Tag: special

  • New Year’s Eve on Radio Romania International

    New Year’s Eve on Radio Romania International

    Since this is the last Sunday Show of the
    year, instead of bringing you excerpts from the best
    programmes produced by the English Service over the past week, as we usually do in this segment, we thought it would be nicer to talk to a handful of wonderful people from Romania’s cultural scene, and to ask them how 2023 treated them and what’s on their
    wish lists for 2024.

    From musicians to writers, from film directors to booking agents and more, it seems all of them share not only the wish for a more peaceful, friendlier and more beautiful world, but also the willingness to do their best to make it so.

    From all of us here at the English Service of Radio Romania International, and from all of our guests, contributors and friends, here’s to a new, amazing chapter in our lives! Have an awesome 2024 everybody, and listen to RRI, wherever you are!

  • New draft of the special pensions law, endorsed

    New draft of the special pensions law, endorsed

    The
    Social Democrats and the Liberals, holding a majority of seats in Romania’s
    Chamber of Deputies, managed to pass a new draft of the special pensions law, after
    adjusting it to meet the requirements of the Constitutional Court.


    The
    only provisions that were revised in the new draft concerned the pensions of
    magistrates, to bring the text in line with the requirements issued by the
    Constitutional Court judges, and compared to the draft endorsed by the Senate
    the Deputies only introduced technical amendments.


    The
    Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party basically rejected all
    the amendments tabled by the Opposition. USR, AUR and the Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) criticised the bill, on grounds that it
    actually preserves the high, even indecent level of pension benefits paid to
    magistrates and other categories of public sector employees, and that it
    continues to overlook the rule that pension benefits should depend on the
    amount of contributions paid by a beneficiary to the public pension fund, as it
    happens with regular pensioners.


    Moreover,
    Save Romania Union (USR) claims that non-permanent bonuses have been introduced
    in calculations, to benefit party cronies, while UDMR mentions that its
    proposal to introduce heavy taxes on all incomes in excess of the president’s salary
    was dismissed.


    The
    Social Democrats reply that the bill complies with both the Constitutional
    Court decisions and with the requirements coming from the European Union,
    enabling Romania to access the EUR 2.8 bln earmarked for this chapter in the
    National Recovery and Resilience Plan.


    In
    turn, the Liberals claim the Opposition’s amendments were against the decisions
    issued by the Constitutional Court. While they admit that special pensions remain
    in place, they emphasise that the new bill does take into account, to some
    extent, the contributions paid during one’s working period and introduces a
    taxation threshold, so that pension benefits are reduced.


    Under
    the new law endorsed by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in
    this respect, magistrates may retire at the age of 60, with pension benefits
    accounting for 80% of the average monthly incomes, including bonuses, received
    during the 4 years before retirement.


    The
    law also allows judges, prosecutors, assistant magistrates with the supreme
    court and the Constitutional Court, as well as other judicial personnel, to
    retire as of next year if they have at least 25-year length of service and are
    aged at least 47 years and 4 months. The retirement age is then set to increase
    by 4 months per year, until it reaches 60.


    Also,
    pension benefits cannot exceed the net income in the last month of work, and
    the tax rate is to increase gradually up to 20%. (AMP)

  • September 17, 2023 – UPDATE

    September 17, 2023 – UPDATE

    UN President Klaus Iohannis will be leading Romania’s
    delegation to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly between
    September 18 and 22 in New York. In his address, Mr. Iohannis will present
    Romania’s views on current global developments, highlighting Romania’s foreign
    policy priorities and its contribution to reaching the goals on the UN
    multilateral agenda. President Iohannis will also attend the Summit on
    Sustainable Development Goals, and will be a guest of honour at the World
    Leaders Forum organised by the prestigious Columbia University in New York, where
    he will be discussing Romania’s outlook on the war in Ukraine and its impact on
    Black Sea security.


    PENSIONS A new
    version of the special pension law, comprising the amendments requested by the
    Constitutional Court, will be endorsed by the end of September, said the
    interim Chamber of Deputies speaker, Alfred Simonis. He added the law covers
    all categories of special pensions, but because the special benefits paid to
    magistrates and other categories cannot be scrapped, as it happened in the case
    of MPs, taxation will be introduced, which the Court has accepted. Also,
    Simonis said, ceilings must be introduced for each particular profession, so as
    to eliminate special pensions of EUR 8,000 or even EUR 14,000 a month. The
    Constitutional Court last month sent back to Parliament the new draft pension
    law, on grounds that pension benefits currently being paid cannot be readjusted
    to different principles than the ones in the law under which they have been
    granted.


    CEREMONY A military and religious ceremony was held on
    Sunday at the Heroes’ Cross on Caraiman Peak in central Romania, to celebrate
    95 years since the monument was unveiled. Included in the Guinness Book of
    Records, the 40m cross is the highest such monument placed on a mountain top in
    the world. It was erected at an altitude of 2,291 m between 1926 and 1928, at
    the initiative of and with support from Queen Marie and King Ferdinand of
    Romania, as a tribute to WW1 heroes.


    FLIGHTS The Romanian airline TAROM announces new flights to and from Chișinău,
    in the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, as of September 24. TAROM will operate
    additional flights over weekends, to reach a total of 21 weekly return flights,
    with prices starting at EUR 85.


