Radio România Internațional

Tag: simple motion

  • March 13, 2019

    March 13, 2019

    BUDGET -
    Parliament is today re-examining the 2019 draft budget. President Iohannis sent
    the bill back to Parliament after the Constitutional Court ruled against his
    objections tied to its elaboration. The ruling coalition has announced it won’t
    make any modification, as the current dispositions ensure the necessary
    resources for the most important economic fields. The President said budget
    allocations are based on unrealistic estimates, affecting the functioning of
    key public institutions as well as the development of local communities and the
    implementation of strategic investments. Klaus Iohannis on Monday ratified the
    social security budget for 2019, so that pensioners should not suffer from what
    he has called the incompetence of the Social-Democratic Party.

    MUSEUM -
    Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said Romania pays special attention to
    combating anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and hate speech. The Romanian official
    attended the conference titled The Future of Memory: The National Museum of
    Jewish and Holocaust History in Romania. Viorica Dancila said this museum will
    contribute to educating society and owning to some difficult moments in the
    past. The Prime Minister said effective measures must be taken to combat
    anti-Semitism and make sure Jews can live in safety in Europe. The Conference
    was organized by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union,
    in cooperation with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the Elie Wiesel National
    Institute for the Study of the Holocaust and the Federation of Jewish
    Communities from Romania.

    ELI-NP -
    The Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics Center in Magurele today hosted
    an event marking a remarkable breakthrough – the high-power laser has reached
    and exceeded 10 Petawatts, a new world record. Experts believe this project can
    pave the way for countless vistas of scientific research. The authorities in
    Bucharest have congratulated the team of Romanian and foreign researchers. The
    Government says it supported this complex project, one of the most important
    European research facilities built with EU and national funds.

    BREXIT -
    The British Parliament is today voting on a no-deal Brexit after the House of
    Commons yesterday voted against an agreement with the EU on Brexit for the
    second time. If British MPs vote for a no-deal Brexit, London will most likely
    call for a postponement of their withdrawal from the community bloc, originally
    scheduled for March 29. Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her deep regret
    with Tuesday’s vote and what she has termed the best and only possible deal.
    EU Chief Negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier reacted to Tuesday’s vote, saying
    the EU has done everything in its power to ensure the deal goes through and
    that only London authorities can overcome this deadlock. European Council
    President Donald Tusk in turn said the UK must come up with a good explanation
    as regards any delay. In Bucharest, Minister Delegate for European Affairs
    George Ciamba said the authorities will continue their efforts to protect the rights
    of Romanian citizens in the UK and of British citizens in Romania.

    STATISTICS -
    The average net income in Romania has dropped to some 625 euros in January this
    year, down by 0.7% as compared to December 2018, reads a report made public on
    Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute. The highest level of the
    average net income was reported in the IT services fields, while the lowest
    level in the apparel manufacturing industry. The average net income has gone up
    by 18.2% as compared to January 2018.

    FLU
    EPIDEMIC – The death toll of the flu epidemic in Romania has
    reached 172, according to the latest report of the National Center for
    Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases. The latest victim is a
    68-year-old woman from Galati County infected with the type A flu virus. She
    had no previous medical problems and had not taken the anti-flu vaccine.
    According to the National Institute for Public Health, some 1.3 million people
    have taken the anti-flu vaccine this season.

    MOTION -
    The right-wing opposition has filed a simple motion against Finance Minister
    Eugen Teodorovici, to be debated on Monday in the Chamber of Deputies and voted
    on Wednesday. Titled The Social-Democratic greed undermines national economy,
    the document says the latest emergency decree introducing additional taxes for
    banks, energy and telecom companies harms the country’s economy, and the
    ministers responsible must be held accountable in Parliament.

    MEETING -
    Romanian Foreign Ministry Teodor Melescanu met with the Speaker of the
    Parliament of North Macedonia, Talat Xhaferi, who is on a visit to Bucharest.
    Teodor Melescanu reiterated Romania’s support for North Macedonia’s European
    accession efforts. Talat Xhaferi’s visit coincides with the Senate’s vote on
    the ratification of North Macedonia’s NATO accession protocol, scheduled to
    take place today. The vote is the final step in the process of adopting the law
    ratifying the protocol, after the Chamber of Deputies cast its vote in
    February.

    TENNIS -
    Romanian tennis player Simona Halep WTA no. 2 on Tuesday lost to Marketa
    Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the round of 16 at Indian
    Wells, a tournament with over 9 million dollars up for grabs. Halep won the
    tournament in 2015 and reached the semi-finals last year. The pair made up of
    Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands was ousted by Novak
    Djokovic of Serbia and Fabio Fognini of Italy.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • October 30, 2018 UPDATE

    October 30, 2018 UPDATE

    COLECTIV – Tuesday marked 3 years since the fire at the
    Bucharest-based club Colectiv where 64 people lost their lives. Subsequently,
    after one year and a half, a young man injured in the fire committed suicide.
    To commemorate the dead two religious services, a commemoration rally and the
    screening of a thematic movie were held. The film is called ”We get off at the
    next stop’ and is directed by Tedy Necula, who tells the story of the
    passengers in a subway carriage, the next day after the fire. The Romanian
    president Klaus Iohannis brought a floral tribute at the place of the tragedy,
    lit a candle and observed a short moment of silence.




    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday debated a
    simple motion initiated by the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania
    Union Party against the justice minister, in which they ask for his
    resignation. The opposition accuses Minister Tudorel Toader that through his
    attitude he abandoned the judiciary and left it in the hands of criminals, thus
    taking Romania way back in the past when criminal files used to be solved
    during party meetings. The motion will be submitted to the vote on Wednesday.
    Meanwhile Minister Toader announced he would make public the appointment
    procedure and grid as well as the candidacy file of Romania’s prosecutor
    general Augustin Lazar. Last week, the justice minister had asked for the
    dismissal of Augustin Lazar, one of the reasons being the alleged existence, in
    his candidacy file of 2016, of a classifying verdict in a case involving the
    country’s president Klaus Iohannis, at the time when he was a mayor. The
    Superior Council of Magistracy claims that the file does not include such a
    document.




    VISITS – The European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, Gunther
    Oettinger, on Tuesday paid an official visit to Bucharest. He met with the
    Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, with whom he discussed hot topics on
    the European agenda, particularly the multiannual financial framework. Also
    present in Bucharest was the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina
    Cretu, who said that the lack of transport infrastructure is the legacy of
    Romania’s history. Attending a top-level conference on the future of the
    Cohesion Policy, the European official said Romania had no projects to
    implement when it joined the European Union. The EU official said the European
    Commission is providing an additional 10% increase in the funds to be allotted
    to Romania, Bulgaria and Greece in the period 2021-2027. Commissioner Cretu has
    drawn attention to the fact that the Romanian authorities are not accessing the
    money made available to it by Brussels, which should be used for infrastructure
    and healthcare projects.




