created by Social-Democratic dissidents, have announced their endorsement for
the same candidate, Remus Pricopie, a former minister in the Ponta cabinet. The
Liberals who want snap election have announced their support for their leader
Ludovic Orban, while the USR has announced it will nominate the former technocratic Prime
Minister Dacian Ciolos. UDMR will not have their own candidate. President
Iohannis who is also in favour of early election, says that he wants a
government with a reforming agenda formed around the National Liberal Party. According
to the president the PSD does not want reforms and recommended them to stay in
opposition.

WEATHER
The sky is overcast in
Romania’s south-east and snowfalls are still expected tonight in the country’s northern
and eastern regions. The highs of the day range between -3 and 7 degrees
Celsius with a noon reading in Bucharest of 2 degrees. The snowfalls and
blizzard last night caused disruptions in road, rail and air traffic. Some regions have been left without
electricity and schools have been closed down.

VIRUS A ship with 17 Romanians on board has been quarantined in the Japanese
port of Yokohama, after several cases of cornoavirus infections were reported,
the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has today announced. According to the same
sources, the Romanian embassy in Tokyo has been notified by the Foreign Ministry
in Japan. Out of the Romanians on board, two are tourists and 15 crew. Romania’s
consulate in Hong Kong has asked for information from the local authorities on
the situation of the Romanians on board of a ship moored in that port. No case
of coronoavirus infection has been reported in Romania so far.

TENNIS The timetable of the games part of the FedCup contest
pitting the teams of Romania against Russia is to be set today. This coming
Friday and Saturday, the northwestern Romanian town of Cluj-Napoca will play
host to the matches counting towards the qualification for a final tournament,
to be held in Budapest over April 14 and 19. The worlds’ number 2 tennis player,
Simona Halep, said that this year she won’t play for Romania in the FedCup
since she will focus on participating in the Tokyo Olympics, where she keeps
her hopes high for winning a medal, so Romania’s team for the match against
Russia includes only two top 100 tennis players, WTA 98th-placed Ana
Bogdan and Raluca Olaru, who is 48th placed according to the same
rankings. Save for one player, the Russian team is made up only of top 100
tennis players. It is the first time Romania faces Russia in the FedCUp. We
recall that in the past, Romania lost both World Group matches against the
former USSR.

ACQUITTAL
The White House has hailed the acquittal of president Donald Trump at the end
of his impeachment trial saying that the president is not guilty and denouncing
once again what it calls a witch hunt masterminded by his political opponents.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnel has called the impeachment of president
Trump ‘a colossal political mistake’ while United States House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi said ‘president Trump remains a threat to American democracy’. The
Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit president Trump, 52-48 on charges of abuse
of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress.

(translated by bill)

6 February 2020
Romania’s government between motions and ordinances

Three months since its coming to
power, the National-Liberal cabinet led by Ludovic Orban is today taking its
first major test against a censure motion tabled by the opposition PSD and
UDMR.

The interim head of the Social
Democrats (PSD), Marcel Ciolacu, has voiced his conviction the present motion
will be adopted by senators and deputies.

The document must be endorsed by
233 MPs, which means half plus one out of the total number of the elected MPs,
and the text has so far been signed by only 208 PSD and UDMR MPs.

Under the title ‘the Orban/PNL
government – the privatization of the Romanian democracy’, the document
initiators are accusing the government of violating democratic principles by
assuming responsibility for returning to the two-round election of mayors only
months ahead the upcoming election.

According to the leftist
opposition, the Orban cabinet should immediately step down for having violated
Constitutional Court rulings as well as recommendations from the European
institutions out of political reasons and not in the interest of citizens.
Backed by their USR and PMP partners, the Liberals say that coming back to the
two-round system increases the legitimacy and representation of the mayors and
is wanted by 80% of the Romanians.

Prime Minister Orban believes the
censure motion is unlikely to get Parliament endorsement. The cabinet has also
taken measures for a worst-case scenario. Last night they passed a series of
emergency ordinances, which a sacked government with limited prerogatives could
not promote.

One of the aforementioned documents
cuts the deadline for election calling down to 45 days. It also regulates
national voting on supplementary lists and extends the period of voting for the
Romanian voters abroad to three days. Under the same regulations, the number of
MPs representing the Romanians abroad has doubled to 12.

According to analysts, right-wing
parties, already the main favourites in the opinion polling, are thus
increasing their chances because the Romanians abroad are usually voting against
the Social Democrats, as the latter had constantly hindered their voting in the
previous election rounds.

