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Tag: Senate

July 7, 2020 UPDATE

Covid-19 — Another 31 people have died in Romania from coronavirus infection, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 1,799. 397 new cases of contamination were reported also on Tuesday which brings the total number of cases to 29.600. 5,095 Romanians from abroad have tested positive for the new coronavirus and 122 people have died. The National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of green countries, whose citizens will not be isolated or quarantined upon entering Romania. As of Tuesday flights have been resumed to and from 32 European states and 12 countries from other continents. These countries are: Bulgaria, Monaco, Croatia, the UK, The Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Island, Switzerland, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Lithuania, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Andorra, the Faeroes Islands and Vatican. The list of third countries includes Canada, Morocco, Algeria, Australia, Rwanda, Uruguay, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, New Zealand, Tunisia and Thailand. The list has been drafted according to the number of new cases of contamination reported in the past 14 days per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Economy — Romania’s economy will register a 6% decrease in 2020, according to estimates made public on Tuesday by the EC. The estimates are similar to those made in May. For next year, the EC estimates a growth rate of Romania’s GDP of 4% as against the 4.2% forecast made in May. The EC warns that growth prospects are still susceptible to certain risks. In another move, the EC estimates show an inflation rate of 2.5% in 2020 and of 2.8% in 2021. As regards the EU economy, the EC has warned that it is going to face deep recession following the coronavirus pandemic, despite the rapid and comprehensive response given by the EU states.

Motion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday debated a simple motion of no confidence filed by the opposition Social Democratic Party against the Liberal minister of development Ion Stefan, whom they accused of incompetence and forgery. The Social Democrats also mentioned integrity issues related to minister Stefans financial statements and his controversial move of cutting down on the anticorruption personnel and resources within the ministry. Minister Ion Stefan replied that the motion only included calumnies and verbal attacks. The vote on the motion is scheduled for next week.

Senate – The Romanian Senate on Tuesday voted a bill stipulating that local elections will be held on September 27. The draft law also mentions that the polling stations will be located within lightweight constructions and living containers. The bill will be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, a decision-making body. Initially scheduled for June, the local elections have been postponed due to the pandemic. The mandates of the mayors, county council presidents and of the local and county councilors have consequently been extended by 6 months.

Football – The Bucharest-based football teams FCSB and Dinamo will play, on Wednesday evening, the decisive match of the Romanian Football Cup’s semifinals. In the first match, played on Dinamo’s turf, FCSB won 3-0. The other semifinal will be played on Thursday pitting CSM Poli Iasi against Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe. In the first match Sepsi defeated Poli Iasi 5-1. The final of Romania’s Cup will be played on July 22, in Ploiesti, in the south.

Cybercrime — The Italian and Romanian police have arrested 12 alleged cyber criminals accused of financial fraud and money laundering. The damage stands at more than 20 million dollars. Eurojust, the EU Agency dealing with judicial cooperation in criminal matters among agencies of the member states, says that following searches, one of the most important organized crime groups from Italy was dismantled. The group was selling inexistent goods and services, including fictitious properties, and it was cloning known websites to make the victims transfer the money. (tr. L. Simion)

7 July 2020
June 10, 2020 UPDATE

Covid-19 RO. New cases of infection with the new coronavirus have been reported in Romania, raising the total to 20,945, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Wednesday. 15,103 patients have recovered and 150 are in intensive care. Out of those who tested positive, 1360 have died. Some 3,300 Romanian nationals living abroad have tested positive, mostly in Italy, Germany and Spain and 114 have died. Also on Wednesday, a testing program started in Bucharest, aimed at establishing the immunization level. 10,500 people have been selected to take part in the testing campaign, based on sampling conducted by the National Public Health Institute.

US. The team sent by the Romanian Defense Ministry to support the US State of Alabama in the fight against the pandemic has returned home. Upon the return of the Romanian specialists, the US Ambassador to Romania Adrian Zuckerman hailed the initiative and thanked both the team and the Romanian authorities for their support. In turn, the Romanian Defense Minister Nicolae Ciuca has stated that the mission was part of the strategic partnership between Romania and the US. For two weeks, the team carried out 25 missions in medical treatment facilities in Alabama.

Senate. In Bucharest, the Finance Minister Florin Cîţu has been invited again to the Senates economic and budget-finance committees next week. The talks had been scheduled to take place on Wednesday, but the minister could not attend, saying such an invitation should be sent at least 48 hours before the meeting. He was supposed to present explanations regarding the Standard&Poors decision with respect to including Romania in their investment-grade category. On Tuesday, a simple motion tabled by the Social Democratic Party in opposition against labour minister Violeta Alexandru was discussed and passed by the Senate. The Social Democrats asked for the ministers resignation over the emergency order on furlough and other measures concerning vulnerable categories, which, they say, was poorly written and required several successive changes. The minister was also criticized for how she handled the situation of the Romanian nationals who left the country to work abroad.