    EXERCISE – The American air forces announced that they transported
    an important amount of armament to Europe. This was the largest such operation
    after the war in Kosovo, when the US played a key role in NATO’s intervention
    in the former Yugoslavia. The American transport of armament coincides with the
    largest NATO military exercise after the Cold War. The exercise called Trident
    Juncture 18 is taking place in Norway. Participating are tens of thousands of
    military from 31 member and allied countries. Romania is represented in the
    military drill by military with the general staff and the Psychological
    Operations Centre. The Chief of the General Staff of the Romanian
    Armed Forces    , General Nicolae Ciuca, attended the
    Distinguished Visitors’ Day in Norway.




    COMMEMORATION – President Klaus Iohannis on
    November 10 and 11 will be attending a series of events in Paris devoted to the
    Armistice Centenary that marked the end of hostilities in World War I, the
    presidency reports. The head of state will join leaders of countries that
    participated in the Great War as well as countries that supported war efforts
    at the ceremony held at the Triumphal Arch in Paris. The president will also
    attend the opening of the Peace Forum, an initiative of the French President
    Emmanuel Macron, aimed at generating concrete projects to support
    multilateralism and contemporary cooperation towards peace. Klaus Iohannis will
    also meet with BA, MA and doctoral students in Paris involved in scientific
    research. Hosted by the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the meeting is devoted to
    Romania’s contribution to the advancement of science and technology in the year
    of the Great Union Centennial.




    IMF – An IMF mission will arrive next week in Bucharest for talks
    with the authorities and representatives of the business sector and civil
    society. The agenda for talks was presented on Tuesday by IMF Resident
    Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, Alejandro Hajdenberg. The agenda includes the macroeconomic
    framework, the budget for 2019 and progress in implementing structural reforms.
    The IMF official announced that the economic forecast for this year is 4%,
    below the estimate for 2018. Alejandro Hajdenberg also said that the IMF
    expects the inflation to drop to 3.5% towards the end of 2018, and the budget
    deficit to stand at 3.6% of the GDP.




    AFRICAN SWINE FEVER – A new African swine fever outbreak was
    confirmed in a household in Dolj County, southwestern Romania, the National
    Sanitary, Veterinary and Food Safety Authority announced. So far a thousand
    outbreaks have been reported in 15 counties, and over 350,000 animals were
    culled. Romania has called for EU support to provide financial compensations to
    pig farmers. The first outbreak was reported in July 2017.


    (Translated
    by L. Simion & V. Palcu)

  • October 7, 2018

    October 7, 2018

    FAMILY REFERENDUM – Nearly 19 million Romanian voters are invited this
    weekend to vote on a proposed redefinition of the concept of family in the
    Constitution. The initiators aim to define family as an institution based on
    the marriage of a man and a woman, rather than the marriage of spouses, as it
    is at present. According to data released by the Central Electoral Bureau on
    Sunday, at 10 AM, some 7,24% of the total number of eligible voters had cast
    their ballots so far, many of them in urban communities. The Romanians living
    abroad can vote in 378 polls hosted by diplomatic missions, consular offices,
    cultural institutes and other locations. Most polls abroad are in Italy, Spain,
    the Republic of Moldova, the USA, UK, France and Germany. The voting process
    abroad will conclude on the US West Coast and in Canada on Monday morning,
    Romanian time. The vote in the diaspora started on Friday night in Auckland,
    New Zealand and will take 58 hours to complete. Parliament has passed a bill
    rephrasing the Constitutional definition of marriage, based on a citizen
    initiative signed by 3 million people. To pass, the referendum needs meet the
    30% voter turnout threshold and 25% of votes cast have to be valid.




    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies on Monday will debate a simple
    motion filed by the National Liberal Party in opposition against Economy
    Minister Danut Andrusca. The Liberals accuse Andrusca of deliberately
    destabilizing the country’s economy. Last week the Chamber voted against a
    simple motion the Liberals filed against Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici,
    whom they accuse of failing to implement the taxing and budget strategy. The
    opposition also calls for the elimination of the additional excise tax on fuel,
    the start of major investment projects and the allotment of 100% of tax
    revenues to local administration starting next year. Also this week the Senate
    dismissed a simple motion against Transport Minister Lucian Sova, filed by the
    National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union. The opposition accuses Sova of
    poor management of the road and rail transport networks.




    HEARING – Monday, October 8, will see the first hearing in the case
    where Social-Democrat leader and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea was
    sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment in the court of first
    instance. In June, the High Court of Cassation and Justice handed Dragnea the
    sentence for instigation to abuse of office. Anticorruption prosecutors say
    Liviu Dragnea ordered the fictitious employment of two party members at the
    Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate. The two were paid with
    taxpayer money, although they allegedly worked exclusively for the
    Social-Democratic Party. Liviu Dragnea denied the accusations. In 2016, Dragnea
    was handed a 2-year suspended prison sentence for attempted election fraud.
    This summer the High Court cancelled the ruling to suspend the prison sentence.




    EUROPEAN
    WEEK OF REGIONS – The 2018 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities kicks off
    on Monday in Brussels, in the presence of European Commission president
    Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina
    Cretu, the European Committee of the Regions president, Karl-Heinz Lambertsz
    and European Parliament vice-president, Pavel Telicka. This year’s edition is a
    special one, devoted to the European Commission’s cohesion policy proposal for
    the 2021-2027 period. Decision-makers and local, regional, national and
    European experts will take part in a series of debates as part of the most
    important event devoted to cohesion policies at European level.




    THEATRE FESTIVAL – Theatre companies from six countries, world
    famous klezmer bands and artists will meet in Bucharest over October 7-14 as
    part of the third edition of the TES FEST International Yiddish Theatre
    Festival. The event is organized by the Jewish State Theatre to mark 70 years
    since the institution was founded and 142 years since the first Yiddish
    professional theatre was set up in Iasi, Romania, in 1876, by writer and artist
    Abraham Goldfaden. Companies from the US, Israel, France, Moldova, Austria and
    Poland are expected to attend. On the sidelines a series of related events,
    such as workshops, meetings, film screenings and exhibitions about the history
    and activity of the Jewish Theatre in Romania will also be held.




    NOBEL PRIZE – The 2018 Nobel Prize awards season will come to a close on Monday, when
    the Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded. On Friday,Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege, who treated sex violence victims in
    his home country, and Nadia Murad, a Kurdish human rights activist having survived
    Islamic State sexual slavery, were awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The
    Norwegian Nobel Committee explained the prize was awarded for their efforts to
    end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Both had a crucial
    contribution to raising awareness with respect to this type of war crimes and
    in fighting them.




    (Translated
    by V. Palcu)

  • April 10, 2018 UPDATE

    April 10, 2018 UPDATE

    AIR TRAFFIC — Air traffic was severely disrupted on Tuesday due to strikes staged by the German flight operator Lufthansa and the national French airliner Air France. Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Germany. Lufthansa’s most important trade union, Verdi, is calling for a 6% increase in salaries. Several local authorities said kindergartens, sanitation services, banks, public administration, hospitals and maritime transport have called off their activity. Public transport is brought to a halt in Koln, Essen and Bonn. So far the strikes have not affected flights to Romania. The Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs has issued a travel warning for France, anyone traveling to this country can address diplomatic missions in Paris.



