Radio România Internațional

Tag: PM Grindeanu in Parliament

  • March 13, 2017 UPDATE

    March 13, 2017 UPDATE

    PM’s Hour — The Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu on Monday explained to Romania’s deputies why his cabinet issued emergency decrees no. 6 and no. 9 which eliminate the budgetary spending caps for public authorities and suspend sanctions for exceeding the approved limits. Grindeanu responded to the accusations brought by the opposition Liberal Party that harshly criticized the two decrees and asked for their urgent cancellation. According to the Liberals through these orders huge sums of money could be channeled towards the Social Democratic Party’s clientele and fundamental articles in the fiscal responsibility law are canceled. The PM asked parliamentarians to set aside political interests and work together for the well being of citizens. He underlined that Romania had to develop given that more than 60% of rural households have outdoor toilets and people have poor access to education and healthcare services. Both emergency decrees have been passed by the Senate and will next reach the Chamber of Deputies, which acts as a decision maker in this case.



    Corruption Verdict – The magistrates of the High Court of Cassation and Justice postponed for the 28th of March a verdict in a case known as the Bute Gala involving the former development minister Elena Udrea and seven other persons. They are accused of bribe taking, abuse of office and attempt to use false documents and statements to obtain European funds illegally. In essence, prosecutors accuse the defendants of illegal use of public funds to finance a sports event organized by a private company and signing a contract with this company to purchase services although the law did not allow it. Previously, prosecutors requested that Elena Udrea be given close to maximum sentence in prison, given that she played the biggest role in the perpetration of the incriminated deeds. The National Anticorruption Directorate also requested that the former economy minister Ion Ariton be given a prison sentence. The former minister and MP Elena Udrea is the subject of several other criminal investigations.



    Detention Conditions — Romania’s Senate on Monday voted a number of amendments to the Law on the execution of sentences and other custodial measures. The amendments stipulate, among other things, that a detention space smaller than 4 square meters per person should be deemed inappropriate, and the detainees being held in such conditions should receive a reduction of their sentence of 3 days per month. The draft law was supported by all parliamentary parties. The opposition National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union say they voted for the amendments, but consider that, in order to solve the situation of Romanian penitentiaries, the authorities should build new prisons and take alternative measures such as house arrest and the introduction of bracelets. The bill will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies, a decision-maker in this case.



    Migrant Workers Abuse – The Romanian Embassy in Rome and the Consulate in Catania have taken the first steps in their relation with the Italian authorities regarding the situation disclosed by The Observer regarding the Romanian women abused at the work place in Italy, the Romanian Foreign Ministry pointed out. The Romanian consul in Catania will meet with the prefect in Ragusa (Sicily) during the week. The statements of the Romanian Foreign Ministry come after on Sunday the British weekly The Observer published an investigation according to which as many as 7,500 Romanian women farm workers in the Sicilian province of Ragusa, in Italy, are victims of abuse, including threats and sexual assault, which are perpetrated with almost total impunity. The authors of the article spoke to ten Romanian women working on farms in Ragusa who described their exploitation and sexual abuse as routine occurrences. They say they are forced to work 12 hours a day in extreme heat, with no water and without pay and to live in degrading and unsanitary conditions in isolated outbuildings. They are often subject to physical violence, threatened at gunpoint and blackmailed with threats to their children and family.



    Supreme Council of National Defense — Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense will meet on March 21, the Presidential Administration has announced. The talks will focus on Romania’s mandate at the NATO summit in Brussels to be held on May 24 and 25 and on issues related to equipping the armed forces. The participants will assess the activity of the institutions operating in the security field in 2016 and their targets for 2017. The meeting will also tackle other issues of interest to national security. At the previous meeting of January 31, the Supreme Council approved the budgets of the institutions operating in the national security domain included in the state budget bill for 2017.



    Foreign Affairs — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, on Monday discussed with ambassadors from countries in the Asia-Pacific region accredited to Bucharest. Talks focused on extending and diversifying bilateral cooperation in such fields as energy, IT and communications, agriculture and farming and food industry. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, minister Meleşcanu highlighted the importance the Romanian government grants to promoting Romania’s relations with the countries in that area, namely China, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam.