Euro. Romania does not meet any of the four economic criteria needed for the adoption of the Euro, namely price stability, sound public finances, exchange rate stability and long-term interest rate convergence, shows the 2020 convergence report published on Wednesday by the European Commission. In the past 12 months, until March 2020, the rate of inflation was 3.7%, which is way higher than the reference value of 1.8%. Also, it is estimated that the inflation rate will remain high in the coming months. The EC Convergence Report covers the seven non-Euro area Member States that have made a legal commitment to adopt the Euro: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden. The report is based on the convergence criteria also known as the Maastricht criteria, which are set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Protest. The Ambulanţa National Trade Union Federation on Wednesday organized a 2-hour protest across Romania, to warn against the postponement of regulations concerning the ambulance personnel and the organization of ambulance services in the country. All ambulances in the country carried a poster reading National Protest. The unionists are also disgruntled, among other things, with the authorities failing to pay the COVID-19 bonus and other incentives, and overlooking a number of legislative initiatives proposed by the Federation.

Pandemic. The total number of novel coronavirus infections worldwide has exceeded 7.2 million, with over 3.5 million patients recovered and 408,000 dead, according to worldometers.info. The US remains the worst hit country in the world, with nearly 113,000 deaths, followed by Britain with close to 41,000, Brazil (over 38,000) and Italy (over 34,000 deaths). Brazil, one of the most affected countries in the world, has resumed the release of data concerning the Covid-19 infections on the governments home page, following a Supreme Court ruling. In spite of the large number of victims, many countries continue to ease containment measures and restart their economies.

Festival. 272 young musicians from 41 countries have registered for the George Enescu International Contest, to be held in Bucharest between the 29th of August and the 20th of September. According to a communiqué issued by organizers, most competitors, 50, are from South Korea. Next come Romania with 27 participants and China with 21. Dubbed the most important international cultural event organized by Romania, the George Enescu Festival has put on its agenda 19 concerts and recitals open for the larger audience. The organizers have stated they trust the measures implemented at national and international level to properly mange the Covid-19 pandemic.

Football. The Bucharest football teams Dinamo and FCSB are to play one of the semifinals of the Romanian Cup, the 2019-2020 edition. The other semifinal will face Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe and CSM Poli Iasi. The two legs will be held on June 24 and July 8 respectively. The Romanian Cup Final will be played on July 22nd, in Craiova, in the south. The internal championship, interrupted because of the Covid-19 epidemic, will be resumed on Friday. The leader is the defending champion CFR Cluj, followed by FCSB. (M.Ignatescu)

10 June 2020
Financial measures and controversies

In the absence of a comfortable
Parliament majority, the entirely Liberal government in Bucharest who came to
power last October and is led by Prime Minister Ludovic Orban saw itself in the
position of ruling the country through emergency ordinances, which should be
applied only in extreme situations that could not be postponed.

So, ordinance 114, tabled by their
Social Democratic predecessors, and which attracted a lot of heat from the
Liberals in opposition at that time, was the first law the latter amended
shortly after they had taken office. Suggestively dubbed ‘the Greed Tax’, the
controversial ordinance levied fresh taxes and duties on banks and
telecommunication companies and set price caps for gas and electricity
consumption in households.

The Liberals, who described the law
as toxic for the economy, amended a significant number of its provisions and
sent it to the Senate, who surprisingly turned it down. Daniel Fenechiu, leader
of the Liberal senators, entirely blamed the situation on the Social Democrats
(PSD), who voted for its rejection.

Daniel Fenechiu: Try to
figure out dear colleagues how banks and energy companies are going to receive
this measure: I mean, a measure that was adopted a month ago, has again been
changed.

According to PSD senator Daniel
Zamfir, the vote against the document was actually favouring common people.

Daniel Zamfir: All emergency ordinances are
favouring the financial-banking system, the corporations, being at the same
time against the people. This is what defines you – savage capitalism.

From Senate, the first chamber of Parliament, the document now goes to
the Chamber of Deputies, which is a decision-making forum. The politically
different visions on economy of the ruling Liberals and the opposition
Social-Democrats aren’t present only in the aforementioned law.

Pointing the finger exclusively to decisions made by the Social
Democrats, who were in office until last autumn, the Liberal Finance Minister
Florin Câţu announced that Romania would not be able to avoid the excessive
deficit procedure, which is most likely to occur in March this year. The
Social-Democrats’ economic strategist Adrian Câciu recalled that the PSD left a
2.8% deficit, which the Liberals increased to 4.6%.

It’s easy to spend money but not that easy to make this money to
reduce deficits and consolidate the economy, Câciu went on to say. He believes
that the idea of staging early election could also bear on the deficit.
However, the Central Bank governor, Mugur Isarescu believes that investors have
already started to get used to Romania’s political uncertainties.