    AWARD — Romanian writer Mircea Cartarescu scooped the 2018 International Formentor Award in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in recognition of his literary work. The jury appreciated Cartarescu’s narrative capacity and his vast knowledge of universal culture. The Romanian writer will receive 50,000 euros. Cartarescu said 40 years ago he never imagined his writings would earn veneration and consideration from so many Spanish readers, and thanked his translator and his publishing house. Aged 61, Mircea Cartarescu has written over 30 works that have been translated in 23 languages.



    DEFICIT — In the first two months of 2018 Romania’s exports stood at €10.9 billion, while its imports stood at €12.5 billion, the National Institute of Statistics reports. According to the Institute, the trade balance deficit in the first two months of the year was €1.65 billion, by €400 million more than the same period of 2017.



    BRODER CROSSING POINTS — Romanians living abroad who spent Easter at home are returning to the countries they work in, and Romania’s western border crossing points are starting to get crowded. To avoid overcrowding, the Romanian Border Police has brought in more people. Drivers heading to these borders can use an online app to see the average waiting time for each border crossing point, so they can choose the least crowded checkpoint.



    DISCHARGE — Yulia Skripal, daughter of the former Russian spy Sergey Srkipal, who was targeted in Salisbury by a nerve agent attack, was discharged from hospital. Aged 33, the woman was taken to a safe location. Her father remains hospitalized, and doctors say his condition is improving fast. On March 4, the two were found unconscious in Salisbury, some 100 kilometers from London. The UK blames Russia for this military-grade nerve-agent attack, while Moscow has denied the accusations. The case has stirred a wave of unprecedented mutual expulsions between Russia and Western countries, involving as many as 300 diplomats.



    UBER — The European Union Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that Member States may prohibit and punish, as a matter of criminal law, the illegal exercise of transport activities in the context of the UberPOP service, without notifying the Commission in advance of the draft legislation, France Press and Reuters report. The case concerned Uber’s use of unlicensed drivers as part of its UberPOP service in France, which has since been suspended there and in several other cities, and therefore will not affect Uber’s operations in the country. Tuesday’s ruling follows the December 2017 ruling of the court, when the EUCJ classified Uber as an ordinary transportation company instead of an app and should be regulated as such. Uber was founded in 2009 in the United States, and has been operating in Romania since February 2015, first in Bucharest and gradually expanding to Cluj, Brasov and Timisoara. There are over 450,000 registered Uber users in Romania, mostly in Bucharest. Romania is Uber’s second-largest market in Central and Eastern Europe after Poland.



    TRAFFIC-RELATED DEATH RATE— Romania’s roads were the least safe in the EU in 2017, reads a recent report made public in Brussels. Romania had the highest road fatality rate, with 98 cases per million inhabitants, double the EU average. The Commission says that two member states, Romania and Bulgaria, have the road fatality rate higher than 80 deaths per million inhabitants, as compared to seven in 2010. Overall, 25,300 people were killed in road accidents at EU level. The EU wants to reduce the number of road traffic fatalities to half over 2010-2020.



    MOTION – The Senate on Tuesday voted against a simple motion against European Funds Minister Rovana Plumb, filed by MPs with the National Liberal Party and the People’s Movement Party in opposition. The signatories of the motion warn that the situation of sectoral operational programs is extremely serious, from the prospect of the very low amount of the refunds the European Commission is giving Romania at present. The rate of absorption for the 2014-2020 period was 10% at the end of 2017. The opposition claims Romania has a good chance of developing and truly becoming a European nation, with a living standard equal to other states in Western Europe. This chance is given only by European funds, which can help improve Romanians’ quality of life. In turn, Minister Rovana Plumb said the opposition wants to politicize the issue of European funds.



    BOOK FAIR — The 47th edition of the International Book Fair in London is underway over April 10-12. Romania’s participation in the fair is under the aegis of the Romanian Cultural Institute. Under the heading “Writing and Making History: Remembering the Great War Generation”, events organized at Romania’s pavilion are first of all evoking Romania’s participation in the first world war and the Great Union by means of literary and artistic echoes of these two crucial moments in history. Over 600 new releases in Romanian and English, including fiction, science and arts, will be made available at Romania’s pavilion.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • February 21, 2018

    February 21, 2018

    MOTION – The simple motion against Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, tabled by the National Liberal Party and debated upon in the Chamber of Deputies on Monday, has been rejected today by the Romanian MPs, with 157 votes against, 96 in favor and 16 abstentions. The signatories of the document, 60 Liberal MPs, have said that the transfer of social insurance contributions from employers to employees, starting January 1st, has resulted in pay cuts for around 2 million Romanians and that through the laws that she endorsed, Lia Olguta Vasilescu has created chaos in the public and private sectors. In turn, the Labour Minister has said that salaries cannot go down if the employer transfers the total expense with an employee to the latter’s gross salary, in keeping with the new salary law.




    PROTESTS — Romanian trade unions in education are today protesting in the street against a series of fiscal measures which they say cause thousands of employees in the education system lose important amounts from their salaries. Unionists also demand the renegotiation of the public system salary law saying it has created discrimination between employees. They also want the pension law to be revised, so that the teaching staff can retire three years before the standard age. Protest actions are also scheduled for tomorrow.




    VISIT — Romanian PM Viorica Dancila is today having a meeting with the European Commission President, Jean Claude Junker. This is the first official visit abroad of Romania’s new PM, Viorica Dancila. On Tuesday the Romanian PM held talks with the head of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani and with the European Council President Donald Tusk, on the EU Council presidency that Romania is taking over starting January 1st, 2019. Dancila has reaffirmed Romania’s firm support for the consolidation of the European project. In turn, Antonio Tanjani has again called on the Romanian Government to continue the battle against corruption, for the consolidation of the rule of law.




    COURT — Romania’s Constitutional Court is today discussing several complaints submitted by the Save Romania Union (USR) about the revision in Parliament of the justice laws. The right-of-center Save Romania Union, in opposition, has signalled the unconstitutionality of some of the provisions of the law on the organisation and functioning of the Higher Council of Magistracy, the status of djudges and prosecutors and the law on the judicial organisation. According to the Save Romania Union, the three laws endorsed by Parliament undermine the independence of magistrates. The political power in Bucharest however, argues that the revision of the justice laws was needed, given that they have not been revised in over ten years. On the other hand, the political opposition, a part of the civil sociaty and the magistrates’ professional organisations are contesting the modifications, saying they only serve the vested inerests of some politicians and business people.




    MOLDOVA — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is today meeting with the Moldovan deputy prime minister for European Integration, Iurie Leanca, who pays an official visit to Bucharest. On Tuesday, Leanca discussed with the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu about the importance of keeping Moldova on the European agenda. Minister Melescanu reiterated Romania’s support for Moldova’s EU integration. Previously, Iurie Leanca met with the Romanian minister-delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu. The latter said that the strategic goal of the cooperation between Bucharest and Chisinau is Moldova’s EU integration.




