Tag: the week in review

Romania will have new national security laws

Talks on the reform of national security legislation were absolutely necessary, as it was obvious, on more than one occasion, that some of them were obsolete, inadequate and difficult to implement. With that in mind, President Klaus Ioannis has held consultations with parliamentary parties on the national security legislation. The conclusion of the meeting has been that these laws need updating. President Iohannis has explained that there will be two packages of laws:

“A first package, made up of three bills, is being discussed in government and is in an advanced stage. One bill refers to ways to improve the anti-terror law, the second bill clarifies the situation of pre-pay cards and the third one refers to IT security. During the talks with the parties, we reached the conclusion that these bills can be finalised by the time parliament goes into recess. The second package contains equally important bills, but they are not at such an advanced stage”.

Klaus Iohannis has also said that Romania can have stable national security legislation if it is endorsed by the majority of politicians and backed by civil society. In another development, Romanian MPs have recently endorsed the controversial debt discharge bill. The document has been amended after president Klaus Iohannis sent it back to Parliament. The law applies to natural persons who have taken out mortgage loans of up to 250,000 euros to buy or build a house. Under the law, people who are unable to pay back the loans can cede the house or the mortgaged goods to the bank that granted the loans. After the vote in the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making body in this case, the bill was sent to the President to be signed into law. The president now no longer has the right to send it back to Parliament, but the law can be appealed at the Constitutional Court.

Romania’s Labour Minister steps down

Ana Costea, a labour minister in the government headed by Dacian Ciolos, handed in her resignation on Thursday and the prime minister accepted it. Her resignation comes after trade unions in the public sector voiced their discontent with a planned emergency ordinance on state sector salaries, a document Ana Costea eventually refused to support. Dumitru Costin, the president of the National Trade Union Bloc, has said:

“I had high expectations from the labour minister at first but then I started to realise that she was being gradually stripped of some of her initial responsibilities such as drafting the salary law for the public sector. I have found out that, two months ago, this task was taken over by the Government’s General Secretariat. Also, when I asked minister Costea to withdraw the draft law, she said she would resign unless the law was withdrawn. To me it was more than obvious that she had not drawn up this law herself but that she had been obliged to take responsibility for it. She could have done many good things as a minister, but she just wasn’t allowed to.”

In the meantime, prime minister Dacian Ciolos said talks on state sector salaries would continue next week to work out a solution that is acceptable for state employees and feasible from a budgetary and legal point of view.

The National Liberal Party and the local elections

Marian Munteanu is the new candidate of the Liberal Party in the race for Bucharest mayor to replace Ludovic Orban, who dropped out of the race following a corruption scandal. The co-president of the Liberal Party, Alina Gorghiu explained the party’s new choice:

“Marian Munteanu is a representative of civil society and a symbol of the 1990s, one of the leaders of the student movement at the time and also a symbol of the anticommunist movement, a man who can win the election battle for the National Liberal Party in Bucharest.”

A number of civic and human rights organisations called on the Liberal Party to withdraw its support for Marian Munteanu on account of his fascist leanings. Other candidates for Bucharest mayor include the Social Democrat Gabriela Firea, Nicusor Dan from the Save Bucharest Union and the independent Ciprian Ciucu, who is supported by the M10 party. Candidates can register by the 26th of April. The local elections are scheduled for the 5th of June.

Two Romanian films in the Main Competition at Cannes Festival

A public subscription was launched in Bucharest on Monday to raise money for the purchase of Constantin Brancusi’s work The Wisdom of the Earth. Culture minister Vlad Alexandrescu explains:

“We have opened the accounts in euros, dollars and, of course, in lei at the State Treasury and six other commercial banks who agreed to work with us without charging a commission. The accounts are already available on the website of the culture ministry and a special website cuminteniapamantului.ro, which will be used in the communication campaign we will start soon.”

The state will cover 5 of the 11 million euros requested by the owners of the sculpture. The remaining 6 will be raised through public collection by the 30th of October.

Cannes Film Festival

Five Romanian productions have been selected for the 69th Canned Film Festival held between 11th and 22nd of May. Cristian Mungiu’s Bacalaureat and Cristi Puiu’s Sierra Nevada will run in the Main Competition, while Bogdan Mirica’s Dogs will be screened in the Un Certain Regard programme. Other Romanian titles in Cannes are 4:15 Pm. The End of the World by Catalin Rotaru and Gabi Virginia Sarga in the main competition for short films, and Alexandru Badea’s All Rivers Run to the Sea in the Cinefondation programme.

(Translated by E. Enache and C. Mateescu)

The National Anti-Corruption Directorate has presented its activity report for 2015

The battle against corruption must continue at full tilt in Romania and the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) should be a fierce player fighting against this plague that continues to scar our society, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday. The head of state attended, alongside PM Dacian Ciolos the presentation of the annual activity report of the DNA.