(translated by bill)

11 February 2020
Compensations for the victims of the Colectiv club fire

The Romanian Senate on Monday approved a bill on granting lifelong financial aid for the payment of medical treatments to the victims of the Colectiv club fire. The bill was initiated by a group of senators from the Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and was unanimously adopted by the 111 senators attending the meeting.

Under this bill, the authorities approve the payment, from the Healthcare Ministry budget, of the expenses for any needed medical treatment, for an unlimited period of time, in the country or abroad, both in private and state-owned hospitals, with independent physicians and therapists, for ambulatory or hospital care. The victims will benefit from lifelong medical treatments if their treatment is directly related to the fire that occurred on October 30, 2015 at the Colectiv Club. The law was adopted by the Senate, and a final vote will be given by the decision-making Chamber of Deputies.

The 2015 tragedy left behind 64 people dead, mostly young people, and 200 wounded, and it took years of investigations until a verdict in this case was finally ruled. The fire started from a pyrotechnics display used during the show. For 2 years, the trial was blocked by procedural issues, and the judge initially designated to handle the case retired, being replaced in October 2018. The second judge promised to speed up the resolution of the case and he kept his promise, as tens of witnesses and victims were interviewed on a weekly basis.

In the last month of 2019, more than 4 years after the tragedy, the Bucharest Court gave a first ruling in this case, which is not definitive though. The former mayor of the Bucharest sector where the Club was located, Cristian Popescu-Piedone, received a prison sentence of 8 years and 6 months for abuse of office in relation to the issuance of functioning authorizations for the respective club. The two owners of the club received prison sentences of 11 years and 8 months for aggravated felony murder, aggravated bodily injury and failure to take legal measures related to safety and health at the work place.

The owners of the pyrotechnic devices company received sentences of 12 years and 8 months and 3 years and 6 months respectively, while the two pyrotechnic engineers received 9 years and 8 months and 10 years of imprisonment respectively. Two firefighters with the Bucharest Emergency Situation Inspectorate who checked the Colectiv club without taking the legal measures required regarding the legal norms observance received each sentences of 9 years and 2 months in prison.

The people sentenced in this case have to pay, together with the city hall and the Emergency Situation Inspectorate, moral and material damages worth more than 50 million Euros to the survivors of the fire and to the families of the victims. We recall that none of the defendants in this case admitted their guilt and consequently their lawyers are asking for an acquittal. (translation by L. Simion)

4 February 2020
September 10, 2019 UPDATE

SENATE The former foreign minister Teodor Meleşcanu, vice-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, until recently a junior member of the ruling coalition in Romania, is the new Speaker of the Senate. Backed by the Social Democratic Party, in power, he was elected with 73 votes, whereas his challenger, the Liberal Alina Gorghiu, only got 59 votes. Teodor Meleşcanu replaces Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, who last week resigned as head of this Parliament chamber as his party left the ruling coalition. After the vote, Călin Popescu Tăriceanu announced that he would challenge the procedure at the Constitutional Court, because 2 candidates from the same parliamentary group took part in the race: Teodor Meleșcanu, a member of ALDE but supported by the Social Democrats, and another candidate nominated and backed by the Liberal Democrats.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION The President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Tuesday presented the distribution of portfolios to Commissioners-designate, with the Romanian Social Democrat Rovana Plumb nominated for the transport portfolio. A minister in several cabinets in Bucharest, Plumb was nominated for the Commissioner post by PM Viorica Dăncilă. The National Liberal Party in opposition has called on the PM to withdraw the candidacy and make a different nomination. The USR-PLUS Alliance also opposes the nomination and voices concerns regarding the candidates integrity and competence, while the Peoples Movement Party also sees Plumb as not suitable to head a EU portfolio. The European Parliament is next to approve the College of Commissioners as a whole, including the President-elect and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the European Commission vice-president.

BREXIT The British Parliament dismissed Boris Johnson’s second attempt to hold an October 15 general election, with the Opposition saying they will only accept early elections after PM Boris Johnson has requested a postponement of Brexit. Parliament is shut down until October 14, just 2 weeks before the deadline for the UK exiting the European bloc. Last week Parliament passed a bill blocking a no-deal Brexit. The British PM claims he can secure a new deal with Brussels at the October summit, and that he will deliver Brexit on October 31, as promised. The Opposition on the other hand insists that the exit deadline be delayed, so as to avoid a withdrawal without an agreement.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

10 September 2019
June 3, 2019 UPDATE

Pope’s visit — President Klaus Iohannis on Monday extended his greetings to all those who welcomed Pope Francis in Romania, highlighting that they gave an example of understanding and solidarity. He also thanked the authorities who have contributed to the success of the Pope’s apostolic visit to Romania. The Romanian president showed in a communiqué, that for 3 days, Romania was a welcoming host for Pope Francis who met openhearted and diverse people, a nation with a rich tradition that has confidence in its future which it is building through the solidarity of all of its citizens, irrespective of their mother tongue or faith. On Sunday evening, following his visit to Romania, the Pope wrote in a Twitter message in Romanian: “May the Blessed Virgin Mary extend her maternal protection to all the citizens of Romania, who throughout history have always placed their trust in her intercession. The Pope’s 3-day state, apostolic and ecumenical visit to Romania was held under the motto “Let’s walk together!” Hundreds of thousands attended the public events held on this occasion in Bucharest, Şumuleu Ciuc, Iasi and Blaj.

