Radio România Internațional

Tag: Social Democratic Party

December 4, 2019 UPDATE

NATO – Wednesday
marked the close of the NATO summit in London, where the leaders of the 29
Member States adopted a joint declaration reiterating the solidarity, unity and
cohesion of the Alliance. The document also shows that Russia’s repeated
aggressions represent a threat to Euro-Atlantic security. Attending the summit
President Klaus Iohannis said NATO must clearly identify its threats and
enemies as well as its position towards the rising powers. President Iohannis
said after the summit that NATO remains united and strong. NATO wants a fair
and equitable disbursement or resources for defense, whereas states that have
so far not allotted 2% of the GDP to defense spending have pledged to
accelerate procedures to this end, President Iohannis pointed out. According to
the President, the Alliance wants to kick off a reflection process on the
establishment of new strategies. On Tuesday evening, Klaus Iohannis attended
the reception hosted by Queen Elisabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

LAW – The Romanian
Chamber of Deputies, a decision making body, on Wednesday adopted the bill for
the repeal of the compensatory appeal law with 272 votes for and 5 abstentions.
The law was quite controversial because it allowed for the liberation of
thousands of detainees ahead of due date. Some of them, who had been convicted
for serious crimes, retuned to criminal behavior. Justice Minister Catalin
Predoiu explained recently that he supported the abrogation of the law, given
that its faulty content endangered Romania’s citizens. He pointed out that the
justice ministry representatives drafted a document including transitory
measures to be applied in penitentiaries in the future. The bad conditions
existing in penitentiaries generated lots of complaints at the European Court
of Human Rights. The authorities mainly want to improve the quality of
detention places.

EBRD – Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban wants a closer cooperation with the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, which would translate into investment and
technical assistance projects in such fields as transport, energy, healthcare
and constructions. Ludovic Orban on Wednesday met in Bucharest with a
delegation of the EBRD led by Charlotte Ruhe, managing director for Central and
Eastern Europe. The meeting was meant at presenting the Bank’s strategy for Romania
for the 2020-2025 period.

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC
PARTY – The Social Democratic Party’s executive committee on Wednesday
decided the future party leadership would be elected at a special congress on
February 29. We recall Viorica Dancila resigned from the position of leader
after her failure in the recent presidential election won by Klaus Iohannis,
supported by the National Liberal Party. This was the second electoral defeat
of the Social Democrats after that in the EP elections of May 26.

OSCE – Foreign Minister
Bogdan Aurescu on Thursday will attend the 26th meeting of the Ministerial
Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). On
this occasion Minister Aurescu will reiterate Romania’s key objectives
referring to security and cooperation in Europe. Bogdan Aurescu will attend
debates on the prospects of Europe’s security and will reaffirm Bucharest’s commitment
to observe the values of multilateralism and to support efforts to consolidate
the role of the OSCE, the Foreign Ministry reports. On the sidelines of the event,
Minister Aurescu will have a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts
from participant states.

HANDBALL – The
Romanian national women’s handball team lost 26-27 to Montenegro in Group C at the
World Championship hosted by Japan. In the previous matches the Romanian
handballers lost to Spain and won against Senegal and Kazakhstan. To qualify to
the main groups, Romania needs to defeat Hungary in the last group fixture. In
the same group, Spain defeated Kazakhstan and advanced to the next phase.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

4 December 2019
November 26, 2019

MEETING – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday is
meeting the future president of the European Council, Charles Michel, the
presidency reports. The two will discuss the European Union’s Strategic Agenda
for 2019-2024, as well as negotiations over the 2021-2027 EU budget, Brexit,
migration, the EU’s external relations and combating the effects of climate
change. The visit of the former Belgian Prime Minister is part of his tour in
preparation for taking over the European Council leadership on December 1.
Charles Michel wants to know where EU leaders stand on matters of key interest
to the Union.

DEFICIT – The consolidated budget deficit for 2019 will reach 4.3%
of the GDP, according to the latest budget adjustment published on Tuesday by
the Finance Ministry. Additional funds will go the ministries of Labor,
Healthcare, Regional Development, Finance and the Business Sector. The budgets
of the Education, Interior and Transport ministries will be slashed. Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban said his cabinet will cover all the necessary public
spending and salaries, the payment of various social benefits or operational
costs. Prime Minister Orban said funds will be earmarked for the payment of all
medical certificates and for refunding all VAT-related costs to businesses. The
adjustment proposals referring to defense institutions will be discussed in
Wednesday’s session of the country’s Supreme Defense Council.

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS – The executive committee of the Social Democratic
Party on Tuesday convened to analyze the results obtained in the recent
presidential election, which the former Prime Minister Viorica Dancila lost
with the lowest percentage in the history of the party. On Sunday, Viorica
Dancila said she was not going to resign but leaders of the Social-Democratic
Party claim the party needs a new vision and a new beginning. According to
political sources, on Monday as many as 35 leaders of Social-Democrat county
organizations had an informal meeting where they decided to ask within the
party’s executive committee for the resignation of the party leadership -
president, executive president, secretary general and vice-presidents. The
Social Democrats also lost the EP elections held in May, obtaining only half of
the 45% they had obtained in the 2016 legislative elections.

DISTINCTION – Ivan Patzaichin, a legend of Romanian and
international sports, on Tuesday was awarded the Romanian Star national order
in Rank of knight by the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis. The award was
bestowed as a sign of recognition and deep gratitude for his exceptional
results in sports and his significant contribution to the development of
Romanian sports at home and abroad. A four-time champion in the summer Olympics
(Mexico 1968, Munich 1972, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984), Ivan Patzaichin
turned 70 on November 26. As a coach, he won three silver medals in the
European Championships in Poznan and gold and silver at the Olympic Games in
Sydney. Ivan Patzaichin was declared Athlete of the 20th Century by
the International Canoe Federation.

