December 11, 2014 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.

Florentin Căpitănescu, 11.12.2014, 19:39

DRAFT BUDGET — The government in Bucharest on Thursday published the draft budget for 2015. Tomorrow, the government will submit the draft budget to Parliament. According to the document, the budget has been drawn out following an exchange rate of 4,42 lei for one Euro, a deficit standing at 1.83% of the GDP and an economic growth of 2.5%. Yesterday, the government adopted a series of emergency ordinances, one of them regulating the way excises are to be calculated in 2015. As of January the 1st, 2015, excises will be paid following an exchange rate of 4.73 lei for one Euro, while in 2016, the excise tax level will be brought in line with the inflation rate.

JUSTICE — The president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice Livia Stanciu on Thursday said the independence of the judiciary was violated during the presidential campaign of October, with politicians surpassing the limits of public discourse and trying to mar the credibility of the system. Politicians should stop making declarations on topics related to court cases, vice-president of the Superior Council of Magistrates Gheorghe Muscalu has said in turn. Also on Thursday, the Council pointed out that the declarations of president Traian Basescu, Prime Minister Victor Ponta and MEP Monica Macovei have affected the independence of the judiciary. The three had referred to pending investigations or court cases.

RULING — The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ruled against the notification filed by former Social-Democrat Prime Minister Adrian Nastase regarding his conviction in the “Quality Trophy” case. The ruling is final, and mentions that Nastase’s arguments are ungrounded and go against the European Convention of Human Rights. In his complaint, Nastase claimed the effects of his conviction, such as the incapacity to have a normal family life and the fat that he lost his political and professional career, were evidence of a humiliating treatment, that caused him a sever psychological trauma, leading to his suicide attempt. Nastase was sentenced to two years in prison for bribe taking and blackmail. Prosecutors say Nastase acted to finance the election campaign for the presidential election of 2004, which Nastase lost.

CONFIDENCE SURVEY — The presidency is on top position according to a ranking of Romanians’ confidence in the country’s political institutions, while the Army comes first, according to a ranking of executive institutions, a survey carried out for the Adevarul daily by Inscop Research reveals. The Church has the lead, according to a ranking of Romania’s social or private institutions. As for the international institutions, the European Union is on top position, followed by NATO and the United Nations, in descending order. The ‘Inscop- the Truth about Romania’ Barometer was conducted over November 27 — December 2, for a sample population of 1,076 people. The Barometer carries an error margin standing at plus or minus 3 per cent.

TORTURE — The Council of Europe Secretary General, Thorbjoern Jagland, has hailed the publication by the American Senate of the report regarding the torture methods used by the CIA after the 9/11 attacks. Jagland appreciated the transparency of the report and the clear-cut declaration of the American president who said that these methods belong to the past. As of 2005, the EC reports as well as those of the European Court of Human Rights, have frequently mentioned Romania as a country involved in the scandal related to the transfer of terrorism suspects by CIA to third countries. Every time the Romanian authorities’ answer was that there were no such detention and torture centres on Romania’s territory.