Sacking the Orban cabinet would be
a first step towards early election as the PNL, USR and president Klaus
Iohannis want but in order for these to take place, Parliament will have to
turn down two Prime Minister proposals. Analysts believe that a Parliament
reshuffle is necessary because the present configuration with 40% PSD and the
22% PNL no longer reflects the voters present options.

(translated by bill)

5 February 2020
05.02.2020

Motion de censure – La motion de censure initiée par le PSD, dopposition, contre le gouvernement libéral de Ludovic Orban est soumise au vote du Parlement de Bucarest. Les signataires du document, soient les parlementaires issus du PSD et de lUDMR, accusent le cabinet Orban davoir transgressé les principes démocratiques en engageant sa responsabilité pour faire adopter une nouvelle loi qui réintroduit les élections des maires en deux tours de scrutin. LExécutif a approuvé mardi plusieurs décrets durgence. Un dentre eux prévoit de nouvelles lois pour les élections anticipées, dont un délai de 50 jours de convocation du scrutin, contre 90 jours antérieurement, le vote sur des listes complémentaires à léchelle nationale et une durée de trois jours pour le vote à l‘étranger. Dans le domaine de lEducation, a été approuvé le remboursement des frais de transport pour les élèves, lélargissement du programme Repas chaud et des hausses salariales pour les enseignants. En ce qui concerne la Santé, le document prévoit la possibilité pour les patients dopter, sans frais supplémentaires, pour le système médical privé ou pour celui public pour se faire soigner.

Prix – Le président de la Roumanie, Klaus Iohannis, a reçu, mercredi, à Bucarest, une délégation du Conseil directeur de la Société pour la remise du prix international « Charlemagne » de la ville allemande dAix – la – Chapelle. Les discussions ont porté sur le programme des cérémonies qui auront lieu à Aix – la – Chapelle, le 21 mai prochain, lorsque le chef de lEtat roumain se verra remettre le prix international pour lunité de lEurope 2020. Le Conseil directeur de la Société mentionnée a décidé de « récompenser les mérites du président de la Roumanie, remarquable promoteur des valeurs européennes, de la liberté et de la démocratie, de la protection des minorités nationales et de la diversité culturelle, personnalité qui a contribué de manière essentielle à la consolidation de lEtat de droit et à la défense de lindépendance du système judiciaire – soit une pré-condition fondamentale pour le progrès de lintégration européenne ».

Le prix Charlemagne est décerné chaque année à Aix-la –Chapelle aux personnalités publiques ou aux organisations sétant fait remarquer grâce à leur implication en faveur de lunité européenne ou de la coopération entre les Etats membres. La distinction est accordée à la mémoire de lempereur Charlemagne, fondateur de lempire carolingien, premier empereur reconnu en Europe occidentale après la chute de lEmpire ottoman dOccident. Il a régné et a été enterré à Aix – la- Chapelle.

Visite – Les Roumains nécessitant une transplantation pulmonaire pourront être admis au prestigieux Hôpital universitaire de Foch, en France, a fait savoir le ministre roumain de la Santé, Victor Costache, qui effectue une visite à Paris, du 4 au 6 février. Les ministères roumain et français envisagent de signer une mémorandum dentente, prévoyant détablir des partenariats et des échanges dexpérience et de bonnes pratiques dans plusieurs secteurs de lassistance médicale. Pendant sa visite en France, le ministre Victor Costache rencontrera aussi des médecins roumains qui travaillent en France.

Coronavirus – Le Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, directeur général de l’OMS, a déclaré quil est encore temps dempêcher que le nouveau coronavirus devienne une crise globale. Il a précisé que lépidémie est tout dabord une priorité pour la Chine et que la gestion du problème au niveau de lépicentre est la meilleure solution pour endiguer la propagation du virus. Au niveau mondial, le nombre des décès provoqués par linfection au coronavirus est arrivé à près de 500, tandis que celui des cas confirmés sélève à 24 mille. Le gouvernement de Bucarest a approuvé mardi, par décret durgence, la création de stocks de matériels durgence médicale en cas dépidémie, les mesures visant à instituer la quarantaine et lachat de scanners thermiques qui seront installés dans les 16 aéroports du pays.

Météo – Les températures ont baissé et des chutes de neige sont attendues, dabord dans les régions de montagne, ensuite sur l’ensemble du territoire. Les météorologues ont émis trois vigilances – jaune, orange et rouge- aux chutes de neige, aux tempêtes de neige et aux fortes rafales de vent, valables jusquà jeudi matin pour la quasi-totalité du pays. Les maximas iront de -2° à 9°. Il faisait 5° à midi dans la capitale, Bucarest.