Brussels — The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă announced she would meet on Tuesday in Brussels with the president of the EC Jean Claude Juncker, with the first vice-president of the EC Frans Timmermans as well as with the president of the Party of European Socialists Serghei Stanishev, in the context of the recent EP elections. The Romanian PM said she would discuss with the European officials about the Romanian proposal for European Commissioner and also about the positions in the EP. PM Dancila said she would plead for ensuring an adequate and balanced representation at the level of European institutions.

Senate — The plenum of the Romanian Senate on Monday rejected the request of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate for approving the start of criminal prosecution against the speaker of the Senate, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu. 38 senators voted for the Anti-Corruption Directorate’s request, 71 voted against and one abstained from the vote. Prosecutors claim that the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats indirectly received undue benefits worth almost 800 thousand dollars from an Austrian company when he held the position of PM between 2007-2008. Last week the Senate’s committee on the judiciary had decided to give a favorable answer to the request of the anti-corruption prosecutors.

Informal meeting — The series of events held under the aegis of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU continues in Bucharest which hosts, on Monday and Tuesday, an informal meeting of the EU agriculture ministers. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan is also attending the meeting. Research in agriculture and bioeconomy will be one of the main topics of discussion. In the context of negotiations on the multi-annual budget of the Union, Romania, as a holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, believes the strategic planning of the common agricultural policy has the potential to consolidate the implementation of bioeconomy and to build synergies with agricultural policy and rural development instruments. While in Bucharest, Phil Hogan also met Monday with the PM Viorica Dancila with whom he discussed the legislative package regarding the reform of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy.

Decree — The Romanian government on Monday passed an emergency decree which provides for the election of county council presidents through direct vote by the citizens, and not through the vote of the county councilors, as stipulated by the current regulation. The move is actually a return to the system of electing county council presidents that was valid in the period 2008-2016. The spokeswoman for the Romanian presidency Mădălina Dobrovolschi on Monday said that changing the election law through an emergency decree, in the sense of introducing the uninominal vote for electing county council presidents, is actually a gift from the prime minster to the local authorities in her attempt to win their support. Mădălina Dobrovolschi also added that this change will help the incumbent county council presidents.

London – The US President Donald Trump on Monday started a state visit to Britain where he met with members of the Royal Family and had a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The visit marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and takes place in the context of the Brexit crisis and of PM Theresa May’s forthcoming resignation. On Tuesday the US President will have meetings with the outgoing PM Theresa May and with American and British business leaders. His visits ends on Wednesday when he will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark June 6, 1944, when 160,000 British, American, French and other Allied troops landed in Nazi-occupied Normandy in WW2. Donald Trump will then travel to Ireland and France.

EP elections results — The Central Electoral Bureau in Romania on Monday announced the final results of the EP elections held on May 26. The Bureau’s spokesman Marian Muhuleţ announced that the opposition National Liberal Party will have 10 seats, the Social Democratic Party in the governing coalition will get 9 seats and the 2020 Alliance made up of the Save Romania Union party and PLUS party will get 8 seats. The Pro Romania Party, the People’s Movement Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania will receive 2 seats each. Romania will be represented in the future EP by 33 MEPs for a 5-year mandate. Romania will receive its 33rd seat in the EP after Brexit.

Tennis – Number 3 in the world and defending Roland Garros champion Simona Halep on Monday qualified to the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam tournament in Roland Garros. She defeated 6-1, 6-0 the Polish player Iga Swiatek (104 WTA). Also on Monday, in the men’s doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer were defeated by Guido Pella/Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, in the quarter-finals, 4-6, 4-6. (news translated and updated by L. Simion)

3 June 2019
Senate starts debates on controversial emergency decree

After having caused heated debates, the emergency decree no. 114, issued by the Romanian Government, will be debated by Parliament this week. The decree introduces new fiscal and budgetary measures among which the so-called ‘tax on greed’, that provides for the additional taxation of energy companies and banks, which, according to the leftist majority, obtain immorally and unnaturally big profits in Romania.

Senators in the budget and finance committee will draft a final report on the aforementioned decree on Tuesday. MPs in the rightwing opposition have already asked for the rejection of the decree, as they claim its provisions would affect essential domains such as energy security, the banking sector and the telecommunication industry. The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban draws attention that the emergency decree will have a negative impact on private pension funds as well.

