Radio România Internațional

Tag: resignation

  • February 9-13

    February 9-13

    100 days with Ilie Bolojan, after 10 years with Klaus Iohannis

    This Wednesday, Klaus Iohannis ended his second and last term as President of Romania. Ilie Bolojan, who stepped down as Senate Speaker and president of PNL took over the position of interim head of state. The Constitutional Court took note the presidency was vacated after Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation on Monday and established that the head of the Senate should step in as interim president. Ilie Gavrilă Bolojan was born 1969, in Bihor County (west). He studied mechanics and mathematics. He joined PNL in 1993. He is considered one of the best local specialists in local public administration. Over 2008-2020, he was mayor of Oradea, holding three mandates. Since 2020, he has been president of the Bihor County Council, a position he held until last year, when he became a senator. As interim president, an office he will hold for about a hundred days, Bolojan will have limited powers: he cannot address Parliament on key political issues, he cannot dissolve Parliament and he cannot call a national referendum. On December 21, 2024, Klaus Iohannis was supposed to end his term in office, but his stay at the Presidency was extended after the Constitutional Court annulled the entire process for the election of a new president. A new presidential election is slated for May, with the first round on the 4th and the second round on the 18th.

     

    The state budget for 2025, ratified on the last day of Iohannis’ term in office

    A few hours before announcing his resignation, President Iohannis signed the decrees for ratifying the State Budget Law for 2025 and the State Social Security Budget Law. The two bills were voted last week in a joint Parliament sitting. The budget is based on an economic growth rate of 2.5% and a budget deficit target of 7% of GDP. Finance Minister Tanczos Barna stated, before the plenary sitting, that the state budget is “moderate” and based on a prudent increase in revenues, “without exaggerations”. The Romanian official pointed out that the State Social Security Budget Law focuses “primarily on the payment of pensions”.

     

    A no-confidence vote is in the making

    The three parties in the self-proclaimed sovereignist opposition, AUR, SOS Romania and POT, have announced their intention to call for a vote of no-confidence against the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition. The motion could also be voted by MPs from the pro-European opposition party USR. Social-Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu claims he has no reasons to be afraid and that he is “confident” that “the government will not fall”. Political pundits do not rule out, however, possible defections within the majority and are skeptical about the chances of Ciolacu’s Cabinet staying in power.

     

    A new Russian attack

    The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemns the irresponsible attack by Russian forces on February 13, when two drones carrying explosives violated the airspace and fell on Romanian territory, near the border with Ukraine. By order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Emil Hurezeanu, the ad interim charge d’affaires of the Russian Federation in Bucharest was urgently summoned to the headquarters of the Ministry, where the Romanian side firmly condemned the repeated violations of Romania’s airspace. These illegal and irresponsible attacks must cease, while Romania has the right to take the necessary response measures, the Ministry said. Attending the 61st edition of the Munich International Security Conference, in Germany, organized over February 14-16, Minister Emil Hurezeanu calls for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in Ukraine The head of diplomacy from Bucharest also advocates for the continued provision of solid support for increasing the resilience of the Republic of Moldova.

     

    Bloody brawl in Urziceni

    Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, states that the involvement of several state structures is needed to combat organized crime and dismantle underworld clans. According to the Romanian official, although hundreds of organized crime groups have been dismantled in recent years, they are regenerating, and solving the problem may take a long time. At the end of last week, in Urziceni (south), two people died and five were injured, following a street brawl seasoned with gunfire, involving a few dozen people. Some of the combatants were arrested and charged with aggravated murder, brawl, disturbing public order and peace, failure to comply with the weapons and munitions legislation, unauthorized use of a weapon, attempted aggravated murder. Street brawls are uncommon in Romania, generally considered a safe country.

     

    Romania secures Rugby World Cup qualification

    Romania qualified for the 2027 World Cup in Australia after grabbing victories this month against Germany, 48-10, and Belgium, 31-14, in Rugby Europe Championship 2025. The Oaks have only missed out on the World Cup once, in 2019, when they were disqualified for fielding a naturalized but ineligible Tongan player. In football, Romanian champions FCSB from Bucharest defeated Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki 2-1 on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 play-offs. The return leg against the Greeks, coached by Romanian Răzvan Lucescu, is scheduled for next week in Bucharest. Also on Thursday, in handball, the defending champions Dinamo Bucharest lost 26-33 the home match against the Hungarian side One Veszprem HC, in Champions League Group A. (VP)

  • February 12, 2025

    February 12, 2025

    Ceremony – Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, ended his mandate on Wednesday at noon in a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bucharest after impeachment pressure over cancelled presidential vote. He had already announced his resignation on Monday. The two mandates to which Klaus Iohannis was entitled should have ended on December 21 last year, but he remained in office after the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election due to suspicions regarding interference of state actors. Dissatisfied with the decision of the constitutional court judges, tens of thousands of Romanians protested in the streets. Political analysts believe that, with the resignation of Klaus Iohannis, the tensions in society accumulated in the last months will decrease. A 65-year-old ethnic German, former physics teacher and former mayor of the city of Sibiu (center), Klaus Iohannis leaves the presidency with an extremely low popularity rating. The interim president is, as of Wednesday, the speaker of the Senate, Ilie Bolojan, who previously self-suspended from the position of speaker of the Senate and president of the National Liberal Party (PNL). He will be interim president until May, when the presidential election is scheduled on the 4th and 18th respectively. He will have almost all the prerogatives of the head of state, with a few exceptions: he will not have the right to address Parliament, dissolve Parliament and organize a referendum.