    MOTORWAYS As of next week Romania will have 1,000 km of
    motorway in use, with the opening of the Nuşfalău – Suplacu de Barcău segment
    of the A3 Transilvania motoway. Next month the first 20 km of the Bucharest
    ring motorway will also be opened, and next year the first 2 segments of the Ploieşti-Buzău
    motorway are scheduled to be completed.


    SCHENGEN Austria’s opposition to Romania’s Schengen
    accession is not targeted against Bucharest, but against this freedom of
    movement system, said the Austrian minister for the EU, Karoline Edtstadler. The
    statement comes after Bucharest warned it would sue Vienna over its veto to
    Romania’s accession. Karoline Edtstadler told the media she understood the
    position of Romanian authorities, but added Austria cannot close its eyes to an
    already flawed system. She explained the EU should ensure efficient protection of its external
    borders before envisioning a Europe without internal
    borders. In
    an interview to Austrian mass media, Romania’s PM
    Marcel Ciolacu said that in case of further opposition from Austria, Romania
    will have to take the matter to court and demand compensation for the losses
    incurred because of its failure to join the Schengen area.


    NATO NATO’s secretary general
    Jens Stoltenberg has warned in an interview published on Sunday, that we must
    not expect a swift end to the war in Ukraine, as Kyiv carries on its
    counteroffensive against Russian forces, AFP reports. The war began in February 2022, when
    Russian troops invaded Ukraine. As for Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, Jens Stoltenberg promised
    that sooner or later, Ukraine will be a NATO member. In July’s NATO summit in
    Vilnius, Alliance leaders agreed that Kyiv may join NATO once
    certain conditions are fulfilled, with the US and Germany emphasising that
    these conditions include reforms to protect democracy and the rule of law. In
    mid-June the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive to push out the Russian
    troops from the south and east of the country, but so far only a limited number
    of localities have been freed.


    TABLE TENNIS Romania’s women’s team was defeated by Germany,
    3-0, on Sunday, in the European Table Tennis Championships final in Malmo (Sweden).
    Elizabeta Samara lost to Xiaona Shan 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8), Bernadette Szocs was
    defeated by Ying Han 3-1 (14-16, 11-8, 11-8, 12-10), and Nina Mittelham beat
    Andreea Dragoman 3-2 (5-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10), after the Romanian player
    lost two match points. Romania was already a European vice-champion, after
    winning the silver in 2021, at home in Cluj-Napoca.



    RUGBY Defending world champions, South
    Africa Sunday defeated 76-0 Romania’s national rugby team in a World Cup Group
    B match in Bordeaux (France). A week ago Romania lost to Ireland 82-8 (33-8). Romania’s rugby team is next to play against
    Scotland on September 30 and against Tonga on October 8, in Lille. (AMP)

  • September 17, 2023

    September 17, 2023

    FARMERS An alliance of Romanian farmers, unhappy
    with the European Commission’s decision not to extend the ban on grain imports
    from Ukraine, asks the Romanian government to suspend imports of several
    Ukrainian agrifood products. The government, which has already promised
    subsidies for the Diesel fuel used in farming works, announced that before
    taking further measures it was waiting for Kyiv to make public on Monday a plan
    regarding efficient export control to prevent the disruption of the Romanian
    grain market. Depending on that plan, Bucharest will take adequate steps to
    support Romanian farmers. The EC decided
    not to extend its ban on Ukrainian grain imports, in exchange for certain
    commitments from Kyiv. Poland, Slovakia and
    Hungary have introduced unilateral restrictions, while Bulgaria announced it
    did not want the embargo on Ukrainian grain imports extended.


    PENSIONS A new
    version of the special pension law, comprising the amendments requested by the
    Constitutional Court, will be endorsed by the end of September, said the
    interim Chamber of Deputies speaker, Alfred Simonis. He added the law covers
    all categories of special pensions, but because the special benefits paid to
    magistrates and other categories cannot be scrapped, as it happened in the case
    of MPs, taxation will be introduced, which the Court has accepted. Also,
    Simonis said, ceilings must be introduced for each particular profession, so as
    to eliminate special pensions of EUR 8,000 or even EUR 14,000 a month. The
    Constitutional Court last month sent back to Parliament the new draft pension
    law, on grounds that pension benefits currently being paid cannot be readjusted
    to different principles than the ones in the law under which they have been
    granted.


    SCHENGEN Austria’s opposition to Romania’s Schengen
    accession is not targeted against Bucharest, but against this freedom of
    movement system, said the Austrian minister for the EU, Karoline Edtstadler. The
    statement comes after Bucharest warned it would sue Vienna over its veto to
    Romania’s accession. Karoline Edtstadler told the media she understood the
    position of Romanian authorities, but added Austria cannot close its eyes to an
    already flawed system. She explained the EU should ensure efficient protection of its external
    borders before envisioning a Europe without internal
    borders. In
    an interview to Austrian mass media, Romania’s PM
    Marcel Ciolacu said that in case of further opposition from Austria, Romania
    will have to take the matter to court and demand compensation for the losses
    incurred because of its failure to join the Schengen area.