FOOTBALL – The Executive Committee of the Romanian Football
Federation on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of appointing Mirel Radoi as
coach of the national football team. Mirel Radoi will replace Cosmin Contra,
who stepped down after failing to qualify to the 2020 European Championship. A
former national squad player, Mirel Radoi coached the Under-21 team, with which
he played in the 2019 European Championship semi-finals. His achievement meant
our under-21 team has qualified to the Olympic Games after a break of 56 years.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

26 November 2019
November 26, 2019

MEETING – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday is
meeting the future president of the European Council, Charles Michel, the
presidency reports. The two will discuss the European Union’s Strategic Agenda
for 2019-2024, as well as negotiations over the 2021-2027 EU budget, Brexit,
migration, the EU’s external relations and combating the effects of climate
change. The visit of the former Belgian Prime Minister is part of his tour in
preparation for taking over the European Council leadership on December 1.
Charles Michel wants to know where EU leaders stand on matters of key interest
to the Union.

DEFICIT – The consolidated budget deficit for 2019 will reach 4.3%
of the GDP, according to the latest budget adjustment published on Tuesday by
the Finance Ministry. Additional funds will go the ministries of Labor,
Healthcare, Regional Development, Finance and the Business Sector. The budgets
of the Education, Interior and Transport ministries will be slashed. Prime
Minister Ludovic Orban said his cabinet will cover all the necessary public
spending and salaries, the payment of various social benefits or operational
costs. Prime Minister Orban said funds will be earmarked for the payment of all
medical certificates and for refunding all VAT-related costs to businesses. The
adjustment proposals referring to defense institutions will be discussed in
Wednesday’s session of the country’s Supreme Defense Council.

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS – The executive committee of the Social Democratic
Party on Tuesday convened to analyze the results obtained in the recent
presidential election, which the former Prime Minister Viorica Dancila lost
with the lowest percentage in the history of the party. On Sunday, Viorica
Dancila said she was not going to resign but leaders of the Social-Democratic
Party claim the party needs a new vision and a new beginning. According to
political sources, on Monday as many as 35 leaders of Social-Democrat county
organizations had an informal meeting where they decided to ask within the
party’s executive committee for the resignation of the party leadership -
president, executive president, secretary general and vice-presidents. The
Social Democrats also lost the EP elections held in May, obtaining only half of
the 45% they had obtained in the 2016 legislative elections.

DISTINCTION – Ivan Patzaichin, a legend of Romanian and
international sports, on Tuesday was awarded the Romanian Star national order
in Rank of knight by the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis. The award was
bestowed as a sign of recognition and deep gratitude for his exceptional
results in sports and his significant contribution to the development of
Romanian sports at home and abroad. A four-time champion in the summer Olympics
(Mexico 1968, Munich 1972, Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984), Ivan Patzaichin
turned 70 on November 26. As a coach, he won three silver medals in the
European Championships in Poznan and gold and silver at the Olympic Games in
Sydney. Ivan Patzaichin was declared Athlete of the 20th Century by
the International Canoe Federation.

FOOTBALL – The Executive Committee of the Romanian Football
Federation on Tuesday unanimously voted in favor of appointing Mirel Radoi as
coach of the national football team. Mirel Radoi will replace Cosmin Contra,
who stepped down after failing to qualify to the 2020 European Championship. A
former national squad player, Mirel Radoi coached the Under-21 team, with which
he played in the 2019 European Championship semi-finals. His achievement meant
our under-21 team has qualified to the Olympic Games after a break of 56 years.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

26 November 2019
A new Government in Bucharest

Starting today
you’ll have a new partner in the Romanian Government, a trusted partner ready
to join your efforts to realize your vision of a developed Romania, to carry
out the programs and projects that will bring Romania on the right track, the
new Liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Monday as his new Cabinet was
sworn into office. Orban labeled the no-confidence motion that toppled the
Social-Democrat Government led by Viorica Dancila, followed by the investiture
of his new Cabinet as miracles, since they were both the effort of wider
cross-party cooperation. The new Government will engage in permanent dialogue
and will take into account Romanians’ expectations, Orban promised, referring
to the priorities of his term in office:

We have a
difficult task ahead, the situation is quite dire for Romania. We have
stringent matters to deal with, a lot of projects that have been stalled so far
and have prevented Romania’s development, from transport infrastructure
projects to investment in the sanitation network, the unblocking of competitive
procedures in procurement programs, the modernization of the army and the allotment
of 2% of the GDP to defense spending, as per our commitment.

High on the new
government’s agenda are the organization of the presidential election this
month, both at home and abroad, the last budget adjustment scheduled for 2019
as well as the state budget for 2020. As compared to the previous
Social-Democrat Government, the Liberals have opted for only 16 Ministries.
Lawyer Catalin Predoiu will take over the Justice Ministry, career diplomat
Bogdan Aurescu will be the new Foreign Minister while General Nicolae Ciuca
will serve as Defense Minister. Ludovic Orban’s Cabinet will stay in office for
a year, until the legislative election due next year in autumn, despite the
possibility of holding snap elections. President Klaus Iohannis has
congratulated the members of the new Cabinet, arguing their term will be short,
but difficult. The President wants the Liberals to implement their projects and
solve some urgent matters.

I expect this new Government to deal with some pressing issues: closing the
budget for 2019, drafting the 2020 state budget, re-launching talks over the
justice laws, because what the Social-Democrats have changed in the judiciary
needs to be remedied. The fight anti-corruption must be upheld, and the
presidential election needs to be organized in a transparent, lawful and
effective manner. This will all require a great deal of commitment.

On her part,
outgoing Social-Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said the
Social-Democratic Party will become a powerful opposition party.

We will take
our new role very seriously. And since we talk about responsibility and
commitment, I want to make it clear that, as per the decision of the National
Executive Committee, all those who voted against the party’s intentions have
already been excluded from the party ranks.