     

    PNRR – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is today chairing the meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Coordination of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which will also be attended by the head of the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Task Force SG RECOVER, Celine Gauer. The two met on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Ciolacu stated that the Government will continue implementing the reforms and investments assumed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) at a pace that will be accelerated at the level of each ministry. The PM also emphasized that the digitization measures taken by National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) improve the collection of public revenues, and the results will be felt in the coming years. At the same time, the reform of the central administration and the other solutions to reduce personnel expenses will lead to a more rigorous control of public resources and to a budget deficit target of 7% of the Gross Domestic Product in 2025, the prime minister added.

     

    Football – The Romanian football champions, FCSB (Bucharest), play, on Thursday, against the Greek champions, PAOK Thessaloniki, a team coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu, in the first leg of the play-off for qualification for the Europa League round of 16. The return match will take place in Bucharest, on February 20. PAOK and FCSB faced each other this season also in the main phase of the competition, and the Romanian champions won the match in Thessaloniki with the score of 1-0. FCSB finished the main stage in 11th place and PAOK in 22nd. The first eight teams qualified directly for the round of 16, and the teams in positions 9-24 will play a double-leg play-off for access to the round of 16.

     

    AI – The European Union will invest 200 billion Euros in artificial intelligence projects – the head of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in Paris. Attending the international meeting in the French capital dedicated to this sector, the president of the European Commission also spoke about a public-private partnership for mobilizing the capital necessary to develop the new technologies. The Minister of Economy and Digitalization in the Romanian government, Bogdan Ivan, also attended the meeting, and said that Romania was ready to play its role in the projects that will define the future. ‘Romania has a lot of specialists and well-trained companies in the field, and last year it adopted a Strategy for Artificial Intelligence that makes it interoperable from the point of view of research with the most developed states in the world’ minister Ivan also told Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris.

     

    Corruption – For the third year in a row Romania is among the EU countries with the ‘poorest’ results in combating corruption, obtaining a score of 46 points on a par with Malta, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2024, published by the non-governmental organization Transparency International. Denmark (90 p.) leads the ranking, while on the last places are countries such as Somalia (9 p.), Venezuela (10 p.) and Syria (12 p.).  The CPI reflects how independent and business experts perceive corruption in the public sector in 180 states and territories. (LS)

  • Reactions to the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis

    Reactions to the resignation of President Klaus Iohannis

    The political class in Bucharest reacted to the first resignation in the history of Romanian presidents.

     

     

    Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation from the position of President of Romania on Monday, saying his decision was meant to pre-empt a political crisis. In a public statement, Iohannis described the opposition MPs’ bid to impeach him as useless, unfounded and damaging. He said that he had never violated the Constitution and warned over the danger of Romania facing political crisis had he been impeached.

     

    Klaus Iohannis: “Internally, society will be divided, there will be no discussion about the upcoming presidential elections, there will be no discussion about how Romania will move forward. Externally, the effects will be long-lasting and very negative. Absolutely none of our allies will understand why Romania is impeaching its president, after, in fact, it has already started the procedure for electing a new president. In order to spare Romania and the Romanian citizens from this crisis, from this unnecessary and negative development, I am resigning from the position of President of Romania.”

     

    The leaders of the ruling coalition in Bucharest said they were not aware of Klaus Iohannis’ intention to resign, but that the move was preferable to impeachment, which would have complicated the political situation. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu: “I did not know about it. I am not a big fan of President Klaus Iohannis. I have never voted for him”. Klaus Iohannis is now in the past, said in turn, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), Kelemen Hunor, who explained that 10 years ago Iohannis was elected with huge hopes, but that he left behind a tense society. Kelemen Hunor: “He was elected with great hopes and with the chance to be a good president for every person, for every community. He has now stepped down, leaving behind frustration and disappointment, but, at the same time, has opened the way for all of us, for the coalition, for its candidate and for Romania to elect a good president, a president for every individual”.

     

    The opposition parties, the sovereigntist-isolationist POT, AUR, S.O.S Romania and the pro-European USR, who signed the motion for the president’s impeachment, welcomed the latter’s decision to resign. USR, however, says that the resignation comes very late and does not give answers to the questions that are tormenting the country. USR deputy leader, Ionuţ Moşteanu: “It is a decision that everyone has been waiting for. And USR has contributed to it. It is an advantage for all pro-European candidates that Klaus Iohannis will not be at Cotroceni during this campaign”.

     

    In turn, the representatives of AUR welcomed Klaus Iohannis’ resignation and announced their intention to table a censure motion against the government led by Marcel Ciolacu. The international media also reacted to the first resignation in the history of Romanian presidents. In a troubled Romania, the president throws in the towel, France Presse wrote, adding: “Klaus Iohannis leaves the presidency with an extremely controversial mandate and a high degree of unpopularity”, while Reuters specifies that the outgoing president of Romania resigns to pre-empt an impeachment bid in parliament.

  • February 11, 2025

    February 11, 2025

    RESIGNATION – The Constitutional Court has taken note of president Klaus Iohannis’ resignation. The two chambers of Parliament in Bucharest have also decided to annul Tuesday’s plenary sitting, where the main point on the agenda was the debate on the impeachment of Klaus Iohannis, after the populist and isolationist parties POT, AUR and S.O.S. Romania, in addition to the pro-European USR party, filed a motion in that regard. According to the Constitution, Senate Speaker Ilie Bolojan is expected to take over as interim president, after he has just stepped down as president of the National Liberal Party (PNL). Bolojan’s attributes remain limited: he will not be able to address Parliament on key political issues, he may not dissolve Parliament and will not be able to call a national referendum.

