December 22, 2017
Commemorations for the heroes of the 1989 anti-communist revolution contine; Parliament in Bucharest voted through the budget for 2018
Mihai Pelin, 22.12.2017, 13:53
COMMEMORATION — Commemorative events continue to remember the heroes of the Romanian Revolution, which brought down the communist regime in Romania. Parliament held a joint solemn session dedicated to the event. The revolt started in Timisoara, where locals protested abuses from the authorities, spreading fast all over the country. On December 22nd, dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife attempted to flee unsuccessfully. Between December 16 and 25 1989, over 1,000 people died and almost 3,400 were injured.
BUDGET — The Parliament in Bucharest issued its final vote today on the state budget and social insurance budgets for next year. There were 255 in favor and 95 against it. The opposition, which did not manage to push through any of the many amendments they proposed, abstained from voting. The 2018 budget assumes economic growth worth 5.5%, an average annual rate of inflation of 3.1 percent, an average Euro-Leu exchange rate of 4.55, and a median monthly wage of 2,614 lei. The budget deficit is estimated at 2.97% of the GDP, with a target of under 3%. The government claims that 2018 is the most generous budget in the last 28 years, centered on health, education and infrastructure, while the opposition considers it an austerity budget.
BUCHAREST — Each Romanian has to feel that the Romanian presidency of the European Council of 2019 is aimed at citizens and their expectations regarding the EU, said Delegate Minister for European Affairs Victor Negrescu. He also said that it is important for Bucharest to take advantage of this moment in order to increase the degree to which Romania is known, and to this end all available means will be utilized, nationally and locally. The objective is for every Romanian to feel that they hold a part of this EU presidency, said Victor Negrescu. For six months, starting on January 1, 2019, Romania will hold the presidency of the European Council, one of the seven institutions of the Union.
HEALTH — The Cantacuzino National Institute of Bucharest, the most important vaccine manufacturer in the country, was today taken over officially by the Defense Ministry from the Health Ministry. The decision was made in September, by emergency executive order. Set up in 1921, the Cantacuzino institute was one of the best in Europe, but lack of financing led to the decline of the institute. It has three main functions: making vaccines, research and the public health side.
EMPLOYMENT — In Romania, the unemployment rate has reached the highest level, 16.9%, among young people 15 to 24, while the active population of Romania has reached 9.291 million people, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics, published today. Between July and September 2017, the rate of employment for the able to work population, 15 to 64 was 65.3%, down 0.2% compared to the same period the previous year. Nationally, the rate of unemployment was 4.7%, down from the previous quarter, when it was 4.8%. In this context, the unemployment rate was higher for men. 5.3%, as compared to women, at 4%. The rural rate of inflation was 5.3%, as opposed to urban areas, 4.3%.
CATALONIA — A unionist party gathered the most votes in the Catalan Parliament after regional elections on Thursday. After counting 95% of the ballot, the Citizen Party got 36 seats in the new legislative assembly. The three pro-independence parties got a total of 70 seats. Separatists, as a result, hold a slim majority in the 135 seat Parliament. Dismissed Catalan president Carles Puidgemont is in Brussels, where he took refuge with four of his former ministers. The elections were called on October 27 by the head of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, in order to restore order after the secession referendum of October 1st and the proclamation of Catalan independence.