We recall that
several Social-Democrat MPs have voted both the no-confidence vote against the
Dancila Cabinet and the investiture of Ludovic Orban’s Cabinet.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

5 November 2019
May 28, 2019

ELECTION – Sunday’s vote for the
European Parliament has earned MEP seats for six political parties, according to
partial results made public by the Central Election Authority. The National
Liberal Party in opposition grabbed 26.33% of the vote, followed by the Social-Democratic
Party in power with 23.16% and the 2020 Save Romania Union – Plus Alliance with
21.34% of the vote. The Pro Romania Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
in Romania and the People’s Movement Party will also be represented in the new
Parliament, after grabbing 6.8%, 6% and 5.6% of the vote, respectively. The
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats failed the meet the election threshold.
Voter turnout stood at a record 49%. Romanians also voted in the referendum on
the judiciary called by President Klaus Iohannis, 80% of them answering Yes.
The turnout for the referendum was 41%, above the 30% threshold required to validate
the vote.

INFORMAL
MEETING – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis is today attending
the informal meeting of the European Council in Brussels. High on the agenda is
the result of the European Parliament election, held over May 23-26. EU leaders
will also hold preliminary talks over the new leadership of community
institutions.

PROTEST – Dozens of people on Monday evening protested in
front of the Foreign Ministry building in Bucharest, calling on Minister Teodor
Melescanu to step down for the poor organization of Sunday’s European
Parliament election in the Diaspora. Thousands of Romanians couldn’t exercise
their constitutional right to vote in the election and the referendum on the
judiciary after standing in line for hours in front of polling stations.

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS -
The Social-Democratic Party is today convening to analyze the result obtained
in Sunday’s European Parliament election and decide on the party’s future
course after the prison sentencing of its leader, Liviu Dragnea. Prime Minister
Viorica Dancila on Monday took over as interim party leader, saying these are
difficult times for the party. Dancila said she would not step down.

POPE FRANCIS – Online registration for the visit of his Holy
Father, Pope Francis, continue until Friday. Hundreds of thousands of people
have already registered, including Christians from Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine,
Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, Madagascar, Australia, Israel, Canada,
Namibia or Reunion. Held under the motto Let’s go together!, the
visit will have its first stop in the capital city Bucharest, the largest city
in the east of the country, then Pope Francis will travel to Iasi, the
spiritual capital of Romanian Roman-Catholics, Blaj, where he will beatify 7
bishops killed in communist prisons, and the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc. In
1999, Romania was the first country with a majority Orthodox population to have
been visited by a Pope, i.e. John Paul II 20 years ago.

IMF -
A delegation of the International Monetary Fund led by IMF mission chief for Romania,
Jaewoo Lee, will be in Bucharest until June 7 for its annual assessment of the
Romanian economy under Article IV. The IMF delegation will hold talks with the
Romanian authorities regarding economic developments and policies. IMF
officials will also meet representatives of the Ministry of Public Finance, the
National Bank and government agencies, as well as representatives of the private
sector and NGOs. Romania currently has no ongoing agreement with the IMF, an
institution that monitors the evolution of our country’s economy as a compulsory
process for all member states.

NAFSA – 24
universities from Romania will be presenting their educational offer in
Washington, over May 26-31 within the annual NAFSA education fair, the most
prestigious international event of its kind, Romania’s National Council of
Rectors has announced. The conference is expected to bring together more than
10,000 participants and 3,500 universities from 100 countries. According to a release
of the National Council of Rectors, Romania offers a high-quality education
environment as well as a series of facilities in its campuses up to European
standards at better prices than in other European countries.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 3 in the world, is today playing Alja
Tomljanovic of Australia (47 WTA) in the opening round at Roland Garros, the
second Grand Slam tournament of the year, where this year she returns to defend
her title. Also today Irina Begu defeated Lin Zhu of China (108 WTA), 6-1, 6-1.
On Monday, Sorana Cirstea (93 WTA) won 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 against Kaja Juvan of
Slovenia (131 WTA) and advanced to the second round. Conversely, Mihaela
Buzarnescu (30 WTA) lost 4-6, 4-6 to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia (60 WTA).
In the men’s competition, Marius Copil (81 ATP) lost to Benoit Paire of France
in four sets. Copil is also enrolled in the men’s doubles, where together with
Rohan Bopanna of India will play Raven Klaasen of South Africa and Michael
Venus of New Zealand. Also in the men’s doubles, Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien
Rojer of the Netherlands will play Cristian Garin of Chile and Juan Ignacio
Londero of Argentina.
(Translated by V. Palcu)

28 May 2019
Reactions to Sunday’s election

Often criticized
for their overt apathy and lack of civic participation, Romanians were the
victors of Sunday’s European Parliament election. Half of them voted in the
election, which represents an all-time high, and 41% voted in the referendum on
the judiciary called by the president, thus exceeding the 30% threshold
required to validate the referendum. At the referendum Romanians were asked
whether or not they agreed to forbidding amnesty and pardon for
corruption-related offenses, as well as forbidding emergency decrees targeting
the justice system. Images of endless Romanians standing in line abroad, trying
to exercise their constitutional right to vote, went viral online. Some of them
did manage to vote, despite standing in line for hours, feeling frustrated and
angry, all the more so as the same happened at the presidential election of
2014, when Romanians in the Diaspora also waited for hours in line to cast
their vote. This is why President Klaus Iohannis and the main opposition parties
in Romania, the National Liberal Party and the 2020 Save Romania Union – Plus
Alliance have called on the left-of-center Government to step down. The
President congratulated Romanians for the good voter turnout, saying their vote
has conveyed a clear message to the political class. Klaus Iohannis:

You have cast a clear and
powerful vote that no politician in Romania can ignore. You have voted for fair
policy-making, for an upright judiciary, for an independent judiciary, for good
governance, to the benefit of Romanians and Romania.