     

    BUDGET – Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, on Monday signed a number of executive orders, including the ratification of state budget and social security budget laws for 2025. Last week, the two bills were adopted by Parliament. The budget is based on a deficit target of 7% of GDP and an estimated economic growth rate of 2.5%. The Energy, Education, Health, Transport, Environment, Defense and Investments and European Funds ministries will get additional funds. Finance Minister Barna Tánczos, stated that all the conditions have been met to “support the development of the country by means of record-high investments”, while Romania will have “the resources to ensure the payment of salaries and pensions and restore financial balance”.

     

    CORRUPTION – The level of corruption remains very high at global level, while efforts to combat this phenomenon are decreasing, according to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International. According to the organization, the lack of strong measures against corruption spells serious repercussions globally in key areas such as protecting democracy, observing the rule of law, protecting the environment and combating climate change, and promoting and protecting human rights. In 2024, the average score at EU level was 62, down by two points compared to previous years. For the third year in a row, Romania was rated with a score of 46 out of 100 possible points, the same as Malta. Romania also fares very poorly at EU level in terms of combating corruption. Transparency International Romania made a number of recommendations, such as the implementation of Integrity Pacts as a widespread tool for monitoring public procurement, improving citizens’ awareness of the importance of applying the Law on the Protection of Public Whistleblowers or updating the legislation in the field of public integrity. Transparency International Romania also recommends the government implement an anti-corruption program that would help Romania improve its Corruption Perceptions Index score to at least 50 by 2027.

     

    REAL ESTATE – Ruling coalition MPs are as of today holding public consultations in order to regulate protection measures addressing people who conclude sale-purchase deeds with real estate developers. Representatives of real estate developers, public notaries and the National Agency for Land Registry and Real Estate Advertising are also expected to take part. The goal is to complete the legal framework with regulations that will offer the end beneficiaries robust guarantees for the advances paid in real estate transactions and that will also ensure the development and proper functioning of the relevant market in Romania. The initiative comes after hundreds of people who got scammed in the Nordis case called for amending the relevant legislation. Former PSD deputy Laura Vicol, her husband, Vladimir Ciorbă, the main shareholder of the Nordis group, and three other people were put on pre-trial arrest as part of this investigation. The inquiry targets individuals and companies accused of having collected over 195 million EUR from clients without handing over the apartments.

     

    112 – The buildings of over 100 public and private institutions in Romania will be lit in red today, marking the European 112 Day. By means of a symbolic visual approach, the Special Telecommunications Service wants to draw attention to the instrumental role of the single emergency number and to encourage citizens to use it responsibly. Abusive emergency calls can jeopardize the swift intervention of specialized teams where it is needed the most, Service officials say. In 2024, as a result of the efforts of the relevant authorities and emergency response services, as well as other government partners and private telecommunications operators, the number of non-emergency calls decreased by nearly one million compared to previous years. 112 Emergency Service operators took over 9.7 million calls, of which 60.45% were actual emergencies, the Special Telecommunications Service also reports.

     

    GLOBAL TRADE – France’s Industry Minister, Marc Ferracci, told a TF1 interview that Europe should respond in a firm and united manner to the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, also expressing hope such a response would happen soon. On Monday, the U.S. president substantially increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 25%, “without exceptions or exemptions”, in the hope this step would help struggling U.S. industries. However, the measure risks triggering a trade war on several fronts, Reuters reports. (VP)

  • February 10, 2025 UPDATE 3

    February 10, 2025 UPDATE 3

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    BUCHAREST – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis resigned on Monday, a day before an impeachment vote in Parliament, demanded by the opposition parties. Iohannis said that the resignation would take effect on February 12 and that he made the decision to step down in a bid to limit the fallout of what he believed would have been a divisive and damaging vote for the nation. At the same time, externally, none of the country’s allies would have understood why Romania was impeaching its president, after, in fact,  the procedure for electing a new president had already started, Iohannis also said. His second term expired on December 21, 2024, but was extended by the Constitutional Court with the annulment of the first round of the presidential elections in November. In keeping with the law, Senate speaker and Liberal leader Ilie Bolojan will assume the role of interim president on Wednesday, until the new president is elected. The interim president of Romania can promulgate laws, request their reexamination by the Constitutional Court, appoint and dismiss ministers and serve as supreme commander of the Armed Forces. However, he cannot dissolve Parliament, initiate a referendum and appoint another prime minister.

     

    REACTIONS – The opposition parties in the Bucharest Parliament, which had initiated the procedure to impeach outgoing President Klaus Iohannis, welcomed the latter’s decision to resign. MP Dan Tanasa, with the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) said that Iohannis was in office illegally and that the Romanians no longer wanted him. Also from the opposition, the head of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, said that the president’s resignation does not offer answers regarding the annulment of last year’s election and that, thorough changes are further needed in the relation between citizens and the state institutions. Representing the governing coalition, the Liberal mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc, said that resignation is preferable to impeachment, which would have complicated both the domestic political scene and Romania’s credibility abroad. The Social Democratic mayor of Craiova, Olguţa Vasilescu, pointed out that, as regards the presidential elections, the ruling coalition’s candidate continues to be the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu. The latter said that Klaus Iohannis’ resignation was a wise decision as it pre-empted the impeachment bid and a referendum. Senate speaker Ilie Bolojan, head of the Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition, will take over as interim president with limited powers until the election.

     

    INVESTIGATION – Five people were taken in for questioning following the 15 house searches that Romanian police carried out on Monday in Ilfov, Prahova, Buzau and Arges counties, in the case of the conflict in Urziceni, not far from the capital Bucharest, in which two people died. Also, after a series of searches carried out Monday in Brasov county, another nine people were taken to the police station for questioning. Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu signaled the fact that the involvement of several state structures was needed to combat organized crime and dismantle crime groups. He said that although hundreds of organized crime groups have been dismantled in recent years, they are regenerating, and solving this problem may take years. We remind you that, at the end of last week, two people died and five were injured, following a shooting incident involving over 25 people, members of two families in Urziceni and Prahova.