    NATO NATO’s secretary general
    Jens Stoltenberg has warned that we must not expect a swift end to the war in
    Ukraine, in an interview published on Sunday, as Kyiv carries on its
    counteroffensive against Russian forces, AFP reports. The war began in February 2022, when
    Russian troops invaded Ukraine. As for Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, Jens Stoltenberg promised
    that sooner or later, Ukraine will be a NATO member. In July’s NATO summit in
    Vilnius, Alliance leaders agreed that Kyiv may join NATO once
    certain conditions are fulfilled, with the US and Germany emphasising that
    these conditions include reforms to protect democracy and the rule of law. In
    mid-June the Ukrainian army launched a counteroffensive to push out the Russian
    troops from the south and east of the country, but so far only a limited number
    of localities have been freed.


    RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team play their second
    World Cup match in Bordeaux (France) today, against defending champions, South
    Africa. A week ago Romania lost to Ireland 82-8 (33-8). Romania’s
    rugby team is next to play against Scotland on September 30 and against Tonga on
    October 8, in Lille. The 2023 Rugby World Cup
    ends on October 28. The competition has been held every 4 years since 1987, when
    the first edition of the World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand. (AMP)

  • The special pension reform continues

    The special pension reform continues

    The last week of the current parliamentary
    session was devoted to bills which target sensitive areas and which, precisely
    for this reason, had been long postponed. On Monday, in an almost unprecedented
    political effort, Romania’s Senators and Deputies scrapped the special pensions
    granted to MPs. The piece of legislation under which Romanian MPs give up what
    the media and the public have long regarded as an immoral right, has already
    been signed into law by President Iohannis.


    On Wednesday, 2 other overdue bills were
    endorsed. One of them no longer allows individuals to receive both public
    sector salaries and retirement benefits, and the other is aimed at reforming
    the special pension system, which relies only in part on contributions during
    the employment period, and which benefits magistrates, military personnel,
    diplomats, parliamentary and court staff as well as aeronautical personnel.


    In the first case, exemptions from the
    restriction concerning public sector salaries and pension benefits paid to the
    same individual at the same time triggered fiery criticism, primarily because
    these exemptions cover local elected officials and MPs, alongside other
    categories, such as teaching staff, healthcare professionals, specialist carers
    and employees of the Romanian Academy, the National Bank of Romania, the
    National Energy Regulatory Authority and the Communications Regulatory
    Authority.


    A final favourable vote was also cast on the special
    pension reform bill, but the draft submitted by the Government was
    significantly amended. In this final version, the implementation of the reform
    is basically postponed 5 years and extended until 2043. Until 2028, prosecutors,
    judges and military personnel may retire under the same conditions as before. The
    retirement age will be increased in several stages from 60 to 65, and minimum
    25-year relevant seniority will be a requirement for retiring magistrates.


    Pension benefits in excess of the national
    average net salary will be subject to taxation, but the rate will be 15%
    instead of the 30% originally suggested. All these provisions have been
    discussed with EU experts, the PM Marcel Ciolacu said.


    The reform of the special pension system is a
    milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. USR party in Opposition,
    which would have liked special pensions to be scrapped altogether, voted
    against the bill, arguing that it still leaves Romania with the same number of 210,000
    special pension beneficiaries as before.


    The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
    Romania, no longer a partner in the ruling coalition since the government
    rotation, said a long time would pass until the system may rely exclusively on
    lifetime contributions to pension funds. Even this version of the law, which according
    to analysts saw its most radical provisions amputated, annoyed the Higher
    Council of Magistrates. They disapprove of the amendments and claim Parliament
    overlooked constitutional principles and endorsed measures that cause irreparable
    damages to the independence of the judiciary and of magistrates. (AMP)

  • No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs

    No more special pensions for the Romanian MPs


    This is the last week of the present session of the Legislature in Bucharest, which decided not to go on holiday before finalizing some of the most sensitive bills – that on the elimination of the MPs special pensions and the reform of the public service pensions. The elimination of the special pensions for the MPs was endorsed on Monday with a landslide majority in a joint sitting of the two chambers, a sitting marked by speeches abounding in quotations from classical literature, ironies, cries, booing and bell ringing sounds. The aforementioned voting has a special significance for the entire political class, says the Liberals president, Nicolae Ciuca, while the interim president of the Chamber of Deputies, the Social-Democrat Alfred Simonis has described it as a first step towards the reform of all special pensions, which is also an objective in the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience (PNRR).


    Alfred Simonis: “We begin today with the first serious pension reform, the pensions of the MPs, which we dont tax, we dont cut, but we simply eliminate. We eliminate those, which are presently paid as well as those about to be paid in the absence of such a law. The special pensions, the accumulation of the pension and salary, unmet objectives in the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, are priorities.”


    Although the oppositions backed the bill, there were voices who cautioned the document could be declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court; Parliament had endorsed the same law two years ago, but former MPs notified the Constitutional Court, which ruled it as unconstitutional. Furthermore, USR leader, Cătălin Drulă, has recalled that…


    Catalin Drula: “We are speaking about 700 beneficiaries of special pensions, the other 210 thousand special pensions remain untouched.”


