January 23, 2017 UPDATE
Referendum on amending the criminal codes and on collective pardon/ Budget for 2017/ Avian flu alert/ January 24, 1859 union anniversary
Newsroom, 23.01.2017, 19:59
REFERENDUM — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on Monday that he would take the first steps for the organization of a referendum on amending the criminal codes and granting a collective pardon, an idea supported by the opposition parties, the Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union. President Iohannis expressed his outrage at what he called the attempt by the new government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats to clear several criminal files. The Romanian President added that these changes in the justice field were not part of the governing program the Social Democrats presented before the December elections. These statements were made after, on Sunday, president Iohannis joined for several minutes the protest rally organized in Bucharest against the emergency government orders the government wants to promote. Tens of thousands of people participated in the rallies in several cities of Romania. In turn, the justice minister, Florin Iordache, claims the changes are necessary to solve the issue of prison overcrowding and to harmonize the legislation with decisions of the Constitutional Court.
BUDGET for 2017 — The draft budget of Romania for 2017 is based on a 5.2% economic growth for this year and on more than 5% for the period 2018-2020, and the budget deficit is estimated at 2.96% of the GDP, shows the Report on the macroeconomic situation for 2017 and on the macroeconomic projections for the period 2018-2020 made public on Monday on the website of the Public Finance Ministry. When drafting the budget for 2017 the authorities took into consideration an average annual inflation rate of 1.4%, a net average wage of almost 505 euros and an average euro-lei exchange rate of 4.46 lei per one euro. At the end of 2017 a 4.3% increase in the number of employees is expected.
UNION — In Bucharest and other cities of Romania continue the events devoted to the anniversary, on January 24, of 158 years since the union of the Romanian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. On January 24, 1859 Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who had been elected ruler of Moldavia one week before, was unanimously voted by the Electors’ Assembly in Bucharest as ruler of Wallachia and proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. Thus, the union of the two principalities inhabited by Romanians was signed de facto. Three years later, on January 24, 1862, the union was recognized internationally and the state was given the name Romania. Cuza’s rule between 1859-1866 laid the institutional foundation of modern Romania through the radical reforms promoted. In 1918 the process of setting up the Romanian nation state ended with the union with the Kingdom of Romania of all historical provinces with a majority Romanian-speaking population, which, until then, had been under the administration of the neighboring multinational empires. However, following WWII Romania lost Bessarabia and Bukovina.
AVIAN FLU — The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on all member states, Romania included, to carefully monitor avian flu epidemics and immediately report the cases of human contamination with the virus. As of November 2016 as many as 40 countries have reported new cases of infection with this virus, the WHO reported. In the past weeks the avian flu virus has been detected in 20 states from Europe. In Romania, the line authorities announced they were checking all poultry transport trucks from the countries where avian flu hotbeds were reported.
COOPERATION — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, on Monday met in Bucharest with his Moldovan counterpart, Andrei Galbur. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry the two officials mainly tackled the development of the bilateral strategic partnership. Also the two have agreed, among others, to resume the meetings of the joint Romania-Moldova intergovernmental Commission for European integration. he neighboring multinational empires. However, following WWII Romania lost Bessarabia and Bukovina.
FIRE — Three persons injured in the fire that occurred on Saturday night in a well-known Bucharest club are still in hospital. According to the Health Ministry a total number of 44 people received medical assistance for smoke inhalation, hypothermia and fractures, but none of the patients sustained burns. The investigation into the causes of the fire is in full swing. Hearings in the case continue as well as searches on the location of the fire. Following Saturday’s fire in Bucharest, the authorities started to make further controls, in the capital and across the country, of the buildings hosting activities with large attendance. Many irregularities have been identified and fines have been given. We recall that on October 2015 a fire broke out during a rock concert in the Bucharest-based Colectiv club, killing 64 young people and wounding 100. (translation by Lacramioara Simion)