Sunday’s ballot
has overthrown the political rankings in Romania. The National Liberal Party is
now in top position, followed by the Social-Democratic Party. The 2020 Save
Romania Union – Plus Alliance is now in third place. The Pro Romania Party, the
People’s Movement Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
Romania will also be represented in the new European Parliament. The Social-Democratic Party has lost not just
20% of the votes they received at the legislative election of 2016, but also
their coalition partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats from Romania,
who failed to reach the 5% threshold. Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea
thanked Romanians who voted for the Social-Democratic Party and reiterated his
support for the governing program, admitting however the result is not a
satisfying one. Commonly seen as the number one beneficiary of the cascading
changes brought to the criminal legislation, Liviu Dragnea said he has never
questioned the referendum on the judiciary.

The party must conduct swift
and comprehensive analyses. Regarding the referendum, today I voted in the
referendum as well. Like I’ve said on several occasions, I am not against the
referendum and I am not against the topics it proposed. Romanian society never
had a debate concerning the fight against corruption or any other related
topics.

Liberal leader
Ludovic Orban believes the results of the European Parliament election and the
referendum reflect the will of Romanian citizens.

Starting today, no political leader will dare speak of amnesty, pardons or
destroying the justice system by means of emergency degrees. I am grateful to
all Romanian citizens who cast their votes and who voted for the National
Liberal Party.

The president of
PLUS Party, Dacian Ciolos, in turn hailed Sunday’s vote, which he considers
proof of the country’s revival, while his coalition partner, Dan Barna, the
president of Save Romania Union, said the results are a huge win for Romania.

This reaction is the element
on which we can further build our future. This referendum shows that when the
decent forces of society unite, the President, opposition parties who’ve never
stopped believing that the justice system should remain independent, such a
referendum can pass, confirming that the judiciary must remain independent and
Romania must remain a part of Europe.

The Pro Romania
party passed its first election test, becoming the 4th political
faction in Romania. Pro Romania President Victor Ponta believes the result
shows Romania is ready for a change.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

27 May 2019
Talks on the new fiscal measures

Two emergency decrees passed by the Government, modifying the justice laws and imposing additional taxes on key economic sectors such as banking, telecommunications and energy, have sparked heated public reactions and have deteriorated even more the already tense relationship between the leftist power and the rightist opposition. What the two decrees have in common is that they were passed by the government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats without previous consultations with those affected by these changes and the fact that they have been harshly criticised not only at home, but also abroad, in particular by European partners. On Monday, PM Viorica Dancila had to face accusations coming from the opposition as regards the decree which the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union say should be abrogated because it affects the business environment and the banking and constructions sectors. The decrees enforcement resulted in higher gas and electricity bills and more expensive loans, leader of the Liberal MPs, Raluca Turcan, has said. It is the Prime Minister that holds legal responsibility for the decree, Turcan went on to say, even if its de facto initiators are the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea and the PMs economic adviser, Darius Valcov. Raluca Turcan:

“You have signed this awful decree that has turned Romanians lives into a nightmare – Emergency Decree 114, reflecting the greed of the group headed by Dragnea and Valcov, that imposes new taxes, hinders the young generations pension pillar and forces local administrations to increases taxes and duties.”

On her part, PM Dancila has pointed out that the decree includes provisions that stimulate economic growth by increasing the level of investment and protecting household electricity consumers. Viorica Dancila:

“Do you think its natural for the Romanians to pay interest rates that are twice as high as the ones other EU citizens pay? Does it bother anyone that we think the Romanian way? Emergency decree 114 is intended to bring these billions of euros to the state budget for the construction of schools, hospitals and motorways. In the energy sector household electricity consumers will be protected through a new mechanism, which is the universal service for household consumers.”

Whereas the Save Romania Union accuses the power that the new fiscal measures have determined rating agencies to downgrade Romania and endanger the privately administered pensions, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the Social Democrats governing partners, has accused the opposition that their statements create panic among the citizens. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania supports the ruling coalition in Parliament, but believes the decrees enforcement should have been postponed. According to the EU, the habit of passing emergency decrees at the end of a fiscal year and enforcing them almost immediately has to stop, because it creates uncertainty and ambiguities. Also, the Alliance of Romanian Employers Confederation has asked for the implementation of some provisions stipulated in the decree to be postponed, in order to find solutions in keeping with the Governments purpose, but without significantly affecting the social and economic sectors.

5 March 2019
February 19, 2019

COMPET – The EU Competitiveness Council (COMPET) continues its
agenda today with one its most important innovation and research programmes,
Horizon Europe. The meeting is presided by Romanian Research Minister Nicolae
Hurduc and the program represents one of Romania’s top priorities during its
term at the helm of the Council of the EU. According to the Romanian official,
research and innovation should be the core engine of the European Union, which
has the human resources and necessary infrastructure to maintain its status of
leader in the field of scientific research. Romania wants to ensure the
necessary conditions for the continuation of the Horizon Europe program
starting 2021.

GAC – The General Affairs Council
meeting today in Brussels is expected to decide the work agenda of the European
Council meeting due next month. Presiding is Romanian Minister for European
Affairs, George Ciamba. Talks will focus on the multiannual financial framework
post-2020, considering a political agreement on the future budget of the EU
should be reached as late as this autumn. EU officials will also look at the
status of triggering Article 7 sanctions procedures against Poland for failure
to observe the rule of law, and against Hungary, respectively, for failure to
uphold fundamental European values.

BRANCUSI DAY – Romanians today celebrate Brancusi Day, devoted to
the birth anniversary of famous sculptor Constantin Brancusi. The artist
embodies Romanian identity in its material and spiritual entirety, succeeding
in committing it to the legacy of universal culture, says Ioan-Aurel Pop, the
President of the Romanian Academy. An iconic figure of modernist art,
Constantin Brancusi was born in Romania and moved to Paris. He is recognized as
one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century. The National
Museum of Modern Art in Paris hosts a great number of Brancusi’s works, which
in his will he left to Romania. However, upon the refusal of the communist
authorities in Romania to bring home Brancusi’s works upon the sculptor’s
death, the collection was bequeathed to France along with the contents of his
workshop in Paris. The Romanian Parliament declared February 19 Brancusi Day
in 2015.