5 February 2020
February 4, 2020 UPDATE

MOTION The leadership of Parliament in Bucharest has decided that the
censure motion tabled by the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) against the
Liberal government be subjected to debates and voted upon on Wednesday
afternoon. The PSD move comes after the government led by Prime Minister
Ludovic Orban assumed responsibility for a draft law on returning to the
two-round election of mayors. Signed by 208 MPs, the motion was read on Monday
before Parliament in plenary session. According to the signatories, the
government must be dismissed for having amended the election law shortly before
the upcoming election, which runs against Constitutional Court rulings and
recommendations from European institutions. In order for the government to be
sacked, the motion needs to be endorsed by 233 MPs.

VISIT Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be meeting the European
Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on Friday. According to the
Romanian presidential administration, the meeting will focus on negotiations
over the 2021-2027 EU budget. This is part of a string of meetings that the
president of the European Council is having with leaders of the EU member
states with a view to preparing the extraordinary summit on February 20th,
devoted to the next multi-annual budget.

RESERVES The Romanian Central
Bank’s currency reserves have increased by 8% as against last year. According
to data provided by the bank, the level of the gold reserve has remained at
103.6 tonnes, worth some 5 billion Euros. At the end of last month, the bank’s
hard currency reserve stood at 35.5 billion Euros, as compared to little under
32 billion in late 2019. The increase is due mainly to the collection of 3
billion Euros resulting from the Euro bonds emissions placed two weeks ago. Experts
say that, because of the size of its economy, Romania cannot place itself among
the Europe countries with large international reserves, but its reserve is
consolidated.

(translated by bill)

4 February 2020
February 2, 2020

VIRUS Authorities in the
Philippines have reported the first person killed by the cornoavirus outside
China. According to official reports the victim was a 44 year old Chinese
citizen coming from Wuhan, the place where the virus was initially detected.
Authorities in Beijing have today announced the virus death toll has exceeded
300 and the army will be deploying 14 hundred of its medical personnel to help
contain the spreading and treat patients in the newly built hospital in the
province of Hubei. The number of contaminated people has reached 14,400 most of
them living in the province where the virus emerged, which has now been
reported in over 20 other countries including European. South Korea, the United
States and Australia have announced they may ban the access of all people
coming from China irrespective of their nationality, a temporary measure aimed at
limiting its spreading. No victims have been reported in Romania so far but last
week, the new coronavirus was declared a global emergency by the World Health
Organisation who specified though that there was no reason to limit trade or travel
to China.

MEETING Romania’s Prime Minister Ludovic Orban attended the Friends of
Cohesion meeting in Portugal, an event that brought together heads of state
and government and ministers from its members as well as commissioners in
charge of budget issues and cohesion policy. In his address during the meeting,
the Romanian official highlighted the importance of adopting an ambitious
budget capable of offering the union the necessary resources for meeting the objectives
on its strategic agenda. The budget must also be realistic in terms of ensuring
a balance between the growth objectives it has to meet and the response to Europe’s
new challenges. Orban also reiterated Romania’s support for reaching as soon as
possible a political agreement on the future European budget, which must allow
for the commencement of the next EU-funded programmes and projects in due time.
The participants have signed a joint statement pledging to leave unaltered the
EU funds destined to Europe’s less developed regions.

MOTION The censure motion against the Liberal
government in Bucharest tabled by the opposition PSD will be presented to
Parliament on Monday. The Social Democrats’ move was decided after the
Executive led by Ludovic Orban had assumed responsibility for a project on
reintroducing the two-round election of mayors, almost half a year before the
event. According to the Social Democrats, the present government must step down
for its decision to amend the election law right before the event, which runs
against European standards and also for endorsing the new amendments
unilaterally without talks and debates over the project. According to the
president of the Chamber of Deputies and PSD interim leader Marcel Ciolacu, ‘we
are currently facing the severest crisis of abuse of power’. The Liberals,
however, argue that the new system of voting will increase the candidates’
representation and legitimacy. The Social Democrats say the motion could get
endorsed by 233 MPs standing chances to clear the threshold. Prime Minister
Orban says he is ready for any result and that his objectives are to ensure a
stable governance and win the future local and parliament election.

BREXIT EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier is expected to make public on
Monday his negotiation plan for the future relations the bloc is going to have
with the UK. The Europeans have pledged fair but firm negotiations. None of the
73 British MEPs elected last year in May will be allowed to participate in Parliament
works beginning on Monday. 46 mandates have been reserved for the EU’s future
members, while 27 will be distributed among the other members. Nor will British
citizens be allowed to serve in other EU official jobs and some of them have
applied for double citizenship to keep their jobs. The UK left the European
Union on Friday night after 47 years of membership being the first member to leave
the bloc since its foundation. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has voiced
Romania’s regret over Britain’s decision to leave the bloc but he hopes the
country will remain a close partner and a trustworthy ally sharing the same
values. Bucharest has as its key priority the protection of legitimate rights and
interests of the Romanian citizens working or studying in the UK, Iohannis has
also added.