Ludovic Orban: “The share capital required under Decree 114 is 11 times bigger than the present subscribed share capital. Actually, to this day, the initial investment made by the pension fund administrators has not been entirely recuperated. With the obligation to increase the share capital depending on the number of assets, the recovery of the investment will be made in about 35 to 50 years, depending on the private administrator.”

The speaker of the Senate and the leader of the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, does not rule out the possibility to amend the decree: “I talked to PM Dancila and explained to her that this 2% tax levied on energy companies seriously impacts the opportunities for future development. The PM admitted that the tax is excessive and was open to further discussions on the matter. Most probably the 2% tax will be eliminated.”

The deadline for debating and voting on the ‘tax on greed’ in the Senate is March 1, after which the decree will be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. The central bank, which is theoretically outside the political game, has become increasingly critical of the emergency decree’s provisions. Chief economist of the National Bank of Romania, Valentin Lazea, argues that the tax on assets imposed by the decree might bring the profitability of the Romanian banking system under the European average value. In his opinion, in case this scenario becomes reality, some foreign banks might leave the Romanian market. He has called on politicians to decide on whether they want a strong, profitable banking sector capable of providing capital for investment, or a clientele-based system aimed at fueling consumption and not Romania’s development.

18 February 2019
April 4, 2018 UPDATE

MEDIA The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Wednesday passed a draft that completes the Audio-visual law and under which radio and television stations in Romania must broadcast two advertisements of public interest. These are: “For a healthy economy, buy products made in Romania!” and “For a healthy environment, teach children to respect nature!” These two advertisements are to be broadcast free of charge without being included in the legal time slot allotted to commercials. The category of public interest announcements and advertisements also includes those referring to dangerous hydro-meteorological phenomena issued by the national authorities in the field. The draft will be submitted to the Senate for approval.

SURVEY According to a survey published in Chisinau on Wednesday, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Romania’s former president Traian Basescu are the political personalities abroad electorate in the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova trusts the most. Putin comes first in the survey with 55% of the respondents being followed by Basescu with 44%. At the opposite pole there are Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili as well as the presidents of the United States and France, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron respectively. The survey was carried out by the Moldovan Center for Sociological Research over March 10th and 27th.

CENTRAL BANK The National Bank of Romania On Wednesday decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at 2.25%, against the expectations of most analysts, who anticipated an increase in figures. The central bank also decided to maintain the earned deposit interest rate at 1.25% per year and the credit interest rate at 3.25% per year. The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania also decided to maintain the current level of the mandatory minimum reserves for liabilities in the national currency, the leu, as well as in hard currency for crediting institutions.

MOTION The simple motion initiated by the National Liberal Party, in opposition, against the Culture Minister, George Ivaşcu, was rejected on Wednesday in a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies with the Romanian Parliament, just a day after the document had been debated in a plenary session of Parliament. The Liberals deplore what they call negligence in preparing the events devoted to the 100th anniversary of the Great Union and voice concern about the Government’s inability to properly organise the December 1 celebrations. They also say a public debate meant to find solutions and reconsider a national plan devoted to the Great Union Centennial is needed. In response, the Culture Minister, George Ivaşcu, gave assurances that he is constantly concerned about how to efficiently organise the celebrations devoted to all Romanians.

4 April 2018
23 May, 2017

ATTACK — 22 people have been killed and around 60 more injured in an explosion in Manchester on Monday, at the end of a concert on the Manchester Arena. British authorities have confirmed that a suicide bomber carried out the attack. Security measures have been bolstered, and the British government met today in emergency session. Prime Minister Theresa May and Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn have suspended their campaigns for the snap elections on 8 June. This is the worst attack in Britain since the July 7, 2005 attack in London, which left 52 dead and almost 700 injured. Two months ago, an Islamist rammed pedestrians with an automobile on Westminster Bridge, killing five, including one Romanian. Bucharest joined the international community in condemning Mondays attack, expressing solidarity with the British people. The Romanian authorities have said that no Romanians were among the victims.

SALARIES — The Romanian Senate passed the Unified Pay Scale bill today, which is supposed to raise salaries gradually for state employees until 2022. Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu told senators that the bill was correlated with the new Fiscal Code, and that it would provide a 56% average salary increase. The minister explained that the law was necessary in order to fix a dysfunctional public wage system. The bill goes next to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber. Public administration trade unions expressed their dissatisfaction at the bill, and announced widespread protests next week all across the country, including the capital. Union leaders said they expect 120,000 to attend the protests.