FLU – The death toll of the flu epidemic in Romania has reached
138. According to a press release of the National Center for Infectious Disease
Surveillance and Control, the last three victims are a 68-year-old woman
without a previous history of medical diseases who had taken the anti-flu shot
and another two women, aged 64 and 81 respectively, both suffering from other
medical conditions and who had not taken the anti-flu vaccine.

PSD – The Executive Committee of the
Social-Democratic Party (PSD) is today meeting to decide on the new nominations
for the positions of Transport and Regional Development ministers. The
nominations are expected to be discussed later today jointly with coalition parties.
According to Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, the proposals will also be
presented to President Klaus Iohannis before an official announcement is made.
Talks follow after Social-Democrat Mircea Draghici withdrew his candidacy for
the position of Transport Minister. Previously, Lia Olguta Vasilescu also
withdrew her candidacy for the position of Minister of Regional Development.
President Klaus Iohannis has repeatedly refused the nomination of Lia Olguta
Vasilescu, although he made no reference to Mircea Draghici.

RETRIAL – The High Court of Cassation and Justice today admitted
the appeal for annulment filed by former Romanian Senator Dan Sova against his
3-year prison sentence in a case where he was charged with influence peddling.
The National Anticorruption Directorate accused Sova of having received 100,000
euros in exchange for facilitating a judicial assistance contract between a
thermal power plant in Govora and a local law firm. Dan Sova was released from
prison in December last year after having served six months of his detention
time, following a Constitutional Court ruling concerning the illegal structure
of the five-judge panel.

HANDBALL – Romanian handball side CSM
Bucharest will play RK Borac Banja Luka of Bosnia Herzegovina in the
quarterfinals of the men’s Challenge Cup, following a draw hosted today by
Vienna. The first leg will be played on home turf on March 23 or 24 while the
return leg will be played the week thereafter.
A win against the Bosnian side will pit CSM Bucharest against the winner
of the match between HC Vise BM of Belgium and Russia’s HC Neva SPb Sankt
Petersburg.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player world no. 2
Simona Halep is today playing Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in the second round of
the Dubai Duty Free Championships, totaling 2.8 million dollars in prize money.
Halep has played Bouchard four times, the last time winning against her in the
Australian Open last year. Simona Halep has three wins against Eugenie
Bouchard. Also today the pair made up of Raluca Olaru of Romania and Darija
Jurak of Croatia defeated second-seeds Nicole Melichar of the United States and
Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic 7-6, 7-6 and have advanced to the doubles
quarterfinals.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

19 February 2019
Controversies on the new budget bill

The government has again postponed a
meeting to approve the 2019 budget bill, a meeting initially scheduled to take
place on Tuesday. Published on the website of the finance ministry, the bill
has come under criticism from both the ruling parties and the opposition. The
leaders of the ruling coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats met on Monday evening to discuss the matter,
in particular the local budgets, which have generated a lot of discontent among
loyal mayors. Having failed to reach an agreement, they will continue the talks
in the next few days. The bill has been criticised by the Social Democrats’
leader himself, Liviu Dragnea, who has asked the prime minister and the finance
minister to consider the possibility that some of the additional funds
allocated to the secret services be rechanneled towards more important areas,
such as healthcare. Liviu Dragnea:

I think a lot of these funds can be re-allocated to healthcare, for
example. In my opinion, a programme to grant free vitamin D to all children in
Romania is also a matter of national security, or a programme for diabetes. The
prime minister and the finance minister have said they will look at the bill
again. If the government don’t make this change, I will do it myself in
Parliament.

The president of the Democratic
Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, says the current version
of the budget bill has serious problems, especially with regard to the local
administration. He says he will announce whether he supports the bill after
talks with the prime minister. Kelemen Hunor:

We cannot begin with a huge deficit when it comes to the local
authorities. We have made some calculations in a few counties, and we have
arrived at a deficit ranging from 60 million to 11.7 million. Expenses in areas like child protection,
persons with disabilities and non-clerical staff are much higher than what we
are left with at local level. There are many problems that need to be discussed.

The budget bill has also been
criticised by the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in
opposition, who says they will seek to amend it. The bill does not reflect
Romania’s development problems, said on Monday the deputy president of the
National Liberal Party, Raluca Turcan:

The government should have adopted the budget bill for 2019 a long time
ago, so as to be subject for public debate for at least ten days before
debating it in Parliament. We cannot tolerate that the extremely serious work
the National Liberal Party has put in to amend the budget through concrete
proposals to be wasted because the current government simply does not respect
the law that regulates the drafting, presentation and debating of the state
budget.

The current version of the bill is based
on a 5.5% economic growth rate, a 2.8% inflation rate and a deficit level of
2.5% of the GDP.

5 February 2019
February 3, 2019 UPDATE

MEETING – The Executive
Committee of the Social-Democratic Party met on Sunday in Bucharest. The top
issues on the agenda were the 2019 budget bill and preparations for the
European Parliament elections due in May. Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea
said he called on the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to analyse the
possibility to reduce the budget earmarked to the secret services, which he
argues could be relocated to healthcare, for instance a program to grant
Vitamin D free of charge to children. Bucharest District 3 Mayor Robert Negoita
asked for additional funds to local administrations, as they are expected to
cover some of the social spending so far provided in the budget of central
authorities. Additional funds will go to healthcare, transport and education
while the ministries of the business sector, communications and energy will
receive fewer funds. The bill is based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, a 2.8% inflation
rate and a 2.5% deficit of the GDP.

ELECTION – The Save
Romania Union in opposition and the Liberty, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS)
decided to form an election alliance ahead of the European Parliament elections
due in May. The decision was taken on Saturday by the two parties’ executive
committees. PLUS leader Dacian Ciolos, a former European Commission for
Agriculture and Prime Minister of Romania, is top of the joint list for the
ballot in May. The final list will be announced over the coming period, Save
Romania Union Dan Barna said. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians has
also designated its candidates for the European Parliament elections, and will
decide on the final order in March.

