Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian PM

  • British Premier David Cameron pays visit to Bucharest

    British Premier David Cameron pays visit to Bucharest

    Romania and Britain are not just partners within NATO and the EU, but also very good business partners, as bilateral trade stood at a record 3.5 billion Euro last year, British PM David Cameron said on Wednesday in Bucharest. Alongside Poland and Bulgaria, Romania is part of Cameron’s diplomatic tour of central and Eastern Europe, against the background of London’s reconsidering its relations with Brussels. Also, Britain is currently preparing a referendum on whether to stay or not within the EU. Cameron said London wanted a reform of the European Union that would also serve Britain’s interests, especially with regard to the freedom of movement, in particular of the workforce.



    David Cameron said he supported the freedom of movement principle, as one of Europe’s fundamental principles. Romanians, alongside other Europeans, make a valuable contribution to the United Kingdom in a wide range of fields, from finance to science and medicine, Cameron went on saying. However, this freedom of movement has brought more people than expected, with an net inflow of 300,000 in Great Britain alone. This pressure on schools, hospitals and public services in general must be solved, Cameron also said.



    Just like Poland, Romania strongly opposes any limitation of the right to freedom of movement, which is one of the EU’s fundamental principles. The largest part of the Romanian citizens in Britain are very well integrated and contribute to the country’s economy through the taxes and fees they pay, said Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis during the talks with the British Premier.



    In turn, the Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos said: “The proposals made by Britain can be supported by Romania, except for the matter concerning workers’ rights in the EU. Here we insisted on the need to find solutions that would not run counter to the rights that are already provided for in the European legislation, in particular with regard to welfare, given that Romanians who go to Great Britain do so in order to work, therefore they pay taxes there. I believe that in the future solutions will be found to take into account these concerns that Romania has.”



    Strengthening cooperation between Romania and Great Britain in the economic and security fields, alongside a reform of EU mechanisms, were some of the other topics approached by the British PM David Cameron during talks with Romanian officials in Bucharest.



    (Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu / Edited by Elena Enache)

  • Statements on the Independence of the Judiciary

    Statements on the Independence of the Judiciary

    Sent to court for forgery of private documents, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering in a case involving legal assistance contracts signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies in the south, the Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta continues to claim his innocence and to deny both the charges, and the Oppositions and President Iohannis calls for his resignation.



    The disputes on the topic are far from being over. As long as Ponta remains the head of the government, the state might stand to lose, said the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, in a talk show on a private TV channel. Kovesi explained that in the lawsuit against the PM, the Oltenia Power Company does not take part as a plaintiff because it is under the authority of the government, and implicitly of the PM.



    Laura Codruta Kovesi: “This is not the first case in which a public institution is headed by the same person that is sent to court as a defendant, and we have this problem, that the public institution in question will not bring civil action against that person. Magistrates, for instance, get suspended from office when they are sent to court, and I think the same rule ought to apply to the other civil servants in public institutions, because in such cases where the state does bring civil action against a person, it is obviously the state that will incur losses.



    On the other hand, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor denied the Prime Ministers claims that his indictment was the result of political interference. In a separate statement to another television station, Victor Ponta hinted that President Klaus Iohannis was behind this decision:



    Victor Ponta: “Im wondering whether the President resorted to all this pressure to have me indicted, because I think the statements he has made are not suitable for a president of Romania. If he says he is happy with be being sent to court, then perhaps he has his reasons.



    The President had previously stated that the passing of the no-confidence motion tabled by the Liberals in Opposition would solve a major problem that Romania is facing, namely having a prime minister who is facing criminal charges. The Presidents chief of staff, Dan Mihalache, was also quick to reply to the Prime Ministers allegations: “The Presidency will not get into this kind of low-level squabble, because we have work to do. If Mr. Ponta has doubts regarding the independence of the judiciary, he may report them to the Judicial Control Corps, Mihalache said.