FILM Romanian director Radu Ciorniciuc’s film
‘Acasa, My Home’ reaped the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the
Sundance Film Festival in the USA. According to the organizers, the prize went
to Mircea Topoleanu and Radu Ciorniciuc for their ‘fluid and tenacious
camerawork’. The film was one of the 12 titles selected out of 14 thousand
productions from the world over vying for a prize in the famous independent
film festival. Ciorniciuc’s film introduces viewers to the biggest urban delta
in Europe, the Vacaresti Nature Park in Romania’s capital Bucharest, through
the eyes of a gypsy family living in the middle of the wetlands.

(translated by bill)

2 February 2020
January 31, 2020

BREXIT Tonight at midnight, Brussels’ time, the UK becomes the
first state to leave the European Union since its foundation. Its economy
accounted for 15% of the union’s and London is the world’s financial capital.
The UK was also the EU country with the biggest defence budget. The kingdom joined
the EU in 1973, 16 years after the Rome treaty had been signed and 22 years
after the setting up of the European Community of Coal and Steel by France,
West Germany, Italy and Benelux. Two years ago, the UK decided through a
referendum to leave the EU, a move, which kicked off a complicated process of
negotiations fraught with numerous interior blockages, which led to two rounds
of snap election. The transition period, which starts this Saturday, is going
to end late this year, when the UK hopes to have reached consensus over a
series of aspects in its future relation with the EU. One of the most important
is a trade agreement aimed at preventing a series of taxes and duties that may
occur in the trade relations between the two sides. During his meeting with the
British business community in Romania, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has voiced
his support for tight relations between the EU and the UK in the future.

POVERTY Romania has made headway in reducing poverty among its employed
persons, the EU statistics office Eurostat has announced today. Nevertheless, in
2018 the country was the EU member with the highest risk of poverty among its
employed, 15.3% against a European average of 9.5. At the opposite end, with
the lowest degree of poverty among employed persons, are Finland, the Czech
Republic, Ireland, Belgium and Croatia. The Eurostat data shows an increasing
trend of poverty among the people with jobs all throughout the European Union,
but the sharpest drops have been seen in Greece, Latvia and Romania.

VIRUS No infection with coronavirus has been confirmed in Romania so
far, the ministerial committee for the management and monitoring of the
potential infections with the new virus has announced. Prevention measures have
been put in place in airports and medical units designated for the treatment of
possible infection cases. The National Authority for Consumer Protection in
Romania has given assurances that there is no contamination risk from goods
imported from China since the virus has a lifespan of 24 hours outside the
human body, and it takes around 35 days to transport goods from China to
Romania. The World Health Organisation has declared the new coronavirus a
global emergency as the death toll in China stands at 213.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team on Saturday take on the similar
team of Georgia. The fixture counts towards the inaugural leg of the Rugby
Europe Championship 2020, the former European Cup of Nations, with Europe’s
second-tier teams taking part. A 33-strong Romanian delegation has travelled to
Georgia, with the pool of regulars being affected by a couple of rugby players
being absent, because of the flu. For the upcoming competition in Tbilisi, a
new head-coach is at the helm of the Romanian delegation, the English Andy
Robinson, whose debut with the Romanian team is the very game against Georgia.
In a week’s time, Romania travels to Portugal, for a fixture against the
Portuguese national side. The 2020 edition of the Rugby Europe Championship is
an interesting and especially a very balanced one, all the more so as Georgia
and Russia participated in the most recent edition of the World Cup. Also,
Romania and Spain are dead set to secure a place in the upcoming world-level
competition, while the game pitting Belgium against Portugal is simply a
survival of the fittest.

MOTION The
censure motion against the Liberal government in Bucharest tabled by the
opposition PSD will be presented to Parliament on Monday. The Social Democrats’
move was decided after the Executive led by Ludovic Orban had assumed
responsibility for a project on reintroducing the two-round election of mayors,
almost half a year before the event. According to the Social Democrats, the
present government must step down for its decision to amend the election law
right before the event, which runs against European standards and also for
endorsing the new amendments unilaterally without talks and debates over the
project. According to the president of the Chamber of Deputies and PSD interim
leader Marcel Ciolacu, ‘we are currently facing the severest crisis of abuse of
power’. The Liberals, however, argue that the new system of voting will
increase the candidates’ representation and legitimacy. The Social Democrats
say the motion could get endorsed by 233 MPs standing chances to clear the
threshold. Prime Minister Orban says he is ready for any result and that his
objectives are to ensure a stable governance and win the future local and
parliament election.

