Radio România Internațional

Tag: pensions

  • No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs

    No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs


    This is the last week of the present session of the Legislature in Bucharest, which decided not to go on holiday before finalizing some of the most sensitive bills – that on the elimination of the MPs special pensions and the reform of the public service pensions. The elimination of the special pensions for the MPs was endorsed on Monday with a landslide majority in a joint sitting of the two chambers, a sitting marked by speeches abounding in quotations from classical literature, ironies, cries, booing and bell ringing sounds. The aforementioned voting has a special significance for the entire political class, says the Liberals president, Nicolae Ciuca, while the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, the Social-Democrat Alfred Simonis has described it as a first step towards the reform of all special pensions, which is also an objective in the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR).


    Alfred Simonis: “We begin today with the first serious pension reform, the pensions of the MPs, which we dont tax, we dont cut, but we simply eliminate. We eliminate those, which are presently paid as well as those about to be paid in the absence of such a law. The special pensions, the accumulation of the pension and salary, unmet objectives in the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, are priorities.”


    Although the oppositions backed the bill, there were voices who cautioned the document could be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court; Parliament had endorsed the same law two years ago, but former MPs notified the Constitutional Court, which ruled it as unconstitutional. Furthermore, USR leader, Cătălin Drulă, has recalled that…


    Catalin Drula: “We are speaking about 700 beneficiaries of special pensions, the other 210 thousand special pensions remain untouched.”


    We recall that Romania has several occupational categories, whose pensions arent exclusively based on the contributions of these employees to the state social insurances before retirement, like the rest of the citizens.


    And for this reason, most of the Romanians believe that MPs, magistrates, servicemen, policemen, diplomats or pilots belong to an intangible privileged cast. For now the draft bill on the reform of the entire special pension system, among other things, provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age, at least 25 years of service for the magistrates, in order to be able to benefit from a public service pension or a 15% tax levied on sums above the medium gross salary.


    The provisions are actually amendments proposed by the ruling MPs after the latest talks with representatives of the European Commission in order to comply with the PNRR commitments so that the country may not lose the related funds. The political groups in the ruling coalition have hailed the amendments, whereas the opposition says they do not actually reform the special pension system.


    (bill)


  • Romania’s magistrates are protesting

    Romania’s magistrates are protesting

    Magistrates with several courts and
    prosecutor’s offices in Romania on Wednesday ceased work as the imminent amendments
    to the pension legislation could affect the independence of the judiciary.


    Under these circumstances, only the
    urgent criminal cases such as international kidnapping, placement and
    investment, adoptions, public custody, protection orders will be judged. The Superior
    Council of the Magistrates (CSM) has announced it has been notified and
    unconditionally supports the position expressed by the magistrates, as this
    situation of severe gravity is fundamentally bearing on the independence of the
    judiciary and the statute of the magistrates with direct consequences upon the
    act of justice.


    The highest representatives of the legal
    system, CSM recalls, had a meeting with the representatives of the executive
    and legislative power whom they briefed upon the impact of the legislative
    amendments over the justice system, which is already being confronted with an
    acute shortage of personnel against the ongoing uncertainty regarding the
    statute of the professionals in the field.


    On the other hand, the CSM says it
    does not stand against the pension reform and is concerned with finding the
    best normative solutions aimed at streamlining this process.


    The country’s new Justice Minister, Alina
    Gorghiu, has reacted to the radical measure the magistrates resorted to, saying
    that she respects their right to free speech. She also said that dialogue is
    the solution to any problem facing the legal system not the protest.


    The principle according to which no
    pension can exceed the salary is a moral one and the Romanian society has been
    waiting for this pension reform to be implemented, Alina Gorghiu says. The
    pension reform, which is only to a small extent based on the contribution made
    during the period of activity, and which the magistrates mainly benefit as well
    as other professional categories, is a landmark in the country’s Plan of Recovery
    and Resilience. Romania’s failure to comply with the provisions of the
    aforementioned plan, would be tantamount to losing 3 billion Euros.


    The PSD – PNL ruling coalition wants
    to gradually increase the retirement age for prosecutors and justices up to 65
    years and the pensions to be calculated based on the incomes along the years
    not in the last year of activity. The reform in the field would also mean higher
    taxes for the pensions above a certain level as well as the elimination of the public
    service pensions for a series of auxiliary categories such as the specialized personnel
    around the judges and prosecutors, the personnel with specific executive
    positions within the diplomatic missions as well as the personnel around the
    public Parliament servants.


    The number of the beneficiaries of
    public service pensions in May this year exceeded 10 thousand, half of them
    being magistrates. And in their case, the average pension exceeds 4,000 Euros, the
    largest part of which being funded from the state budget.


    (bill)

  • Prospects for the pension system

    Prospects for the pension system

    The retirement age will gradually increase to 65 for all citizens, and no pensions in Romania
    will be higher than the corresponding salary, the
    labour minister Marius Budăi said. In addition, some of the special allowances
    will be scrapped.


    These are some of the criteria agreed on
    with the European Commission, for the benchmark in the National Recovery and
    Resilience Plan to be checked. The criteria discussed last week in Brussels
    with respect to the new pension law include, among other things, the gradual
    increase of the retirement age and the fact that pension benefits will be
    calculated based on the entire contribution period. Previously, a specific
    period of employment, with higher salaries, would be selected for calculating
    the retirement benefits. Another
    principle is the gradual increase in the professional seniority required for
    certain categories of employees.