    RROMA — Romania must speed up its efforts to combat discrimination, especially against the Rroma, and to protect all national minorities in a series of domains, according to a report of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. In the document, the Committee acknowledges the efforts of the Romanian authorities to promote the minorities’ culture and education, and guarantee the representation of national minorities in Parliament. However, the country should create a solid and coherent legal framework for the protection of minorities’ rights, given that the current legislation is confusing and makes room for contradictory interpretation, the report also says. (Translated by Elena Enache)






  • February 19, 2018 UPDATE

    February 19, 2018 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT – The Chamber of Deputies Monday discussed a simple motion tabled by the Liberals in Opposition against the Labour Minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu. The Liberals criticise the drop in salaries for certain employee categories further to the introduction of the unified wage scheme and the transfer of social security payments from employers to employees. In turn, the Labour Minister says there are no statistical data to verify the claims that 2 million Romanians have seen their incomes drop further to the “fiscal revolution. MPs will vote on the motion on Wednesday.




    EIB – Romania is interested in further benefitting from the variety of financing instruments offered by the European Investment Bank, especially those that help improve the absorption of non-reimbursable EU funding, the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said in Bucharest on Monday, after a meeting with the EIB vice-president Andrew McDowell. In turn, the EIB official pointed out that the banks products are designed to reduce the investment deficit in Romania, to contribute to the countrys economic growth and to help create new jobs. According to an EIB report made public on Monday in Bucharest, over the past 25 years the group has granted loans of over 13 billion euros to Romania. Official data indicate that in 2017 alone, the EIB Group, which comprises the EIB and the European Investment Fund, provided support to Romania amounting to 1.9 billion euros.




    TRANSPORT – The European Commission announced on Monday that 1.3 billion euro in cohesion funds will be invested in upgrading a section of the railway corridor connecting Curtici, on the Romanian – Hungarian border, to Constanta on the Black Sea Coast, reads a news release issued by the EC Representation in Bucharest. The works will target a significant improvement of speed and safety on the segment between Curtici and the town of Simeria, where 13 railway stations will be upgraded, the improvement of the signalling and passenger information systems and the building of related infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels.




    FLU – Another 3 people died from the flu in Romania, with the death toll reaching 35, and more than 500 cases reported, the authorities announced on Monday. Most of the cases are reported in Bucharest, followed by the counties Constanta (in the south-east), Olt (south), Brasov (centre) and Iasi (north-east). The authorities recommend vaccination, and the Healthcare Ministry announces around 80,000 shots are still available. So far more than 920,000 people have got flu shots. The Healthcare Minister Sorina Pintea says Romania is not facing a flu epidemic. She added that prevention measures are of the utmost importance, while hospitals and public health authorities must implement all the necessary measures.




    JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice will pass a final ruling on March 5 in a case where Ludovic Orban, the president of the main Opposition party, the right-wing National Liberal Party, was tried for influence peddling with a view to obtaining undue benefits. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate is seeking a one-year imprisonment sentence in the case. Orban was found not guilty by the court of first instance, but an appeal has been filed. According to prosecutors, in March 2016 Orban contacted a businessman requesting financial support for the local election campaign, in which he was running for Mayor General of Bucharest.




    DEFENCE – The Senate of Romania Monday endorsed a bill on the procurement of multiple rocket launchers for the Romanian Army. Under the document, the Government of Romania is awarding to the US Government the contracts for the procurement of 3 sets of 18 launch systems each, including the ammunition, control elements, sensors, logistic support as well as personnel training. The funds will be taken from the Defence Ministry budget. The Chamber of Deputies is to make the final decision on this bill.




    AmCham – Investments must be a priority in this years public budget, the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania states in a report made public on Monday. According to AmCham, it is only through investments that economic growth can translate into wellbeing, modern infrastructure, high performance administration and high quality public services. The report says that in 2017 compliance with the deficit target was the main concern in public budget execution, but this was at the expense of investments, which hit a 12-year low. AmCham argues that authorities have sacrificed public investments in order to be able to increase public sector salaries and pensions. AmCham also recommends better absorption of European funds, fiscal stability, increased productivity and a focus on high value-added economic activities.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Amending the Fiscal Code under debate

    Amending the Fiscal Code under debate

    The motion filed against Finance Minister, Ionut Misa on Monday was rejected by the Senate. Initiated by the National Liberal Party and backed by the People’s Movement Party and the Save Romania Union, all in opposition, the motion accused the fact that the implementation of the government programme with which the Social-Democratic Party had won the elections has already given rise to economic imbalance difficult to overcome and the consumption-based economic growth proves its shortcomings. Furthermore, the signatories to the motion denounced the fiscal chaos triggered by the Tudose Cabinet: the increase of structural spending on wages, the lowering of public investment and tax returns. Liberal senator Romulus Bulacu:



    “Through our vote, we, MPs of the National Liberal Party, the People’s Movement Party and the Save Romania Party, call upon the Tudose Government to take measures to restore the budget deficit to its set parameters as soon as possible, to ensure the fiscal stability and predictability required by the business sector, to take steps in order to protect Romanian businesses and capital, cut labour force taxes, boost direct investment, reduce spending on wages and social welfare; we also demand the resignation of the finance minister.”



    Sharply criticizing the fiscal amendments envisaged by the Social-Democrats, president Klaus Iohannis reiterated that the implementation of the new measures must be postponed and they should be drawn up after a thorough analysis. Largely criticized by company managers, unionists and part of civil society, the amendments are fiercely defended by the Government. The latter says that the package of fiscal measures can create the premises for a sustainable economic growth pace, Romania currently being one of the EU’s most dynamic economies.



    The Draft Ordinance amending the Fiscal Code says that starting January 1st 2018, social security contributions will be paid by employees and no longer by employers, the income tax will go down from 16 to 10% and employers will pay a solidarity tax. The government session focusing on the adoption of the Ordinance has been put off twice so far. When it comes to a package of such important measures, urgency is not a key factor for the rulers. In exchange, those who oppose the amendments to the Fiscal Code say that the rulers want to procrastinate adopting the measures either because they are insufficiently substantiated or they step back fearing criticism. Criticism has also come from the mayor of Bucharest, Gabriela Firea, a member of the Social-Democratic Party, who is afraid that the fiscal amendments might trigger the decrease of funds for investment in local communities. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • October 31, 2017

    October 31, 2017

    MOTION — The National Liberal Party, the People’s Movement Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition today filed a simple motion in the Senate against Finance Minister Ionut Misa. The opposition criticizes the Government’s fiscal measures, saying they will negatively impact the economy and all social classes. The Government wants to transfer the payment of social security contributions from employers to employees and to introduce the so-called “employment insurance tax” for employers. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said this new contribution will increase taxation. In another development today, the Senate passed a draft law on adopting the Government’s emergency decree on the spaced-out payment of VAT. The plenary session paid heed to a report of the Senate’s Budget and Finance Committee, which modified the text of the decree, stipulating the measure applies only for insolvent companies or any companies with outstanding VAT-related debts at the end of 2017. The draft law will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body.