In her turn, the Directorates chief, Laura Codruta Kovesi has said that the institution must continue investigating corruption deeds and putting all efforts into this. The DNAs activity last year was marked by a series of ‘premieres for the Romanian justice system, such as the investigation and prosecution of a serving prime minister, Victor Ponta, the arrest of a Constitutional Court judge, Toni Grebla, and of the Bucharest mayor, Sorin Oprescu. 2015 also saw the biggest number of dignitaries put on trial. In another development, the Bucharest Senate green lighted last week the National Anti-Corruption Directorates request to initiate criminal proceedings against the former deputy PM and interior minister Gabriel Oprea. Anti-corruption prosecutors are currently investigating him for abuse of office in another file, involving also former Interior Ministry officials. The Social Democrat MP Madalin Voicu and one of his colleagues, Nicolae Paun, representing the Roma community in Parliament are also investigated by prosecutors, on suspicion of tax evasion, illegally obtaining and using European funds and money laundering. Another Parliament member, Liberal Senator Doina Tudor, was arrested in another corruption case where she is being accused of bribe taking.

2016 is an election year for Romania

An election year devoid of populism, a genuine concern for the citizens agenda, and working closely with the other state powers – this is what, at a domestic level, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis wants from Romanias Parliament. Addressing Parliament, Klaus Iohannis highlighted the following: “What I am proposing is a different election year, which should be neither populist, nor should it be a hopeless year for the great topics of public interest, but at the same time it should not be a year of risky measures either. According to the head of state, the high stakes of the year 2016 are regaining confidence in politics, the smooth running of democratic institutions and also further efforts in areas where Romania has made progress and won the respect of its foreign partners. In another development, Klaus Iohannis said at a Bucharest conference with representatives of the Romanian organisations abroad that the Romanian Diaspora is an engine for the countrys development and modernization.

The Romanian government wants to cut red tape in public administration

The Romanian government has this week launched a project meant to cut red tape, “The Paper Shredding Commission, as well as an online platform maisimplu.gov.ro, where citizens can share their experience in the relation with the authorities. And some Romanians have already done that, actually they did it shortly after the web page was launched. They point an incriminatory finger to the bulky documents one should provide to get a construction permit, to the taxes one should pay to get an ID, or to that fact that one should submit legalised copies of documents with unlimited validity, that are already in the system… Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has explained the main principles the new project to reduce red tape is based on:

“First of all, an institution should request a piece of information from a citizen only once, and afterwards, the information in the database should be used as many times as necessary. Secondly, we should make possible and put in place an electronic data transfer between institutions. Thirdly, we should replace legalised documents, where this is possible, with sworn statements, to avoid additional costs and red tape and to eliminate documents and procedures which are no longer justified and can be replaced by digital procedures.“

The line authorities have found the cause of the babies gastrointestinal illness outbreak

An aggressive strain of the E.Coli bacteria has caused the hemolytic-uremic syndrome in tens of babies in several southern Romanian counties. This is the conclusion drawn by the relevant authorities, which havent however tracked down the possible contamination causes. Team of sanitary-veterinary inspectors are collecting samples from shops, testing dairy products, meat, fruit and vegetables. The governments control body is also investigating whether medical protocols have been observed or not. In another move, President Klaus Iohannis has called for solutions, for Romania to have a more efficient and high performing healthcare system for its citizens. Upon the launch for public debate of a multi-annual integrated plan to promote health and health education, the head of state stood for adopting a correct lifestyle.

A complicated situation at the Romanian Television Company

This week, the Romanian Parliament, has debated, among others, the future of the public television station in Romania, which has accumulated huge losses. Some issues that have been mentioned during the talks were the possibility of amending the law, so that the Romanian Television Company can go into default of payment, or setting up a new structure, after the institutions bankruptcy is made public. The political leaders participating in the talks have disavowed the proposal on merging the public radio and television service providers, in the context in which the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is functioning very well and is not facing financial problems.

(Translated by E. Enache and D. Vijeu)

Positive report for Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism

For the third consecutive year Romania got a positive review under the European Commissions Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which confirms progress reported in reforming the judiciary and combating corruption. According to the report, in 2015 the National Anti-Corruption Directorate indicted 1,250 people, including former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, former Ministers, MPs, mayors, county council presidents, judges, prosecutors and other high-ranking officials. This progress is owed largely to the professionals in the justice system, the enactment of the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes and the earmarking of human and financial resources, Justice Minister Raluca Pruna has said. The Romanian Minister believes the report might result in lifting the CVM monitoring for Romania in the near future:

“There are clear premises that this mechanism should no longer be necessary in the not too distant future, which the European Commission, the Romanian authorities and society in general must see.

Nevertheless, the Commission has criticized the Romanian Parliament for not responding to prosecutors requests to lift the immunity of certain officials suspected of corruption, without proper reasoning.

Romanian politicians on trial

The Permanent Bureau of the Romanian Senate on Wednesday submitted the request of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate regarding the prosecution of former Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea to the Judicial Committee. Gabriel Oprea has asked his fellow Senators to approve the request, arguing he does not want to take advantage of his immunity and claiming he is innocent. Oprea is being charged in two cases of malfeasance in office and obtaining undue benefits for himself or a third party during his time in office. Gabriel Oprea allegedly used the human and material resources of the Interior Ministry to illegally make use of the official police escort. Also this week, the Social-Democrat Deputy Ion Stan has been sentenced to two years in prison for influence peddling. The ruling of the High Court of Cassation and Justice is final. Ion Stan was charged for having received bribes from businesspeople during the election campaign of 2012 in exchange for facilitating contracts with the state.