(translated by bill)

31 January 2020
Legislative regulations contested

Romania’s new Liberal government
led by Ludovic Orban, which came to power in November upon the sacking of
Viorica Dancila’s PSD cabinet through a no-confidence vote, has proved its
vulnerability. The Liberals, who have only 20% MPs, have soon realized that
even the backing they can get from their USR and PMP partners may not allow
them to promote their projects.

Depending on the punctual and
selective support of a conjectural majority, the Executive in Bucharest
preferred to repeatedly assume responsibility for a series of legislative
amendments. The latest, on returning to the two-round voting system for mayors,
has sparked off debates once again.

As other voices in Romania’s
political life and civil society, Prime Minister Orban argues that the latest
amendments to voting legislation has been imposed by the necessity to increase
the mayors’ legitimacy. The present system, under which the candidate who
musters the largest number of votes in the first round wins the election, led
to strange situations as it happened in Galati, south-eastern Romania, where
the present mayor was voted by only 9% of the voters.

The Social-Democrats (PSD) have
blocked the draft in the special Parliament committee and have made public
their intention to table a censure motion, a move also backed by the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, which wants to preserve its political
monopoly in numerous cities and towns in Transylvania.

The PSD interim leader Marcel
Ciolacu says the Prime Minister shouldn’t have come before Parliament to assume
responsibility, after the Constitutional Court had already ruled the procedure
as unconstitutional when referring to documents under debates by the
Legislature. Ciolacu has added that if the censure motion fails to get the
right endorsement, the PSD will notify the Court.

The Social Democrats have also
reported the issue to the Venice Commission but the European Parliament has
turned down their request that the issue be discussed in plenary session in Strasbourg.

Another hot issue these days proves
to be the abrogation of the so-called special pensions, which is currently
opposing politicians to magistrates. On Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies passed
with a land-sliding majority of 247 yes-votes and none against, the elimination
of special pensions for MPs, judges, prosecutors and the auxiliary specialized
personnel of courts and prosecutor offices.

The move also affects the civil
servants with special statutes, members of the diplomatic and consular corps,
of the Constitutional Court as well as aviation personnel. All these categories
have benefited from pensions exceeding their work contributions, which were 15
times bigger than average pensions in Romania.

Judges with the High Court of
Cassation and Justice as well as the Higher Council of Magistracy decided to
notify the Constitutional Court. According to the magistrates the law on
scrapping special pensions would be entirely unconstitutional, brutally
infringing on the principles of democracy and inamovility of judges.

(translated by bill)

30 January 2020
January 29, 2020 UPDATE

PEACE PLAN Bucharest has taken note of the US peace plan for the Middle East
and is analyzing it, Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu says in a
message posted on a social network. Aurescu says that Romania supports the plan
based on the two-state solution and will try to participate in the dialogue
inside the EU and to promote diplomatic efforts with all the partners involved.
On Tuesday, the US president Donald Trump released the long-awaited Middle East
peace plan, which proposes a realistic two-state solution but was rejected by
the Palestinians. The plan promises to keep Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided
capital, an independent Palestinian state, and the recognition of Israeli
sovereignty over West Bank settlements. Under the plan some territories will be
ceded to the Palestinians who will have a capital in eastern Jerusalem. The
document also comprises security guarantees for Israel and economic stimulus
packages for the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates have hailed the US peace plan, which has been criticized by Jordan and
Turkey. The EU has reiterated its firm commitment to a negotiated and viable
two-state solution.

VIRUS The general director of the World Health Organisation on Thursday
summoned a fresh meeting of the committee on the new Chinese coronavirus to
decide whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency situation at
international level. Air
companies across the world have decided to suspend or decrease the number of
flights to continental China, following the spread of the coronavirus that has
killed 132 people so far. The total number of confirmed infections has reached
6,000. More and more countries have evacuated or are planning to evacuate their
citizens from the province of Wuhan, where the virus emerged. A Romanian
national has also asked to be evacuated from the affected area. Although
experts say the virus is not that lethal as SARS, its rapid spread and unknown
characteristics has triggered a lot of concern.