    We recall that Romania has several occupational categories, whose pensions arent exclusively based on the contributions of these employees to the state social insurances before retirement, like the rest of the citizens.


    And for this reason, most of the Romanians believe that MPs, magistrates, servicemen, policemen, diplomats or pilots belong to an intangible privileged cast. For now the draft bill on the reform of the entire special pension system, among other things, provides for a gradual increase in the retirement age, at least 25 years of service for the magistrates, in order to be able to benefit from a public service pension or a 15% tax levied on sums above the medium gross salary.


    The provisions are actually amendments proposed by the ruling MPs after the latest talks with representatives of the European Commission in order to comply with the PNRR commitments so that the country may not lose the related funds. The political groups in the ruling coalition have hailed the amendments, whereas the opposition says they do not actually reform the special pension system.


    (bill)


  • Deputies review special pensions bill

    Deputies review special pensions bill


    The Chamber of Deputies is currently working on a draft law to reform the pension system used primarily for the magistrate corps and for army and interior ministry personnel, and which is not based on contributions to pension funds during the employment, but on other, special criteria.



    This reform is a benchmark in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. As long as the issue was not linked to financial considerations, Romanian politicians were reluctant to tackling this delicate topic, with the exception of Save Romania Union, in opposition, which has repeatedly lobbied for scrapping the special pensions.



    Before reaching the Chamber, the bill on the special pensions saw amendments from the ruling coalition parties-the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.



    According to their authors, these amendments were designed to eliminate abuse and inequity, and the pension contribution principle will be, from now on, the primary factor in the entire public pension system. According to the new amendments, exemptions will be eliminated with respect to the standard retirement age, so that from now on diplomats and auxiliary staff in courts will also retire at the age of 65. The same principle will be applied gradually, until 2035, for military personnel as well.



    Also, until January 2034, the minimum relevant length of service requirement will be increased to 25 years for several categories of employees, including diplomats, Parliament clerks, and Court of Accounts staff.



    Under another amendment, certain categories of employees who previously had the same rights and obligations as magistrates or diplomatic staff will no longer benefit from special pensions.



    The calculation basis for special pensions is also being adjusted to the one used in the public system. Whereas so far special pension benefits were calculated based on the revenues during the last 12 months in office, from now on this period will be gradually raised to 300 months. No special pension will be higher than the salary received while in office.



    Also, a 30% tax rate will be levied on the special pension amount in excess of the current national gross average salary and in excess of the contribution principle.



    Another amendment cancels a mechanism used so far, under which magistrate pensions were raised proportionately with the increase of gross monthly allowances paid to active judges and prosecutors.



    “The retirement benefits paid to each citizen must reflect the importance of their lifes work and their contribution to the public system,” PM Nicolae Ciucă said. He also added that with the Pension Law and the Salary Law, Romania will have completed the reform package stipulated for this year in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, thus ensuring sustainability and equity in the public salary and pension sector.



    Quite predictably, the Higher Council of Magistrates has criticised the draft law on special pensions, warning that a sudden increase of the retirement age for judges and prosecutors might force over 1,500 magistrates out of the system. (AMP)


  • Complicated Parliament Agenda

    Complicated Parliament Agenda

    Parliament in Bucharest is in for more heated debates this
    week after two draft laws, on the abuse of office and special pensions – have
    been submitted for debates and voting.


    Voting on the two bills has become predictable in principle, thanks
    to the comfortable majority the ruling PNL-PSD-UDMR coalition is presently enjoying.
    The Chamber of Deputies is a decision making forum regarding these two bills.






    The draft law on the abuse of office is to be endorsed
    within a ceiling of 9,000 lei, (18 hundred Euros) above which the deed is to be
    criminalized and punishable with jail sentences for public employees- PSD
    leader Marcel Ciolacu says. He believes that Justice Minister Cătălin Predoiu
    should have assumed the aforementioned value limit as early as the draft’s
    initial form, and that should have prevented the first endorsement at a higher
    ceiling of 250 thousand lei.




    Marcel Ciolacu: ʺI am firmly
    convinced together with my colleagues from the PSD PNL and UDMR that this law
    will get promulgated with the ceiling of 18 hundred Euros, as proposed by the Justice
    Minister.




    However, the opposition USR has lashed out at the form
    endorsed by the PSD, PNL, UDMR senators.


    Stelian Ion: The
    Constitutional Court’s decision imposed a ceiling, which was common sense,
    reasonable at the level of the minimum wages.




    Also in spite of the oppositions’ protests, a draft on
    reforming the special pensions paid to state employees has made it to the
    Chamber of Deputies.


    Under the new amendments backed by the ruling
    coalition, no special pension has to exceed the incomes before the person’s
    retirement. Accumulated pension plans have been banned and a tax of maximum 15%
    has been introduced for the non-contribution period. Unsatisfactory, says the
    opposition, which has called for the introduction of the contribution system
    for all pensions irrespective of the activity domain. 200 thousand people are
    presently benefitting from special pensions, most of them former employees of
    the country’s defence and public order structures. However, the former magistrates, judges and
    prosecutors are presently enjoying the biggest special pensions, which can go
    up to 36 hundred Euros, ten times above a regular pension. Reforming the
    country’s pension system is a request provided by the National Plan of Recovery
    and Resilience and we recall that the approval of roughly 3 billion dollars worth
    of EU funds hinges on this plan.