    On the other hand, certain privileges for
    various professional categories, such as magistrates and parliamentary civil
    servants, will be scrapped.


    Marius Budăi: Certain categories of allowances and benefits
    paid under special laws will be scrapped, and this will be achieved by no
    longer allowing for seniority to be considered as a whole, but only in the relevant
    position for retirement. This will be the case for magistrates, for instance,
    where the requirement will be to have worked for at least 20 years as a
    magistrate, instead of the overall seniority. The same goes for certain
    categories of civil servants in parliament.


    Marius Budăi also said that an impact study
    conducted by the World Bank had been submitted to the European Commission ahead
    of his visit to Brussels, and that talks were based on that document.


    The labour minister did not mention a
    deadline for the implementation of these new provisions, but said that
    amendments are to be tabled by the ruling coalition this week to the Chamber of
    Deputies, which is currently discussing the new pension law.


    Up until now, the standard retirement age
    in Romania was 63 years for women and 65 for men. Mention should be made that Lithuania,
    Romania, and Bulgaria are last placed in Europe in terms of life expectancy,
    with around 74 years as against roughly 83 years in Norway, Iceland and Ireland. More than half of the deaths reported
    in Romania are related to hazardous health behaviours: Romanians drink lots of
    alcohol and smoke too much, have unhealthy eating habits and do not exercise
    enough, the report concluded. (AMP)

  • Projections relatives au système de retraites 

    Projections relatives au système de retraites 

    L’âge de départ à la retraite devrait augmenter graduellement pour tous les Roumains jusqu’à l’âge de 65 ans et aucune retraite de Roumanie ne dépassera plus le salaire obtenu durant la période d’activité, a annoncé le ministre du Travail, Marius Budai. Ce qui plus est, toute une série d’indemnités spéciales seront éliminées. Ce ne sont que quelques critères que la Roumanie a négocié avec la Commission européenne pour que le jalon du Plan national de relance et de résilience soit réalisé. Les critères que le ministre Budai a négociés la semaine dernière à Bruxelles, relatives à une nouvelle loi des pensions de retraite visent la majoration progressive de l’âge de départ à la retraite pour tous les Roumains. Ce qui plus est, la pension de retraite serait calculée uniquement aux termes de toute la période de contribution. Cela signifie qu’il sera impossible de se rapporter exclusivement aux périodes d’activité durant lesquelles les salaires étaient au plus haut pour calculer la pension de retraite.

    D’autres privilèges concernant certaines catégories professionnelles, telles les magistrats et les fonctionnaires publics membres du parlement devraient disparaitre. Marius Budăi a expliqué qu’il s’agit de : « L’élimination de plusieurs catégories d’indemnités et de retraites payées en vertu de lois spéciales. Cela s’est réalisé et se réalise par l’impossibilité de cumuler les périodes d’activité. C’est le cas des magistrats, qui ne peuvent plus cumuler différentes périodes de contribution, mais doivent avoir au moins 20 ans d’activité professionnelle, puisque ce n’est que durant cette période qu’ils ont subi certaines interdictions et limitations des droits. C’est ainsi que plusieurs catégories de fonctionnaires publics membres du Parlement ont été exceptées de la loi de retraites » a déclaré Marius Budai. Il a ajouté qu’une étude d’impact réalisée par la Banque mondiale avait reposé à la base des négociations avec les responsables de la Commission européenne. Il n’a pourtant pas précisé quant les nouvelles règles seraient appliquées, affirmant que la coalition gouvernementale déposerait toute une série d’amendements cette semaine, à la Chambre des Députés, qui doit débattre de la nouvelle loi des retraites. Jusqu’ici en Roumanie l’âge standard de départ à la retraite était de 63 ans pour les femmes et de 65 ans pour les hommes.

    Les Etats européens qui ont l’espérance de vie le plus élevé sont la Norvège (83,3 ans), l’Islande (83,1 ans) et l’Irlande (82,8 ans), alors qu’en fin de classement se trouve la Lituanie (75,1 ans), la Roumanie (74,2 ans) et la Bulgarie (73,6 ans). Près de la moitié du total des décès enregistrés en Roumanie est due aux comportements risqués en matière de santé : consommation d’alcool, tabagisme, alimentation malsaine ainsi qu’activité physique réduite, conclut le rapport.

  • The special pensions reform under the scrutiny

    The special pensions reform under the scrutiny


    Under the protocols of the incumbent ruling coalition in Bucharest, the PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu will be replacing Liberal leader Nicolae Ciuca as Romanias Prime Minister. With the mandate, Ciolacu is also going to inherit the prickly issue of the so-called special pensions, which arent complying with the contribution principle and are presently benefitting former MPs, diplomats, magistrates or retired employees of the countrys defence, security and public order structures.


    The project of reforming the special pensions system can be endorsed by Parliament by the end of the present session but the assumption of the governments responsibility is also being considered, Ciolacu went on to say. He says that he is having a permanent dialogue on the issue with his party colleague and the incumbent Labour Minister Marius Budăi. The issue, as the future Prime Minister admits, is that the file should have been closed by now as it was included in the third payment request for the funding of the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, through which Brussels financially supports a part of Romanias reforms and investment.


