January 3, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 03.01.2019, 19:49

PRESIDENTIAL DECREES – On
Thursday, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis signed the decrees acknowledging
the vacancies in the Government created by the resignation of the Regional
Development Minister Paul Stanescu and of the Transport Minister Lucian Sova.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila announced two days ago that the president had
informed her he would not accept the nominations of Lia Olguta Vasilescu and
Mihai Dragici at the helm of the two ministries respectively. We recall that in
late November, Klaus Iohannis accepted six proposals for new ministers made by
the prime-minister for the defense, labor, economy, culture, communications and
youth ministries. On December 7th, the prime-minister announced that the
Government informed the Constitutional Court of Romania that the president had
not made a decision regarding the appointment of the new ministers of transport
and regional development. The Court ruled that, in order for the conflict to be
resolved, the president had to immediately issue the decrees acknowledging the
vacancies and to respond in writing to the proposals made by the PM.

ANAF – On Thursday, the Romanian
PM Viorica Dancila signed the decision to appoint Mihaela Triculescu, an
economist with over 19 year experience in the private sector, as president of
the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF), with the rank of State
Secretary. On Thursday, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici announced he had
called on the PM to sack the president of ANAF, Ionut Misa, saying hat the
institution ‘must radically change its behavior in the economy’. According to
political sources, Ionut Misa was blamed for poor collection of taxes, though
he claimed ANAF registered the biggest volume of tax collections in history.

JUDGE PANELS – Following a public
drawing of lots, on Thursday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice in
Bucharest designated members of the
panels of five judges for 2019. Last year, following a decision of the
Constitutional Court which declared illegal the 5-judge panels set up at the
High Court of Cassation, tens of appeals for annulment were filed. Definitive
sentences of 3 up to 6 years in prison were suspended and convicts were freed.
Released from prison were, among others, the former Social Democratic senator
Dan Sova, who received a 3-year definitive sentence for influence peddling,
another former Social Democratic minister Constantin Nita who was serving a
4-year sentence for bribe taking, businessman Horia Simu, sentenced to
4-year-imprisonment for buying influence, and the former president of the
Romanian Boxing Federation Rudel Obreja, sentenced to 5 years in prison. Also,
the sentences of the former minister of the Liberal Democratic Party Elena
Udrea and of the former chief of the Directorate for Investigating Organized
Crime and Terrorism, Alina Bica, were suspended. In their case, the extradition
requests sent to Costa Rica, where the two women had been arrested, were also
withdrawn.

EU COUNCIL – A Europe of
convergence, a Europe of safety, Europe as a global actor and a Europe of
common values are the pillars of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council. On
January 1, Romania took over the 6-month rotating presidency of the EU Council.
During this period it will have to deal with difficult files such as Brexit,
the multi-annual budget for the 2021-2027 period and a coherent strategy on
migration. Last week, the official site of Romania’s presidency of the EU
Council was launched. The webpage românia2019.eu, available in Romanian,
English and French, includes useful information for journalists, the public at
large and the experts in European affairs.

TRAFFIC – Some two million people
crossed Romania’s borders between the 21st of December 2018 and January 2nd
2019. The traffic increased by 13% as compared to a regular period. The most
transited border crossing point was the one on the Nadlac – Arad motorway, in
the West, where 262,000 people crossed the border. According to the
authorities, many of the Romanians who are working and living abroad came to
Romania to spend the winter holidays and are now returning to their homes
abroad. The border police estimate an increase in the traffic of people and
goods across the borders in the west of the country.

AUTOMOTIVE – Registrations
of new Romanian Dacia cars in France increased in 2018 by more than 19%, reaching
140,326 cars as compared to 117,865 cars in 2017, according to data published
by the French Automobile Manufacturers’ Committee. France remains the 3rd largest
automobile market in the EU, after Germany and Great Britain and ahead of Italy
and Spain. Dacia company was taken over by Renault in 1999. Re-launched in 2004
with the Logan model, Dacia company became an important player on the European automotive
market.

LOAN – In 2019 Romania needs to
pay 1.04 billion Euros to the EU and the WB from a stand-by agreement concluded
in 2009, after in 2018 the amount to be reimbursed stood at 1.4 billion Euros,
show data published by the Finance Ministry. Romania has to reimburse to the EU
and the WB a total amount of more than 2 billion Euros from an aid package
worth 19.95 billion Euros agreed upon 10 years ago with the IMF, the EU and the
WB. The last installment amounting to 402.9 million Euros will have to be paid
out in 2023.

MUSIC – From January 6th
to 16th, the National Symphony Orchestra of Romania, conducted by
Cristian Macelaru, will go on their first tour of the US. The program includes
7 concerts to be given in Palm Beach, Miami, Fort Myers, Detroit and New
Jersey. The concert at the Lincoln Center in New York will feature, as special
guest, the great trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Romania’s National Symphony
Orchestra is made up of the most prominent graduates of the National Youth
Orchestras. They have given concerts both in Romania and abroad in such cities
as Linz, Salzburg, Chisinau, Geneva, Paris, Lyon and Brussels.

TENNIS – The matches that
had to be played by Romanians Sorana Cirstea and Monica Niculescu on Thursday
in the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament of Shenzhen, China were postponed
due to the rain. Sorana Cirstea (87 WTA) will take on the American player
Alison Riske (62 WTA) and Monica Niculescu (99WTA) will play against the
Chinese Yafan Wang (70 WTA). The tournament has prizes worth 750,000 dollars.