The Week in Review 15-20 December

A roundup of the main events in Romania this week.

România Internațional, 20.12.2014, 13:14

Romania’s President-elect Klaus Iohannis will be sworn in on Sunday

Romania’s president-elect Klaus Iohannis will take the oath of office on Sunday, during a solemn Parliament session, one month after winning November’s elections. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis resigned from the leadership of the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party, leaving the party’s helm in the hands of parliament member Alina Gorghiu, a 36-year-old lawyer who had been the Liberals’ spokeswoman during the elections. Gorghiu, the first female president of the National Liberal Party, will be interim president until 2017, when a congress that will make official the fusion of the Liberals and Liberal Democrats is held. Until then, Alina Gorghiu will lead the party alongside the Liberal Democratic Party leader, Vasile Blaga.

Romanian Government undergoes reshuffle

Romania has a new government, the 4th one headed by the Social Democrat Victor Ponta. The new coalition government is made up of the Social Democratic Party, the Union for the Progress of Romania, the Conservative Party and the Reformist Liberal Party. The latter, a center right party, is a dissident faction of the National Liberal Party, in opposition, that replaced the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania which left the government. As many as 8 new ministers are part of the government’s new line up while 14 others have kept their seats. PM Ponta has given assurances that the new government will maintain all those measures that render the private business environment stable and predictable, that is the 16% flat tax, the tax exemption for reinvested profit, the decrease in the employers’ social security contribution and the proposal to further decrease the VAT for certain categories of farm products. High on the Government’s agenda, are, according to Prime Minister Ponta, the projects related to European funds, the transport infrastructure, the judiciary, education, agriculture and the environment.

JINGLE

Romania’s 2015 budget, on Parliament’s agenda

The budget bill and the social security bill for 2015 have been for a whole week on the agenda of the Bucharest Parliament, after being passed by the country’s legislative body last Friday. According to PM Ponta, the 2015 budget does not provide for any increase in taxes and duties. The new budget has taken into account a 2.5% economic growth, an annual inflation rate of 2.2% and a budget deficit of 1.8%.

The Government’s emergency ordinance, sanctioning political party switching, declared unlawful by the Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of Romania has ruled that the law by means of which Parliament adopted the Government’s emergency ordinance, sanctioning political party switching, goes against the Constitution. Adopted last year in September, the ordinance allowed numerous local officials to change parties, seeking personal interests. At present the situation of those officials who switched parties in the 45 days when the law was effective is till unclear. The Opposition believes the ordinance has encouraged political party switching, particularly in the context of November’s presidential election.

Romania marks 25 years since the 1989 anti-communist revolution

Romanians have commemorated 25 years since the anti-communist revolution of 1989. Timisoara is the city where the Romanian Revolution started, on December 16 that year. The protest movement spread throughout the country and the revolutionary movement culminated with the fall of Ceausescu’s regime on December 22. Over 1000 people died in Bucharest, Timisoara and several other cities. The events of December 1989 were evoked in the capital city Bucharest, in a special session of Parliament.

The helicopter crash in eastern Romania rekindled the debate on the effectiveness of the emergency intervention system.

The helicopter crash in southeastern Romania, which killed four people, has raised new doubts regarding the activity of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations. A helicopter of the Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication (SMURD) crashed in Siutghiol Lake, northern Constanta, merely 500 meters from the bank. At the time of the crash the helicopter was on its way back from a medical mission. Doubts emerged over rescue operations, which were carried out with great difficulty and delay. None of the people onboard was saved. Military prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation for second-degree murder. The head of the Constanta County Inspectorate for Emergency Situations was sacked, while the Constanta County prefect was also relieved of his duties. The Government believes the Department for Interventions in Emergency Situations needs to undergo an external audit regarding the training level of people in the system and the procedures involved in such cases.

Traian Basescu attended his last European Council summit as president of Romania

Romania’s president Traian Basescu attended the last meeting of the European Council during his current tenure. EU leaders decided to set up the European Fund for Strategic Investments, based on contributions from Member States worth 315 billion euros. Regarding the developments in Ukraine, heads of state and Government decided to continue their support for the reform process in this country. At the same time, the acting president of the European Council Donald Tusk of Poland pointed out that Brussels needs a long-term strategy on Russia. European leaders did not agree on additional sanctions on Moscow, a country currently undergoing a severe financial slump. Instead the EU adopted a new series of measures regarding Crimea, in order to highlight Europe’s opposition towards the “illegal annexation” of the peninsula by the Russian Federation.