    Budăi is expected to leave for Brussels next week for a new round of talks on this issue with European officials. Until then, the World Bank has completed a report on the impact of the new measures proposed by the coalition regarding the special pensions and according to the press the document shows the result in terms of budget spending cuts would be insignificant. According to WB experts, the progressive taxation of up to 15% of the special pensions will have negligible effects and the same goes for another measure, which eliminated five bonuses and would lead to only a 2% deduction from the servicemens pensions. Defence Minister Angel Tîlvăr, also with the PSD, has again insisted that no one should touch the pensions of the retired soldiers, which arent actually special pensions. The minister argues that a large number of young people should be attracted into the armed forces.


    “We are talking in vain about tanks, rockets, corvettes, frigates and the other things that we want and we are going to have. All these things need highly-trained personnel as the Romanian Army presently boasts, and thats why I insist on attracting young people into the army but also on encouraging them to remain in the armed forces by ensuring a certain standard of living and the predictability of a career in this field”, the minister says. The opposition USR says that the PSD and PNL are actually duping the Romanians that they really want to eliminate the special pensions and has dubbed the Liberal Prime Minister Ciuca a three-necktie statesman who is presently benefitting from the special pension of a retired general and will soon add a second one of a former MP.


    (bill)


  • Complicated Parliament Agenda

    Complicated Parliament Agenda

    Parliament in Bucharest is in for more heated debates this
    week after two draft laws, on the abuse of office and special pensions – have
    been submitted for debates and voting.


    Voting on the two bills has become predictable in principle, thanks
    to the comfortable majority the ruling PNL-PSD-UDMR coalition is presently enjoying.
    The Chamber of Deputies is a decision making forum regarding these two bills.






    The draft law on the abuse of office is to be endorsed
    within a ceiling of 9,000 lei, (18 hundred Euros) above which the deed is to be
    criminalized and punishable with jail sentences for public employees- PSD
    leader Marcel Ciolacu says. He believes that Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu
    should have assumed the aforementioned value limit as early as the draft’s
    initial form, and that should have prevented the first endorsement at a higher
    ceiling of 250 thousand lei.




    Marcel Ciolacu: ʺI am firmly
    convinced together with my colleagues from the PSD PNL and UDMR that this law
    will get promulgated with the ceiling of 18 hundred Euros, as proposed by the Justice
    Minister.




    However, the opposition USR has lashed out at the form
    endorsed by the PSD, PNL, UDMR senators.


    Stelian Ion: The
    Constitutional Court’s decision imposed a ceiling, which was common sense,
    reasonable at the level of the minimum wages.




    Also in spite of the oppositions’ protests, a draft on
    reforming the special pensions paid to state employees has made it to the
    Chamber of Deputies.


    Under the new amendments backed by the ruling
    coalition, no special pension has to exceed the incomes before the person’s
    retirement. Accumulated pension plans have been banned and a tax of maximum 15%
    has been introduced for the non-contribution period. Unsatisfactory, says the
    opposition, which has called for the introduction of the contribution system
    for all pensions irrespective of the activity domain. 200 thousand people are
    presently benefitting from special pensions, most of them former employees of
    the country’s defence and public order structures. However, the former magistrates, judges and
    prosecutors are presently enjoying the biggest special pensions, which can go
    up to 36 hundred Euros, ten times above a regular pension. Reforming the
    country’s pension system is a request provided by the National Plan of Recovery
    and Resilience and we recall that the approval of roughly 3 billion dollars worth
    of EU funds hinges on this plan.


    Other bills on the Parliament agenda in Bucharest
    might be the new laws on education, based on Romanian president Klaus Iohannis’
    project entitled Educated Romania’. The
    law is aimed at curbing school dropout and functional illiteracy, at placing
    the student at the center of the country’s educational process, at the same
    time backing the European cooperation of universities in Romania. The
    opposition has criticized the draft laws as faulty and prone to cause
    imbalances.


    (bill)

  • March 28, 2023 UPDATE

    March 28, 2023 UPDATE

    VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, received the
    PM of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki in Bucharest on Tuesday. Klaus Iohannis said
    Poland was a close and long-standing friend, a key strategic partner and a
    reliable ally for Romania. We are connected by sound shared strategic and
    security interests, which are further consolidated by today’s rather tense
    regional security context, the Romanian official said. Mr. Iohannis added that
    the 2 countries will maintain their unequivocal support for Ukraine for as long
    as necessary, and will boost their support for the most vulnerable and most
    severely affected partners in the region, especially the Republic of Moldova.
    In turn, PM Morawiecki said Romania and Poland were the pillars of the
    North-Atlantic Alliance in this part of Europe and highlighted the Allies’
    willingness to reinforce it through improved military cooperation. Previously,
    the PM of Romania Nicolae Ciuca had a meeting with his Polish counterpart, and
    together they attended the Romania-Poland Economic Forum organised by the
    Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr. Ciuca said bilateral trade had
    increased by 20% in 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching EUR 11bln.