A new European Counter Terrorism Centre in Amsterdam

Several EU Member States have called on the European Commission to prepare for the extension of border controls within the Schengen Area for up to two years. The announcement came from the Dutch Migration Minister at a ministerial meeting organized by the Dutch presidency of the EU in Amsterdam. Representing Romania was Interior Minister Petre Toba. Also in Amsterdam a new European Counter Terrorism Centre was founded under the direct management of the Europol. The new institution is aimed at combating terrorism at European level by intensifying the exchange of information between member states. Its activity will mainly focus on European young people leaving to join terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. According to Europol Director Rob Wainwright, an estimated 5,000 ‘foreign fighters have joined such groups.

The anti-smoking law is constitutional

The law banning smoking in public spaces in Romania observes the Constitution, the Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday. The Court thus dismissed the notification previously filed by several Senators across the political spectrum. Adopted in December by the Chamber of Deputies, the law forbids smoking in enclosed public areas, at the workplace, around childrens playgrounds, in health care and education institutions, as well as in all child protection and assistance buildings.

The New Moldovan Prime Minister visits Bucharest

The new Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Pavel Filip has paid the first official visit of his mandate to Bucharest. Pavel Filip met with president Klaus Iohannis and held talks with his Romanian counterpart Dacian Ciolos. Pavel Filip said the political context in Moldova was very delicate, although his Government wants to prove its pro-European aspirations. The Moldovan PM also expressed his gratitude for Romanian authorities important support for Chisinau. Bucharest has announced it would give Moldova a 150-million-euro loan in three installments, the first worth 60 million euros, provided Chisinau implements measures proving the will to reform.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, has paid a visit to the US

During the visit he paid to the US this week, Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, delivered three speeches before the world leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly in New York, on the fight against terrorism, gender equality and the eradication of poverty. After the adoption of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, Bucharest will revise its “National Sustainable Development Strategy, which will include the 17 goals and 169 targets agreed upon at the New York Summit, the Romanian President said. Klaus Iohannis said the revised Romanian strategy would lay emphasis on supporting the inclusion in the development policies of people with disabilities, youngsters and women. Decent employment opportunities should be created in order to eradicate poverty, and social cohesion policies are needed to prevent and avoid social exclusion, the Romanian president has also said.

The 2030 agenda is aimed at eradicating poverty under all its forms and at ensuring the sustainable development of the world. In another move, the Romanian president also said the United Nations should be less tolerant with respect to the prolonged conflicts in the Transdniester region (in the east of the Republic of Moldova), in Georgia and in Nagorno Karabah. Klaus Iohannis said the lack of action in such situations generated the wrong impression that it is possible and tolerable to illegally obtain territory to the detriment of sovereign and independent states. This goes for the situation in Ukraine, in which case the United Nations and the Security Council in particular didnt take the action measures in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter. A focal point on the agenda of the Romanian Presidents visit to the US was the meeting with US Vice-president, Joe Biden. The Strategic Partnership between Bucharest and Washington, bilateral economic ties as well as the fight against corruption in Romania were also high on the agenda of the talks.

The Ponta Cabinet survives the 4th no-confidence motion

The Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta faced the 4th no-confidence motion in Parliament on Tuesday. In order to pass, the motion had to be supported by at least 275 senators and deputies, that is half plus one of the total votes. As expected, the motion did not pass, so the Ponta Cabinet continues its activity. The Liberals, who initiated the no-confidence motion, argued that Victor Ponta could no longer be head of the government because he lost his credibility after being sent to court by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate for forgery of private documents, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering. Ponta is accused of involvement, while a lawyer, in a case of legal assistance contracts signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies that caused losses to the state worth 16 million euros. In the Liberals opinion, Ponta is a prime minister who can no longer represent Romania with dignity. Victor Ponta has repeatedly dismissed the prosecutors accusations and has turned down President Klaus Iohanniss calls for his resignation. In Parliament, the PM said he could not see the point of the censure motion, as the accusations levelled against him had nothing to do with the Governments activity.

Bucharest wants to forge a new agreement with the IMF

Romania will officially ask for the signing of a new agreement with the IMF some time this year, Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has announced. According to Minister Teodorovici, negotiations will rather focus on implementing structural reforms than on the budget deficit. In his opinion, this strategy is needed in order to protect Romanias finances against market shocks and to enable the country to take out cheaper loans from the foreign market. The latest precautionary accord that Romania had signed with the IMF in 2013, worth 2 billion euros, expired last week. Talks between the IMF and the Romanian authorities have been marked by divergences lately, because of the Romanian Governments fiscal plans.