FLU EPIDEMIC – The death
toll of the flu epidemic in Romania has reached 69. The latest victim is a
41-year-old woman infected with the type-A flu virus. She also had a history of
pre-existing medical conditions and hadn’t taken the flu vaccine. Health
Minister Sorina Pintea said the flu is extending nationwide and expects the
virus to be widely circulated in February as well. Some of the measures to
counter the epidemic are harsher hospital access restrictions, antiviral
medicine restocking, prophylactic treatment of people who come in contact with
the sick and the vaccination of all unvaccinated medical staff.

UKRAINE – The Foreign
Ministry hails the celebration of 10 years since the International Court of
Justice issued a ruling in the Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea
(Romania vs. Ukraine). According to a release issued by the Ministry, ICJ set
the line of delimitation between the continental plateau and the economic areas
of the two states, giving Romania 9,7000 skm of the 12,200 under dispute. The
resolution of the ICJ was beneficial to both states, favouring the approach of
a bilateral agenda constructively, also contributing to regional stability.
According to the Ministry, the decision, which put an end to a 42-year-old
dispute, became a reference point for subsequent maritime delimitations, being
quoted extensively in the jurisprudence of the ICJ and other international
courts of law, as well in the doctrine of international law in this matter.

AWARDS – The winners of
the 2019 BBC Audio Drama Awards are announced on Sunday as part of a ceremony
venued at the BBC Broadcasting House Radio Theatre in London. The production of
the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Drama Department The
Confession, Doina Papp’s adaption of Dostoevski’s The Demons, directed by
Ilinca Stihi, is one of the three finalists selected for the Best European
Drama section. The BBC Audio Drama awards celebrates the originality and
qualify of on air and online radio drama shows as well as the actors, writers,
producers and sound engineers’ creativity.

POPE FRANCIS – Pope
Francis on Sunday left for the United Arab Emirates, as part of the first visit
a Roman Catholic Pope pays to the Arab Peninsula. During his two-day visit,
Pope Francis will meet with Government officials and Muslim clerics. The Pope
will also celebrate mass on a stadium in Abu Dhabi. Over a million Catholics
await the Pope’s visit, despite criticism for the timing of the visit,
coinciding with the Emirates’ implication in the war in Yemen, as members of
the coalition led by Saudi Arabia. Unlike other Arab countries, in the United
Arab Emirates Christians are free to practice their religion, provided they do
so in private and avoid propaganda.

TENNIS – The Romanian pair
made up of Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu on Sunday won the doubles
competition at the WTA tournament in Hua Hin, Thailand, totalling 250 thousand
dollars in prize money. In the final the two defeated Ana Blinkova of Russia
and Yafan Wang of China, 2-6, 6-1, 12-10. This is the second trophy for Begu
and Niculescu, after the title won in Hobart. The two players also played the
Wuhan and Moscow finals in 2015 and the one in Luxemburg in 2012.

HANDBALL – Romanian
champions CSM Bucharest on Saturday defeated 32-26 Krim Mercator Ljubljana of
Slovenia in Group 2 of Champions League. CSM is now third-placed with 8 points,
after Hungary’s Gyor with 12 and Vipers Kristiansand of Norway with 8 points.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

3 February 2019
February 3, 2019

MEETING – The Executive
Committee of the Social-Democratic Party is meeting today in Bucharest. The top
issues on the agenda are the 2019 budget bill and preparations for the European
Parliament elections due in May. Regarding the budget, Finance Minister Eugen
Teodorovici said it will be approved in the Government session on Tuesday.
Published on the website of the Finance Ministry, the bill is based on a 5.5%
economic growth rate, a 2.8% inflate rate and a 2.5% deficit of the GDP.
Additional funds will go to healthcare, transport and education while the
ministries of the business sector, communications and energy will receive less
funds. Mayors are unhappy as local authorities are expected to cover some of
the social spending so far provided in the budget of central authorities. The
right-wing opposition has criticized the bill.

ELECTION – The Save
Romania Union in opposition and the Liberty, Unity and Solidarity Party (PLUS)
decided to form an election alliance ahead of the European Parliament elections
due in May. The decision was taken on Saturday by the two parties’ executive
committees. PLUS leader Dacian Ciolos, a former European Commission for
Agriculture and Prime Minister of Romania, is top of the joint list for the
ballot in May. The final list will be announced over the coming period, Save
Romania Union Dan Barna said. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians has
also designated its candidates for the European Parliament elections, and will
decide on the final order in March.

FLU EPIDEMIC – The death
toll of the flu epidemic in Romania has reached 69. The latest victim is a
41-year-old woman infected with the type-A flu virus. She also had a history of
pre-existing medical conditions and hadn’t taken the flu vaccine. Health
Minister Sorina Pintea said the flu is extending nationwide and expects the
virus to be widely circulated in February as well. Some of the measures to
counter the epidemic are harsher hospital access restrictions, antiviral
medicine restocking, prophylactic treatment of people who come in contact with
the sick and the vaccination of all unvaccinated medical staff.

UKRAINE – The Foreign
Ministry hails the celebration of 10 years since the International Court of
Justice issued a ruling in the Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea
(Romania vs. Ukraine). According to a release issued by the Ministry, ICJ set
the line of delimitation between the continental plateau and the economic areas
of the two states, giving Romania 9,7000 skm of the 12,200 under dispute. The
resolution of the ICJ was beneficial to both states, favouring the approach of
a bilateral agenda constructively, also contributing to regional stability.
According to the Ministry, the decision, which put an end to a 42-year-old
dispute, became a reference point for subsequent maritime delimitations, being
quoted extensively in the jurisprudence of the ICJ and other international
courts of law, as well in the doctrine of international law in this matter.