    MOLDOVA The EU will
    prepare a support package for the Rep. Moldova before summer, the president of
    the European Council Charles Michel said in Chişinău on Tuesday, at a joint
    press conference together with Moldova’s president Maia Sandu. Chişinău has a
    lot of strong friends in Brussels, who want the Republic of Moldova to become a
    part of the EU family as soon as possible, Charles Michel also said, and added
    that this is a historic opportunity for Moldova and for its people. In turn, president
    Maia Sandu emphasised the importance of Moldova’s EU integration. European
    integration is the only path that ensures the survival of Moldova, its becoming
    a free and prosperous country. It is the only chance for its citizens to live
    in peace at home. We must withstand the hybrid attacks targeting our determination
    to be part of the free world, Maia Sandu said.


    DEFENCE The Romanian
    state secretary for defence policy, planning and international relations,
    Simona Cojocaru, is on an official visit to India until March 31, at the
    invitation of defence secretary Giridhar Aramane. According to the Romanian
    defence ministry, the two parties Tuesday signed an inter-governmental defence
    cooperation agreement. The document creates the framework for the development
    and consolidation of bilateral relations, through enhanced cooperation. The
    Romanian defence ministry also notes that it is for the first time in the
    history of the 2 countries’ bilateral relations that a cooperation agreement in
    this sector has been signed.


    PENSIONS The Senate’s
    specialist committees Tuesday issued a positive report on the bill on special
    pensions. The amendments tabled by the ruling coalition made up of the Social
    Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
    Hungarians in Romania were passed, although USR in opposition voted against and
    AUR party’s MPs abstained from voting. One of the changes accepted by the
    committees was that beneficiaries of multiple special pensions must choose only
    one of them within 30 days after the law takes effect. Other provisions in the
    bill are that pension benefits will be adjusted to inflation on a yearly basis,
    and that special pensions cannot be higher than the salary received while in
    office. As of Wednesday the bill will be discussed in plenary session by the
    Senate, the first parliamentary chamber to vote on it. (AMP)

  • March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    DEBATES The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest hosted
    a series of debates upon a simple motion against Labour Minister Marius Budăi,
    tabled by the USR and the Force of the Right Party. The signatories of the motion
    say the minister has failed to meet the deadlines assumed in the ruling
    programme on implementing the payment bill and of a new pension law, which may
    jeopardize the attraction of the European funds. USR MP Cristian Seidler says
    the draft sent by the minister is actually rescuing the special pensions. Budai
    has rejected all allegations and has given assurances the draft is in line with
    all PNRR criteria and even trims the pension of an employee, which is exceeding
    their wages. Finance Minister Adrian Caciu is also expected before the Senate on
    Wednesday to explain why Romania’s budget deficit has reached record high
    levels and the funding costs are some of the biggest in the EU.








    BILLS Two bills on education are to be submitted to
    the government and Parliament for endorsement and approval. Although the
    deadline for their approval was March the 15, the two bills have sparked off
    heated debates involving parents and students associations. The National
    Council of Students and the National Federation of Parents are asking for the
    cancellation of the high-school entrance exam, which could be staged for 60% of
    the approved places, and are criticizing the Education Ministry for not having
    considered their proposal. According to representatives of the parents and
    students associations, the entrance examination deepens the gap between the
    students and would raise the probability of unfair distribution. It would also
    encourage the system of private lessons and increase the stress level in students.
    According to field minister Ligia Deca, the objective of the two bills is to
    increase the quality in education and reduce functional illiteracy.








    VISIT On the first day of
    his official visit to Japan on Monday Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis held talks
    with the president of the House of Councillors Hidehisa Otsuji and the speaker
    of the House of Representatives, Hiroyuki Hosoda. Talks focused on the
    Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership and the regional security situation. The
    Japanese officials underlined that the Strategic Partnership creates new
    opportunities for cooperation in the economic sector, trade, research and
    innovation. With respect to the security situation, the Japanese officials
    emphasised that Japan and Romania share the same vision and approach and
    conveyed their appreciation of Romania’s sustained actions and efforts to
    support Ukraine, both with the refugees and to facilitate the transit of
    cereals. On Tuesday, president Iohannis is to be received by emperor Naruhito.
    He will later also meet prime minister Fumio Kishida, together signing a joint
    declaration on the establishment of the Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership. On
    Wednesday, the Romanian president will meet local officials from Kyoto. On
    Thursday and Friday, he will make a state visit to Singapore, the first at this
    level in the last 20 years, where he will have talks with president Halimah
    Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.




    (bill&CM)

  • February 21, 2023 UPDATE

    February 21, 2023 UPDATE

    UKRAINE The US
    president Joe Biden Tuesday praised the Ukrainians’ resilience in the face of
    the Russian invasion launched nearly a year ago. Speaking at a rally in Warsaw,
    he emphasized that the US support for Ukraine remained unwavering and that the
    free world condemned Russia’s aggression. Biden added that he also wanted the
    people of the Republic of Moldova to be truly free, and called on participants
    to applaud Moldova’s president Maia Sandu, attending the assembly. Previously,
    in Moscow, president Vladimir Putin announced Russia would suspend its
    participation in the New START treaty with the US on the reduction of strategic
    nuclear weapons. The statement was made at the end of his state-of-the-nation address,
    ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February,
    and after the US president Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv. On Wednesday,
    Biden is due to meet the leaders of Bucharest Nine, a group of NATO countries
    from central and eastern Europe formed after Russia’s annexation of Crimea at
    the proposal of the presidents of Romania and Poland, Klaus Iohannis and Andrej
    Duda, respectively. The NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said that
    with Russia’s decision on the latest START Treaty full arms control
    architecture has been dismantled. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels
    with the participation of Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs,
    and Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs, Stoltenberg added
    that Moscow was the aggressor in Ukraine, after Vladimir Putin had claimed that
    the West was trying to destroy Russia.