Health system employees receive bigger salaries

Salaries of the medical staff went up by 25% as of October 1st, with 200 thousand people benefiting from this measure. The Government motivated the decision made this summer, by saying that it wanted to prevent the drain of physicians, in search for bigger salaries. At present, the average net salary in the health system stands at around 340 euros, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

The Volkswagen scandal in Romania

The Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and Seat car dealers in Romania are no longer allowed to sell the diesel cars they have on stock. The Bucharest authorities have taken this measure until the situation of the cars equipped with devices that cheat pollution tests is cleared. The German carmaker Volkswagen is involved in a huge scandal after admitting it has equipped 11 million diesel vehicles with software designed to cheat emission tests. Last week the Romanian Car Registry Authority asked the Volkswagen dealers in Romania to provide a list with the types of vehicles equipped with such devices. The Environment Minister, Gratiela Gavrilescu, said the Romanian State would take legal action against the producer or its representative in Romania.

The government approves the new fiscal and fiscal procedure codes

The Romanian government has approved the new draft Fiscal and Fiscal Procedure Codes, which were forwarded to Parliament for debate and approval. The codes are meant to speed up economic growth by cutting down on taxation. The new provisions with the greatest impact are the reduction of the VAT from 24% to 20% for all goods and services, and to 9% for meat, fish, milk and dairy products, eggs, vegetables and fruits. Although these reductions are supposed to take effect as of January 2016, PM Victor Ponta claims that they might be applied before that date. He added that the new fiscal codes would not affect either pensions or salaries, and that a flexible and modern framework would be created for local fees and taxes. Excise duties on the main energy products will drop. Other measures provided for in the new fiscal code, to take effect as of 2018, are aimed at reducing the social security contributions to be paid by employers and employees by 2% and 3% respectively. As regards the flat tax, it will drop from 16% to 14% as of 2019. Eliminating taxation of dividends, the tax on special constructions and reducing excise duties are other measures to be implemented by 2020. The parliamentary opposition has announced it will propose amendments to the two codes. The Liberals believe that an increase in local fees and taxes, resulting after the implementation of the two new codes, will affect the business environment. They promise to analyze the sustainability of some of the measures announced by the government dominated by the Social Democrats in order to avoid a shortage of funds for pensions, salaries, healthcare and education.

The anti-corruption fight continues in Romania

The former finance minister Darius Valcov will be investigated under house arrest in a case in which he is accused of influence peddling. Investigators claim that between 2008-2009, when Valcov was the mayor of the town of Slatina (in the south of Romania), he preferentially awarded contracts on public money in exchange for 2 million Euros in bribe. He was placed under temporary custody on Wednesday, several hours after the Senate approved the National Anti-Corruption Directorate’s request for his arrest. However, the senators have rejected a similar request in the case of the former transport minister Dan Sova who is accused of accessory to official misconduct, in a case in which prosecutors are investigating the activity of two state-owned energy companies. The Senate’s decision regarding Dan Sova, known to be a friend of PM Victor Ponta, sparked off a wave of criticism and reactions from the Romanian president, the opposition, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and several foreign embassies in Bucharest. President Klaus Iohannis notified the Constitutional Court, asking them to look into the constitutional conflict between the judicial and legislative branches in Romania. The Romanian president believes that Parliament’s attitude in cases such as that of Dan Sova has created institutional blockages, as it prevented the implementation of the legal procedures and the judicial process. The opposition Liberal party has also challenged the Senate’s decision at the Constitutional Court, which announced it would deal with the matter on April 8th. The vote in the Senate has re-ignited the public debate on the controversial immunity of Romanian MPs.

Romania marks 97 years since its union with Bessarabia

On March 27th Romania marked 97 years since its union with Bessarabia, a historical province in the east of the country. On the occasion, the minister delegate for the relation with the Romanians in the Diaspora, Angel Tilvar, paid an official visit to the Republic of Moldova. In Bucharest, the speaker of the Moldovan parliament, Andrian Candu, met with the Romanian PM, the foreign minister and the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament, who reiterated their support for the Republic of Moldova’s European integration. The union of Bessarabia with Romania was marked in both countries by debates, book launches, symposiums, concerts and religious ceremonies. On March 27th 1918, the Country’s Council (the legislative body in Chisinau) decided on the union of this province, with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, with the motherland. Until then the province had been under the Tsarist empire rule. The current ex-Soviet Republic of Moldova was set up on part of the Romanian eastern territories, which were re-annexed by Moscow in 1940, following an ultimatum given by the Soviet dictator Stalin.

Romanian-British relations

The British defense secretary, Michael Fallon, paid a visit to Romania to talk with his Romanian counterpart Mircea Dusa about the security situation in the Black Sea area and the measures to be taken by the two states to ensure a permanent presence in the region, by rotation, of NATO assets. Fallon announced that Great Britain would contribute troops to the two NATO commands that will operate in Romania. The two officials also tackled the political and military situation of the region against the background of the Ukrainian crisis and of Crimea’s annexation by Russia. The developments in the EU’s eastern neighborhood, especially those in Ukraine, were also examined in London by the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, together with his British counterpart Philip Hammond. The two hailed the close relations and the good cooperation between the two states, which are based on a Strategic Partnership that mainly focuses on security and defense.