VOTE The Liberal government in Bucharest on Wednesday assumed
responsibility in Parliament for amending the law on returning to the two-round
voting system in the election of mayors. The National Liberal Party says the
move is meant to increase the candidates’ representation and according to the
country’s Liberal Prime Minister, Ludovic Orban, the present system limits the
citizens’ right to replace a mayor they aren’t satisfied with. The opposition Social-Democrats
say the election laws cannot be amended less than a year before the election, and
have announced their intention to table a censure motion. Since its coming to
office last November the new cabinet has repeatedly assumed responsibility for several
laws and amendments including the budget draft this year.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on Wednesday
got through to the semifinals of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand
Slam tournament. In the quarterfinals, it only took Halep 55 minutes to thrash
WTA 31st-placed tennis player, Estonian Annet Kontaveit, 6-1, 6-1.
Simona Halep’s run in the Melbourne tournament so far has been a win-all one. Halep’s
qualification for the semifinals brought her a cheque worth 1,040,000 AUD and
780 WTA points. It is the second time when Halep has made headway into the
Australian Open’s semifinals. We recall that Simona first reached the finals in
2018, when she was defeated by Danish challenger Caroline Wozniacki. Also in
2018, Halep won the Roland Garros, also winning the Wimbledon tournament in
2019. The Romanian will be next playing Spanish challenger Garbine Muguruza.

(translated by bill)

29 January 2020
Entscheidungen über große Infrastrukturprojekte

Mehr als 30 Jahre nach der antikommunistischen Revolution und fast 13 Jahre nach dem EU-Beitritt Rumäniens führt immer noch keine Autobahn durch die Karpaten. Ende 2019 hatte Rumänien nur 850 Kilometer Autobahn, 100 km davon waren zur Zeit Ceasescu gebaut worden. Einige wenige, mit Mühe und Not gebaute Autobahnabschnitte verbinden Rumänien mit den Nachbarstaaten, anstatt den Menschen eine schnellere Anreise in die Landeshauptstadt Bukarest zu ermöglichen oder ihnen die Fahrt an die Küste zu erleichtern. Dahinter steht die Gleichgültigkeit der Politiker, Bürokratie, aber auch das Auswahlverfahren der Bauherren, die gelinde gesagt, ihren finanziellen Gewinn optimieren wollen. Laut Statistik haben Liberale und Sozialdemokraten nach der Revolution von 1989 zu gleichen Teilen das Land regiert, entweder allein oder in Regierungskoalitionen. Keine der beiden Parteien kann jedoch dem Bau von Autobahnen vorzeigen. Stattdessen geben sie sich gegenseitig die Schuld, zumeist mit wahlstrategischen Behauptungen. Seit 2016, als sie in die Opposition gingen, kritisierten die Nationalliberalen die Sozialdemokraten scharf und warfen ihnen Inkompetenz vor. Im vergangenen Jahr nahm die ehemalige linke Regierung Verhandlungen über öffentlich-private Partnerschaften für den Bau von zwei Autobahnen auf. In einem Fall erhielt den Zuschlag ein chinesisch-türkischer Konzern, im anderen Fall hatten Unternehmen aus beiden Staaten, die in ihren Heimatländern, aber nicht in der Europäischen Union, große Bauvorhaben durchführen, Angebote abgegeben. Nach der Machtübernahme im vergangenen Jahr haben die Liberalen einen anderen, und zwar besseren Ansatz versprochen. Dementsprechend sind, laut einem Beschluss der liberalen Regierung vom vergangem Dienstag, die öffentlich-privaten Partnerschaften vom Tisch. Premierminister Ludovic Orban erklärte:

Unser Ziel ist klar: Wir werden alle laufenden Verfahren einstellen und diese Projekte den zuständigen Ministerien übertragen. Das Verkehrsministerium wird beispielsweise alle Verkehrsinfrastrukturprojekte übernehmen, während andere Fachministerien, andere Projekte übernehmen. Sie sind beauftragt ihre Umsetzungspläne innerhalb einer ein wöchigen Frist abzugeben, sodass wir über jeden Verfahrensschritt, den wir durchführen müssen, die Planung jeder einzelnen Projektphase und die Mittel, die wir für diese Projekte bereitstellen müssen, informiert sein werden, erklärte Premierminister Ludovic Orban.

Die Sozialdemokraten werfen den Liberalen nun vor, das Land 10 Jahre zurückzuversetzen, indem sie Machbarkeitsstudien vorschlagen, anstatt die Bauarbeiten für die beiden Autobahnen aufzunehmen. Der Direktor der Vereinigung Pro Infrastructura, Ionut Ciurea, hat kürzlich geschätzt, dass Rumänien in diesem Jahr höchstens lediglich 57 Kilometer neue Autobahn haben könnte, wenn man bedenkt, dass 2019 nur 43 Kilometer Autobahn gebaut wurden.