     

    ECONOMY – An International Monetary Fund delegation concluded its discussions in Bucharest with the main institutions in charge of Romania’s monetary and fiscal policies. It was not an assessment mission, but only a fact-finding one, and PM Marcel Ciolacu assured the IMF experts of the government’s determination to comply with the budget deficit target of 7% of the GDP and to implement the reforms undertaken in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The IMF made public its latest forecasts regarding the Romanian economy last autumn, when it estimated a 7% deficit for the end of 2025, the same as predicted by the government. However, the IMF’s estimates are more optimistic both as regards the economic growth rate and the inflation. In turn, World Bank officials welcomed the government’s reform plan and the attention paid to investments, noting that Romania is a strong and resilient partner.

     

    SUPERMARKETS –  PM Marcel Ciolacu said legislation should be introduced so that all products in major stores should have the same mark-ups. One day ahead of a boycott on supermarkets announced for Monday by the supporters of the former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu, PM Ciolacu presented, in an online post, the Romanian products he had bought. Roughly 800,000 Romanians work in the over 4,500 large stores in the country, and the taxes paid by such chains account for 13% of the revenues to the state budget. Moreover, according to data from the agriculture ministry, 70% of the products in retail stores in Romania are made in Romania. Early this month, customers in several Balkan countries joined a large-scale boycott on supermarkets, amid rising food prices. The protests that started in Croatia have spread to Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia.

     

    KOSOVO – Kosovo’s left-wing nationalist PM Albin Kurti claimed victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, saying he was optimistic about forming a new government. Unlike in the previous term, however, his party will not be able to form a parliamentary majority on its own. Kurti and other Kosovo party leaders have made it clear that they have no intention of working together, making it unclear how a ruling coalition could be formed in Pristina.

     

     

     

  • February 10, 2025 UPDATE 2

    February 10, 2025 UPDATE 2

    REACTIONS – The opposition parties in the Bucharest Parliament, which had initiated the procedure to impeach outgoing President Klaus Iohannis, welcomed the latter’s decision to resign. MP Dan Tanasa, with the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) said that Iohannis was in office illegally and that the Romanians no longer wanted him. Also from the opposition, the head of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, said that the president’s resignation does not offer answers regarding the annulment of last year’s election and that, thorough changes are further needed in the relation between citizens and the state institutions. Representing the governing coalition, the Liberal mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Emil Boc, said that resignation is preferable to impeachment, which would have complicated both the domestic political scene and Romania’s credibility abroad. The Social Democratic mayor of Craiova, Olguţa Vasilescu, pointed out that, as regards the presidential elections, the ruling coalition’s candidate continues to be the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu. The latter said that Klaus Iohannis’ resignation was a wise decision as it pre-empted the impeachment bid and a referendum. Senate speaker Ilie Bolojan, head of the Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition, will take over as interim president with limited powers until the election.

  • February 10, 2025 UPDATE

    February 10, 2025 UPDATE

    RESIGNATION   Klaus Iohannis  Monday announced he stepped down as president of Romania. He mentioned he would leave office on February 12. Parliament initiated an impeachment procedure, but this is a useless and groundless move, as I have never breached the country’s Constitution,  Klaus   Iohannis explained.   The head of state also warned that the move would have consequences both at national and international level.

    Previously, the joint standing bureaus of the two chambers had decided that Parliament would discuss on Tuesday, in a plenary meeting, the Opposition’s impeachment request.  The document was signed by 178 MPs, most of them from the self-proclaimed sovereigntist opposition.

    Klaus Iohannis’ second and last term in office came to an end on December 21, 2024. The Constitutional Court decided to cancel the presidential election and to keep Klaus Iohannis in office until a new president is elected, because of foreign interference in the election process. (AMP)

  • November 25, 2024 UPDATE

    November 25, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Călin Georgescu, running independently for president of Romania, has surprisingly won Sunday’s first round of the presidential election, with 22.94% of the votes after counting 99.94% of the ballots. Second comes  Elena Lasconi, the leader of Save Romania Union, with 19.17% of the votes, followed by the head of the Social Democratic Party and PM Marcel Ciolacu with 19,16%. He is followed by the president of AUR party, George Simion (13.87%) and the Liberal leader, Nicolae Ciuca (8.79%). The turnover was over 52%, with more than 821,000 Romanian nationals voting abroad. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, the largest number of valid votes cast abroad went to Călin Georgescu (43.35%), followed by Elena Lasconi (26.82%) and George Simion (12.07%). The former NATO deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoană, and the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă were voted for by less than 5% of those who went to the polls, while Marcel Ciolacu was elected by less than 3% of the Romanians in the diaspora. There were 13 candidates in the presidential race, 9 backed by political parties and 4 independents. The second round of the presidential elections will take place on December 8. On December 1, Romania’s National Day, general elections will be held, after on June 9, local and European parliamentary elections were also organised in Romania.

     

    RESIGNATION Romania’s prime-minister Marcel Ciolacu announced his resignation as leader of the Social Democrats over the poor results in the first round of the elections for president of Romania. Ciolacu failed to reach the decisive round, having lost to the candidate of the Save Romania Union, Elena Lasconi, by several thousand votes. Ciolacu congratulated the two candidates who qualified for the second round and announced that his party will not challenge the results, because the importance of the decisive round on December 8 is much greater than personal interests. He also said he would stand by his colleagues until after the parliamentary elections due next Sunday, and that he would not run for any party position after that. The MEP Victor Negrescu is now the interim party president. The Liberals, the governing partners of the Social Democrats, are facing a similar situation. The party leader Nicolae Ciucă, who also serves as speaker of the Senate, resigned following the presidential election results, where he came in fifth place. He called on traditional parties to “keep Romania united.” Ciucă said that the Liberal Party “is aware of the mistakes it has made and will fight to the end for Romania to remain a free and democratic country.”

