February, 2019 UPDATE

Click here for a round-up of news from Romania

Mihai Pelin, 14.02.2019, 19:32

ECONOMY- Romanian economy slowed down from a 7% growth rate in 2017, to 4.1% in 2018, according to estimates made public today by the National Institute of Statistics. Data indicate a lower GDP growth rate as compared to the predictions made by the National Forecast Commission, which indicated a growth of 4.5% in 2018. Also in the last quarter of 2018 the Romanian economy slowed down to 0.7%, from 1.7% in the second quarter. Recently, the European Commission too has shown that the economic boom registered by Romania in 2017 slowed down in 2018.

2019 STATE BUDGET – Romanian MPs have started discussing the articles of the 2019 draft state budget and social security budget, after finalizing general debates on Wednesday. The final vote is due on Friday. The bills have been endorsed by the specialized parliament committees. As to the version proposed by the Government, the budgets earmarked for the Finance ministry, the Romanian intelligence office and the Security Guard Service have been diminished. The Education Ministry has got more money for investment, just like the Transport Ministry. The budget was built on an estimated 5.5% economic growth rate, a 2.5% deficit and a GDP of some 200 billion Euros.

JUSTICE – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Thursday called on the Department of Criminal Investigations in the Judiciary to clarify as soon as possible the situation regarding the case opened on the name of the former head of the National Anticorruption Directorate in Romania, Laura Codruţa Kovesi. The President says this Department should not be a political instrument of investigation and intimidation of magistrates and prosecutors. The declaration has been made after the former head of the National Anticorruption Directorate in Romania, Laura Codruta Kovesi, has announced she has been cited by the Department of Criminal Investigations in the Judiciary to testify as a suspect. She is accused of official misconduct, bribery and false testimony. Kovesi has stated she is innocent and that there is no coincidence that she received the subpoena right before her being heard in the European Parliament as prime candidate to lead the European Public Prosecutors Office. In another development, the Prosecutors Office of the Superior Council of Magistracy has decided to appoint Calin Nistor head of the National Anticorruption Directorate, where he is currently deputy chief prosecutor, and interim head of the directorate, following Anca Jurmas refusal to carry on her mandate. The office became vacant after Ms. Kovesi was revoked by president Klaus Iohannis, following a ruling of the Constitutional Court. Subsequently, the justice minister proposed Adina Florea as head of the Directorate, but the head of state rejected the proposal.

ELA – The European Parliament and the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council on Thursday reached a provisional agreement on the Commissions proposal to establish a European Labour Authority (ELA). According to a press release, the new authority will support fair labour mobility within the EU, allowing citizens and businesses to seize the opportunities offered by the single market, while supporting cooperation between national authorities, including in preventing and tackling social fraud and abuse. Next, the agreement will be submitted to the Councils Permanent Representatives Committee for approval. Once the Member States Permanent Representatives confirm the agreement, it will be subject to a final vote by the plenary of the European Parliament.

SURVEY – The Army continues to be the institution that Romanians trust the most, according to a survey conducted by INSCOP over January 21st – February 5th. Next come the church, the gendarmerie and the police. According to the same survey, 39.7% of the Romanians trust the National Anticorruption Directorate, and 39.1% trust the Presidency. Bottom of the rankings are political parties, with 11.8% and Parliament with 9.8%. As regards international institutions, Romanians trust NATO – 49.9%- , the EU – 47.8% – and the European Parliament – 44.7%. The European Commission enjoys the trust of 43.8% of the Romanians. The sample used in the survey was 1,080 people, aged over 18.

NATO – The meeting of the NATO defence ministers continued in Brussels on Thursday. On the second day of the meeting, they exchanged opinions on the evolution of the missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq, during a session devoted to NATO operations and missions. The Romanian minister Gabriel Leş has underlined the importance of supporting the Afghan peace process, laying special emphasis on the fact that the Afghan authorities should assume full responsibility for it, with support from the North-Atlantic Alliance. Also, he talked about enhancing Romanias contribution to Mission Resolute Support in 2019, totalling over 800 military on theatres of operations. The last working session of the ministerial meeting, which enjoyed the participation of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, as well as of the representatives of Sweden and Finland, focused on aspects related to NATO-EU cooperation in the field of defense, laying emphasis on the initiatives with the potential of boosting the Strategic Partnership between the two organizations and turning this action-line into an essential element of the package of measures aimed to boost security at European level.

ROMANIAN-ITALIAN RELATIONS – The Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini hopes that several economic issues will be resolved during the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. In an interview with the Radio Romania correspondent in Rome, the Italian official has stated that he appreciates the contribution of the Romanians who work legally in Italy and has voiced his intention to sanction and isolate those very few offenders that might tarnish the image of honest workers. There are some 1.2 million Romanians living in Italy, making up the largest foreign community in that country.

INFRASTRUCTURE- The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, has approved the allocation of 517 million euros for the building of 6 km of rail, a segment of the 14 km metro line planned to connect Bucharests central area to Henri Coanda airport. The project also covers the building of six new metro stations and the purchase of 12 trains.(Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)