29 January 2020
Rumänien gedenkt der Opfer des Holocausts

Vor einem dreiviertel Jahrhundert, gegen Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs, wurden die letzten Häftlinge des Konzentrationslagers Auschwitz-Birkenau in besetzten Südpolen befreit. Dieses Lager, das als die finsterste Fabrik des Todes gilt, war 1940 speziell dafür konzipiert worden, reale oder imaginäre Feinde der Nazis auszuschalten. Es war zum Aushängeschild der sogenannten Endlösung“ geworden, mit der Hitlers Regime die Juden Europas zu vernichten suchte. Laut Statistik wurden in weniger als fünf Jahren in Auschwitz-Birkenau mehr als eine Million Menschen, meist Juden, getötet. Sechs Millionen Juden kamen im Zweiten Weltkrieg um, als Opfer Deutschlands und seiner Satelliten-Staaten. Mehrere Hunderttausend stammten aus Rumänien. Einige wurden vom deutschlandfreundlichen Regime des Marschalls Ion Antonescu nach Transnistrien deportiert. Andere wurden von ungarischen Faschisten, die einen Teil Siebenbürgens besetzten, direkt in die nationalsozialistischen Vernichtungslager geschickt. Religiöse und säkulare Zeremonien, Symposien, Filmvorführungen und Ausstellungen ehrten in diesem Jahr die Opfer des rumänischen Holocaust in Bukarest und in anderen Städten des Landes.

Der rumänische Ministerpräsident Ludovic Orban betonte am Montag bei der Teilnahme an den Auschwitz-Zeremonien, die unter der Schirmherrschaft des polnischen Präsidenten Andrzej Duda stattfanden, dass diese Zeremonien eine notwendige Übung des Gedenkens, des Mitgefühls und zur Aufrechterhaltung eines lebendigen Gewissens“ seien. Der rumänische Regierungschef ist der Ansicht, dass heute, 75 Jahre nach der Befreiung des Konzentrationslagers Auschwitz-Birkenau, die Welt im Kampf gegen Antisemitismus, Rassismus, Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Intoleranz vereint sein kann“. Er fügte hinzu, dass Rumänien allein, aber auch als Mitglied der Europäischen Union eine Politik der Toleranz, der Nichtdiskriminierung und des Friedens verfolgt und sich weiterhin aktiv für die Bewahrung der Erinnerung an den Holocaust einsetzt“. Aus aller Welt angereist, schlossen sich mehr als 200 Holocaust-Überlebende den politischen Vertretern vor Ort an.

Letzte Woche nahm der rumänische Präsident Klaus Iohannis, als einer von mehr als 50 Staats- und Regierungschefs, an dem internationalen Forum in Israel teil, das dem Gedenken an die Opfer des Holocaust gewidmet war. Präsident Iohannis hatte auch ein bilaterales Treffen mit seinem israelischen Amtskollegen Reuven Rivlin, den er versicherte, dass Rumänien sich weiterhin für die Bewahrung der Erinnerung an den Holocaust, den Kampf gegen Antisemitismus, die Bekämpfung der Diskriminierung und alle Formen von Gewalt einsetzen werde. Die Teilnahme des Präsidenten an dieser Veranstaltung ist Teil einer Reihe von Schritten, die der rumänische Staat unternommen hat, um europäische Werte, Toleranz und die Achtung der Grundrechte und -freiheiten zu fördern, sagte die Präsidialverwaltung in Bukarest.

27 January 2020
Sonderrenten sollen abgeschafft werden

Die Sonderrenten, die bestimmten Kategorien von Staatsbediensteten vor allem in der Justiz und der Armee zugute kommen, sind zu einem Zankapfel zwischen den wichtigsten politischen Parteien in Rumänien geworden. Im Gegensatz zu den regulären Renten basieren die Sonderrenten nicht auf dem Beitragsprinzip, was heftige Debatten ausgelöst hat und weiterhin auslöst, insbesondere in Bezug auf die oft übertriebene Höhe einiger der Sonderrenten, die in bestimmten Fällen mehrere tausend Euro erreicht.

Die Diskussionen wurden auch durch Haushaltszwänge angeheizt und intensiviert, da das Haushaltsdefizit bereits den von der EU akzeptierten Wert von 3 % überschritten hat. In diesem Zusammenhang hat der Premierminister und Vorsitzende der Liberalen Ludovic Orban angekündigt, dass seine Partei bereits die politische Entscheidung getroffen hat, einen Schritt zu unterstützen, nach dem die Renten auf der Grundlage des Beitragsprinzips berechnet werden, mit Ausnahme der Renten deer Armeeangehörigen gewährt werden.