INVESTIGATION — Former Social Democratic Party chairman Mircea Geoana, defeated in the presidential elections in 2009, and his campaign manager, former Social Democratic MP Viorel Hrebenciuc, are being heard today by the Parliament committee investigating the elections of 2009. On Monday, the committee heard the vice-president of the Permanent Election Authority, Marian Muhulet, and controversial journalist Dan Andronic, whose allegations led to the creation of the committee. The latter specified that he has no further information beyond what he published, and no evidence that the 2009 elections were tampered with. Andronic used to be a political adviser to former president Traian Basescu, who in 2009 won as an incumbent. Andronic claimed that, on the night of the second round of elections in 2009, he met in an informal setting General Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, former director of intelligence George Maior and his first deputy, Florian Coldea, and that the meeting looked like the gathering of a crisis committee. He further claimed that all the people mentioned risked being fired in case Geoana won the elections.

TRUMP — US President Donald Trump was today in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, and said that he would do everything in his power to help Israelis and Palestinians reach a peace agreement. Trump met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on the last day of his tour of the Middle East. The Palestinian president pleaded for the two state solution, along the 1967 borders. Israelis and Palestinians have not held direct talks in over 3 years. On Monday in Jerusalem, Trump emphasized the close ties between the US and Israel. He insisted on the threat posed by Iran against world peace, which he also emphasized during his visit to Saudi Arabia. This is Donald Trumps first international tour as president. He continues his tour visiting the Vatican, then attending the NATO summit in Brussels, and the G7 meeting in Sicily.

BUCHAREST — The Romanian economic model within the EU is a topic for debate at a conference held at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest by the Association for Economic and Social Studies and Forecasts. Representatives of the government, business people, academics, and civil society activists are presenting their perspective for the next 10 years with regard to standards of living, education and workforce. According to the latest statistics, Romania has the highest economic growth in the Union. At the same time, the EC has warned Bucharest on its risk of overstepping the stated budget on medium term.

NAVAL — Romanian training ship The Mircea goes today, until 22nd September, on an international training expedition lasting 122 days. It will stop over in 11 ports in 9 countries at the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 163 members of the crew, of them 70 Romanian students will be joined by 8 cadets from naval academies in Bulgaria, China, Greece and Poland. The crew will go on official visits to the naval academies in Holland, Germany, Portugal and Spain. It will also take part in two prestigious naval events. This year, the Romanian and German military naval forces have signed an agreement on training future officers, unfolding for the duration of this international expedition. 110 cadets and 13 German trainers will be on board the Mircea.

23 May 2017
Unified pay scale bill, in the Senate

The unified pay scale bill has taken a procedural step forward, and has reached the Senate of Romania. On Thursday, the draft passed by the leftist Government was endorsed by the Senates labour committee, but not without significant amendments. They provide for a 15% raise, as of January 1, 2018, of salaries in the decentralized agencies subordinated to the Environment Ministry, as well as of the salaries of the National Integrity Agency staff, who have access to classified documents and information.

As proposed by the National Liberal Party and by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in Opposition, another amendment was endorsed, which gives a roughly 300 euro pay increase to all town mayors and deputy mayors. This increase however is not to apply to the Bucharest mayor general and deputy mayor general, or to the chairs and deputy chairs of county councils.

Also in the Opposition, Senator Florina Presaga, from the Save Romania Union, the only member of the Senates labour committee to have voted against the bill, dismissed that amendment as “a competition between political parties in increasing the salaries of local administration chiefs. According to commentators, central government leaders thus try to secure the loyalty of local bigwigs, their most efficient vote collectors in the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Social Democratic Labour Minister Olguta Vasilescu thanked the Opposition Senators for their amendments, which, she said, were “very good and intended to improve the bill. She had previously stated that changes were necessary, because the current legislation had generated many inequities in the public sector and triggered, among other things, the massive migration of Romanian doctors abroad.

The new bill provides for an average 56% increase of public sector salaries, with substantial raises, of more than 100%, for lower-level positions, and with smaller raises towards the top of the salary pyramid. The Liberals say they agree that a new salary law is necessary, but argue that the leftist Governments bill will trigger salary cuts, by no means negligible, for some categories of public sector employees, which in fact comes against the Constitution and may trigger a large number of lawsuits.

Although they have seen their sway lessen steadily in recent years, as the number of paying members has dropped, the leaders of the main trade union federations were invited last week to talks with the labour committee. Some of them warned that some articles in the new law would lead to pay cuts, while others were simply against the Constitution.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 May 2017
Will local officials be exonerated from responsibility?