    Other bills on the Parliament agenda in Bucharest
    might be the new laws on education, based on Romanian president Klaus Iohannis’
    project entitled Educated Romania’. The
    law is aimed at curbing school dropout and functional illiteracy, at placing
    the student at the center of the country’s educational process, at the same
    time backing the European cooperation of universities in Romania. The
    opposition has criticized the draft laws as faulty and prone to cause
    imbalances.


    (bill)

  • March 28, 2023 UPDATE

    March 28, 2023 UPDATE

    VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, received the
    PM of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki in Bucharest on Tuesday. Klaus Iohannis said
    Poland was a close and long-standing friend, a key strategic partner and a
    reliable ally for Romania. We are connected by sound shared strategic and
    security interests, which are further consolidated by today’s rather tense
    regional security context, the Romanian official said. Mr. Iohannis added that
    the 2 countries will maintain their unequivocal support for Ukraine for as long
    as necessary, and will boost their support for the most vulnerable and most
    severely affected partners in the region, especially the Republic of Moldova.
    In turn, PM Morawiecki said Romania and Poland were the pillars of the
    North-Atlantic Alliance in this part of Europe and highlighted the Allies’
    willingness to reinforce it through improved military cooperation. Previously,
    the PM of Romania Nicolae Ciuca had a meeting with his Polish counterpart, and
    together they attended the Romania-Poland Economic Forum organised by the
    Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr. Ciuca said bilateral trade had
    increased by 20% in 2022 compared to the previous year, reaching EUR 11bln.


    MOLDOVA The EU will
    prepare a support package for the Rep. Moldova before summer, the president of
    the European Council Charles Michel said in Chişinău on Tuesday, at a joint
    press conference together with Moldova’s president Maia Sandu. Chişinău has a
    lot of strong friends in Brussels, who want the Republic of Moldova to become a
    part of the EU family as soon as possible, Charles Michel also said, and added
    that this is a historic opportunity for Moldova and for its people. In turn, president
    Maia Sandu emphasised the importance of Moldova’s EU integration. European
    integration is the only path that ensures the survival of Moldova, its becoming
    a free and prosperous country. It is the only chance for its citizens to live
    in peace at home. We must withstand the hybrid attacks targeting our determination
    to be part of the free world, Maia Sandu said.


    DEFENCE The Romanian
    state secretary for defence policy, planning and international relations,
    Simona Cojocaru, is on an official visit to India until March 31, at the
    invitation of defence secretary Giridhar Aramane. According to the Romanian
    defence ministry, the two parties Tuesday signed an inter-governmental defence
    cooperation agreement. The document creates the framework for the development
    and consolidation of bilateral relations, through enhanced cooperation. The
    Romanian defence ministry also notes that it is for the first time in the
    history of the 2 countries’ bilateral relations that a cooperation agreement in
    this sector has been signed.


    PENSIONS The Senate’s
    specialist committees Tuesday issued a positive report on the bill on special
    pensions. The amendments tabled by the ruling coalition made up of the Social
    Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
    Hungarians in Romania were passed, although USR in opposition voted against and
    AUR party’s MPs abstained from voting. One of the changes accepted by the
    committees was that beneficiaries of multiple special pensions must choose only
    one of them within 30 days after the law takes effect. Other provisions in the
    bill are that pension benefits will be adjusted to inflation on a yearly basis,
    and that special pensions cannot be higher than the salary received while in
    office. As of Wednesday the bill will be discussed in plenary session by the
    Senate, the first parliamentary chamber to vote on it. (AMP)

  • March 6, 2023 UPDATE

    March 6, 2023 UPDATE

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








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








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




    (bill&CM)

  • November 3, 2022

    November 3, 2022

    EARTHQUAKE A 5.4
    magnitude earthquake hit Romania on Thursday morning in the Buzău area in the
    south-east of the country. The earthquake was felt in several cities, including
    the capital Bucharest, but no emergency calls were received and no damages or
    victims were reported. This was the strongest earthquake in the last 2 and a
    half years. A 5.2 quake occurred on January 31, 2020 in Vrancea, Romania’s main
    seismic area. A bigger, 5.8 magnitude tremor was also reported in October 2018,
    in Buzău County.


    MILITARY
    The
    French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, is on
    an official visit to Romania today, the Romanian Defence Ministry announced. Lecornuwill have meetings with the Romanian Defence Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, with
    President Klaus Iohannis and PM Nicolae Ciucă. The French delegation’s agenda
    also includes a visit to the ‘Getica’ Joint National Training Centre in Cincu,
    central Romania, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the French Heroes Monument in
    Bucharest. France has been leading the NATO battle group in Romania set up in
    May. The battle groups created in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary are
    part of the borader set of measures taken by NATO to bolster its medium and
    long-term deterrence and defence posture, following the war initiated by the
    Russian Federation in Ukraine.


