December 24, 2015 UPDATE

2016 will not be an austerity year for Romania, says PM Dacian Ciolos / Romanias former sovereign, King Michael I, sent a Christmas message to all Romanians

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Newsroom, 24.12.2015, 12:15

Romania’s former sovereign, King Michael I, has sent a Christmas message to all Romanians. In his address, the former sovereign has referred to both the young generation, expressing his confidence in the future, and to the elderly, who are teaching a lesson of courage and dignity, according to King Michael. The former sovereign has conveyed a message of encouragement to and appreciation for those working in hospitals, saving lives, as well as to the teaching staff. He has assured of his compassion all those who are in mourning and those who are worried about the health condition of their loved ones. King Michael has also evoked the professionalism and commitment of Romania’s soldiers, who are serving their country with honour, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

2016 will not be an austerity year for Romania, marked by redundancies, and the budget deficit in 2016 will be close to estimates, Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos told a TV station. Ciolos has however mentioned the need for reforms in several institutions subordinated to or within the government, such as administration, transports, healthcare and education. These reforms are needed in order not to destabilise the country and economy in the long run, considering the social and fiscal relaxation measures taken by the previous government and by Parliament, Dacian Ciolos has underlined. Referring to Romania’s relation with the EU, the prime minister said he would like Bucharest to have a more pro-active role at government level. Dacian Ciolos will pay three official visits to the EU member states in the first months of 2016, the first one, on January 7th, to Germany, at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the following ones, to France and the Netherlands.

The majority shareholder of the Bucharest nightclub where a deadly fire broke out on October 30 will remain in temporary police custody. This is the final ruling of the Bucharest Tribunal announced on Thursday. In the case of the other two owners of the club, temporary arrest was replaced with house arrest on Monday. The three of them are charged with involuntary manslaughter and bodily injury. As many as 63 people were killed in the fire and some 150 were injured. Dozens of patients continue to be treated in hospitals in Romania and abroad.

In the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, prime minister designate, Ion Sturza, announced on Thursday that he will ask for the Parliament’s vote of confidence on January 4th. Sturza supports the idea of a technocratic government and says the country’s economic situation is extremely serious. He has also mentioned the possibility for delays in the payment of pensions and salaries to appear as of February. Only one political party, the Liberal Democratic Party, has so far voiced support for the new cabinet that Sturza will propose.

The European Union has adopted a package of measures worth 112 million Euros, meant to support social and economic reforms and to offer protection to vulnerable groups in Tunisia, Syria and Israel. Financed through the European Neighbourhood Instrument, this package brings the EU’s financial support for its southern vicinity to one billion 600 thousand Euros. 72 million Euros of this package are destined to boost cooperation with Tunisia and Israel, whereas the rest of 40 million Euros are earmarked for Syria, to support vulnerable groups. This financial assistance package supports the implementation of key reforms, will improve living conditions and enhance the local population’s resistance, said the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn.

(Translated by Elena Enache)