AWARDS – The winners of
the 2019 BBC Audio Drama Awards are announced on Sunday as part of a ceremony
venued at the BBC Broadcasting House Radio Theatre in London. The production of
the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Drama Department The
Confession, Doina Papp’s adaption of Dostoevski’s The Demons, directed by
Ilinca Stihi, is one of the three finalists selected for the Best European
Drama section. The BBC Audio Drama awards celebrates the originality and
qualify of on air and online radio drama shows as well as the actors, writers,
producers and sound engineers’ creativity.

TENNIS – The Romanian pair
made up of Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu on Sunday won the doubles
competition at the WTA tournament in Hua Hin, Thailand, totalling 250 thousand
dollars in prize money. In the final the two defeated Ana Blinkova of Russia
and Yafan Wang of China, 2-6, 6-1, 12-10. This is the second trophy for Begu
and Niculescu, after the title won in Hobart. The two players also played the
Wuhan and Moscow finals in 2015 and the one in Luxemburg in 2012.

HANDBALL – Romanian
champions CSM Bucharest on Saturday defeated 32-26 Krim Mercator Ljubljana of
Slovenia in Group 2 of Champions League. CSM is now third-placed with 8 points,
after Hungary’s Gyor with 12 and Vipers Kristiansand of Norway with 8 points.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

3 February 2019
The new pension law endorsed by the Senate

Strongly promoted by the former holder of the labour
office, the Social Democrat Lia Olguta Vasilescu, and supported by the majority
formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats, the new pension bill was endorsed by the Senate on Monday. With 81
votes for, 12 against and 8 abstentions, the bill passed without any serious
amendments as compared to what the Government had proposed. Gradually
increasing the pension point in the coming three years, reducing the retirement
age for the so-called first and second labour categories and taking into
consideration master’s and doctoral degrees in calculating the pension are some
of the provisions of the new law. The minimum pension contribution period
remains 15 years. One amendment promoted by the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians and accepted by the majority provides for the possibility, but not
the requirement, of early retirement for mothers of three or more children.
Senators members of the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in
Romania, say that the new law ‘creates false illusions for pensioners and does
not materialize them’, because the actual increase will take place no sooner
than 2022, and maybe even later. Dissatisfied by the fact that their amendments
were not accepted, the Liberals voted against the bill. Here is the Liberal
Senator Marcel Vela:

I voted against also because the
amendment that would have ensured support for pensioners in areas affected and polluted
by mining exploitations or steel factories was not taken into consideration,
and pensioners in this category were not given the chance to be able to retire
two years sooner.

Also in the opposition, the Save Romania Union
abstained from voting, and said the imperfections of the law should be
corrected. We believe that Romanians’ pensions are too low and they must be
increased, but this law should have also cancelled special pensions, Save
Romania Union Senator Vlad Alexandrescu said.

On the other side, the Social Democrat Senators have
stressed repeatedly that the law will meet the needs presented by pensioner
associations and are meant to correct disparities in the system. The Social
Democrat Senator Ion Rotaru responded to criticism voiced by the opposition:

You voted against the minimum pension.
You did not agree that, in case of pensioner’s death, the remaining spouse
should have a second option, besides 51% of the pension, which would be an
additional 25% help. You voted against many things.

The new Labour Minister Marius Budai has given
assurances that all increases provided in the bill are financially sustainable.
He has stated that ministry experts, together with specialists from the finance
ministry, have carried out the necessary simulations, and their conclusion was
that the budget can cover all additional expenditure entailed by the new law.
The bill will next go to the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making
chamber in this matter.

(Translated by M. Ignatescu)

27 November 2018
The exclusion of top Social-Democrat leaders

The media and pundits were once again right: the leader of the Social
Democratic Party, PSD, LiviuDragnea, is not the kind of politician to tolerate
for a long time the sharp criticism brought against his way of leading the party,
perceived as authoritarian. On Monday, the PSD National Executive Committee
decided with a large majority the exclusion of two leaders from the party, Vice-president
Adrian Tutuianu and general secretary Marian Neacsu. However, as LiviuDragnea
said, the reason would not be their attacks against him but alleged actions
harmful to the ruling party:

I hope all the other colleagues will
understand that our goals remain the same and that we should no longer provide
topics of discussion that are not related to the government programme or to
what Romanians wish. Any attack against me does not make me ask my colleagues
in the National Executive Committee to exclude a party member, definitely not.
We do that only when we, most of us that is, note that the red line is crossed;
the red line means actions that seriously impede the party’s stability and the
stability of the government majority.

The two Social-Democrats who were excluded from the party dismissed
the accusations against them as groundless and described the decision of the
National Executive Committee as a public execution, meant to sanction the offense
of freedom of speech. Adrian Tutuianu:

I’ve never aimed to conceal certain things
that don’t work out. I’ve been dissatisfied with the government programme in
general. I’ve had great dissatisfaction with the failure of doing what we
promised people in Dambovita County in these two years of governance. I think
the party is going in a wrong direction. And I also think that the vote on our
exclusion doesn’t necessarily mean that the losers as we are today are wrong.

In a session of the of the Dambovita branch of the PSD that he was
chairing, a session that was recorded without his knowledge, Tutuianu said that
PSD was a party of monkeys if it accepted a prime minister pocketed by
LiviuDragnea and that the present cabinet was a tragedy in terms of quality.
Tutuianu and Neacsu are not the top PSD members who firmly challenged
LiviuDragnea. Whereas the former Prime Minister MihaiTudose did not have a
public response after the meeting of the National Executive Committee, Deputy Prime
Minister Paul Stanescu joined the two excluded leaders saying that their
exclusion was a great mistake. In a press release, the mayor of Bucharest,
Gabriela Firea said that there was no way of acting within PSD under the terror
of exclusion and dissolution. Fear can temporarily maintain a status-quo, but
in no way is it a solution for progress and construction, Firea said. Asked
what could happen to the other objectors, LiviuDragnea answered briefly:
Nothing bad. For now, political analysts added maliciously.