    DIGITIZATION — The future of Europe will be digital or “there won’t be one”, and Romania will hold the upper hand in this context due to its very active network of startups, European Commissioner for Economy and the Digital Society, Mariya Gabriel, said today in Bucharest. According to the EU official, Southeastern Europe will have a great impact on the development of this field. Mariya Gabriel is attending a conference hosted by Bucharest titled “Digital Romania International Forum — Startups in 4.0 Industries”. The forum brings together leaders from the industry, entrepreneurs, investors, European decision-makers, authorities and academia with a view to finding solutions for Romania to contribute and benefit from the digitization of the industry, the economy and society at EU level. According to an analysis of the PwC audit and consultancy group, Romania has a very high development potential in the IT sector, despite ranking last at EU level as regards the degree of digitization.



    UKRAINE — Venice Commission experts are in Kiev for the next couple of days to examine the tensions prompted by the adoption of the new education law in this country. Attending the meeting with ethnic minorities will also be a delegation of Romanian nationals from the region of Cernauti. According to minority representatives, the new education law severely restricts the minorities’ rights to education in their native language. Recently, representatives of the Romanian community in Ukraine have referred the matter to the Venice Commission, demanding the new education law be examined to check its compliance with Ukraine’s commitments before the Council of Europe to safeguard the rights of national minorities to education in their own languages. Bucharest has repeatedly criticized the law.



    INVESTIGATION — A United States judge has warranted the house arrest of Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman to Donald Trump. Paul Manafort and his associate have been indicted on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, failure to disclose overseas bank accounts and money laundering. These are the first accusations stemming from the investigation into Russia’s alleged ingressions into Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidential election of 2016, whose purpose was to swing the vote to Trump’s favour. Manafort ran Trump’s campaign in June-August 2016, when he was forced to step down in light of revelations that he secretly lobbied for a pro-Russian party in Ukraine in exchange for millions of dollars. The indictment however makes no reference to Donald Trump’s election campaign nor any other suggestion linked with a secret understanding between Donald Trump’s campaign staff and Russian authorities that might have illegally influenced the result of the vote. Trump denied accusations regarding his purported involvement with Russian officials and has labeled the investigation as “a witch hunt”.



    FOOTBALL — Romania’s football vice-champions FCSB on Thursday are playing Hapoel Beer Sheva of Israel at home in the fourth round of the Europa League main group phase. Two weeks ago, Nicolae Dica’s trainees won 2-1 in Israel. FCSB ranks first in the Group G with 9 points in 3 matches, followed by Lugano of Switzerland, Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic and Hapoel Beer Seva of Israel, each with 3 points. FCSB can secure qualification to the next phase with a draw on Thursday. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • October 10, 2017 UPDATE

    October 10, 2017 UPDATE

    RESHUFFLE — A decision on the relations between the Romanian Government and the main ruling party, the Social Democratic Party, PSD, as well as another decision on a prospective reshuffle of the Government will be made on Thursday by the National Executive Committee of PSD, Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and the PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, announced on Tuesday. Earlier, the Prime Minister had made public his decision to reshuffle his cabinet. He underlined that several members of the Government who are involved in criminal investigations or whose performance has been unsatisfactory will be replaced. According to the Prime Minister, these Ministers mar the image of the Government and in some cases its relationship with the European Commission. Also on Tuesday, PM Mihai Tudose met with President Klaus Iohannis for talks about his intention to replace several members of his cabinet. According to the spokesperson for the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis considers that the ministers who have problems should either withdraw or be sacked from the Government. The Liberal Opposition has also called on the Prime Minister to replace all ministers who are involved in criminal investigations. We recall that three members of the Government, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Sevil Shhaideh, Minister Delegate for European Funds Rovana Plumb and Minister Delegate for Liaison with Parliament, Viorel Ilie, are being investigated by anticorruption prosecutors.



    MOTION — The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday debated a simple motion filed by the right-wing opposition against Health Minister Florian Bodog. The National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party are calling for his resignation and for quick solutions in the field of healthcare. The opposition is criticizing the vaccine crisis and the ministry’s failure to implement infrastructure projects, in particular as regards emergency hospitals in Cluj, Craiova and Iasi. The vote is scheduled on Wednesday. The opposition also wants Bodog to step down amidst allegations of plagiarism over his PhD thesis, which Bodog has firmly dismissed.



    ROMANIAN ECONOMY- The International Monetary Fund has revised the outlook for the Romanian economy upward, from 4.2% to 5.5%, according to the institution’s “World Economic Outlook”, released on Tuesday. The IMF has also improved the forecast for the growth rate of the Romanian economy in 2018, from 3.4% as was estimated in April, to 4.4%. According to the institutions’ world economic outlook, Romania and Iceland will report the biggest economic growth in Europe, of 5.5%. Also on Tuesday, the National Institute for Statistics upgraded Romania’s economic growth rate from 5.9 to 6.1% for the second quarter of the year, as compared to the same period of last year.



    DEFENSE COOPERATION — Bucharest authorities on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the US security giant General Dynamics for the manufacturing of armoured vehicles in Romania, the Government has announced. Defence Minister Mihai Fifor recently said that based on the contract with General Dynamics, the Bucharest Mechanical Factory will make 8×8 Piranha transporters for the Romanian Army.



    FINANCE — Finance Minister Ionut Misa is as of Wednesday taking part in the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to a ministry release, Misa will meet with representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, First Vice President Philip Bennett and Vice-President Alain Pilloux. The agenda of talks will focus on Romania’s fiscal and budget strategy in the 2017-2019 period.

  • September 17-23

    September 17-23

    Extreme weather phenomena- prevention measures


    The Romanian Government on Thursday decided to grant an 8 million Euro aid to cover the damages produced by violent storms in several counties in western, northern and central Romania. The funds will be used for repair works on schools, hospitals, police stations, churches and other public buildings. Last Sunday, a storm, which lasted only 15 minutes, left behind some 8 people dead and over 140 people injured, blew away roofs and street billboards, and damaged cars. Power outings were reported and localities were left without running water. Roads have been temporarily blocked. Railways have been severely affected. In the wake of Sundays storms, PM Mihai Tudose has announced its high time Romania had a modern warning system to alert the population against disasters, just like those in other European states. Just a couple of days later, bad weather has again taken parts of the country in its grip, sweeping Bucharest and 38 other localities. The storm took a toll of 3 lives. Gusty wind blew away roofs, and traffic was temporarily disrupted because of trees that fell on the roads.



    Romanias President Klaus Iohannis attending the UN General Assembly


    Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, had a busy agenda during his six-day visit to the US, where he attended the UN General Assembly meeting. In a speech he delivered in a plenary session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Romanian President underlined the need to strengthen the UN and to render it more effective, in order to be able to face current challenges. He said that Romania hails the reform of the UN mechanisms against terrorism and its demarches of making of the fight against terrorism a key element of its terrorism-prevention agenda. Iohannis also pleaded for setting up an international court against terrorism. The Romanian President also attended high-level meetings organised by Romania together with other countries as well as a series of bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary General, the President of the UN General Assembly and with a number of heads of state. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis met with ethnic Romanians living in Philadelphia, and asked them to consoldiate the relationship between the Romania and the US. He told the ethnic Romanians that the Strategic Partneship between Romania and the US has gained a new dimension, after the visit he paid to Washington earlier this year. Iohannis said the US President Donald Trump appreciates very much the Romanian community in the US. Also on Thursday, the Romanian President announced that he cancelled his visit to neighbouring Ukraine, scheduled for early October and the meeting with the Chairman of the Supreme Rada, Andriy Parubiy, due in Bucharest, at the end of the month. The Romanian President made these decisions after the Ukrainian Parliament adopted an education law that infringes upon the rights of 400 thousand ethnic Romanians living in Ukraine of having access to education in their native langue.