    PENSIONS In Bucharest, USR and the Force of the Right parties in opposition
    Tuesday tabled a simple motion against the labour minister Marius Budăi, whom
    they accuse of incompetence and carelessness. They argue that Budăi is
    protecting special pensions (which are not based on contributions to pension
    funds) thus jeopardising the EU funding Romania should receive under the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Meanwhile, the Senate has once again
    postponed the bill reforming special pensions, for 2 weeks, until relevant ministries
    have submitted estimates of its impact on the budget and stated whether the
    bill complies with Resilience Plan benchmarks. The World Bank is also expected
    to state its view on the matter.


    TURKEY Rescuers
    in Turkey are carrying out new searches for people trapped under the rubble as
    a new quake hit the south-east of the country on Monday night, in the same
    region as the devastating earthquakes that took place two weeks ago. According
    to official reports, six persons were killed and 200 wounded in the latest
    tremor. Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is running for a new term
    in May if elections are held on schedule, says his country would start building
    tens of thousands of new homes next month, a move estimated to cost at least 25
    billion dollars. Erdogan’s rapid reconstruction plans worry architects and
    engineers, who are concerned that the lack of urban planning and careful
    assessment of building safety may lead to a new disaster.


    CULTURE Two
    books about Constantin Brâncuşi were launched in Timişoara, which this year is
    holding the title of European Capital of Culture. The books, which recently
    appeared in France, are written by Doina Lemny, art historian and researcher at
    the National Museum of Modern Art and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The launch
    previews an extensive exhibition dedicated to the great Romanian sculptor next
    autumn at Timişoara’s Museum of Art. According to the city’s mayor Dominic
    Fritz, around 60,000 people attended the over 130 different events held in
    Timişoara this weekend during the official opening of the European Capital of
    Culture programme. The city will be playing host to around 1,000 different
    cultural events all year long. (AMP, CM)

  • February 1, 2023 UPDATE

    February 1, 2023 UPDATE

    SESSION The Senate and Chamber of
    Deputies in Bucharest on Wednesday went on their first Parliamentary session
    this year. Draft laws on complying with the terms assumed through the National
    Plan of Recovery and Resilience are high on the agenda. Leaders of the main
    ruling parties, the Social Democratic and the National Liberal Party, have also
    announced among their legislative priorities, several projects on education and
    the special pensions reform. The Liberals want to raise the ceiling for pension
    taxation and the local and Parliamentary election of 2024 to merge. The
    Social-Democrats have announced they are working on a new ruling programme and
    the Social-Democratic president Marcel Ciolacu who is going to take over the position
    of Prime Minister, has announced the idea of cutting labour taxes and
    increasing the taxation level for the companies with huge profits. The
    opposition USR and Force of the Right have tabled a simple motion against
    Interior Minister Lucian Bode entitled Romania deserves better than thieves on
    public jobs, amid forgery allegation concerning his PhD thesis. The Senate has
    endorsed a declaration reiterating its commitment to strengthening legislative
    efforts to commemorate the Holocaust victims and underlines the need for the
    involvement of all state institutions and citizens so that human rights may be
    observed.








    PROTEST Roughly one thousand employees from Romania’s education
    system took to the streets on Wednesday to protest the low salaries in their
    line of work. According to the protesters, the nonteaching staff makes the only
    category of state employees who hasn’t yet reached the pay level stipulated by
    the 2022 law. Salaries for nonteaching employees are ranging between 366 and
    468 euros and trade unions in the country’s education system have called on the
    government to endorse a law allowing the nonteaching personnel to get proper
    pay.








    UKRAINE The Russian invasion forces are making small progress on
    the front in eastern Ukraine – international news agencies report. Their main
    target remains the city of Bakhmut, which they have been trying to seize for
    months without success. Both Bakhmut and the neighboring villages of Kliškiivka
    and Kurdiumivka, located south of the city, came under new Russian fire.
    According to the Ukrainian military, though, the Russians allegedly got stuck
    near the town of Avdiivka, the second focal point of their attacks in the
    disputed Donetsk region. Troop movements are also registered in Lyman, a city
    recaptured by the Ukrainians in October. In an unusually detailed intelligence
    update, British Ministry of Defense experts, who are constantly monitoring the
    situation on the front, note that Russian forces have advanced several hundred
    meters across a river towards the town of Vuhledar, and recorded made small wins.
    Specialists say that Moscow’s troops would like to attract the Ukrainian forces
    defending Bakhmut to Vuhledar.








