Radio România Internațional

Tag: simple

  • March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    DEBATES The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest hosted
    a series of debates upon a simple motion against Labour Minister Marius Budăi,
    tabled by the USR and the Force of the Right Party. The signatories of the motion
    say the minister has failed to meet the deadlines assumed in the ruling
    programme on implementing the payment bill and of a new pension law, which may
    jeopardize the attraction of the European funds. USR MP Cristian Seidler says
    the draft sent by the minister is actually rescuing the special pensions. Budai
    has rejected all allegations and has given assurances the draft is in line with
    all PNRR criteria and even trims the pension of an employee, which is exceeding
    their wages. Finance Minister Adrian Caciu is also expected before the Senate on
    Wednesday to explain why Romania’s budget deficit has reached record high
    levels and the funding costs are some of the biggest in the EU.








    BILLS Two bills on education are to be submitted to
    the government and Parliament for endorsement and approval. Although the
    deadline for their approval was March the 15, the two bills have sparked off
    heated debates involving parents and students associations. The National
    Council of Students and the National Federation of Parents are asking for the
    cancellation of the high-school entrance exam, which could be staged for 60% of
    the approved places, and are criticizing the Education Ministry for not having
    considered their proposal. According to representatives of the parents and
    students associations, the entrance examination deepens the gap between the
    students and would raise the probability of unfair distribution. It would also
    encourage the system of private lessons and increase the stress level in students.
    According to field minister Ligia Deca, the objective of the two bills is to
    increase the quality in education and reduce functional illiteracy.








    VISIT On the first day of
    his official visit to Japan on Monday Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis held talks
    with the president of the House of Councillors Hidehisa Otsuji and the speaker
    of the House of Representatives, Hiroyuki Hosoda. Talks focused on the
    Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership and the regional security situation. The
    Japanese officials underlined that the Strategic Partnership creates new
    opportunities for cooperation in the economic sector, trade, research and
    innovation. With respect to the security situation, the Japanese officials
    emphasised that Japan and Romania share the same vision and approach and
    conveyed their appreciation of Romania’s sustained actions and efforts to
    support Ukraine, both with the refugees and to facilitate the transit of
    cereals. On Tuesday, president Iohannis is to be received by emperor Naruhito.
    He will later also meet prime minister Fumio Kishida, together signing a joint
    declaration on the establishment of the Romania-Japan Strategic Partnership. On
    Wednesday, the Romanian president will meet local officials from Kyoto. On
    Thursday and Friday, he will make a state visit to Singapore, the first at this
    level in the last 20 years, where he will have talks with president Halimah
    Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.




    (bill&CM)

  • Romanian Senate rejects simple motion against the finance minister

    Romanian Senate rejects simple motion against the finance minister

    In Romania, simple motions have the only purpose of sparking debates on the activity of ministers and assessments of the sectors they are in charge of. Things were no different in the Senate, where a simple motion against Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, filed by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, both in the opposition, was discussed. Liberal Senator Florin Citu tried to prove that Minister Teodorovici was incompetent. He supported his statement with messages received from citizens, a first in Romanian politics in terms of simple motion practice.



    Florin Citu: “His presence at the helm of the Finance Ministry puts Romania at major economic risk and in an embarrassing position before our European and Euro-Atlantic partners. Eugen Teodorovici can no longer be minister of public finance and this idea is supported by politicians and regular citizens alike.



    Minister Teodorovici and the leftist power in general are being criticised by the opposition for raising taxes in some economic sectors, in spite of promises to decrease them, for putting Romania on one of the first places in Europe in terms of inflation after having one of the lowest inflation rates before the leftist coalition came to power, for hiding the fact that Romania pays monthly interest rates that are higher than those of countries with smaller ratings, such as Greece.



    Not least, the Liberal Senator Florin Citu accused the ruling coalition made up of the National Liberal Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of deepening the budget deficit, unlike what responsible politicians should do in periods with economic growth, such as consolidating fiscal policy and reducing deficits, in keeping with the European fiscal treaty.



    Minister Teodorovici dismissed the oppositions accusations and said this approach is demagogic.



    Eugen Teodorovici: “The GDP has gone up since 2016, from 160 billion euros to an estimated 215 billion euros, which is an increase by more than 33% in only two years time. Given that the GDP is much higher than last year, its natural for the amount borrowed by the Romanian government from the foreign markets to be bigger as well. Also, the Finance Ministry presented publicly its financing strategy, at the start of each year, as it usually does.



    Minister Eugen Teodorovici mentioned in his favor figures that prove the government invests more in healthcare and education, as promised, that they have raised pensions and have created more than 600,000 new jobs since January 1, 2017. Romania, Minister Teodorovici also said, had the most significant increase in labour productivity, 4 times the European average.



    The governing coalition has defended its minister and has rejected the simple motion filed by the opposition against him.



    (translated by: Elena Enache)