Political agreement on defence

Romania’s new president Klaus Iohannis has secured the agreement of all political parties in parliament to allocate at least 2% of the GDP to defence every year from 2017 until 2027. The agreement, which was signed on Tuesday, comes amid tensions generated by the situation in the neighbouring Ukraine. A member of the European Union and NATO, Romania should not rely solely on its allies to ensure its own security, says Klaus Iohannis:

“We have a duty to treat the situation in the region with maturity and show that we are a responsible nation. We therefore need to provide the army with the necessary means and funds for training and modern equipment.”

Iohannis believes this will ensure the predictability of military spending, in particular with regard to the training of the troops and the strategic programmes for the army’s equipping.

President Klaus Iohannis travels to Brussels on his first official foreign visit since taking office

Romania’s decision to increase defence funding has been hailed by the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg during talks with president Klaus Iohannis. The latter travelled to Brussels on his first official visit since taking office. During his talks with the representatives of the European institutions, Iohannis has also encountered support for his country’s joining the Schengen area, one of Romania’s most important foreign policy goals. Despite meeting all Schengen entry criteria, Romania has been denied access for lack of sufficient progress in the reform of the judiciary. President Iohannis had talks with the head of the European Commission Jean Claude Junker about the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification ahead of the publication of a new report in a few days’ time on the progress made by Romania concerning justice. Klaus Iohannis:

“We have agreed that this will encourage us to say that in the following years, during our terms, we will bring this procedure to a successful conclusion, given that Romania has made significant progress in consolidating its institutions, the implementation of structural reforms and the consolidation of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.”

The director of the Romanian Intelligence Service talks about the likelihood of terrorist attacks in Romania

There is no major risk of a terrorist attack in Romania, so the Romanian Intelligence Service has not raised the country’s terrorism threat level after the attacks in France. Romania has, however, taken a series of additional security measures regarding the protection of possible targets, a better control of the people crossing the border and a better picture of what goes on across Romania in terms of intelligence, said the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, George Maior. He revealed that a number of terrorist attacks had been averted in Romania as well and said Europe would most likely be the target of more attacks. George Maior also said the European secret services are prepared for a new terror threat level, but that there is no absolute security because prevention cannot be achieved sometimes.

Visits to Bucharest by envoys of two of Romania’s major strategic partners

High-ranking officials representing two of Romania’s major strategic partners, the US and Great Britain, have been to Bucharest this week, for talks with Romanian decision-makers. The talks between the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State, Victoria Nuland, and Romanian officials focused on the strategic partnership between this country and the US. The collaboration under this agreement is to be extended to also cover the economic field, not just the military one. On the occasion, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis hailed the US companies’ interest in this sector, and encouraged their presence on the Romanian market. In turn, the US official said that Romania had made significant progress with regard to the reform of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. Also in Bucharest, the British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond held talks with his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu, mostly about fighting terrorism. The Romanian side stressed, among other things, that it’s important for the member states to observe the principle of free movement of the work force within the EU.

Priorities for the development of road infrastructure in Romania

The Romanian transport minister Ioan Rus has presented the 2015-2016 priorities for the development of road infrastructure and the Transport Master Plan until 2030. Only 700 km of highway are operational in Romania, placing this country on one of the lowest positions in terms of road density. According to minister Rus, the highway network in Romania will be extended by 50 km this year, and by another 200 km in 2016. He has stated that the road infrastructure in Romania has been poorly developed in the past years not because of lack of money, but because of bad projects, which have lacked structure and effectiveness. The Transport Master Plan envisages the building of over 700 km of highway and some 1,800 km of express roads by 2030, at an estimated cost of 30 billion Euros.

January 15th, Romania’s National Culture Day

Since 2010 January 15th, the birthday of Romania’s national poet Mihai Eminescu, has also been the National Culture Day. This year, when we also celebrate 165 years since Eminescu’s birth, many solemn sessions, concerts, exhibitions, book launches and film screenings have been hosted by all culture institutions in the country, and also by Romanian cultural centres abroad. In an interview to Radio Romania, the Romanian Minister of Culture Ioan Vulpescu talked about the under- funding that culture in this country is still suffering from. In his opinion, one potential solution is a national strategy for this field.

“It’s been 25 years since the Revolution and we still lack a strategy that, beyond and despite any election cycles, should promote the values of Romanian culture and civilisation, both in the country and abroad”.

Romanian culture is in desperate need of coherence and creativity, of an effective management and a proper use of its own resources, the line minister has also stated.

Romania condemns the deadly attacks in Paris

Romania firmly condemns terrorism and all violence against freedom of speech and the values of democracy, was the message made public by the authorities in Bucharest following Wednesday’s terrorist attack on the Paris office of the Charlie Hebdo magazine. The attack is a cruel and cowardly act, says Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, who has assured his country’s partners of Romania’s full support in the fight against terrorism and any form of extremism. Prime minister Victor Ponta has also expressed his country’s solidarity with France and has firmly condemned the act of terrorism that threatens fundamental freedoms. The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu has voiced outrage at the attack, which he has described as unprecedented. The entire international community has condemned the Islamist attack in Paris in harsh words, and most western states have increased their terror threat level. The Romanian Intelligence Service has said there is no indication that terrorist attacks are being planned in Romania and that there is no need to increase the level of terrorist threat, which remains “cautious”. Founded in 1969 and sold in 45,000 copies, Charlie Hebdo publishes caricatures, reports and controversial and non-conformist content about the far right, Catholicism, Judaism, culture and politics.