     

    DIASPORA The first round of the presidential election came to a close at 7 AM in all the polling stations abroad, the Romanian foreign ministry announced. The last polling stations to close were in Vancouver, Canada, and on the US West Coast. Voters were able to cast their votes as early as Friday. The foreign ministry has set up 950 polling stations abroad for the presidential and parliamentary elections this year. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority, 821,703 Romanians cast their votes abroad, 817,476 on additional lists and 4,227 by post.

     

    REFERENDUM Bucharest residents were invited on Sunday to cast their votes in a local referendum called by the mayor general, Nicușor Dan. The referendum passed the 30% participation threshold. Preliminary results indicate the majority response to the three questions was “Yes”. 67% of respondents agreed that construction permits be issued by the Bucharest City Hall alone, 64% voted in favor of the City Hall Council approving the budgets of the City Hall and local districts, while 82% voted in favor of creating a program designed to fight drug use in schools. The referendum needs to be first confirmed by parliament.

     

    CHINA China has eliminated visa requirements for Romanian nationals over November 30, 2024 – December 31, 2025. The Romanian foreign ministry welcomed the decision, and said the measure will help facilitate the mobility of Romanian citizens, expanding the scale of person-to-person contacts. Visas will be lifted for citizens travelling for business, tourism, visiting or transiting China. (AMP)

  • Top diplomatic change in the Republic of Moldova

    Top diplomatic change in the Republic of Moldova

    The Moldovan foreign minister, Nicu Popescu, announced on Wednesday that he submitted his mandate as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in the pro-Western government of the Republic of Moldova. I have successfully fulfilled the foreign policy objectives set upon my appointment and at this stage I need a break, he said. In June 2022, with Popescu as head of the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry, the Republic of Moldova obtained the status of EU accession candidate country, and last month the decision-makers in Brussels gave the green light for the opening of negotiations. On December 26, 2023, President Maia Sandu awarded Nicu Popescu the Order of the Republic, the highest state award. For the moment, the former minister avoided confirming the information circulated in the public space, according to which he would be appointed chief negotiator of the Republic of Moldova for EU accession, a newly created position after the December decision of the EU leaders.



    According to the press, Nicu Popescu is perfectly qualified for such a mandate. Before becoming a minister, Popescu was a researcher at the Center for European Political Studies in Brussels, then an analyst and program director at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), an analyst at the Institute for Security Studies of the European Union and a foreign policy and European integration advisor at the office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova. The lastest visit he paid abroad, right on the eve of his resignation, was in Bucharest, where he had meetings with his Romanian counterpart, Luminița Odobescu, and other officials. According to the Moldovan foreign ministry, the foreign ministers of the two neighboring states discussed the development and deepening of the bilateral partnership, as well as the next steps regarding the Republic of Moldovas EU accession negotiations.



    The new Foreign Minister in the cabinet headed by Dorin Recean will be the current Vice-President of the Parliament in Chişinău, Mihai Popşoi. A new ministry for European Affairs will also be created for Cristina Gherasimov, until now a Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Mihai Popşoi, who will take over his portfolio next week, already had a first telephone conversation with his Romanian counterpart, Luminiţa Odobescu, who invited him to visit Bucharest and confirmed Romania’s commitment to the development of the strategic partnership, to the advancement of joint projects and bilateral cooperation. Previously, President Klaus Iohannis also stated, at the annual meeting with the heads of accredited diplomatic missions in Bucharest, that Romania would continue to stand by Moldovas side in the process of negotiations for EU accession. He said that the decision to start negotiations represented a strategic objective for Romania and underlined that it was crucial for the Republic of Moldova to continue to receive support. (LS)

  • January 24, 2024 UPDATE

    January 24, 2024 UPDATE

    Union – Romanians marked on Wednesday, January 24, the Union of the Romanian Principalities of 1859. Achieved under the leadership of the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the act of political will of 165 years ago by the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia to unite represented the first stage in the creation of the modern Romanian unitary state. This year as well, the Union of the Principalities, was marked by military and religious ceremonies, shows and exhibitions held in the countrys major cities. In Iasi (east), thousands of people came from the early hours of the morning to witness the events – a Te Deum, a ceremony at the statue of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the parade of over 300 soldiers and a traditional music concert. Alongside the residents of Iasi and the neighboring counties, high-ranking state dignitaries and politicians announced their presence at the ceremonies. In Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis gave a speech in which he stated that the anniversary of the Union of Principalities is not only a retrospective moment, but also an opportunity to project a better future for the nation. The PM Marcel Ciolacu stated that, 165 years after the Romanians united their efforts and laid the foundations of Romania as a nation, unitary and democratic state, Romania has entered a new stage of its modernization process, which will allow it to develop and grow to reach its real potential. The NATO deputy general secretary, the Romanian Mircea Geoană, has called for unity. In his message, he has drawn attention to the fact that only through patriotism and courage the project called Romania can be carried forward.