    VISIT
    The president of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis postponed his official
    visit to Romania scheduled for Thursday, for unforeseen and unavoidable
    reasons, the Swiss Embassy in Bucharest announced. President Cassis and
    president Klaus Iohannis will try to find an alternative date for the meetings
    scheduled as part of the visit. According to the Swiss Embassy, the two parties
    will sign in the near future the Romanian-Swiss framework agreement concerning
    the implementation of a second financial instalment aimed at reducing economic
    and social disparities within the EU. Under the agreement, Switzerland will
    provide 221.5 million Swiss francs for projects to be implemented in Romania
    until 2029.


    PENSIONS Government spokesman Dan Cărbunaru announced that a
    task force has been set up within the Labour Ministry in Bucharest, to analyse
    the issue of the so-called special pensions, which are not based on
    contributions during employment. The beneficiaries of such pensions include
    magistrates, among other categories, and scores of them applied for retirement
    after the World Bank requested the Romanian authorities to reform the system. This
    was also a requirement in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, agreed on
    by Romania with the European Commission.


    AUTOMOTIVE The number
    of new automobiles registered in Romania in the first 10 months of the year
    went up over 8% compared to the corresponding period of last year, to nearly 106,000
    units. Car registration numbers also increased by 10% this October compared to
    October 2021. Most of the new automobiles registered during this period, i.e.
    31,000, were local brand Dacia. As for
    second hand car registrations in the first 10 months of the year, the number
    dropped 20% compared to 2021, to 270,000.


    HANDBALL
    Romania’s women’s handball team drew against Germany, 29-29, last night in
    Tatabanya (Hungary), in the last test match ahead of the European
    Championships. In the first test match, Romania lost to Hungary, 28-33. The European Championships (EHF EURO 2022) will
    take place between November 4th and 20th, in Slovenia, North Macedonia and
    Montenegro. Romania plays in Group C, together with France, the Netherlands and
    North Macedonia, and its first game is scheduled for Saturday, November 5th,
    against the Netherlands. Romania has taken part in all the European
    Championships editions except for 2006, and its best performance was a bronze
    medal in 2010. In the last edition, held in 2020, Romania came out 12th. (AMP)

  • July 14, 2022 UPDATE

    July 14, 2022 UPDATE

    PARADE The National Day parade in France was marked this year by the
    war in Ukraine. Troops from 9 countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including 12
    from Romania, paraded jointly with French military as a token of the unity of
    NATO Allies and of solidarity with Ukraine, Radio Romania’s correspondent in
    Paris reports. According to her, this year’s celebrations unfolded under the
    motto ‘Partager la flame’ (Divide the Flame), with a dual meaning: to pay
    homage to Hubert Germain, the last member of the French resistance against the
    Nazi occupation, who died this year, and to hail the Olympic flame ahead the
    Olympic Games Paris is due to stage in 2024. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis Thursday
    sent president Macron a letter of congratulations and wishes of prosperity for
    the French people. Iohannis highlighted the solidity and consistency of the
    Strategic Partnership between Romania and France, built on common values and
    excellent cooperation both at bilateral level and within the EU and other
    international bodies. Bucharest celebrated France’s national day with a
    reception at the French Embassy, attended by Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae
    Ciuca and by senior French officials.


    ECONOMY Thanks to a
    surprising 5.2% growth rate in Q1, the European Commission decided to update
    its estimates on Romania’s economic growth this year, from 2.6% forecast in
    March to 3.9% in its summer economic forecast made public on Thursday. The Commission
    also operated a downward adjustment of its forecast for 2023, from 3.6% to 2.9%,
    given that the growth trend is expected to slow down both globally and at EU
    level. Private consumption and investments are expected to be the main growth
    engines both this year and the next, whereas net exports will lead to a deeper
    trade deficit, the Commission says.


    VISIT Germany’s
    foreign minister Annalena Baerbock will be on an official visit to Bucharest
    and Constanţa on Friday, the German embassy in Bucharest announced. Annalena
    Baerbock will co-chair the second ministerial conference of the Support
    Platform for the Republic of Moldova together with her Romanian counterpart,
    Bogdan Aurescu and the French state secretary for development, Francophonie, and international partnerships Chrysoula
    Zacharopoulou. Also on Friday Annalena Baerbock will have meetings with PM Nicolae
    Ciucă and foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, focusing on bilateral and European
    policy topics. In the Black Sea port of Constanţa the German official will
    discuss with local officials and representatives of German companies about
    Ukraine’s grain exports via Constanţa.

    CENSUS The deadline for finalising the national population
    and housing census has been extended by a week, from July 17 to 24, as the
    current completion rate is below 90%. The organisers are hoping to bring the
    rate up to 100% using fixed census locations and door-to-door operators. For the
    first time in Romania, a first stage of the national census was conducted
    online, with 11 million respondents registered, which is little under half of
    the estimated resident population of Romania.


    DRILL Over July 14 and 25 three Romanian warships take part in the
    international exercise ‘Breeze 22’ staged and coordinated by the Bulgarian Navy
    in the country’s territorial and the international waters of the Black Sea and
    the Bulgarian port of Burgas. This year’s edition of the exercise has brought
    together navy and air forces from Albania, Belgium, France, Georgia, Italy,
    Latvia, Poland, Turkey and the USA. The drill is aimed at strengthening
    tactical interoperability between the navy personnel and participating units
    and at practicing conventional and non-conventional war procedures.


