Radio România Internațional

Tag: Prime Minister Ludovic Orban

  • Parties build their lists for Parliament

    Parties build their lists for Parliament

    2020 is a very difficult year for Romania, with two scheduled
    elections, one already postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally
    slated for June, the local election was held at the end of September. The
    National Liberal Party, which won the highest number of seats in county and
    local councils, is racing against the Social-Democratic Party, which holds
    majority in Parliament, for winning the legislative election scheduled for
    December 6. Both parties are striving to strengthen their ranks with credible
    candidates who would boost their election score. Constantly accused of favoring
    the access of high-ranking party officials to key positions, the
    Social-Democrats have recently enrolled two leading doctors, Alexandru Rafila,
    the country’s representative at the World Health Organization, and Adrian
    Streinu-Cercel, the director of the Matei Balş Institute for Infectious
    Disease. The former features extensively on TV news, invited to better explain
    the pandemic to the masses. The latter was himself a favorite of media outlets,
    until news came out of a visionary, if not utopic, reform of the health system,
    one that would help combat the pandemic and which he spearheaded. Even so,
    Streinu-Cercel still enjoys the respect of his peers.

    Social-Democrat president
    Marcel Ciolacu says the new list of candidates include people of integrity,
    professionals widely known in their fields of activity. Romania, Ciolacu
    argues, is undergoing the most severe health and economic crisis in history,
    and a competent and responsible Government should work with specialists to take
    Romania through this deadlock. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and the
    country is on the brink of disaster, Marcel Ciolacu went on to say. According
    to the Social-Democrat leader, the Social-Democratic Party must build a strong
    team for Parliament, one that should implement the governing program, solve the
    health crisis and boost the economy and people’s living standards.

    The Liberals
    were quick to respond. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban believes Rafila and
    Streinu-Cercel will be criticized by the public for their decision to run for
    Parliament on behalf of the Social-Democratic Party, and that any opinion the
    two would voice regarding the pandemic is no longer trustworthy. The Liberal
    leader finds it hard to understand how the two doctors chose the Social-Democratic
    Party, which he claims has been systematically undermining the efforts of the
    authorities and specialists in the last months to limit the spread of the
    pandemic. On the other hand, the National Liberal Party has also enrolled the
    current Defense Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, the former chief of general staff in
    the Romanian army. Meanwhile, the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance surprised
    everyone with internal quarrels over available places on the lists for
    Parliament. Some voices within the Alliance are disgruntled with the fact that
    the Alliance has not nominated the people who are in the first line of battle
    with traditional parties. In turn, the People’s Movement Party are staking
    their odds on credibility and professionalism, by putting former Foreign and Justice
    Minister Cristian Diaconescu on the top position on their lists for the Senate.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Call for civic responsibility

    Call for civic responsibility

    Bucharest
    authorities on Wednesday made repeated and persistent calls on the population
    to observe health safety regulations, after an alarming soar in the number of
    corona infections. The main reasons behind the latest increase include people’s
    growing indifference in observing these measures. Some of these have been downgraded
    to simple recommendations in the wake of a Constitutional Court ruling which
    rated the legislation on isolation and quarantine under the states of emergency
    and alert as unconstitutional. The Liberal Government has submitted a new law
    to Parliament, where the Social-Democrats hold the majority, and whom President
    Klaus Iohannis has asked to debate the law as an emergency. Klaus Iohannis
    pointed out that the pandemic has been kept in check up until several weeks
    ago, but things have taken a turn for the worse, for which both the authorities
    and citizens share the blame. The President has called on people to wear masks,
    observe social distancing and wash their hands frequently, adding that, should
    the situation escalate, restrictions are likely to return. Klaus Iohannis went
    on to say that the health system is currently coping with the number of new
    cases, warning however against the limited number of beds in intensive care.
    The Government doesn’t want to reinstate restrictions, but will take any
    necessary measure, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said in turn. The Romanian
    official said we are all equal in the face of this pandemic, criticizing a
    number of campaigns in the public sphere aimed at making people believe the
    virus does not exist. Ludovic Orban:


    When you
    get risk you actually risk endangering the people closest to you, because the
    virus is transmitted to people you interact with the most. If you don’t care
    about your own health and don’t believe the virus exists or is dangerous, then
    you should care about your brother, your mother, your father, your child, your
    friends and colleagues.