Judge Marius Tudose is the new president of the Superior Council of Magistracy in Romania

The Superior Council of Magistracy in Romania has elected its new leaders: judge Marius Tudose is the body’s new president, while prosecutor Bogdan Gabor its new vice-president. 42-year-old Tudose says his goal is to improve the efficiency and quality of the judiciary. A magistrate for the last 20 years, he has been a member of the Superior Council of Magistracy since 2011. President Klaus Iohannis, who attended the Council’s meeting, spoke about the need to have an independent and competent justice system with honest judges and prosecutors. He urged magistrates not to give in to intimidation, assuring them that he will be their loyal partner. With regard to the European Commission’s Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, which assesses Romania’s judicial progress, Iohannis said it remains a useful instrument for Romania. He said, however, that Romania’s legal system must start working better so as to make the Mechanism unnecessary.

The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis wants a higher budget for the Defense Ministry

The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis talked with prime minister Victor Ponta about the defence funds for 2015 and about a possible allocation of 0.3% of the GDP for financing military expenses in 2015. Actually the president convened the parliamentary parties for consultations on this topic on Monday. The purpose of the consultations is to reach a political agreement that should ensure a minimum 2% of the GDP threshold for defence in 2017. Other topics approached at the working meeting called by the President were the degree of European funds absorption as well as ways to improve it.

The National Bank of Romania reduces the monetary policy interest rate

The National Bank of Romania has reduced the monetary policy interest rate from 2.75% to 2.5%. This is a new historic low, the central bank thus remaining consistent with its actions meant to boost crediting in the national currency. In 2014 the National Bank of Romania reduced the monetary policy interest rate on several occasions, from 4% per year to 2.75%. According the governor Mugur Isarescu, the decision follows a drop in the annual inflation rate under the forecast value, as a consequence of the decline in volatile prices and of the low inflation rate in the Euro zone.

As of February 1st all Romanians will have to use their national health insurance cards

In Romania the national health insurance card will become compulsory as of February 1st. Over 12.5 million cards have been issued and about 90% of them have been distributed so far. The health cards’ distribution should have been finalised in November 2014, but around 1 million cards did not reach their holders. Family doctors must activate the cards by January 31st for them to become operational. They announced they firmly rejected the possibility to distribute the cards that have not reached their holders.

Bucharest hosted the Gala of the League of Romanian Students Abroad

The young Romanians who obtained the best results at academic and extra-curricular level abroad, received awards in Bucharest at the Gala of the League of Romanian Students Abroad. The 6th edition of the Gala gathered almost 800 students, personalities of the Romanian society, diplomats, civil society representatives as well as journalists. The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, who attended the Gala, said that he wanted Romanian students abroad to find the opportunities that should make them return to Romania.

Romania saw a sharp drop in temperatures

Romania has been in the grips of frost for several days. The lowest temperature reported in 2015 stood at minus 34 degrees C and was registered in Intorsura Buzaului, in the centre of the country.

Budget adjustment in Bucharest

The government in Bucharest has operated a third budget adjustment for this year. Most of the money goes to payments for entitlements earned by state employees in court. The additional amounts also go to cover the debts that some local authorities have towards hospitals, as well as for damages granted by the National Authority for the Restitution of Property. Minister delegate for budget Darius Valcov said that for 2015 the budget is thus exempt from paying over one billion Euro:

“Both the IMF and the EC support the adjustment project, appreciating the fact that the government managed to make payments ahead of time, for various purposes, creating some leeway for the fiscal year 2015.”

For the first time, state and local budget debts will be balanced out, while the general consolidated budget deficit will be within the 2.2% target. The Romanian authorities have announced substantial increases in the budget next year for several sectors, among them Health, Education and Transportation. According to Minister Valcov, the draft budget for 2015 does not provide for increases in taxation, an the emphasis will be on investments from European funds.

Decisions regarding the price of natural gas

Minister delegate for energy Razvan Nicolescu said that prices for energy, especially domestic natural gas for home consumption won’t go up on 1 January. Nicolescu said that in the last few days there has been a lot of speculation regarding energy prices, mainly natural gas, and gave assurances that the price of natural gas produced in Romania will not increase, at least in the first six months of next year. A new timeline for liberalization will be issued for 1 July 2015- 1 July 2021, taking into account the growing trend in the price of fuel in the region, as well as the longer period of time for alignment agreed upon with international financial institution, as announced by the Energy Department. The total liberalization of the natural gas market, including that for home consumption, was scheduled for 31 December 2018. Recently, however, Parliament in Bucharest has voted to extend this deadline by two and a half years.