    VISIT The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will be paying
    a formal visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, on February 2-3, at the invitation of his
    counterpart, Ilham Aliyev. The two presidents will open the Ministerial Meeting
    of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council.
    The visit by the Romanian president comes in continuation of the very
    good talks held with the Azerbaijani president, in Bucharest, in December 2022,
    on the occasion of their participation in the signing ceremony of the Agreement
    between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and
    Hungary regarding the Strategic Partnership in the field of green energy
    development and transport. In Baku, the state of implementation of regional
    interconnection projects such as the submarine electricity transmission cable
    will be assessed and the initiation of similar projects in the digital field
    will be addressed. Azerbaijan is the first country in the South Caucasus region
    with which Romania raised bilateral relations to the level of Strategic
    Partnership in 2009.




    (bill)

  • Political Priorities

    Political Priorities


    After a rather long winter recess, which started well before Christmas, on December 14, 2022, Romanian MPs are returning to work on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, for the first parliamentary session of the year.



    Among their priorities, the mass media notice, are sensitive bills, such as the one capping special pensions at the level of the salaries paid for the respective positions, or the ones amending the education laws, on which the parties in the ruling coalition, the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the Ethnic Hungarians in Romania are yet to reach an agreement.



    The Undergraduate Education Bill and the Higher Education Bill are still being analysed by education experts in the 3 parties. These are part of the Educated Romania project, launched nearly a decade ago by president Klaus Iohannis, and still pending approval.



    According to the timetable agreed by political decision-makers, these bills should be passed by the government in February and reach Parliament in March, for endorsement. But the Social Democratic MP Vasile Dîncu said recently that he had asked his party chief Marcel Ciolacu to request an extension for the education laws deadline, for further consultations. On the other hand, the Liberal spokesman Ionuţ Stroe insists that the original timetable must be complied with.



    Another bill to be discussed and endorsed concerns the pension benefits granted to certain categories of public sector employees, including magistrates, court staff and military personnel.



    Ahead of the elections due in 2024, another bill pending in Parliament stipulates that at least one-third of the candidates for parliamentary and local elections must be women.



    Meanwhile, analysts say, the Liberals and the Social Democrats are planning ahead for the PM rotation decided by the ruling coalition. Under a protocol in this respect, the 2 main coalition members are to swap posts at the end of May, when the Social Democrat Marcel Ciolacu should replace the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă as prime minister, and the latter should take over the Senate speaker post, currently held by his fellow Liberal Alina Gorghiu.



    The Liberals insist that, under the protocol, some government ministers should also be replaced, although the Social Democrats would like to keep the offices where they claim their members have put up good performances, such as Sorin Grindeanu at the transport ministry and Adrian Câciu at the finance ministry. (AMP)


  • January 8, 2023 UPDATE

    January 8, 2023 UPDATE

    School — School starts on Monday after the winter holidays, and the resumption of classes takes place in the context of a growing number of respiratory infections. Romania is in a state of moderate epidemic alert due to the flu, and the authorities decided that the directors of educational units should send recommendations to parents on how they can recognize the symptoms of such infections, in order to determine whether or not it is necessary to send their children to school. School inspectorates have the obligation to designate a person responsible for permanent communication with the public health departments and to inform the Education Ministry about any exceptional situation from an epidemiological point of view found in educational units. The school managements have the obligation to carry out the daily triage of pupils at the beginning of the first class, in each shift, to provide the necessary materials for the periodic disinfection of hands and surfaces and to periodically ventilate the rooms.



    Timisoara – The first event within the “Timişoara – European Capital of Culture 2023” project is scheduled for Monday, when the vice-president of the Commission, Margaritis Schinas, will officially hand over this title in a ceremony at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. This year, Timisoara (western Romania) is one of the three European capitals of culture, along with the cities of Elefsina in Greece and Veszprém in Hungary. The official opening of the event will take place between February 17 and 19, and throughout the year no less than 50 shows, concerts, film premieres, exhibitions and other forms of cultural manifestation have already been included in the calendar of events. Participating are more than 2,500 artists from the country and abroad.



    Handball – Romanias womens handball champions, Rapid Bucharest, defeated the Montenegrin team Buducnost on Sunday, at home, in group B of the Champions League and climbed to the third place. The score was 39 to 29. Rapid will play their next away game against Team Esbjerg from Denmark on January 15. On Saturday, Romanias vice-champions, CSM Bucharest, defeated the Czech team Banik Most away from home with the score 35-26, in a Group A match of the Champions League. With this success, Rapid Bucharest players have consolidated their position as the leader of the group. CSM will play the next match on January 14, at home, against the Danes from Odense Handbold.



    WB — The World Bank is worried that new adverse shocks could push the global economy into recession this year, with small countries being particularly vulnerable, Bloomberg reports. The warning is included in the biannual Global Economic Prospects report, which is to be published on Tuesday. Even in the absence of another crisis, global economic growth this year is expected to slow down significantly, reflecting the tightening of the monetary policy to counter high inflation, the worsening financial conditions and the continued disruption caused by Russias invasion of Ukraine, the report shows. And the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, started the year 2023 by warning that the world would face a more difficult year than the previous one. One third of the world economy will be in recession because the US, the EU and China are slowing down simultaneously, the head of the IMF estimated.