    We have
    reached a turning point, Health Minister Nelu Tataru said in turn, adding that
    no further relaxation measures will be introduced until the number of new cases
    goes down. Minister Tataru said that, after the Constitutional Court’s ruling,
    30.000 people suspected of being infected with SARS CoV2 have left isolation
    and approximately 1.300 are no longer in quarantine centers. On a visit to the
    Black Sea coast, Nelu Tataru called on tourists to observe regulations related
    to the pandemic, expressing hope a legal framework will be set in place by the
    middle of next week, allowing the Government to introduce the appropriate
    measures. People who don’t exhibit any symptoms or who request their medical
    discharge should stay isolated at home for at least 14 days. Those who do feel
    sick should report to emergency wards for an evaluation of their condition,
    the Health Minister explained.


    (Translated
    by V. Palcu)

  • The health-care system must be modernized

    The health-care system must be modernized

    It’s quite obvious that, after this pandemic, we will have to seriously think about the Romanian health-care system, said Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Tuesday,
    when he attended a debate on this topic. He stressed the fact that the
    situation created by the new coronavirus highlighted things that were not
    working, things that must be fixed and the fact that, for a long period of
    time, the health-care system in Romania had been treated like a Cinderella. The
    PM said that the infrastructure was old and creating ‘lots of problems’, as very
    little investment was promoted.


    Ludovic Orban also stressed the fact that the health-care
    system in Romania is chronically under-financed, counting on the contributions
    of a small number of Romanian citizens, because there are many categories of
    citizens that are exempt from paying, although they benefit from such services.
    Moreover, the Prime Minister also stressed, the level of digitization in the
    system is extremely low.

    PM Ludovic Orban: The health card system, and that is a known
    fact, is collapsing. The digitization level in health care is extremely low.
    We ourselves, over this period, have been faced with the need for digitization, with all the data that we had to manage in a very short period
    of time and lots of information that had to be transmitted fast. It’s quite
    obvious that things need to be changed immediately.


    The Prime Minister also recalled a positive thing during
    the pandemic, namely that the medical system adapted quite rapidly and had a
    prompt reaction in the fight against Covid-19. He also highlighted the need for
    measures regarding hospital management. It’s clear that the procedures,
    although they exist, are not known, they have not been really implemented and
    hospital management is, in most cases, done without any proper training. Also,
    there is no real authority to impose the right rules in hospitals, and that is
    why there is a polycentric system at hospital level, the head of Government
    also said.


    Ludovic Orban also stressed that with regard to the medicines
    policy, the Government will have to intervene quite seriously in the coming
    period. Maintaining this clawback system, without rethinking it, led to the
    disappearance from the Romanian market of hundreds, maybe thousands of
    medicines, Orban explained. He said that in the coming period, investments in
    health will be a priority for the Government, alongside investments in
    transport and energy infrastructure, education, communications, research and
    development.


    Also on Tuesday, the Health Minister Nelu Tataru talked
    about a number of issues facing the health-care system, such as politicization, poor
    management, legislation, the lack of a coherent investment policy and the
    medicines policy. We must think of a health pact, we need professionals, the
    minister said.


    Nelu Tataru has also stated that Romania is on a downward
    trend as regards new cases of infection with the new coronavirus, and the
    number of serious cases is also decreasing. Community spread of the virus is
    low, and the number of tests conducted across the country has diminished, the
    minister said.


    The Health Ministry has announced that a sero-prevalence
    study will be conducted over June-September 2020, with the aim of monitoring
    the spread and thus take the necessary protection measures in the future. According
    to estimates, some 29 thousand residual serums are to be collected and
    analyzed. (M.Ignatescu)

  • Prime Minister Ludovic Orban appears before Parliament

    Prime Minister Ludovic Orban appears before Parliament

    The Liberal Government in Bucharest is preparing an
    economic recovery plan after the coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Prime Minister
    Ludovic Orban said in Parliament, where he was invited to present the measures
    taken so far by his team. The Prime Minister stated that, in the first quarter
    of 2020, Romania reported the biggest economic growth at EU level. Ludovic
    Orban:


    Most Romanian companies and most fields of activity
    remained operational, and the figures speak for themselves. Our data shows that
    in the first quarter Romania had the biggest economic growth. Data for the
    second quarter will reveal that, compared to other countries, Romania’s economy
    fares far better than many are willing to admit.


