December 22, 2013
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Roxana Vasile, 22.12.2013, 13:55
COMMEMORATION – Bucharest continues to host events commemorating 24 years since the anti-communist Revolution in Romania. Commemorations were held at the Memorial of Revolution Heroes, and at the buildings of the public television and radio stations. On December the 22nd, hundreds of thousands of people stormed the headquarters of the Romanian Communist Party, forcing dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu to flee the capital city. The event marked the de facto collapse of the communist regime. Romania was the only eastern European country where fall of communism was accompanied by bloodshed, with over one thousand people killed. Representatives of the Revolution participants however express their discontent and say the change expected for 24 years is yet to take place.
ECHR – The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg announced that as of January the 1st, the rules for lodging an application will be changed. Among other things, applicants will have to provide additional identification data and include a summary of the case, while the file on the whole must not exceed 20 pages. The ECHR is the Court that European citizens resort to when they believe their fundamental rights have been violated in their home country. By the end of last year, Romanians had lodged over 10 thousand applications with this Court, but only 1% of them were admitted.
IMF – The IMF says Bucharest will have to take measures to bring additional revenues to the budget, in order to offset the three-month deferral of the increase in fuel excises. In a news release, the IMF hails the promulgation of the 2014 budget law by president Traian Băsescu, but notes that the budget deficit must be contained at 2.2% of the GDP. The president signed the 2014 budget law after the Government agreed to a three-month postponement of a planned increase in fuel excises. According to an agreement with the IMF, the increase should have taken effect on January the 1st. The head of state however would like this measure to be discarded altogether, because it is a hindrance to economic re-launch.
EU – The president of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, warned the British PM David Cameron that the measures aimed at restricting the access of European immigrants to unemployment aid risk harming the reputation of Great Britain. In an interview in the online edition of The Observer, the Bulgarian president mentions that the UK should stay true to its legacy as a great global power that pioneered integration, and resist nationalist calls for tougher legislation against immigrants. As of January the 1st, Romanians and Bulgarians, who currently may only be employed in a limited number of professions, will have free access to the British labour market. For fear of an so-called “invasion,” some British tabloids and politicians circulate alarmist information about an alleged threat pose by Romanian and Bulgarian workers.