    Chisinau – The Foreign Minister of the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, announced his resignation on Wednesday. He stated that he had fulfilled the objective set when he was appointed, and now he needed a break. Among the main achievements during the 2 and a half years of holding the FM position, Nicu Popescu obtained a certain visibility for the Republic of Moldova on the international level and gave a boost to relations with external partners, obtaining for Moldova the status of EU accession candidate country in June 2022 and the opening of negotiations in December 2023. These, despite the Russian aggression in neighboring Ukraine, which affected Moldova from an economic and energy point of view, and Moscows destabilization attempts. The Moldovan official announced that he would continue to support the current pro-European leadership in their effort to bring Moldova into the EU. Following Nicu Popescu’s resignation, the current Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will be divided into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of European Integration.



    US – The favorite of the American right, the former US president, Donald Trump, won, on Tuesday evening, the New Hampshire primary against his rival Nikki Haley, opening the way to his nomination by the Republican Party for the November presidential election against the Democrat Joe Biden. Since his November 2020 defeat by President Biden, which he has never acknowledged, and despite facing four criminal trials, Trump is determined to get revenge. To face Joe Biden on November 5, Trump must be nominated by his party at the end of all primaries in the American states. Last week, Donald Trump also won the Iowa primary.



    Ambassadors – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, presented, on Tuesday, at the meeting of US ambassadors from the Black Sea region, held in Bucharest, Romanias approach to this area, focusing on its importance for the security of the Euro-Atlantic space and the prosperity of Europe. The head of Romanian diplomacy spoke about the deterioration of the security situation due to Russias war against Ukraine and the need to consolidate the allied presence on the entire Eastern Flank, as shown by a Foreign Ministry press release issued on Wednesday. At the same time, Ms. Odobescu mentioned Romanias constant involvement in supporting Ukraine, including the contribution to facilitating the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products to third markets. The event, hosted by the US Embassy in Bucharest and the US European Command (EUCOM), brought together senior American officials accredited in the states of the region.



    NATO – The Turkish Parliament ratified, on Tuesday evening, Swedens accession to NATO, marking the end of 20 months of negotiations that tested the patience of Ankaras Western allies, eager to make a united front against Moscow. To meet Turkeys demands, Sweden has gone to great lengths to reform its constitution and pass a new anti-terrorism law, with Ankara accusing the northern country of leniency towards Kurdish militants who have taken refuge on its territory. The Swedish candidacy now requires the green light from Hungary. Budapest supported, in principle, Sweden’s entry but demands Stockholm to stop its policy of “denigration” of the Hungarian government, accused of authoritarianism. Sweden, one step away from becoming the 32nd member country of the North Atlantic Alliance, announced its candidacy in May 2022, at the same time as Finland, admitted last April. (LS)


  • January 24, 2024

    January 24, 2024

    Union – Romanians mark on Wednesday, January 24, the Union of the Romanian Principalities of 1859. Achieved under the leadership of the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the act of political will of 165 years ago by the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia to unite represented the first stage in the creation of the modern Romanian unitary state. This year as well, the Union of the Principalities, is marked by military and religious ceremonies, shows and exhibitions held in the countrys major cities. In Iasi (east), thousands of people came from the early hours of the morning to witness the events – a Te Deum, a ceremony at the statue of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the parade of over 300 soldiers and a traditional music concert. Alongside the residents of Iasi and the neighboring counties, high-ranking state dignitaries and politicians announced their presence at the ceremonies. In Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis gave a speech in which he stated that the anniversary of the Union of Principalities is not only a retrospective moment, but also an opportunity to project a better future for the nation. The PM Marcel Ciolacu stated that, 165 years after the Romanians united their efforts and laid the foundations of Romania as a nation, unitary and democratic state, Romania has entered a new stage of its modernization process, which will allow it to develop and grow to reach its real potential.



    Chisinau – The Foreign Minister of the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, announced his resignation on Wednesday. He stated that he had fulfilled the objective set when he was appointed, and now he needed a break. Among the main achievements during the 2 and a half years of holding the FM position, Nicu Popescu obtained a certain visibility on the international level and gave a boost to relations with external partners, obtaining for Moldova the status of EU accession candidate country in June 2022 and the opening of negotiations in December 2023. These, despite the Russian aggression in neighboring Ukraine, which affected Moldova from an economic and energy point of view, and Moscows destabilization attempts. The Moldovan official announced that he would continue to support the Moldovan President, Maia Sandu, and the current government in their efforts to bring the Republic of Moldova into the European family.



    US – The favorite of the American right, the former US president, Donald Trump, won, on Tuesday evening, the New Hampshire primary against his rival Nikki Haley, opening the way to his nomination by the Republican Party for the November presidential election against the Democrat Joe Biden. Since his November 2020 defeat by President Biden, which he has never acknowledged, and despite facing four criminal trials, Trump is determined to get revenge. To face Joe Biden on November 5, Trump must be nominated by his party at the end of all primaries in the American states. Last week, Donald Trump also won the Iowa primary.



    Ambassadors – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, presented, on Tuesday, at the meeting of US ambassadors from the Black Sea region, held in Bucharest, Romanias approach to this area, focusing on its importance for the security of the Euro-Atlantic space and the prosperity of Europe. The head of Romanian diplomacy spoke about the deterioration of the security situation due to Russias war against Ukraine and the need to consolidate the allied presence on the entire Eastern Flank, as shown by a Foreign Ministry press release issued on Wednesday. At the same time, Ms. Odobescu mentioned Romanias constant involvement in supporting Ukraine, including the contribution to facilitating the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products to third markets. The event, hosted by the US Embassy in Bucharest and the US European Command (EUCOM), brought together senior American officials accredited in the states of the region.



