April 16, 2018

Protests of hospital employees, Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg

Newsroom, 16.04.2018, 14:05

Protests — Several hundred employees from two hospitals in Bucharest and other medical units across Romania protested Monday as well as they are discontented with their salaries, especially the benefits which, according to the new salary law, have been capped at 30%, which for many of them resulted in a drop in revenues. Trade unionists in the Romanian medical system will decide this week whether they resume protests, after on Friday the health minister Sorina Pintea made them promises to solve the situation. According to her, hospitals will be able to use their own funds to grant financial incentives and benefits to the employees whose salaries have dropped.

Foreign Affairs Council — The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu is today participating alongside his counterparts from the other EU countries in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council under way in Luxembourg. Dominated by the situation in Syria, the agenda of talks also includes the reports on Iran, the latest developments in the Western Balkans, the relationship between Brussels and Moscow and the EU’s external financial instruments in the context of the future Multiannual Financial Framework post 2020. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, will brief the foreign ministers with regard to the developments in the Gaza Strip and Venezuela.

Madrid — The Minister for Romanians Abroad, Natalia-Elena Intotero, proposed in Madrid the signing of a cooperation agreement between Romania and Spain regarding the possible return home of those Romanian citizens who want that. The Romanian official made the proposal during the meeting she had in Madrid with the Deputy Minister and Secretary General for Immigration and Emigration, Marina del Corral. The latter agreed with the proposal, given that Romania and Spain share common experiences regarding migration. Minister Intotero presented the campaign to be launched in May entitled “Being informed at home! Safety in the world!” as well as the programs the government is implementing to support the Romanian citizens who want to return home. During her visit to Spain, Mrs. Intotero met in Madrid with the representatives of Romanian associations. According to the Spanish Immigration Observer, the Romanian community in Spain numbers more than one million residents.

DNA — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is expected to announce, early this week, his decision regarding the request for the dismissal of the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi. Recently Romania’s President, who had previously expressed his confidence in Mrs. Kovesi, said his decision would take into account all the documents presented to him by the two sides. The justice minister, Tudorel Toader, asked in February for the dismissal of Laura Codruta Kovesi, whom he accuses of having overstepped her authority. The Superior Council of Magistracy has expressed a negative opinion on the aforementioned request.

Summit — As of Tuesday the Romanian Senate will be hosting, for 3 days, the first Parliamentary Summit of Bucharest Format (B9). The parliamentary diplomacy meeting will focus on security and defense and it precedes the NATO summit to be hosted by Brussels in July. The summit agenda includes, among other issues, the fight against terror, military mobility, views on the threats facing the participant countries and legislative consolidation in relation to defense. The event is organized at the common initiatives of the Speaker of the Romanian Senate and the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland.

Companies — In the first two months of the year, the number of requests for suspending operations of companies with foreign capital in Romania rose by 66.5% as compared to the same period of 2017, while the number of winding-up requests increased by 74.2%. The data were presented, on Monday, by Florin Jianu, the president of the National Council of Small and Medium Sized Private Companies in Romania. According to the Council, in the first 3 months of 2018, 120 modifications were made to the Fiscal Code, which affected and still affects the activity of small and medium sized enterprises. Florin Jianu says that due to this huge amount of laws adopted in the first quarter of this year, Romania will continue to top the regional classification of legislative modifications in 2018 as well. The Council proposed a program called “Digital Romania” funded from European money, which should help digitalize all SMEs in Romania. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)