    UKRAINE Addressing an international conference on the war crimes in
    Ukraine held in The Hague, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
    Thursday requested the creation of a special tribunal to investigate Russia’s
    invasion of Ukraine. The country’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba also asked
    for a special court trying the crime of aggression, defined as an attack by one
    state against another. All we want is for the crime of aggression to not go
    unpunished, Dmytro Kuleba said during the same conference. Political,
    diplomatic and judicial leaders from around the world convened on Thursday for
    a conference on the crimes committed in Ukraine since February 24. The European
    Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders mentioned that 20,000 investigations
    concerning war crimes in Ukraine have been opened. Around 14 European countries
    are investigating these crimes, and a European Joint Investigation Team has
    been set up, he added. Russia denies the abuses of which its troops are being
    accused, which include shelling civilians, executions, and rapes, and in
    exchange accuses Ukraine of crime wars. Meanwhile, scores of civilians were
    killed or wounded on Thursday in a Russian missile attack on the town of Vinnytsia,
    in central Ukraine. (AMP)

  • February 17, 2021 UPDATE

    February 17, 2021 UPDATE

    PENSIONS Romanias Parliament Wednesday passed a bill scrapping special pensions for Senators and Deputies, with 357 votes and 30 abstentions. The Chamber of Deputies Speaker Ludovic Orban said cancelling special pensions for MPs is just a first step. We will have to tackle the entire relevant legislation, so as to bring all pensions in Romania as close as possible to the principle of previous contributions, Ludovic Orban said.



    FINANCES The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that recent talks with Cabinet members focused on the preparation of projects under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and explained that these will primarily target hospitals, the environment, and jobs. He emphasised that the document would be ready by April, when it will be submitted to the European Commission. Johannis also said Romania may get “significant funding under the NRRP, which makes available over 30 billion euros. The head of state explained that investments are needed in Romanias hospitals and schools. Another topic approached was that of jobs. According to the president, thorough and sustainable environment programmes are also necessary.



    PROTESTS Trade unions carried on protests on Wednesday in Bucharest and other major cities. The government headquarters was first picketed by unionists from the police, public administration, social assistance, court clerks, and public finances. They were followed by trade unions from other sectors as well. Protests were also held in front of the head offices of 2 parties in the ruling coalition, the National Liberal Party and USR-PLUS Alliance. People are disgruntled with the draft 2021 budget, which they see as an austerity budget and likely to extend the economic crisis entailed by the coronavirus pandemic. On Tuesday employers and employees in the hospitality industry also voiced their discontent. Not least, railway unions rallied for the enforcement of the railway personnel act, which is supposed to increase salaries and provide for more investments in the sector.



    MOTION Romanian Deputies Wednesday dismissed a simple motion tabled by the Social Democrats in opposition against the health minister Vlad Voiculescu, the first motion in the current legislative term. Both the Social Democrats and AUR Party MPs voted in favour of the document. The motion demanded the resignation of the health minister, accusing him of failure to be properly involved in the efficient management of the Covid-19 vaccination and testing programmes and to take the measures necessary in order to avoid fires in hospitals. The document was discussed in the Chamber on Monday. At that time Vlad Voiculescu said the responsibility for the disastrous state of Romanias public healthcare lies with the Social Democrats. In procedural terms, a simple motion, even if passed in Parliament, does not entail the dismissal of a Cabinet member.



    COVID-19 The head of the National Vaccination Coordination Committee, dr. Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced that, less than 2 months since the start of the vaccination programme in Romania, the benefits are already evident. According to official data, nearly 90% of the healthcare staff eligible for vaccination in the first stage of the programme have already received both doses, and more than 98% of them the first dose. Since the start of the programme on December 27, nearly 716,000 people have been immunised. Over 1.2 million doses have been administered, most of them produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, followed by Moderna and AstraZeneca. Meanwhile, over 2,800 new COVID-19 cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, out of nearly 35,000 tests run nation-wide. The total number of cases in Romania since the start of the pandemic is over 768,000, with the death toll standing at 19,588. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Constitutional Court slams bill taxing special pensions

    Constitutional Court slams bill taxing special pensions

    As the name suggests, Romanias special pensions are set under special laws. They were originally granted to magistrates and force structures. Later on, lawmakers decided that there are more eligible recipients, including MPs themselves, diplomats and aviation staff.



    Unlike regular pension benefits, special pensions are not—or not only—based on lifetime contributions to pension funds. They are funded both from the social security budget, and from the state budget.




    This, as well as their often inflated amounts, in the thousands of euros, make special pensions, or rather their beneficiaries, the target of criticism from regular citizens, whose pensions are based on active lifetime contributions and average at around 300 euros per month.




    Politicians listened to the people and this summer drafted a bill levying 85% taxes on the special pensions in excess of 1,400 euros, including those received by magistrates, the military and the police.




    The bill did not eliminate the concept of special pensions, but rather reduced the benefits paid as such. But the Constitutional Court dismissed the law, ruling that it was unconstitutional as a whole.




