December 28, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.12.2019, 18:58

GOVERNMENT – The Liberal Government in
Bucharest on Friday adopted a memorandum of the Justice Ministry calling for
the shutdown of the Special Unit investigating magistrates. Justice Minister
Catalin Predoiu said the unit was set up by the previous Social-Democrat
Government without any public consultations, against the backdrop of negative
reactions from several magistrates’ associations, European partners, GRECO and
the Venice Commission. Minister Predoiu said the law regulating the unit is
flawed, rendering the special section inoperable. At present, the
Social-Democrats say it is outrageous even discussing the possibility of
disbanding the special unit, claiming abuses are a daily reality in the justice
system. Recalling that Romanians voted in the May referendum against any
emergency decrees being passed in the justice field, interim Social-Democrat
leader Marcel Ciolacu suggested a debate in Parliament on this matter and the
consultation of all associations and stakeholders in the justice field. Former
Social-Democrat Justice Minister Ana Birchall, recently excluded from the party
ranks, has however hailed the adoption of the memorandum, which she labels as a
major step towards restoring public confidence in the justice system.

SURVEY – The labor force crisis, the high inflation rate and the
potential negative evolution of the exchange rate are the biggest challenges
facing the business sector in Romania next year, reads a survey titled Survey
on the state of the economy, published by a consultancy company. According to
the survey, the labor force crisis deepened in 2019, while the import of
foreign workers offset under 10% of the needed workforce. Moreover, business
people believe that, beyond boosting consumption, the salary increases in the
public sector have spiked imbalances on the labor market. Asked what measures
would be needed to develop a stable economic framework, companies mentioned
fiscal predictability, the digitization of public administration, investment in
infrastructure or a national plan for vocational requalification. The survey
was conducted over December 1-15 on a sample of 450 companies from various
fields of activity, from trade to financial services, agriculture, energy,
textiles and IT.

NEW YEAR’S EVE – Successful bands from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s
will perform live in Bucharest as part of the 2020 New Year’s Party dubbed
Disco Night Fever. 11 bands and artists from Romania, the Republic of Moldova,
Germany and the United States will electrify the crowds with live concerts. The
list of performers includes the band O-Zone, which has reunited for this
special occasion, the famous duo Milli Vanilli, Haddaway or Turbo B, the
soloist of the band Snap! The New Year’s Eve Party will end in Bucharest with a
spectacular fireworks show.

MONEY – Romania is the second country
at EU level in terms of money being wired from outside the country in 2018, a
Eurostat report reveals. Some 2.7 billion euros were wired to Romanians as
personal transfers, while 89% of it came from people in other EU Member
States. Portugal ranks first, with over 3 billion euros being transferred to
this country. Some 5.6 million Romanians live abroad, Bucharest authorities
say.

EUROPALIA – The exhibition Brancusi -
the Transcendence of Form opened in Brussels as part of the Europalia 2019
International Arts Festival can be visited until February 2, 2020, the Romanian
Cultural Institute reports. Over 50,000 people have already visited the
exhibition, which features 200 of the sculptor’s works, including The Wisdom
of the Earth and Prayer, films, drawings and letters to his lover. Romania
is guest of honor at the 27th edition of the Europalia Festival, and
will organize over 250 events until February 2020.

WEATHER – Meteorologists have issued
two alerts against extreme weather conditions, in place until Sunday evening. A
code yellow alert against heavy snowfalls and blizzard was issued for six
counties in the east and northeast, as well as for mountainous regions.
Additional snowfalls and strong wind are expected in the center, east and
southeast. Meteorologists have also announced a drop in temperatures
nationwide. On Sunday and Monday temperatures are expected to drop below 0 down
to minus 10 degrees Celsius. Highs will predominantly be negative in the
northern half of the country during the interval, while temperatures in the
south will go as high as 4 degrees Celsius, which is normal for this time of
the year.

(Translated by
V. Palcu)