    Prime Minister Orban added that restrictions in the
    economic field were taken to lower the threat to people’s lives and well-being,
    saying that no construction site was closed down. Evidence of that can be found
    in the structure of economic growth for public investments. As regards the
    hospitality industry, which has been under tremendous pressure during this
    crisis, Ludovic Orban said the Government supports the restart of activity by
    taking active measures, when the epidemiological context will allow it. The
    opposition in Parliament disagrees, claiming the Government’s economic policies
    have made it impossible for thousands of companies to pay their bank
    installments, many of them now on the verge of bankruptcy. The opposition says
    the Government’s support programme addressing SMEs has turned out to be
    inefficient. ProRomania leader Victor Ponta believes the Orban Cabinet in fact
    has no solutions to the present crisis:


    Today Romania’s Parliament must make up for the
    Government’s lack of action and measures. We are talking about the economy, the
    true crisis Romania is already facing and which it will most likely continue to
    face, once the health crisis has passed. Allow me to ask you – will you resign
    willingly or must Parliament remove you from office again?


    In turn, Social-Democrat interim leader Marcel
    Ciolacu has called for concrete actions, the lack of which might trigger a new
    vote of no-confidence:


    You’ve inherited a functional economy, with a 4%
    growth, which you’ve now lowered to 2%. Over 70% of Romanians have money in
    their bank accounts to last them a month. Today, you should have resigned, but
    you lack the dignity to do it, for all the damage you’ve done to this country.


    Other parliamentary groups have asked for concrete
    measures to overcome the economic crisis, calling on the Government to show
    responsibility and engage in a constructive dialogue with its political partners.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)



  • May 4, 2020 UPDATE

    May 4, 2020 UPDATE

    CONFERENCE – Romanian Prime
    Minister Ludovic Orban on Monday evening held a press conference, 6 months
    after being sworn into office. Nearly half of this period has been marked by
    the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister said Romania wasn’t ready for this
    crisis and has made a huge effort to cope. Ludovic Orban said the restrictions
    imposed so far have produced an effective result in the fight against COVID-19.
    Romania’s testing capacity now stands at 11,000 tests per day, being carried
    out in 60 centers with 100% accuracy, the Romanian official said. Romania now
    has all the necessary medicine to treat the virus. The restrictions are
    temporary and will be lifted gradually, depending on the evolution of the
    pandemic. The Government’s purpose was to lower the impact on the economy, and
    the situation right now exceeds the forecasts of many economic pundits. Ludovic
    Orban also said the Government is assessing the financial resources and
    instruments that will help economic recovery. Investment will target transport,
    energy, healthcare, education and agriculture. Orban said public and private
    investments will drive economic growth. Romania can also accommodate any
    company that chooses to relocate its business from other countries.




    EUROPEAN COMMISSION – The
    European Commission on Monday organized an international video-conference aimed
    at raising funds to support the development of a vaccine and effective
    treatments of the coronavirus. An estimated 7.4 billion euros were raised,
    which will go to setting up a world health organization and research networks.
    In the opening of the event, the Commission donated 1 billion euros, the same
    as Norway, while Germany and France have each contributed 500 million euros. Italy
    donated 140 million euros. Canada’s contribution will stand at 850 million
    dollars, Saudi Arabia will donate 500 million dollars, 388 million pounds will
    be donated by Great Britain while Israel will contribute 60 million dollars.
    The United States did not take part in the initiative. Any vaccine against the
    coronavirus should be considered a global public product, French President
    Emmanuel Macron said. In turn, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pointed overcoming
    the crisis will involve the biggest health effort in world history. Despite the
    latest promising progress, many researchers doubt a viable vaccine used for
    mass-immunization would be available earlier than next year.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • May 4, 2020 UPDATE