    The bill adopted by Parliament in June had been challenged by the Ombudsman and the by the countrys highest court, according to which the draft legislation came against the principle of fiscal equity. The High Court and the Ombudsman claimed the special pensions set by special laws are subject to double taxation, which comes against the principle of non-discrimination and fair tax burdens, while also breaching the independence of magistrates and the principle of legislative predictability.




    The Constitutional Court, which had deferred a ruling on the case several times, is yet to make public its reasons for dismissing the bill.




    A number of Constitutional Court rulings of late have fueled speculations that, in its current configuration, the Court is politically biased, ruling in favour of the Left. With the special pensions bill, the Court has an additional moral dilemma, noticed by everyone: constitutional judges are themselves receiving such pension benefits.




    And the saga of this law includes another relevant episode: in the last plenary sitting of the Chamber of Deputies, before the elections, all MPs from the Save Romania Union resigned in order to not be eligible for special pensions. So did 6 Social Democrats, including the party president Marcel Ciolacu. While the decision of Save Romania Union is credible, as the party had constantly lobbied against special pensions, the Social Democrats are the champions of legislation that favours MPs, giving their opponents reason to claim the move was populist and driven by electoral goals. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Having atypical children in Romania


    The beginning of the 2020-2021 school year is by no means a usual one. It is atypical for most children and parents. But for a certain minority of them, the oddness and difficulties of this year only pile up on older, but equally atypical problems. These are the children with special education needs, who, under current legislation, must be integrated in regular education units.



    But the law only exists on paper, and more often than not this integration does not take place, as Anemari-Helen Necșulescu says in a recent book called “The diary of a mother. Urban scenes with children, traffic, parents, homework and others,” released by Cartex publishers. Anemari is the mother of 2 adopted children, one of whom, a boy named Emi, has been diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).



    The book tells the story of how Anemari struggled to get Emi integrated in school, and more. Because, as the author says, “the book is not necessarily intended to solve any problems, but to open up topics for discussion. (…) Not talking about our problems and hiding them under the carpet is a lot more dangerous for our mental health.”



    And the response of the education system to students with special needs has long been one of the topics swept under the carpet in Romania. After eight years of efforts, with Emi now an 8th-grader, Anemari-Helen Necșulescu summarises the types of resistance she has faced in school:



    Anemari-Helen Necșulescu:There are a lot of forms of resistance. There is blunt opposition, when you are told ‘no’ from the start: ‘can’t do,’ ‘don’t have,’ ‘not possible.’ It so happens that this is precisely what prompts me to act. But there are also forms of disguised opposition, where people go through the motions of observing the law. I had not been aware of this form, which is why a big part of the book focuses on that and on how a parent experiences it. On the one hand, I would like teachers to read it and find the empathy to look at these children not like names in a class book or faces in a classroom, but like human beings with a story. On the other hand, I would like the parents in my situation to understand that it is not easy. Some contact me for advice, and I explain what the legislation says and how they should approach it. And it’s not easy, from writing an application and having it registered with the school to having to come back again and again to find out what to do next, to going systematically up the hierarchy to school inspectors and so on. My message for the parents in my situation is, ‘You are your child’s only hope. I know that our day to day life is already hard as it is, but as their parents, you are their only hope.’ This is how I managed to get for my child the best that can be achieved in Romania today.”



    The experiences of a child with special education needs and the efforts of their parents are told in this book with the accuracy, humour and energy of a mother who knows that, at least at first, she is all alone in this fight.



    Anemari-Helen Necșulescu:In one chapter I talk about the start of Emi’s first year in elementary school, when we ended up kicked out of the classroom. It was painful, and obviously infuriating. When this happens, you usually want to go to war. And you may be right to feel this way, but it is not the right way to go about solving your problem. You should be able to see the other parents as people who simply lack information, rather than empathy. They love their own children and focus on their needs. So you realise the solution is education. And it is your role to educate these parents because it is the only way for your child to be integrated. There is no system in school to facilitate that, no parent-teacher meetings talking about diversity, special needs, integration. You have to do this, you need to turn these other parents into your allies.”



    And since she was accustomed to living with an atypical child, Anemari-Helen Necșulescu adopted another, a five-year-old girl.



    Anemari-Helen Necșulescu:We found Rebeka on a list of children “harder to place,” and she was listed as a Roma ethnic, so I think this is why she had not been adopted sooner. When I saw that her ethnicity was disclosed in her file, although this is illegal, I was furious, as I am every time someone tells me that something is ‘impossible’. Rebeka changed my life and helped a lot in my relationship with Emi, and the fact that she is Roma was irrelevant for us. She is very dark-skinned, and this makes people behave very inappropriately, which is another challenge. I’ve seen people stare at us, because she and I look so different. In recent years, there are more and more people who adopt Roma children, and who face this segregation problem—because it is not only the child who experiences it, but the entire family. For instance, it affects Emi as well. When someone shouts ‘you, gipsy’ at Rebeka, Emi may be around, and he doesn’t feel good about it.”



    The story of Emi, Rebeka and their parents is told in “The diary of a mother” alongside the story of all the other challenges entailed by living in the crowded and busy city of Bucharest, all described with humour and empathy by Anemari-Helen Necșulescu, who proves that problems can be overcome if one has the right attitude. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)