Ludovic Orban: Das Beitragsprinzip ist das einzige gerechte und korrekte Prinzip, nach dem eine Person eine Rente erhält, und zwar entsprechend der Höhe der Beiträge während der Beschäftigungszeit, mit Ausnahme der Renten des öffentlichen Dienstes, die dem Militär gewährt werden“.

Der Premierminister fügte au‎ßerdem hinzu, dass die Liberalen dem Änderungsantrag eines sozialdemokratischen Abgeordneten nicht zustimmen könnten, wonach die Abschaffung der Sonderrenten auch für Sportler, Künstler und Wissenschaftler gelten sollte, da er dies für einen Exzess hält. Es ist noch nicht klar, ob die Richter weiterhin Sonderrenten erhalten werden.

Die Richter des Bukarester Landgerichts und des Berufungsgerichts haben beschlossen, ihre Tätigkeit ab Mittwoch auf unbegrenzte Zeit auszusetzen, da sie mit der Aussicht auf die Abschaffung ihrer Sonderrenten unzufrieden sind. Ihrem Beispiel folgten Richter anderer Berufungsgerichte aus ganz Rumänien. Die Justizaufsichtsbeamten trafen sich auch in einer Generalversammlung, um die Frage zu erörtern. Ihre Schlussfolgerung war, dass die Abschaffung der Sonderrenten verfassungswidrig sei und gegen den Grundsatz der Unabhängigkeit und Unabsetzbarkeit der Richter verstö‎ßt.

Der Interimspräsident der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Marcel Ciolacu ist der Ansicht, dass der Gesetzentwurf der Liberalen über die Abschaffung der Sonderrenten verfassungswidrig ist und dass die Liberalen ihn erst nach Gesprächen mit den von dieser Gesetzesänderung Betroffenen an die Sonderausschüsse zurückschicken sollten, um ihn zu ändern. Er räumte jedoch ein, dass die Sonderrenten in einigen Fällen höher ausfallen, als die während der Beschäftigungszeit erzielten Einnahmen, eine Situation, die es weltweit so nicht gibt.

Im Dezember verabschiedeten die Abgeordneten des Arbeitsausschusses einen positiven Bericht über den Gesetzentwurf zur Abschaffung der Sonderrenten, mit Ausnahme der Renten für den öffentlichen Dienst. Der Gesetzentwurf wird vom Plenum des Parlaments in einer au‎ßerordentlichen Sitzung am 28. Januar verabschiedet.

23 January 2020
Talks on special pensions

The special pensions benefiting certain categories of state employees mainly from the magistracy and the force structures have become a bone of contention between the main political parties in Romania. Unlike regular pensions, special pensions are not based on the contribution principle, which has sparked and continues to spark heated debates, especially in relation to the often exaggerated amount of some of the special pensions that in certain cases reaches several thousand Euros.

Discussions have also been fueled and intensified by budget constraints, given that the budget deficit has already exceeded the value of 3% accepted by the EU. In this context, the PM and Liberal leader Ludovic Orban has announced that his party has already made the political decision to support a move according to which pensions are calculated based on the contribution principle, except for the public service pensions granted to the military.

Ludovic Orban: “The principle of contribution is the only fair and correct principle according to which a person should receive a pension, namely in accordance with the amount contributed during the employment period, except for the public service pensions granted to the military.”

The PM also added that the Liberals could not agree with the amendment proposed by a Social Democrat MP according to which the elimination of special pensions should also apply to athletes, artists and scientists, as he considers this an excess. It is not yet clear if the magistrates will continue to benefit from special pensions.

The magistrates with the Bucharest Tribunal and the Court of Appeal decided to suspend their activity for an unlimited period of time, staring on Wednesday, as they are discontented with prospect of their special pensions being abrogated. Their example was followed by judges from other courts of appeal across Romania. Judicial inspectors also met in a general assembly to discuss the issue, their conclusion being that the elimination of special pensions is unconstitutional and infringes the principle of the judges’ independence and immovability.

The interim president of the Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu considers that the Liberals’ bill on the elimination of special pensions is unconstitutional and that the Liberals should send it back to the special committees to be altered only after discussions with those affected by this legislative change. He admitted, though that, in some cases, special pensions happen to be higher than the revenues obtained during the employment period, a situation that does not exist anywhere in the world.

In December the MPs with the labor committee passed a favorable report in relation to the bill on eliminating special pensions, except for the public service pensions. The bill will be voted by the plenum of Parliament meeting in an extraordinary session on January 28.

23 January 2020