    May 4, 2020 UPDATE

    CONFERENCE – Romanian Prime
    Minister Ludovic Orban on Monday evening held a press conference, 6 months
    after being sworn into office. Nearly half of this period has been marked by
    the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister said Romania wasn’t ready for this
    crisis and has made a huge effort to cope. Ludovic Orban said the restrictions
    imposed so far have produced an effective result in the fight against COVID-19.
    Romania’s testing capacity now stands at 11,000 tests per day, being carried
    out in 60 centers with 100% accuracy, the Romanian official said. Romania now
    has all the necessary medicine to treat the virus. The restrictions are
    temporary and will be lifted gradually, depending on the evolution of the
    pandemic. The Government’s purpose was to lower the impact on the economy, and
    the situation right now exceeds the forecasts of many economic pundits. Ludovic
    Orban also said the Government is assessing the financial resources and
    instruments that will help economic recovery. Investment will target transport,
    energy, healthcare, education and agriculture. Orban said public and private
    investments will drive economic growth. Romania can also accommodate any
    company that chooses to relocate its business from other countries.




    EUROPEAN COMMISSION – The
    European Commission on Monday organized an international video-conference aimed
    at raising funds to support the development of a vaccine and effective
    treatments of the coronavirus. An estimated 7.4 billion euros were raised,
    which will go to setting up a world health organization and research networks.
    In the opening of the event, the Commission donated 1 billion euros, the same
    as Norway, while Germany and France have each contributed 500 million euros. Italy
    donated 140 million euros. Canada’s contribution will stand at 850 million
    dollars, Saudi Arabia will donate 500 million dollars, 388 million pounds will
    be donated by Great Britain while Israel will contribute 60 million dollars.
    The United States did not take part in the initiative. Any vaccine against the
    coronavirus should be considered a global public product, French President
    Emmanuel Macron said. In turn, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pointed overcoming
    the crisis will involve the biggest health effort in world history. Despite the
    latest promising progress, many researchers doubt a viable vaccine used for
    mass-immunization would be available earlier than next year.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • Motion against the Finance Minister

    Motion against the Finance Minister

    Romanian Senators on Monday passed
    a simple motion filed by the Social-Democrats against Liberal Finance Minister
    Florin Citu. The National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic
    Union of Ethnic Hungarians as well as unaffiliated Senators voted against, while
    Social-Democratic Senators voted in favor. The initiators of the motion accuse
    Citu of making hazardous declarations at the start of his mandate, causing a
    spike in the exchange rate, which in turn entailed higher interest rates and
    price hikes for Romanians. Florin Citu claims the motion filed by the
    Social-Democratic Party is purely political and that he would step down only if
    the Liberal Party demands it. Citu says the former Finance Minister Eugen
    Teodorovici knew at the start of 2019 that the budget deficit would increase to
    4% without taking additional measures.


    The motion is not about me, it is
    a political undertaking that tries to conceal the dire political problems of
    Romania. Its initiators obviously want me to keep quit regarding the disastrous
    situation I found at the Finance Ministry. To them and to all the
    Social-Democrats I say the following: the National Liberal Party promised it would tell Romanians the truths at any cost. Enough is enough! Things cannot
    continue this way. The time you could steal without being held accountable
    stops here.


    In turn, Liberal Senator Alina
    Gorghiu says the Social-Democrats have no real reasons to launch criticism at
    Florin Citu. Social-Democrat Senator Stefan Oprea has told Florin Citu he is
    promoting measures that would take the budget deficit to figures he was
    estimating while he was in opposition.


    The figures you were prophesizing,
    at times in a very hysterical manner, when you spoke about the
    Social-Democratic governance, must come true today, and you need to make sure
    the 4.4% deficit is real, by any means possible. It matters little that budget
    revenues have been at a standstill for the past two months, or that public
    spending has skyrocketed during your term. All that matters is that your 4.4%
    deficit estimate should stand.


    Interim Social-Democratic leader
    Marcel Ciolacu believes the National Liberal Party did not understand
    Parliament’s vote of no-confidence against Florin Citu. After the motion was
    passed, Ludovic Orban said he would not replace Florin Citu, arguing the
    Social-Democratic Party is not entitled to criticize and ask for resignations
    after the disastrous budget it left behind. Under the Romanian Constitution,
    the passing of a simple motion does not necessarily entail the dismissal of the
    minister in question.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)