    NATO – The Turkish Parliament ratified, on Tuesday evening, Swedens accession to NATO, marking the end of 20 months of negotiations that tested the patience of Ankaras Western allies, eager to make a united front against Moscow. To meet Turkeys demands, Sweden has gone to great lengths to reform its constitution and pass a new anti-terrorism law, with Ankara accusing the northern country of leniency towards Kurdish militants who have taken refuge on its territory. The Swedish candidacy now requires the green light from Hungary. Budapest supported, in principle, Sweden’s entry but demands Stockholm to stop its policy of “denigration” of the Hungarian government, accused of authoritarianism. Sweden, one step away from becoming the 32nd member country of the North Atlantic Alliance, announced its candidacy in May 2022, at the same time as Finland, admitted last April. (LS)


  • New ministers in Romania’s government

    New ministers in Romania’s government

    Nominated early this week by the main partner in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party, to take over the ministries for family and labour, respectively, the Deputies Natalia Intotero and Simona Bucura-Oprescu were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon.



    The seats had been vacant since last week, when Gabriela Firea and Marius Budăi resigned following a scandal concerning grave irregularities in several care homes for the elderly and the disabled.



    More than 2,000 such centres were checked by the authorities in the aftermath of the scandal, and several of these, mostly in Bucharest, were closed down. In scores of other similar institutions, operations have been discontinued and fines totalling some EUR 2 mln have been issued. Criminal investigations have also been initiated, concerning economic offences or crimes against persons, and two inspectors with the Ilfov County Agency for Social Inspection and Payments have been detained for having failed to properly assess the situation in a care centre for people with disabilities.



    And, after talks with PM Marcel Ciolacu, the two relevant ministers also resigned. Ciolacu said at the time that mayors, county council presidents, chiefs of local institutions and police chiefs having connections with the institutions subject to the investigation must also take political responsibility.



    Similarly, the Social Democratic Partys spokesman Lucian Romaşcanu said other officials should step down following the inspections conducted in the care centres for the elderly. “It only makes sense, at present, to conclude that the responsibility here lies not only with the government, but also with the local authorities. Decisions will certainly be made at Cabinet level, but the culprits at political and administrative level should also take a step back. It is a matter of political dignity,” the Social Democratic official argued.



    For the time being, the new ministers have taken over their posts. Simona Bucura-Oprescu, 43, currently at her 3rd term in office in the Chamber of Deputies with support from the Social Democrats, is the new minister of labour and social solidarity. In a social media post on Monday, she said the law on special pensions, the pensions law and the salary law are the priorities of her ministerial term, with a view to completing the reforms undertaken under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.



    The new minister for family, youth and equal opportunities, Natalia Intotero, is 47 and is also at her 3rd term in office as an MP. (AMP)

  • July 17, 2023

    July 17, 2023

    SUMMIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis
    takes part on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels in the 3rd summit of
    the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The main goal of the summit is to revive the partnership
    between the EU and Latin American countries, in the context of current
    geopolitical developments, including Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to
    the Romanian presidency, Mr. Iohannis will highlight the importance of the
    cooperation between the 2 regions for the management of new global challenges,
    of the complex challenges facing both regions, and of the new development
    opportunities that may be capitalised on through enhanced cooperation. The
    Romanian president will also emphasise that Romania’s active commitment to a
    closer cooperation between the 2 regions was reconfirmed in all his meetings
    with his counterparts, during his official visits to Brazil, Chile and
    Argentina this April.


    GOVERNMENT The
    Social Democratic MPs Natalia Intotero and Simona Bucura-Oprescu have been
    appointed by their party leaders today as the new ministries for family and
    labour, respectively. The 2 positions were vacant after the resignation of Gabrielei
    Firea as minister for family and of Marius Budăi as labour minister, following
    a scandal concerning care home abuses in Ilfov County, near the capital
    Bucharest, where prosecutors are investigating organised crime groups exploiting
    vulnerable people. Simona Bucura-Oprescu chairs the Committee on public
    administration and country planning in the Chamber of Deputies. She was elected
    as Deputy for Argeş County as a Social Democratic candidate, first in 2012, and
    then in 2016 and 2020. Natalia Intotero was a minister for the Romanian
    diaspora in 2018-2019 and a state secretary with the Foreign Ministry. She is
    also at her 3rd term in office as an MP, and since December 2020 she
    has been chairing the Chamber’s committee on education.


    TAXATION The government of Romania is looking at a set of
    tax increases to be applied as of September 1 in order to offset the budget
    deficit. The planned changes include a new 1% tax on residential buildings
    worth over EUR 500,000, and higher taxes on tobacco products and gambling. According
    to governmental sources, 2 VAT rates will remain in force, with a 9% tax rate
    for foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and prostheses, and a 19% rate for other
    products and services. The government is also considering the introduction of
    public health insurance contributions for employees in agriculture and
    constructions, thus eliminating current exemptions in these sectors. Additional
    taxes will be charged on transfers by companies that move their profits out of
    the country. As many as 85.8% of the small and medium-sized enterprises are
    against these proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code, the SME Council president
    Florin Jianu says.


    CULTURE This week’s agenda of the Timişoara – European Capital
    of Culture programme includes theatre, performing arts, cinema, exhibitions and
    gastronomy. The world-famous US actor John Malkovich stars in The Infernal
    Comedy staged by the National Theatre in Timişoara, supported by the Vienna
    Academy Orchestra, in 3 sold-out performances on Thursday and Friday. On
    Tuesday, the Revolution Memorial Museum opens an exhibition on The Berlin
    Wall, a border through Germany, and Wednesday sees the first screening of a travel
    documentary by Florin Iepan, entitled My journey to Romania – Letter from
    Timişoara, depicting the city as seen by a Norwegian traveller, Christoffer
    Johansen.