    Bucharests reactions to the new education law in Ukraine


    On Wednesday, the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, gathered in a plenary session, adopted a declaration on the new education law in Ukraine, which- they say- drastically limits the right to education in the native language of national minorities, including the ethnic Romanians. The Romanian Parliament calls on Kiev to reassess the law, which should only be promulgated by President Petro Poroshenko in order to take effect. The Romanian Parliament also calls on the Ukrainian side to ensure the adequate protection for the linguistic, cultural and religious identity of approximately half a million ethnic Romanians in the neighbouring country. Parliament also voted on the structure of a delegation that will go to Ukraine to support the cause of the Romanian ethnic minority. Romanias delegation to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly will also calls on this body to organise in October a debate that should end with the adoption of a resolution on monitoring Ukraines human rights record.



    Romanian defence minister Mihai Fifor, on a visit to Washington


    The Romanian defence minister, Mihai Fifor, paid a working visit to Washington earlier this week. During the talks he had with the American officials minister Fifor reiterated Bucharests commitment to further be a staunch, predictable and trustworthy partner and to contribute to regional security and stability. He presented the Romanian governments priorities in the field of defence, among which allotting 2% of the GDP for defence. The agenda of talks also covered such issues as strengthening the Romania-US Strategic Partnership and bilateral cooperation in the military field. The Romanian minister has also met with representatives of US defence industry companies. Fifor underlined Bucharests firm commitment to step up the process of modernising the Romanian Armed Forces and has recalled that the Romanian Parliament has already started a series of endowment programs, among which those of purchasing Patriot missiles and Himars systems.



    The simple motion on education has been rejected


    The simple motion requesting the resignation of the education minister, Liviu Pop, was rejected on Monday in a plenary session of the Romanian Senate. Dubbed “Romania without high quality education is a poor country”, the motion had been tabled by the main opposition parties, the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union. The signatories blame minister Pop for the school year having started without textbooks for fifth graders, the lack of functioning permits in the case of most schools and for the dropout rate, which reached a record high.Liviu Pop said in the plenary session of the Senate that he had compiled a report on the real situation of the Romanian education system.


  • October 19, 2016 UPDATE

    October 19, 2016 UPDATE

    EUROPEAN COUNCIL – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Thursday and Friday, will attend the European Council meeting in Brussels. The agenda of the talks covers three major issues: migration management, the EUs trade policy and foreign relations. Upon leaving for Brussels, the Romanian President said that, in terms of migration, the participants will analyse the stage of implementing the mobility partnerships between the EU and third countries, non EU members, such as Mali, Nigeria and Senegal. Klaus Iohannis reiterated Romanias support for capitalising on these mobility partnerships, which produce direct benefits, for a better migration management. In another move, Klaus Iohannis underlined that Romania supports the EUs trade agreement with the US. He also expressed hope that Romania and Canada will reach an agreement as regards a visa waiver for Romanian citizens, adding that if a reasonable agreement is reached, Bucharest will withdraw its reservations relating to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU. Klaus Iohannis made clear that a reasonable agreement, means to Romania, the lifting of Canadian visas for Romanian citizens in 2017 and not 2018. The Romanian president also announced he will have bilateral talks, on the sidelines of the summit, with British Prime Minister, Theresa May, which will cover, among others, the situation of the Romanian nationals living in Great Britain.



    CONFERENCE – Bucharest is playing host to the Strategic Military Partner Conference organised by the NATO Allied Command Transformation. Around 70 NATO member and partner states are participating, as well as other countries, such as Colombia and Nigeria, which are taking part in such consultations for the first time. Talks focus on the prospects of expanding NATO partnerships and an in-depth analysis of the concepts resulting from the NATO Summit held in Warsaw in July. The meeting in Bucharest lasts three days and contains four planning workshops dealing with the maritime, air and space, land and cyber domains.

    MOURNING – Senior
    Liberal member, Radu Campeanu, the first president of the National Liberal
    Party after the fall of the communist regime in Romania, in December 1989,
    passed away on Wednesday, at 94 years of age. He held the presidency of the
    Liberal Party between 1990 and 1993. In the wake of WWII, Radu Campeanu took
    part in the anti-communist protest movements held over February 24-28,
    1945. Arrested in 1948, he spent many
    years in the communist prisons, as a political detainee. After he was released
    from prison, he emigrated to France. In 1990, Radu Campeanu returned to Romania,
    where he reconstructed the National Liberal Party. He was senator of Bucharest
    in the 1990-1992 period and the Liberal candidate for the presidential election
    in Romania, in 1990, when he ranked second.



    TOKEN STRIKE – Members of the Sanitas trade union federation in the healthcare sector were on a 2-hour token strike on Wednesday morning. During the strike, a third of normal duties were ensured, as well as all medical and surgical emergencies. Healthcare trade unions started their protests almost a month ago. They demand a unitary salary scheme for all medical staff, for the bonuses for special working conditions to be calculated based on current salaries and for holiday and meal vouchers. Sanitas representatives say they received no offer from the authorities and threaten to go on an all-out strike on the 31st of October. Sanitas has more than 100,000 members, including medical and sanitary staff, specialist staff, and auxiliary, technical and administrative staff.



    TRIAL – The High Court of Cassation and Justice judges have rejected all requests and exceptions raised by Gabriel Oprea and ruled for the start of a trial on merits in a case in which Oprea, a former deputy prime minister and interior minister, is accused of spending operative funds from the budget of the Intelligence and Internal Protection Directorate. The courts ruling is not final. In May, Oprea was indicted by the National Anticorruption Directorate for abuse of office together with other senior officers from the Interior Ministry. Oprea is also under investigation in a separate case in which he is accused of manslaughter. A police officer died last year in a motorcycle accident while providing official escort to Oprea, who was serving as interior minister. However, Oprea is believed to have been on a personal trip at the time, which means he was not entitled to official police escort.



    JUSTICE– Romanias technocratic prime minister Dacian Ciolos believes justice minister Raluca Pruna should stay in office following the passing of a simple no-confidence motion against her in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. Ciolos says the motion is a rebuke of Pruna over some of her statements, without raising any essential objections about her activity. The motion was filed by the Social Democrats after minister Pruna admitted she lied before the European Court of Human Rights with respect to the funds allocated to prisons in Romania. Pruna took responsibility for her statements saying no one can take away her right to signal the problems facing the justice system, including under-funding.