    Ukraine — New bombings took place in several parts of Ukraine, after the end of the 36-hour truce unilaterally decreed by Russia during the Christmas period. Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in the Kharkov region. Explosions were also reported in the southern cities of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopov. In the east, Russia continued to attack Ukrainian positions even during the truce, the BBC reports. President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that that is proof of how false Moscows words are and that peace will be restored only after the Russian forces are expelled from his country.



    Protests – Approximately 10,000 Israelis participated, on Saturday evening, in Tel Aviv, in protests against the new right-wing government. Many Israelis accuse the administration led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering democracy through the proposed legal reforms. These would allow a simple majority of MPs to cancel the decisions of the High Court, the correspondent of the public station in Israel reports. The NGOs promise an unprecedented resistance of the civil society against these plans that would protect people maintained in high positions, who were already condemned definitively. The Justice Minister, Yariv Levin, requested the regulation of judicial control and the addition of more political representatives to the commission that selects the judges of the Supreme Court.



    Pensions – Mandatory private pension funds in Romania had assets worth over 95 billion lei (approximately 19 billion Euros) at the end of November last year, an increase of 11% compared to the level recorded at the same date in 2021, shows the Financial Supervisory Authority – ASF. Most investments made by these funds are Romanian assets, mostly government bonds or shares listed on the stock exchange. ASF data also show that almost eight million people are enrolled in private pension funds, pillar 2. As for the optional pension funds, they had assets worth 3.58 billion lei (approximately 700 million Euros), higher by 9% and almost 620 thousand participants. (LS)

  • January 2, 2023 UPDATE

    January 2, 2023 UPDATE

    FLIGHTS Many flights scheduled to land on or depart from the Avram Iancu International Airport in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania have been delayed or cancelled because of the fog. The airport’s normal schedule was completely disrupted, with flights diverted to other airports in the country or in neighbouring Hungary. Hundreds of people are queuing and complaining that the delays or cancellations had not been announced by airlines. Cluj County is subject to an extended code yellow alert for fog, with visibility below 200m and in some cases even below 50m.

    DRUGS Over 1,000 people were arrested for drug trafficking in Romania in the first 11 months of 2022. Many of them formed organised crime groups, and 55 such groups were dismantled. Over one tonne of risk and high-risk substances were seized, the Romanian Police announced on Monday.

    PENSIONS As many as 4,787,920 pensioners were registered in Romania in December 2022, with the average pension benefits standing at roughly EUR 350, according to data centralised by the National Public Pensions Agency (CNPP). Nearly 700,000 of them had worked in agriculture, with pensions only amounting to EUR 100 in their case.

    RECYCLING All traders in Romania that sell bottled water, soft drinks or alcoholic drinks in plastic, glass or metal containers between 100 ml and 3 l are bound to register within 2 months on the platform of a guarantee-return system (SGR). Otherwise, they risk fines between EUR 4,000 and EUR 8,000. The authorities want the system to become operational at the end of November 2023. Shops will also have to arrange packaging return centres. The prices of drinks will include the roughly EUR 0.10 packaging guarantee, which consumers will collect when returning the bottles. Romania will thus have the second-largest such system in Europe, after Germany, the environment minister Tanczos Barna said recently.

    NATO Western countries must be prepared to provide long-term support to Ukraine as Russia shows no signs of relenting, NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said. In an interview to the BBC, Stoltenberg said military support would ensure the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign country and force Russia to sit down and negotiate an end to the war. According to Jens Stoltenberg, Russia’s partial mobilisation programme, ordered in September, indicated that Moscow had no desire to end the war, and NATO must make sure that Ukraine stays in a strong position in the event of negotiation talks between the two sides.

    UKRAINE At least 63 Russian troops were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Makeevka, in the east, the Russian defence ministry announced on Monday, quoted by international media. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Russian defence ministry’s spokesman, said four missiles hit a point of temporary deployment of the Russian army in Makeevka, a town under Russian occupation. Moscow, which very rarely discusses its losses, has never reported such a large number of casualties in one strike since the start of its invasion in Ukraine on February 24 last year. The media had previously released information on the attack in Makeevka, saying it had taken place on New Year’s Eve, and that a building hosting recently mobilised reservists had been affected. The strike was facilitated by the soldiers’ extensive use of mobile phones, which enabled the Ukrainian army to identify their location, Russian sources say.

    POPE Thousands of believers have gathered in Vatican to pay their respects to the former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95 and whose body is lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the funeral scheduled for Thursday. On Sunday Pope Francis paid tribute to his dearest predecessor, emphasising his sacrifices offered for the good of the Church. Benedict XVI, who announced his resignation from the papacy in 2013 on account of his ill health and age, was a highly praised theologian. The funeral will be presided over by Pope Francis, and it will be the first time in the 2,000-year long history of the Catholic Church that a Pope will be buried by his successor.

    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (34WTA) started the year 2023 on the right foot, defeating Shelby Rogers 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1, on Monday, in the first round of the WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide (Australia). In the round of 16, Irina Begu will take on the winner of the match between Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia). (AMP)

  • December 31, 2022

    December 31, 2022

    NEW YEAR PM
    Nicolae Ciucă said in his New Year address on Saturday that in 2022 Romanians
    proved their solidarity, handled challenges hard to imagine and managed to do
    more than just endure. He mentioned the crisis facing Romania, with a war at
    its borders, high energy prices and skyrocketing inflation. The PM emphasised
    that the government would continue to protect citizens’ interests, to support
    the economy and take care of the vulnerable. In turn, the Royal House of
    Romania wished A happy new year, with health, hope and peace in their hearts
    to all Romanians in the country, in the neighbouring Republic of Moldova and
    abroad.