    SPORTS Romanian
    football champions Farul Constanţa take on Sheriff Tiraspol, of the R. of
    Moldova, on Tuesday night, in the Champions League’s first qualifying round. In the first leg, Farul won 1-0 on home
    turf. The winning team is next to play against the winner of the round pitting Maccabi Haifa (Israel) against Hamrun Spartans (Malta), in
    which the Israeli side won the first leg 4-0. Three
    Romanian teams are playing in Conference League as well. In the 2nd
    qualifying round, former champions CFR Cluj take on Adana Demirspor, of Turkey.
    Cup winners Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe are pitting against CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria), while
    vice-champions FCSB (Bucharest) are facing CSKA 1948 Sofia. The first leg is
    scheduled for July 27, with the return leg due a week later. (AMP)

  • Scandal in nursing homes prompts minister to resign

    Scandal in nursing homes prompts minister to resign

    As a consequence of the scandal regarding the ill-treatment of the elderly and the vulnerable people in nursing homes, the Romanian Labor Minister, the Social Democrat Marius Budai, resigned on Thursday, although, a few days ago, he said that this gesture didnt matter. The Deputy Prime Minister Marian Neacşu will replace him and political sources say that the future Labor Minister will be appointed by the Social Democratic Party – PSD (in the governing coalition), next week, when a meeting of the leadership of this political party will be organized.



    The resignation decision was announced by the Social-Democratic prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, who believes this is a normal gesture in a democracy: I had a discussion with the Labour Minister, Marius Budai, who informed me about his decision to submit his resignation at the end of this meeting. From my point of view, it is a gesture of honor for which I thank him and I am convinced that this is the natural reaction of a political decision-maker in such a crisis. It is a natural reaction in any consolidated European democracy.



    The huge scandal of the ‘homes of horror as they are called in the Romanian media broke out a week and a half ago, but the first accusations were first made several months ago. The revelations showed, back then, that more than 100 so-called beneficiaries of these homes were isolated, starved, tortured, exploited and deprived of minimal hygiene conditions.



    In the meantime, the authorities continue the nationwide verification action of residential social centers. In recent days, several such homes have been checked. Of these, over 20 have been closed, most of them in Bucharest. Also, the activity of almost 30 centers has been suspended and fines have been given worth almost 10 million lei (about 2 million Euros). Several criminal files were opened, some of which concern crimes against the person and economic crimes. At the same time, two inspectors of the Ilfov County Agency for Payments and Social Inspection were detained, because they allegedly did not properly evaluate the situation in a care center for people with disabilities.



    The Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu asked the civil society to propose new names for the future leadership of the National Authority for Persons with Disabilities, because he believes that the NGOs have more expertise in presenting competent people for this domain. In turn, the opposition Save Romania Union party demands the organization of an extraordinary parliamentary session, to look into the situation in the social centers. (LS)


  • July 13, 2023 UPDATE

    July 13, 2023 UPDATE

    STRIKE Disgruntled with
    their salaries, trade unionists from Romania’s public finances on Thursday
    picketed the headquarters of the Finance Ministry in Bucharest. Their main
    claim is that the pay of the employees of ANAF and the Finance Ministry be
    adjusted in keeping with the inflation rate. Protesters have also asked for
    decent working conditions, for legislating the professional status and covering
    the staff deficit. Also on Thursday, representatives of cancer patients in
    Romania protested in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Health,
    disgruntled by the fact that the provisions in the National Plan for Combating
    and Controlling Cancer are not applied from the beginning of this month under a
    law endorsed with a landslide majority in Parliament, promulgated by president
    Klaus Iohannis and which has been in force since the beginning of the year.








    WEATHER Meteorologists on Thursday issued a code yellow alert for extremely hot
    weather valid until Sunday in several counties in Romania’s western, eastern
    and central regions. The heat-humidity comfort index is expected to exceed the
    critical threshold of 80 units with highs between 35 and 37 degrees centigrade.
    The weather is significantly cooling in the rest of the regions with highs ranging
    between 25 and 33 degrees Celsius.






    HEAT A heat wave struck southern Europe
    on Thursday, and according to Reuters, authorities have cautioned against
    record highs next week. A weather warning has been issued for the Canary
    Islands, an archipelago belonging to Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Greece. Authorities
    in Greece have announced that temperatures can reach 43 or 44 degrees Celsius on
    Friday or Saturday. Europe’s hottest temperature, 48.8 degrees centigrade, was
    recorded in Sicily in August 2021, but, according to the European Space Agency,
    it could be exceeded next week.






    RESIGNATION
    The Romanian Labor Minister Marius Budai stepped down on Thursday amid a
    scandal regarding the care centers for the elderly. The Romanian authorities are
    carrying on investigations at residential social centers throughout the
    country. More than 1,500 centers have been checked so far, and 15 nursing homes
    for the elderly, the disabled and children have been closed down. The activity
    of another 26 has been suspended. The authorities have issued 60 fines worth
    almost 800,000 lei (the equivalent of about 160 thousand Euros). A nursing home
    that was operating illegally was identified and a criminal case was also opened
    for abuse of office, fraud, false declarations, unlawful practicing of a
    profession and tax evasion in the case of a commercial company that owns three
    nursing homes. On the other hand, the Bucharest Court of Appeal will judge on
    July 20 the appeals made by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime
    and Terrorism (DIICOT) regarding the placement under house arrest, under
    judicial control or the failure to take any measures in the case of the 20
    defendants detained last week in the investigation regarding the nursing homes
    for the elderly and the people with disabilities from Ilfov county (south, near
    Bucharest), where the so-called beneficiaries were beaten, insulted, starved,
    subjected to forced labor and deprived of minimum hygiene conditions.


    (bill)