The Anti-Corruption Directorate takes over the case of voting abroad

The Anti-Corruption Directorate took over the investigation into voting abroad from the General Prosecutor’s Office. The decision was made when anti-corruption prosecutors filed a request to this end, claiming that the investigation may fall under their jurisdiction. In the recent presidential elections in Romania, thousands of Romanians could not vote because of bad organization, which led to two consecutive foreign ministers resigning. Two days from the second round of elections, the General Prosecutor’s Office started an investigation into the events, not responsible parties. One of the situations under investigation is the fact that, between the two rounds of elections, it was claimed that there was no legal ground for opening additional polling stations. On November 29, president elect Klaus Iohannis posted on a social network that he expected a speedy resolution to this investigation. Asked for comments on the transfer of the investigation from the General Prosecutor’s Office to the Anti-Corruption Directorate, PM Victor Ponta said that the judiciary had to carry out its duties.

Romanian Foreign Minister Aurescu talks to US State Secretary John Kerry

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu held talks on Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry, on the situation in the region, the elections in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the strategic partnership with the US, which Romania claims in a press release is at the core of its foreign policy. The two officials, meeting at the OSCE Ministerial Council, underlined the importance of Moldova putting together a government as soon as possible. Also on Thursday, Hoyt Yee, an official with the State Department in charge of Europe and Asia, said in an exclusive interview with Radio Romania’s Washington correspondent that his country looked forward to working with president elect Klaus Iohannis, and that the US saluted Romania’s contribution to security in the region. According to authorities in Bucharest, Romania and the US will soon see through the most important security project so far, the anti-ballistic missile shield, with elements in Romania.

Romania gets ranked for corruption

For the second year in a row, Romania was ranked 69th in terms of corruption in the annual report issued by Transparency International, which includes 175 countries. Romania gets 43 points in that ranking, which makes it one of the most corrupt countries in the EU, on a par with Bulgaria, Italy and Greece. The lowest ranking country in Europe is Ukraine, with 26 points, in terms of the perception of corruption. The highest ranking is Denmark, with 92 points out of 100, making it the least corrupt country in the world within this study.

Surprising winner in the presidential runoff in Romania

Christian Liberal Alliance presidential candidate Sibiu Mayor Klaus Iohannis won Sunday’s second round of the by nearly 9% ahead of his opponent, Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta, seen as favourite to win. The voter turnout was surprisingly high, standing at 64.10%, a record high for the last 18 years. Romanians in the Diaspora also hit the polls in large numbers, some 380,000 casting their votes. A less pleasant surprise was to see thousands of Romanians queuing up to vote, enduring the freezing rain and the cold, in front of embassies or consular offices in several European cities. The Constitutional Court on Friday validated Sunday’s ballot, which confirms Klaus Iohannis as the fourth president of Romania since the 1989 revolution. Klaus Iohannis is expected to take over at Cotroceni starting December 21, when the mandate of president Traian Basescu is due to come to an end.

The effects of the poor organisation of the second presidential ballot in the Diaspora

Flaws linked with the organization of the second round of the presidential election in the Diaspora have not remained without consequence. On Monday Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu tendered his resignation, after the previous week his predecessor Titus Corlatean resigned for the same reasons, both assuming responsibility, although blaming the failure on the current election legislation, which they say prevented the opening of new polling stations. This resounding failure prompted Parliament to resume talks on a new election law. In another development, the General Prosecutor’s Office has started the investigation of how the authorities handled the voting process abroad. Hundreds of complaints were received accusing government ministers and public servants of interfering with the right to vote.

Several senators and deputies had their immunity lifted after the Chamber of Deputies voted against the amnesty law

The Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday evening voted against a draft law on amnesty and pardoning of MPs. Filed nearly a year ago, the project sparked the anger of the civil society. Following this Tuesday’s vote, Conservative MP Ion Dinita, Social-Democrat MP Ioan Adam and Liberal MP Mircea Roscau saw their immunity lifted. Previously the Supreme Court ruled in favour of placing Ioan Adam and Mircea Rosca under a pre-emptive 30-day arrest and of the non-custodial investigation of Ion Dinita. In another development, another two senators lost their immunity, Social-Democrat Ecaterina Andronescu and Serban Mihailescu representing the National Union for the Progress of Romania. Both are wanted in a high-profile corruption scandal involving the illegal selling of Microsoft products to schools. President Traian Basescu also green lighted the criminal investigation of former Liberal Minister Cristian David who is wanted for bribe-taking.

The head of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism is arrested

The head of Romania’s organized crime division (DIICOT) Alina Bica was detained by anti-corruption prosecutors, who’ve accused Bica of abuse of office. Bica is facing charges of having committed irregularities while she was an undersecretary with the Ministry of Justice, and member of a committee that operated returns of land seized by the communist regime. In 2011, together with two other colleagues, also under investigation, she allegedly facilitated restitution payments for a 13-hectare plot of land on Bucharest’s outskirts. Based on a gross overvaluation, the payments ended up costing the Romanian state 62 million euros.