    MIGRANTS – 29 immigrants from Syria, including 17 minors aged between 2 and 17, were stopped on Wednesday morning by the Romanian border police in Timis as they were trying to cross from Serbia into Romania illegally. They did not carry identity papers but said they were Syrian nationals and that they crossed the Serbian border on foot planning to reach a country in western Europe. This is the largest group of Middle Eastern migrants to force the Romanian western border in Timis county this autumn. In the last two months, the authorities have thwarted many attempts to cross the border into Romania in the west, south-west and south.



    TENNIS- World no. 50 Monica Niculescu of Romania on Wednesday qualified for the quarterfinals of the Luxembourg tennis tournament, with 225,000 dollars in prize money up for grabs, after defeating Italys Francesca Schiavone, no.99. This is the first victory grabbed by Niculescu against Schiavone, who had defeated the Romanian player four times before. The Italian player got the first victory in the eighth finals in Moscow, back in 2009. Then she defeated Niculescu in the third round of the Australian Open in 2011, in the eights finals in New Haven, in 2011, and in the first round of the Stuttgart tennis tournament, in 2012. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • October 18, 2016

    October 18, 2016

    POVERTY — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos has today said in Bucharest that poverty is the result of corruption and of the way in which public resources are allocated. In another move, Ciolos says that a change in the citizens’ behavioural attitudes is also necessary in order to eradicate poverty. The head of government attended debates on the program drafted by the government in an effort to curb poverty. It includes 47 measures destined for all age brackets, from preschoolers to elderly people. Over 37% of the Romanians are exposed to a risk of poverty and social exclusion, Romania ranking second in the EU from this point of view, data released by Eurostat show. One in three children in Romania is facing poverty.



    CORRUPTION — One of the shareholders in the wine making company Murfatlar (in south-eastern Romania) and nine other persons have been taken into custody by the anti-corruption prosecutors, in a tax evasion file. The estimated value of the prejudice stands at some 600 million lei (135 million Euro). The anti-corruption prosecutors on Monday searched the headquarters of several firms in the wine-growing industry and the houses of several people, in several counties in the south and south-east, in a file in which investigations are carried out for crimes assimilated to corruption and tax evasion. The acts were reportedly carried out in the 2010-2014 period. In 2015, the wine company Murfatlar, one of the first ten players on the Romanian wine industry reported a turnover of 124.4 million lei (27 million Euro) and a net profit of 3.5 million lei (some 800 thousand Euro), according to the balance sheet submitted to the Finance Ministry.



    GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL — State secretary for European affairs, Cristian Badescu, is today attending in Luxembourg the General Affairs Council, a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry shows. The agenda of the meeting also includes talks on the stage revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework. The ministers will also be briefed on the stage of implementing the provisions of the Inter-institutional Agreement, referring to annual scheduling and inter-institutional cooperation, the Romanian Foreign Ministry also writes. The debates of the EU ministers for European affairs are held ahead of the European Council meeting due on Thursday and Friday. The agenda of the Council covers such issues as migration, the trade policy pursued by the EU, global and economic issues as well as foreign relations.



    SIMPLE MOTION — Romanian MPs have today adopted the simple motion “Lies can kill, too”, tabled by the Social Democratic Party against the justice minister in the current technocratic cabinet, Raluca Pruna. The MPs of the National Liberal Party and of the national minorities haven’t cast their votes. In the document, the Social Democrats were demanding the resignation of justice minister Raluca Pruna for a series of statements she made in a plenary session of the Higher Council of the Magistracy, on October 6, when she claimed “she had lied to the European Court of Human Rights” about the situation of funds allotted to penitentiaries. Ahead of the vote in parliament, Raluca Pruna defended herself, saying her mandate does not have a biased political stake. She assumed responsibility for the statements she made, saying that no one can take away her right to signal problems in the justice system, among which a severe one, such as under-financing. Today’s vote does not lead to the sacking of the minister.



    MIGRATION — Eight Pakistani nationals were stopped at the Romanian-Serbian border, in the southwest, on Tuesday morning, while trying to illegally cross into Serbia, from Romania. Following checkouts, the police officers established that the respective persons were Pakistani citizens, who said they had crossed the border on foot, with the declared intention to head for a West European state. Many such attempts by migrants trying to illegally cross the border have been foiled in the past two months. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • October 11, 2016

    October 11, 2016

    TOUR – As of Tuesday the Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu will go on a four-day tour of Asia. According to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the tour includes an official visit to Indonesia, aimed at boosting diplomatic bilateral dialogue and consolidating economic cooperation with this country. On Thursday and Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister will attend the 21st Ministerial Meeting of the European Union – Association of South-East Asian Nations (EU-ASEAN) in Thailand. On the sidelines of the meeting, Lazar Comanescu will hold a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from ASEAN countries.



    TALKS – Slovakian President Andrej Kiska today took part in a Romanian-Slovakian business forum. Also today the Slovakian official is visiting the town of Nadlac in western Romania, home to the largest Slovakian minority in Romania. On Tuesday, the Slovakian president held talks with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, regarding the political and economic cooperation between the two states and the fight against corruption. Iohannis and Kiska highlighted that the Slovakian minority in Romania and the Romanian community in Slovakia have a substantial contribution to the development of ties between the two states. Andrej Kiska also met with Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, discussing the development of rural areas, social inclusion policies and supporting job mobility.



    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies is today debating and voting a simple motion targeting Justice Minister Raluca Pruna. The Social-Democrats are calling for her resignation after she admitted in a recent meeting of the Supreme Defence Council that she lied to European Court of Human Rights judges when claiming seven prisons in Romania were allotted a budget of 1 billion euros. The information was based on official documents, whereas the money didnt actually exist, Raluca Pruna said. The statement was made in the context of the underfunding in the justice system, Pruna calling for further investment and the need for a multi-annual investment plan. The Government is not forced to sack the justice minister, even if the motion is passed in Parliament.



    VISIT – EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas is on Tuesday paying an official visit to Bucharest. He will meet with Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, Education Minister Mircea Dumitru, the president of the National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, Mihai Robert Dima, and with Romanian Academy president Ionel Valentin Vlad. Carlos Moedas will also meet with the members of Parliaments Committees on European affairs, education, science, youth and sports. Additionally, Commissioner Moedas will visit the ELI-NP laser project in Magurele.



    FOOTBALL – Romanias football team is today playing the national team of Kazakhstan away from home, in its third preliminary game in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On Saturday, in Erevan, Romania defeated Armenia, 5-0. In the same group E, Poland won 3-2 against Denmark, and Montenegro beat Kazakhstan 5-0. With 4 points each, Romania, Montenegro and Poland top the group table. Last month the national team drew at home against Montenegro, 1-1, in the first game with the German Cristoph Daum as the first foreign manager of the Romanian team. This autumn Romania is to also play at home against Poland, on November 11.



    WEATHER – Its getting cold across the country, with overcast skies and showers reported in the southeast, northeast and center. Meteorologists have issued a code orange alert in place until Wednesday and a code yellow alert in place until Thursday against heavy rainfall. Snowfalls and strong wind are expected in the mountains. Maximum temperatures range from 6 to 18 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 11 degrees.