In recent years, against the backdrop of the fight against corruption, many high-ranking officials in the Romanian administration have been removed. From top players in the central administration, MPs, ministers and even an ex-prime minister to local officials, such as presidents of county councils or mayors of small communes, a lot of people have fallen victim, politically speaking, to the fight against corruption. That is why, there is no easy way for politicians to cover their backs without being noticed. The Senate has passed a draft bill amending the local administration law providing for local officials to have exclusive responsibility for the documents they issue, without the legal endorsement of the public institution’s secretary and without the signatures of civil servants with prerogatives in the field. As the senator of the Social-Democratic Party, the main ruling party, Ioan Denes, argues, the mayor’s signature reflects only the mayor’s authority, not expertise. Ioan Denes, secretary of the Senate Administration Committee:

“This proposal and the amendments have made it clear for everybody, including those interpreting the laws, that the mayor’s signature is a signature authenticating the document he or she issued, and not an expert opinion regarding town-planning or other areas related to an administrative document issued by the local public administration.”

The MPs of the Save Romania Union, USR, the second opposition faction in this country, voted against the draft law, warning that through that law, mayors might be exonerated from the responsibility of signing an administrative document. Florina Presada, a USR senator:

“Though we believe that every civil servant should be responsible for the documents he or she signs, we also believe that the mayor should share that responsibility. This initiative is dangerous because mayors may be exonerated from the responsibility of countersigning or signing administrative documents. We demand that the errors made by the Committee be removed and we will call on Parliament, on our fellow senators to turn down the draft law.”

The draft law was tacitly passed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate is the decision-making body in this case. As pundits note, the initiative fuels suspicions that being exonerated from the responsibility for his or her own signature, a mayor, whoever he or she might be, can very easily conceal his or her incompetence or intention to embezzle public money, the latter being a practice that has often been confirmed in court. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

16 May 2017
Pardons Bill Stays in Parliament

From the Government to the Senate’s judicial committee, then to the Senate plenary and back to the committee for another week. This has been the route so far for a controversial piece of legislation, the pardons bill, which has caused street protests and friction in the main party in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party. The junior partner in the coalition, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, sensed its explosive potential and suggested that the bill should be sent back to the same committee which, much to the dislike of the Social Democratic leaders, had significantly altered the text drafted by the Cabinet.

The head of the committee, the Social Democrat Serban Nicolae, has already been scolded by his party chief, Liviu Dragnea. In a tandem which years ago seemed impossible, Serban Nicolae and the ex-president Traian Basescu, currently a Senator from the People’s Movement Party in opposition, amended the original text so that offences like bribe taking and giving and influence peddling would be pardoned.

After the infamous government order through which the Cabinet attempted to amend the criminal legislation, a new controversial law was the last thing that the Social Democratic Party needed. Liviu Dragnea was quick to understand this, and asked the parliamentary majority not to meddle with the text drafted by the Government.

Serban Nicolae complied only in part, and changes have been operated. Among them were, for instance, the full pardon of sentences of up to 3 years, a 3-year shortening of sentences of up to 10 years, the reduction to a half of the sentences for pregnant women and, under certain conditions, full pardon for convicts aged over 70. The Social Democrat Serban Nicolae said that, according to the figures received from the National Penitentiary Administration, a few over 1,000 people may benefit from these measures.

The report that included these amendments was sent to the Senate plenary, but it was later returned to the committee, proving that the Social Democratic Party leaders disagreed with that document. His back against the wall, Serban Nicolae pleaded for a rational discussion in Parliament. But the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, in opposition, question the very usefulness of the law. According to the Liberals, a pardons bill cannot solve the problem of prison overcrowding and of the inadequate conditions in some Romanian prisons.

Romania was repeatedly sued over these problems, and the European Court for Human Rights has recently given Bucharest 6 months to adopt an action plan to address the situation. A pardons bill, however, is not a long-term solution to this, penitentiary administrators say. And, judging by the reactions in the street, nor does it save the public image of the Social Democratic Party. (Translated by A.M. Popescu)

9 May 2017
Emergency debate on unitary pay bill

The unitary pay bill for public sector employees will be debated urgently in the Senate following the pro-debate vote of 69 senators, with only 34 senators voting against it. The draft law has already been submitted for approval to the Government, the Economic and Social Council, the Legislative Council and other institutions. The deadline for drafting the approvals is one week.

The vice-president of the Senate, Social Democrat Claudiu Manda, explains: “We will have these approvals next week, then we will meet in the Permanent Bureau and submit the bill to the Senate committees for approval and reporting, with a deadline we are going to set. All our colleagues need to read the bill carefully to be able to make amendments if necessary. But of course, we have a deadline assumed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, according to which the law should be adopted by the beginning of the second semester, so that it can come into force.”

The leader of the Social Democratic senators, Serban Nicolae, further explains: “All parliamentary groups, both from the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, have received a copy of the unitary pay bill. Debates have already been held in the public space, and it is useless to prolong these debates without any reason, ahead of the bill being debated by the committees, by Parliament. Moreover, this bill is to be sent to the Chamber of Deputies, and one of the measures is to take effect starting July 1, 2017. Extending the debating and adoption procedure of this draft law would be unjustified and would delay the regulation of the unitary pay system for public sector employees.”