    MEASURES In
    Romania, the pension point value will be raised by 12.5% as of January 1, to
    reach nearly EUR 360, and minimum wages will be increased to EUR 600. On the
    other hand, the 10-eurocent governmental discount on fuel prices will be
    discontinued. The government says it is ready to reintroduce it, should fuel
    prices rise beyond citizens’ spending power. As of January 1, fuel excises will
    be cut down, while electricity and natural gas price caps and discounts will
    remain in place.


    JUDICIARY The
    year 2023 must see a crackdown on organised crime and criminal groups, Justice
    Ministry officials posted on Saturday on the institution’s Facebook page. According
    to them, Romania has the legislation, institutions and modern strategies to
    achieve this goal. What it needs is more investment in logistics and leaders
    able to encourage all prosecutors to undertake and accomplish their critical
    social mission of safeguarding the law and protecting citizens and the state
    from all forms of crime, the Justice Ministry emphasised. The message also says
    that the Ministry’s top accomplishment in 2022 was its contribution to Romania
    being issued a last positive report under the Cooperation and Verification
    Mechanism in the judiciary and the lifting of this mechanism.


    POPE Pope emeritus
    Benedict XVI died this morning, aged 95, the Vatican announced. Over the past
    few days his health had deteriorated, AFP reports. The former Pope spent his
    last 9 years of life in the monastery within the small papal state, after
    resigning in 2013, for reasons that are still unclear. Elected on April 19,
    2005, following the death of Pope John Paul II, he was the first German leader
    of the Catholic Church in 482 years. On February 11, 2013 Benedict XVI
    announced his resignation from the papacy, on account of his age and ill health.
    Joseph Ratzinger was the first Pope since the Middle Ages to step down
    voluntarily.


    FUNDING
    Romania this year received the green light for the partnership agreement and
    all the 16 programmes under the 2021-2027 cohesion policy, thus avoiding the
    risk of losing EUR 5.2 bln, the ministry for investments and European projects
    announced. According to the institution, these 16 programmes will bring into
    the country EUR 46 bln in strategic investments in safer hospitals, transport
    networks, the water and sewage infrastructure and support for the business
    community. Eight of the 16 programmes are regional. In the previous EU financial
    period, 2014-2020, Romania received EU funds totaling EUR 25.4 bln. (AMP)

  • Higher pensions in Romania

    Higher pensions in Romania

    The parties in the governing coalition in Romania have had long and difficult negotiations on the topic of the percentage by which pensions should be increased, a percentage practically dissolved, in the last year, by a galloping inflation rate, which exceeded 15%. The Social Democratic Party – PSD, number one in the governing coalition, would have pleaded for a differentiated increase, which was to mainly benefit people with small and medium pensions, that actually represent the majority. For their part, the Liberals (PNL) have constantly pleaded in favor of a flat percentage, which would eliminate the possibility of attacking the decision on grounds of discrimination.



    Finally, PSD, PNL and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR announced, on Monday evening, that contributory pensions will increase by 12.5% ​​from January 1. The percentage is valid for all pensioners, regardless of the amount of their pension, but those with low incomes will, in addition, receive an aid from the state, which will be granted next year, in two installments. From January 1 next year, the pension point will be 1,784 lei, a little over 360 Euros. Senior citizens with pensions under 3,000 lei will benefit from additional aid, differentiated according to the amount of the pension. Also, people who have pensions lower than 1,700 lei will receive special vouchers of 250 lei next year, once every two months, throughout the year. The government will also grant support of 1,400 lei for the payment of energy bills, for retirees over 60 who have pensions of less than 2,000 lei.



    State child benefits will be linked with the rate of inflation, disabled people will receive a 13th allowance, and veterans and war widows will have their allowances linked with the rate of inflation. The period we are going through is marked by multiple crises worldwide, and we must mitigate the effects generated by high inflation. That’s why the Liberals firmly opposed increases of less than 15% and obtained in negotiations total increases that exceed 15.8%, the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă explained. According to the Social-Democratic leader, Marcel Ciolacu, the PSD thought that each category should be helped differently, and that the support from the state should go to a higher extent to those who feel the full effects of the economic crisis.



    Today, 91% of pensioners across Romania have pensions below 3,000 lei and it is our moral duty to index-link their incomes or, when we have the opportunity, to increase their incomes even more, said the deputy prime minister and leader of the UDMR, Kelemen Hunor. From the opposition, the USR leader, Cătălin Drulă, claims that the 12.5% ​​increase in pensions does not even cover the 15% inflation rate. On the other hand, Drulă accuses that neither PSD nor PNL want to eliminate the special pensions of the parliamentarians, and from January 1, the mayors will receive additional special pensions. The reform of special non-contributory pensions which are several times higher than the ordinary pensions, is assumed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan but it has not been implemented yet. (LS)