6 November 2018
The Education Minister has resigned

The education portfolio in the cabinet
made up of the Social Democratic Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats is
vacant, after the relevant minister Valentin Popa stepped down on Thursday.
Actually, his name had already been mentioned for a prospective government
reshuffle, likely to be made next month. An engineer, professor, rector of
Suceava University in the north-east, Popa was sworn in at the start of the
year, when a cabinet was formed by his Social-Democrat colleague, Viorica
Dăncilă. He is the second minister to resign, after research minister Nicolae
Burnete discretely made public his decision to step down on August 31, without
however detailing the reasons behind his decision.

The press has however
speculated that Burnete was allegedly discontented about the insufficient funds
allotted to his domain and that he was among those envisaged for a possible
reshuffle. In exchange, Popa’s resignation has stirred rumours. In
Transylvania, central Romania, which is home to the largest Hungarian community
in Romania, of up to 1.2 million people, ethnic Hungarian teachers had gone on
a token strike. They had made public their decision to go ahead with their
protest until the suspension of a government decision stipulating that Romanian
language course in primary schools with tuition in Hungarian be given by
teachers of Romanian. The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
in Romania, UDMR, Kelemen Hunor, has put the issue on UDMR’s agenda and called
for Popa’s resignation. Until then, he has warned, the parliamentary
cooperation protocol between the Union and the majority made up of the Social Democratic
Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats remains suspended.

The Romanian
language and Romania do not make the object of negotiations, Popa responded,
saying that he stepped down precisely because he does not agree with UDMR’s
request to change the government decision. In exchange, Kelemen Hunor says that
tendering his resignation was the right decision, adding that Popa should
assume responsibility for the consequences produced by the measures he had
taken and which created confusion among tens of thousands of pupils, teachers
and parents.

In turn, the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Călin
Popescu-Tăriceanu, has said he does not know the reasons behind the resignation
and added however that the UDMR leader had already told him about his
discontent over the teaching of the Romanian language in classes with tuition
in the Hungarian language. The National Liberal Party, in opposition, claims
the minister’s resignation is not an act of honour, but one showing
incompetence and weakness and that his successor will take over a difficult mission.
Analysts believe the reasons behind Popa’s resignation are purely mathematical.

Over the past 20 years, thanks to its 6%
presence in the Romanian Parliament, UDMR has frequently been included in the
coalition cabinets in Bucharest, be they of right or left wing orientation. And
when it is not in power, the Union usually votes alongside the Power. Against
this backdrop, for the Social-Democratic leader of the coalition, Liviu
Dragnea, the ethnic Hungarian MPs’ votes might become vital, at a time when
more and more people are leaving the party ranks. Therefore, pundits say it is
not by chance that Popa tendered his resignation soon after having a private
talk with Dragnea.

(Translated by D. Vijeu)

28 September 2018
September 24, 2018

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY – 130 heads of state and government are attending in New York the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. Romania is represented by president Klaus Iohannis. On Wednesday, in the speech he will give during the assemblys general debates, the Romanian head of state will stress the importance of an effective response to the main challenges to international peace and security, alongside with identifying the causes of this crisis-generating conflicts. Also, the Romanian president will participate alongside the other world leaders in the opening of the top level debate segment, themed Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies. At the end of the debates the participants will adopt a resolution.

VISIT – Over September 24-28, the Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor is paying a formal visit to the US, where he will meet at the Pentagon his American counterpart James Mattis. The agenda of talks includes subjects concerning defense cooperation, both bilateral and within the North Atlantic Alliance. Today, Mihai Fifor is participating in a forum organized by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), based in Washington. Established in 2005, CEPA is an American non-profit, public policy research institute, whose activity is focused on the study of European states and societies. The visit to the US also includes meetings with the governor of the State of Alabama, Kay Ivey, and representatives of the US Congress, on which occasion the officials will tackle priority issues on the defense agenda.

PSD – The top leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the senior partner in the left-wing Government in Bucharest have gathered today for a meeting of the National Standing Bureau. The meeting was convened after on Friday the Executive Committee of the party decided to keep supporting their president Liviu Dragnea, whose resignation had been requested by a few Social Democratic leaders.

OFFSHORE BILL – The specialized committees of the Romanian Senate are today presenting a joint report on the offshore bill, following a request for reexamination made by president Klaus Iohannis. Also today, the document, which establishes the rules under which companies can exploit gas in the Black Sea, would have to get a vote in plenary session. On July 9th, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the bill regarding several measures needed for the implementation of oil operations by owners of agreements on offshore oil perimeters. On August 2nd, president Klaus Iohannis sent back to Parliament for reexamination the offshore bill, saying that it had to be reviewed in terms of long-term stability and predictability of the legal framework applicable to this sector and in order to avoid any potential negative effects.

MOLDOVA – The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet republic with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, has today decided to temporarily suspend the prerogatives of the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon, after the latter refused to sign the decrees for the appointment of two new ministers in the cabinet headed by PM Pavel Filip. According to the Courts ruling, Parliament President Andrian Candu or the prime-minister will sign the decrees appointing the new ministers of agriculture and health. Dodon has twice refused to sign the decrees, in breach of the constitution. This is the fourth time that president Dodon has been suspended.

KIDNAPPING – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the kidnapping of a Romanian sailor in the attack on a ship under Swiss flag, which occurred on the 22nd of September, in the Nigerian waters. A crisis cell has been activated within the ministry upon order by the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. The diplomatic representatives of Romania in Bern and Abuja have already acted together with the local authorities. 12 of the 19 crew members were kidnapped in the attack.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings, as of Tuesday takes part in the Wuhan tournament in China, with 2,750,000 dollars in prize money. Qualified straight to the second round, Halep will first face the Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. In the first round, Cibulkova defeated 2-nil another Romanian player, Monica Niculescu.

24 September 2018