December 14, 2015

Parliament discusses 2016 budget bill; Colectiv death toll reaches 61; far-right loses local elections in France

Newsroom, 14.12.2015, 12:00

BUDGET – Romanias 2016 draft budget law is being discussed in Parliament as of today, without major changes on the bill tabled by the Government. The budget committees unanimously approved the Cabinets bill. Few amendments have been accepted, and they have no significant financial impact. The most heated debates concerned the budget of the Transport Ministry, where many MPs tried to support local infrastructure projects. The final vote on the budget is scheduled for Wednesday.

EU – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu, is taking part today in Brussels in a meeting of the EU foreign ministers. The agenda of talks includes the recent developments in the Eastern Partnership countries, further to the commitments undertaken at the Summit in Riga in May. The Eastern Partnership is part of the EUs European Neighbourhood Policy, and apart from the EU member countries it includes six eastern European states, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The initiative was launched at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Prague, in May 2009. In Brussels, the participants will also discuss means to contribute to fighting terrorism, the support the EU can give to the political resolution and reform processes in Iraq, and the situation in Libya.

COLECTIV – Another patient injured in the October 30 fire at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest died on Sunday. The woman was being treated in a hospital in Germany, where she had been transferred three weeks ago. The Colectiv fire death toll thus reached 61. At present, 21 patients are treated abroad, and 22 others in Romanian hospitals. The Health Ministry is currently analysing options for the construction of a new hospital for burns patients in Bucharest. Under a programme funded by the World Bank, three such units will be built, in Iasi (in the north-east), Târgu Mureş (centre) and Timişoara (west).

FRANCE – The second round of the local elections in France, held on Sunday and seen as a major test ahead of the presidential ballot in 2017, was won by the right-of-centre opposition, headed by former president Nicolas Sarkozy, which won the election in 7 out of the 13 regions, including Paris, which had been a Socialist stronghold for 17 years. Second came Hollandes Socialists, with 5 regions. The surprise came from the far-right National Front party, headed by Marine Le Pen, which failed to win any region although after the first round it was a favourite in almost half of them. These results were prompted by higher voter turnout and by the fact that in two regions, where they had slim chances to win, the Socialist Party and its left-wing allies withdrew and urged their supporters to vote for the right, so as to prevent the National Front from winning.

MOLDOVA – The interim president of the Liberal Democratic Party in the Republic of Moldova, the ex-PM Valeriu Streleţ, announced on Sunday night that his party would take part in the political negotiations for the establishment of a new parliamentary majority and a new government. The Liberal Democrats however will not give up the three conditions announced previously, namely the nomination of a non-affiliated prime minister, the elimination of political involvement in running state-owned institutions and the resignation of those involved in massive banking frauds. The Constitutional Court announced that the Parliament of Moldova may be dissolved unless a new Cabinet is validated by the end of January 2016.

HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball team Sunday won a breath-taking match against world Champions Brazil, 25-22, in the eighth-finals of the World Championship in Denmark. Thanks to this surprising win, the Romanians booked their places at the Rio Olympics in 2016. In the quarter-finals, Romania will face Denmark on Wednesday. Romania remains the only country which has taken part in all the World Championship final tournaments since 1957. Its track record includes a gold medal in 1962, and two silver in 1973 and 2005.

(translation by; Ana-Maria Popescu)