The opposition has criticized the request of the Social Democrats. Alina Gorghiu, a Liberal senator, explains: “I don’t think we can afford to go on with this charade: we send the bill to Parliament, we debate it fast or rather we don’t debate it at all, and we come up with a draft law which is doomed to fail.”

The unitary pay bill provides, among other things, for pay rises in the public sector in stages, in the next 5 years. The first rise will be operated on July 1. The bill has been harshly criticized by trade unions in education, unhappy with the position of teachers on the salary scale and the pay level for auxiliary staff.

(Translated by Lacramioara Simion)

3 May 2017
October 19, 2015 UPDATE

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will meet on Tuesday in Bucharest with a delegation of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF representatives have already discussed with Romanian Finance Ministry officials about the state budget for 2016. Last week, Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said he considered the possibility of signing a new accord with the IMF. As of 2009 and up to present Romania has forged three consecutive loan agreements with the IMF and the EU. The last one expired last month.

British Prime Minister David Cameron presented on Monday his governments counter-extremism strategy, designed to tackle fanatics and hate preachers and restrict their activities. According to this new strategy, parents of children aged 16 and 17 have the power to request the cancellation of passports if they suspect their children are under the influence of extremists. Also, anyone with a conviction or civil order for extremist activity will be automatically barred from working with children and vulnerable people. British police estimate that at least 700 people from the UK have travelled to support or fight for jihadist organisations in Syria and Iraq such as Islamic State.

Romania’s Senate ratified on Monday an Accord on the reimbursable loan of 150 million euros granted to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Romanian senators unanimously voted in favor of the Accord, which had already been green-lighted by deputies. Moldova needs Romania’s financial assistance to finance its budget deficit estimated at 3.8% of the GDP in 2015. The Republic of Moldova is shaken by a huge scandal as its former Prime Minister, Vlad Filat, has been arrested for his alleged direct involvement in the disappearance, from the banking system, of 1 billion dollars.

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Monday in Ramallah. The two officials discussed about the current situation in the Middle East and the possibility for peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis to be resumed. Previously, the Romanian official visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, whose representatives voiced appreciation at the measures taken by Romania to combat anti-Semitism. In Israel, Aurescu met with the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss ways to consolidate bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields such as investment, energy, tourism and agriculture.

The Romanian Senate passed the postal voting bill on Monday. The bill was supported by both the Social Democrats, in power, and the Liberal opposition. The postal voting system will be used in the parliamentary, presidential and European elections and only applies to Romanian citizens residing or living abroad. The bill has been sent for approval to the Chamber of Deputies, as the Parliaments decision-making body.

19 October 2015
Parliament and the Rule of Law

The speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin
Popescu Tariceanu, together with the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies,
Valeriu Zgonea, on Wednesday had talks in Bucharest with the US charge
d’affaires, the ambassadors of Great Britain and the Netherlands and with the
German deputy head of mission. The meeting took place after the diplomatic
missions of the aforementioned countries took a stand as to the modification of
the Romanian Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes.

The talks focused on the
strategic partnerships Romania, as an EU and NATO member, has concluded with
these countries, on the Romanian business environment and on the legislative
changes regarding the judiciary. The speaker of the Senate, Calin Popescu
Tariceanu, talked to the foreign diplomats about the importance of consolidating
the institutions that can defend citizens’ rights and freedoms:

Calin Popescu Tariceanu: The
rule of law does not mean consolidating the state’s institutions of repression,
it actually means stronger institutions able to defend the citizens’ rights and
freedoms from abuse of any kind.

In turn, the ambassador of
Great Britain to Bucharest, Paul Brummell, reminded the importance of
Parliament’s independence in the legislative process and also the role of
relevant institutions, such as the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in the
fight against corruption.

The British ambassador also
referred to the importance of talks on the rule of law in the Romanian society.
Paul Brummell said that it is not the foreign diplomats’ call to suggest a new
law. That is the role of MPs, of political parties, of organizations and of the
people. They simply want to make sure that the talks about the rule of law and
Parliament acknowledge the importance of the anti-corruption fight for the
development of Romania and the prosperity of the Romanian people.

The talks between the Romanian
officials and the western diplomats took place after Parliament was asked
several times to approve the requests of the prosecutors regarding the
prosecution of certain MPs. The Social Democratic Party MPs, who hold the
majority, rejected, in some cases, the prosecutors’ requests regarding them or
their colleagues. The most resounding case is that of the former transport
minister, Dan Sova, who was accused of being accomplice to abuse of office.

At the end of March, most
senators attending the meeting voted in favor of the National Anti-Corruption
Directorate’s request for taking Fan Sova into temporary custody, but the
request was rejected due to the lack of quorum. Subsequently the Constitutional
Court ruled that the Senate’s decision in that case was unconstitutional.

14 May 2015