    Diplomatic Dispute — EU and NATO officials have made an appeal for calm and have asked Turkey to refrain from exaggerated declarations and actions in its disputes with the Netherlands and Germany, which could fuel the escalation of the existing tension. Appeals come against the backdrop of souring diplomatic relations, over the past days, between Ankara and several European capitals that denied access to certain Turkish officials who intended to participate in meetings meant to support the Turkish expatriates in Europe to vote in a referendum on the modification of the Constitution. The referendum is scheduled for April and the amendments to the constitution would grant enhanced powers to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Previously Germany, Austria and Switzerland had refused to approve of pro-Erdogan meetings. The Turkish minister for European affairs Omer Celik said Monday that, in the current context, Ankara should reanalyze segments of the agreement on immigration concluded with the EU. (translation by L. Simion)

  • March 12, 2017 UPDATE

    March 12, 2017 UPDATE

    Diplomatic dispute — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for international sanctions against the Dutch government after it prevented two Turkish ministers from addressing Turkish expatriates in Rotterdam. Erdogan said the Netherlands acted like a ‘banana republic’ and criticized the EU states for not having condemned the attitude of the Dutch authorities. The Turkish government is trying to persuade the Turkish expatriates in Europe to vote “YES” in the referendum scheduled for April, which is about enhancing the constitutional prerogatives of the president. The Dutch government explained that such meetings generated tensions only a few days ahead of the general elections in the Netherlands. The Dutch police used water cannons to disperse the about 1,000 people who came to protest outside the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam against the decision of the Dutch authorities. Protests also took place in front of the Dutch Embassy in Ankara. For a short period of time, a Turkish flag replaced the Dutch flag at the Netherlands’s consulate in Istanbul, a gesture to which the Dutch government reacted. The Turkish authorities are responsible for the safety of Dutch officials in Turkey, said Sunday the Dutch foreign minister, in the context of the growing dispute between the two countries. Previously Germany, Austria and Switzerland refused to approve pro-Erdogan meetings.



    US – Romania — The US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, says that one of his objectives in Romania is to promote democracy and the fight against corruption. At a meeting with the representatives of the Romanian entrepreneurs, the American official said that he wanted his mandate to help strengthen security and prosperity in Romania. He highlighted that Romania and the US had an excellent cooperation in the military field, at intelligence services level for fighting terrorism, for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and for fighting human and drug trafficking. Another priority of his mandate is to promote democracy, the rule of law and the anti-corruption fight. The US has strongly supported the anti-corruption fight as well as the consolidation of democratic institutions in Romania, ambassador Klemm also added.



    Day against cyber censorship — The World Day against Cyber Censorship is marked on March 12 each year. The day was first marked in 2008 and was initiated by the NGOs “Reporters without Borders” and Amnesty International. The event is meant to support a cyber space without restrictions and accessible to everyone, and to draw attention to the fact that by creating new spaces for the exchange of ideas and information, the Internet could become a force advocating freedom.



    Romanian police report — The Romanian police announced that in 2016, they dismantled 30 organized crime groups specializing in cyber crime. According to a police communiqué made public on Sunday, crime-fighting structures within the Romanian Police organized last year more than 270 actions and conducted over 700 house searches. 199 people suspected of perpetrating cyber crimes were taken into custody, 171 arrested, and 121 were subjected to legal restrictions pending trial.



    PM Grindeanu in Parliament — The Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu is the guest of a political debate “The PM Hour” to be held on Monday in the plenum of the Chamber of Deputies. The debate with the theme “The effects of non-transparent governing- the government emergency decrees no. 6 and 9 of 2017” was asked by the parliamentary group of the National Liberal Party. Government decree no. 6 refers to the modification and amending of certain laws and to the measures set for making investments financed from public funds while decree no. 9 refers to budgetary measures for 2017 and the prorogation of certain deadlines. The interim Liberal leader, Raluca Turcan, said the budget for 2017 allows the minister of regional development to grant European funds for local development in a discretionary manner, which means that local authorities are made dependant on political factors.



    Migrants — 8 migrants from Iraq and Syria, among whom children, were caught Sunday by the Romanian border police in Timis county (in the west) as they were trying to illegally enter Romania from Serbia. According to News.ro the migrants did not have identity papers and said they intended to go to Western Europe. In the past months, the Romanian border police have thwarted many attempts of migrants illegally crossing the Romanian southern and western borders.



    Car registration — In Romania the number of new cars registered in February exceeded by almost 48% the number reported in February 2016, shows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Directorate. The data shows that, in the context of the elimination of the environmental stamp duty, almost 12 thousand new vehicles have been registered. Most of them are brands such as Dacia, Skoda, Volkswagen, Renault and Ford. (translation by L. Simion)