Russia is the guest of honour of the 21st Gaudeamus Book and Education Fair in Bucharest

The 21st edition of the Gaudeamus International Book and Education Fair is taking place in Bucharest until November 23. Over 300 Romanian and foreign publishers, education institutions and cultural institutes are attending the fair. The Russian Federation is this year’s guest of honour. 17 writers, literary critics and journalists from Russia will organize book launches, presentations, signing sessions and debates. Organizers have prepared a total of 750 events, a record high in the history of the fair. A highlight of the of the festival is the launch of the bilingual volume entitled “Distance will never come between us”, based on interviews with and pictures of listeners of Radio Romania International from 20 countries, winners of Grand Prizes in contests organized by Radio Romania International since 1995.

2014 — a good year for the national football team

Romania’s national football won the last friendly match of 2014 against Denmark 2-nil this Tuesday on National Arena Stadium in Bucharest. Following this result Romania is now ranked 15th in FIFA standings, an all-time best since 2008. Following the wins against Greece and Finland, both away from home, the home draw against Hungary and last week’s 2-nil win against Northern Ireland, Romania ranks first in Group F. Over the last two years, Romania went up 42 places in FIFA standings. In September 2012 Romania ranked 57th, an all-time low. Romania’s best ranking in FIFA standings was 1997, when Romania was in 3rd place.

Romania and the energy market

This week, Romania has joined the ranks of countries to face a cut in Russian gas deliveries, following a unilateral decision from Russia and without any prior notice. Although in Romania’s case, the amount of the cut is not worrying, Bucharest fears that Moscow is now only experimenting with a practice it may use as a weapon in winter. Romania’s minister delegate for energy Razvan Nicolescu has promised that people will not be affected in winter, irrespective of Russia’s policy in the energy field. In preparation for what’s to come, Parliament’s decision-making body, the Chamber of Deputies, has passed a bill to amend and complement the law on electricity and natural gas and the law on oil. One new provision is to postpone the liberalisation of gas prices for another two years. Romania previously agreed with its foreign lenders, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the World Bank, to liberalise prices on the gas market as of 31st December 2018. Prime minister Victor Ponta said the move was postponed because the population would not be able to cope with higher prices without state help. In another move, the government in Bucharest has been trying to persuade the Italian electricity company Enel, which is involved in the production and distribution of electricity, not to give up its operations in Romania. Enel’s sudden decision came as a surprise for economic analysts, because the company has had significant profits on the local energy market. Experts say the pull-out of Enel, which is considered a strategic partner, may discourage other potential foreign investors.

The reduction of employers’ social security contributions

A controversial regulation on the 5% cut in employers’ social security contributions will come into force on 1st October, following its being signed into law by president Traian Basescu. The latter said that, while the measure is useful, it leads to losses the government will not be able to cover, in particular in 2015. The president says the social security budget will thus lose 3.2 billion euros, which might be compensated for through an increase in taxes. The government says, however, that the cut in social security contributions, which was insistently requested by the business community, will reduce fiscal pressure on entrepreneurs and create new jobs. The centre-right opposition has criticised the timing of the new law, just two months before the presidential elections, while trade unions say it only boosts the gains of private companies, especially multinational firms. The cut in social security contributions for employers has not received the approval of Romania’s foreign lenders, either. In fact, new talks with the international financial institutions started again in Brussels this week.

Romania supports Ukraine’s coming closer to the European Union

The foreign ministry in Bucharest has hailed the ratification by the European Parliament and Kiev’s Parliament of Ukraine’s association agreement with the European Union. The Romanian ministry says the vote in Strasbourg and Kiev confirms Ukraine’s progress on the path to Europe. Romania has also reiterated its firm support for the European future embraced freely by the Ukrainian people, hoping the agreement will by ratified by the other EU member states as soon as possible. In July, Romania was the first EU state to ratify the association agreements between the European Union and three ex-Soviet states, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.

The regionalisation of Romania as seen by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania

A junior partner in the government, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania has made public a regionalisation project that also takes into account ethnic considerations. Neither the ruling parties, such as the Social Democratic Party, nor the opposition parties, such as the Liberal Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, believe the project has any chances of succeeding. If implemented, however, the proposal of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians would make the Szeckler Country official. Currently covering three different counties in central Romania, this area is home to the largest number of ethnic Hungarians. The representatives of the three parties warn the proposal is not in line with the Constitution and recall that Romania is seen as an example in the European Union when it comes to respecting the rights of ethnic minorities. The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, says, however, that his party is not seeking separation.

Fresh flooding in Romania

Four counties in the west and south-west of Romania, namely Timis, Caras Severin, Gorj and Mehedinti, have been affected by flooding. The toll includes human casualties and material damage. The government has approved emergency aid for the people who have lost their homes.

A new edition of RadiRo

The second RadiRo Festival starts this week-end in Bucharest. Dedicated exclusively to radio orchestras, this is the only festival of its kind in Europe. Apart from the Romanian Radio Orchestra, it features symphonic radio orchestras from Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany and France. The event, which comes to an end on 27th September, is organised by Radio Romania.