  • The Week in Review September 14 – 20

    The Week in Review September 14 – 20

    The Romanian Prime Minister is Under Prosecution


    Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta is under prosecution, the first head of government to get indicted for irregularities in the 25 years since the fall of communism. A party colleague, Dan Sova, is also being prosecuted with 17 accusations of forgery, conspiracy to commit aggravated tax evasion and money laundering. The cases revolve around the energy complexes of Turceni and Rovinari. The alleged violations were committed while Ponta was a lawyer in the private sector. In parallel, prosecutors have concluded that Victor Ponta has to be investigated for conflicts of interest as prime minister as well. His co-defendant, Dan Sova, a former minister for transportation, is being prosecuted for conspiracy to commit abuse of office. He is suspected of having pocketed hundreds of thousands of Euros for contracts that deprived the state of around 16 million Euros. The situation is getting thorny for the standing government and the Social Democratic Party, insofar as President Iohannis called once again on Ponta to step down. The Social Democrats, however, refuse, as illustrated by interim party chair Liviu Dragnea:


    Liviu Dragnea: “We have no guarantee that Pesident Iohannis would appoint as prime minister another Social Democrat. Victor Ponta is a prime minister who has led several governments which have generated in Romania good economic results, and not only economic. Romania is not about to burn down. Romania isnt about to burn down even tomorrow. Nothing terrible is going to occur over the next few days. It is important for him to put some order in his thoughts, and, depending on his decision, we will talk, the two of us and as a political party, as a coalition.


    Ponta continues to deny all charges.



    Romania and the Refugee Crisis


    Romania continues to oppose mandatory refugee quotas faced with the wave of migration of late, and next week the country will plead once again with the EU against such measure. The announcement was made by President Klaus Iohannis, after he consulted the Higher Defense Council of the country. The head of state has reiterated Bucharests commitment to take in 1,785 refugees, even though the European Commission would like Romania to take in three times as many. However, if the EU forces Bucharest to take in more than the number they volunteered to, the Defense Council took into account asking the EU for money to cover the extra expenses. Here is what President Iohannis said:



    Klaus Iohannis: “If anything like this should happen, it is clear that we have to do something. A decision has not been made, but the idea has been circulated, which probably may lead to a solution, of using European funds for expanding facilities for taking in refugees, or, at the extreme, of course, of using European funds for building more centers to house refugees.



    Also this week, a verbal war ensued between Romania and Hungary after Budapest announced it planned to erect a razor wire fence to fend off refugees on the Romanian-Hungarian border, similar to the one built on the border with Serbia. The position of the Bucharest government in relation to the way Hungary treats migrants is in line with the positions expressed in the EU, as well as in other international organizations. The Romanian government reiterated that a fence on its border with Hungary was not in conformity with European norms. The Romanian government believes it is fundamental to observe these norms, as well as human rights.



    The Mayor of Bucharest is Under Detention


    Dan Marin, representing the small National Union for the Progress of Romania Party, in the ruling coalition, is acting as of Tuesday as mayor of Bucharest. As such, he said:



    Dan Marin: “Right now there is a void of information as regards the financial situation at City Hall, which is why one of the first measures I will take is to run an external audit.



    Dan Marin takes over from Sorin Oprescu, suspended as mayor by the prefect of the capital city due to prosecution. Anti-corruption prosecutors accuse Oprescu, who is under temporary arrest, of having taken 25,000 Euros in bribes, alleging that he ran a kickback ring in his administration.



    The Romanian Economy Shows Signs of Recovery


    The IMF representative in Romania and Bulgaria, Guillermo Tolosa, said this week that Romania may overtake economically in the next three years European countries such as Greece, the Czech Republic and Portugal, if it maintains fiscal stability and manages to draw in investments, especially in infrastructure. Also this week, annual inflation reached a historic low in a quarter century, minus 1.9%, without the risk of deflation. The National Forecast Commission has upped its figures for 2015 on economic growth from 2.8% to 3.3%, allowing for the possibility of 4% in 2018.