    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • May 17th, 2016 UPDATE

    May 17th, 2016 UPDATE

    MOTION The lack of quorum on Tuesday prevented the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest from voting on a simple motion suggestively entitled The Biggest Disaster in the Romanian Agriculture after December 1989. The signatories of the document, Social Democrats and the Liberal-Democratic Alliance in Romania (ALDE) have blamed Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu for having blocked EU fund accession and investment in the irrigation network. They have also criticised Irimescu for mismanagement at the Agriculture Ministry and for hindering direct payment to farmers. During debates on the motion on Monday, Irimescu denied allegations saying that his work is being appreciated by farmers associations.




    HEALTHCARE Romanias technocratic Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Tuesday asked financial expert Vlad Voiculescu to consider taking over the Health Ministry portfolio vacant since the last weeks resignation of former minister Patriciu Achimas-Cadariu. A civic activist and currently a chief of cabinet at the Finance Ministry, Anca Dragu Voiculescu in 2008 initiated the so-called Cytostatics Network, a group of over 400 volunteers from Europe who used to bring free cytostatic drugs to Romanian patients. The head of the government also serves as interim health minister, coordinating emergency measures in a recent case involving the use of diluted disinfectant in hospitals around Romania. Hexi Pharma, the company producing these disinfectants, which is currently probed in for actions running counter to disease prevention and counterfeiting, withdrew its insolvency application on Tuesday. Prosecutors had earlier imposed on the company a ban on commencing insolvency procedures and selling assets.




    HUMANITARIAN AID UN planes might carry out air drops over Syrian cities besieged by government troops, unless the UN convoys get access to these cities, the US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Tuesday after talks in Vienna that brought together members of the International Syria Support Group, made up of the USA, Russia, Iran and the Arab countries. The meeting came after the Syrian opposition in April suspended its participation in peace talks in Geneva due to rising violence in the territory. Also on Monday in Vienna, foreign ministers from the EU the USA and from Libyas neighboring countries decided to help the national unity government in Tripoli with weapons supplies. The decision comes after the Islamic State has extended its influence over this country and is aimed at preventing another refugee surge to Europe.




    VILLAGE MUSEUM Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Tuesday was attending the inauguration of a new wing at the Village Museum in Bucharest, which turns 80 this year. One of Bucharests landmarks, the Village Museum was inaugurated on May 10th 1936, while on May 17th that same year it was opened to the public. It was sociologist Dimitrie Gusti who had the idea, in the interwar period, to bring to Bucharest tens of traditional households from throughout Romania. The museum currently hosts 370 monuments and 60 thousand heritage objects.



  • April 4, 2016 UPDATE

    April 4, 2016 UPDATE

    ROMANIAN ACADEMY – The Romanian Academy on Monday celebrated 150 years of existence. A solemn ceremony marked the event, bringing together representatives of the authorities, foreign guests, presidents of European academies, men of culture and Romanian scholars, members of the Romanian academy and contributors from across the country and abroad. Founded in 1866 under the name of the Romanian Literary Society, the institution was later known as the Romanian Academic Society, quickly growing into a landmark of Romanian culture and science. In 1879 the institution changed its name again into the Romanian Academy. Its members include renowned scholars of national and international status in a plethora of fields, from history, philosophy and linguistics to nuclear physics, chemistry, macro- and micro-biology. At present the Academy comprises 84 tenure members, 76 contributors, 45 honorary members, of whom six from abroad.



    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies on Monday started debating, in a plenary session, the first simple motion against a member of the technocratic cabinet led by Dacian Ciolos. The initiators of the document, Romanias Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, accuse Justice Minister Raluca Pruna that the ordinance she promotes, on wiretapping in criminal proceedings would turn Romania into an unsafe state, putting human rights up for debate, instead of fundamentally observing them. While the Liberals dismissed the initiative as “hilarious, the Social-Democrats said they would neither support nor file simple motions, but they would call for a cabinet reshuffle. The motion is to be voted upon on Wednesday.



    PROTEST – Part of the family physicians in Romania on Monday continued the strike started last week. They will not issue prescriptions and referrals, as they did on Friday. The protest concerns the delays in signing the framework agreement for 2016 and the lack of funding for general practitioners. Doctors threaten to call a token strike over the following days unless their demands are met.



    PANAMA PAPERS – Heads of state and high-ranking officials from all over the world, billionaires, renowned athletes and businessmen, including from Romania, as well as infamous criminal networks all transpire in a huge leak of confidential documents of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealing how the company manages the estates of the worlds richest and most famous people in offshore accounts. According to the BBC, the documents were investigated by journalists from 70 countries, and seem to be the hugest information leak on global corruption. The documents mention such names as the President of Argentina, the Prime Minister of Iceland, the President of Ukraine, the King of Saudi Arabia, close associates of the Russian and Chinese presidents, or current and former professional athletes, such as Michel Platini and Lionel Messi



    TRANSDNIESTER – The foreign ministers of Russia and the Republic of Moldova, Sergey Lavrov and Andrei Galbur, respectively, on Monday confirmed in Moscow their governments support for the resumption of negotiations in the 5+2 format, in the effort to solve the conflict between Chishinau and Tiraspol. Negotiations in this format – with the participation of Chishinau and Tiraspol, alongside Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediator and the US and the EU as observers – have been suspended since 2014. Andrei Galbur has expressed hope the visits paid to Chishinau and Tiraspol on Tuesday and Wednesday by representatives, mediators and international observers will contribute to the fast resumption of negotiations, without prerequisites. We recall that Transdniester de facto, got out of Chishinaus control in 1992, following an armed conflict that left hundreds of dead, and which ended with the intervention of the Russian troops, on the separatists side.



    IMMIGRANTS – Hundreds of illegal immigrants, mostly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, have been shipped back to Turkey from Lesbos and Chios islands in Greece, FRONTEX reports. This is the first such shipment of illegal migrants being deported to Turkey, based on the readmission agreement Turkey signed with the EU on March 18. The provisions of the agreement apply to all illegal migrants arrived in Turkey via Greece starting March 20. France Press news agency estimates some 6,000 people will be shipped back. Under the agreement, for every migrant deported to Turkey via the Greek Islands, another Syrian will be resettled in the EU. The first Syrian asylum-seekers arrived in Germany on Monday.



    CLASHES – Violent clashes continue between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan with a majority Armenian population. The conflict is high on the agenda of next weeks meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France. Fighting between the two sides over the region started in 1988 and ended in 1994, killing over 30,000 people in the process and displacing hundreds of thousands of Azeri refugees.



    SPORTS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep dropped one place in WTA standings, now ranking 6th. She was outranked by Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who last week won the tennis tournament in Miami, the US. Halep was knocked out in the quarterfinals, losing to Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland. In news from handball, the womens team Corona Brasov lost to TuS Metzingen of Germany 22-26 on home turf, in the first leg of the EHF Cup semi-finals. The return leg will be played on April 9 in Germany.


    (Translated by Vlad Palcu and Diana Vijeu)