The Week in Review 16-22 February 2015
A look at the main events this past week
România Internațional, 21.02.2015, 12:02
The fight against corruption continues to be a top priority of the Romanian judiciary
Another former Romanian minister, accused of corruption, has been put behind bars earlier this week. Monica Iacob Ridzi, a former rightist Sports and Youth Minister, received a final sentence of 5 years in prison for abuse of office. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in 2009, Monica Iacob Ridzi, as the main authorizing entity, decided to illegally outsource the organization of Youth Day celebrations to several companies of her choice. In another case, the Chamber of Deputies’ Legal Committee approved, on Wednesday, two new requests for the prosecution and arrest pending trial of former Tourism Minister Elena Udrea. Prosecutors brought new charges against her, in one of the two corruption files opened on her name. On Thursday, Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s brother in law, Iulian Hertanu, was placed under 30-day custody pending trial, following accusations of fraud involving European money. For their involvement in the same case, deputies Sebastian Ghita and Vlad Cosma, both representing Prahova County, are now subject to legal restrictions pending trial. The same decision was made for Vlad Cosma’s father, Mircea Cosma, the president of the Prahova County Council. The damage to the state has been put at 1.7 million euros plus over 550 thousand euros from tax evasion.
New people at the helm of the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Constitutional Court
On Thursday Romanian President Klaus Iohannis nominated the Liberal MEP Eduard Hellvig for the position of chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service. Hellving was born in 1974 and studied Political Sciences. He has been a member of the National Liberal Party since 2008, and in 2012 was appointed regional development and tourism minister in Victor Ponta’s government. If endorsed by parliament next week, Eduard Hellvig will become the 5th director of the Romanian Intelligence Service since 1989, taking over the post previously held by George Maior, who resigned last month. While waiting for the Parliament’s vote, Hellvig wrote on his Facebook page that strengthening ways to defend national security and curbing corruption would be his top priorities. Equally important to consolidate democracy is the work of the Constitutional Court judges, who, as of Wednesday have a new colleague. Simona Maya Teodoroiu has replaced Toni Grebla, who is prosecuted for corruption.
The Government has proposed a set of fiscal relaxation measures
The Romanian Government has announced a relaxation in fiscal targets that should be enforced under a new Fiscal Code. Among the new measures is the reduction of the VAT from its current level of 24% to 20% next year and to 18% in 2018. For basic foodstuffs, such as meat, fish, vegetables and fruit, the VAT will be 9% starting in 2016. Effective as of 2017, contributions to the social security fund will stand at 7.5% for employees, as against 10.5% today, and at 13.5% for employers, as compared to 15.8% at present. Also, the flat income tax will be reduced to 14%, starting 2019. The Romanian Finance Ministry has also proposed lower excises on diesel and on lead-free gasoline. On the other hand, according to the new Tax Code, all individuals making income shall pay contributions to the social security and health insurance funds, while taxes on micro-enterprises, just like property taxes, will go up. The new Tax Code will be under public debate for a month, and then submitted to Parliament for approval.
Consular dialogue with the Romanian Diaspora
“Dialogue with the Diaspora on consular themes” is a program launched early this week by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. According to the Ministry, the programme is meant to provide Romanians at home and abroad with correct information and full access to modern consular services. The programme sets new guidelines as to the behaviour of consular staff, who are encouraged to be open, friendly and reliable and show concern for the needs of each citizen resorting to their services, as laid down in the Code of Conduct of the Romanian Consular Corps. The programme is carried out in the first half of 2015, with a foreign ministry team travelling to countries with large Romanian communities, where Romanian consular offices are particularly busy, such as Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Belgium and Greece. The Foreign Ministry experts will meet the Romanian communities in these countries and present the new system of computerised consular services, E-cons.
Romania’s neighbour country, Moldova, has a new Government
The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova has avoided early elections, by giving its vote of confidence to the government headed by businessman Chiril Gaburici. After November’s legislative elections, no party or alliance had the parliamentary majority required in order to endorse a new prime minister. The Bucharest Foreign Ministry is expecting the new Moldovan Government to continue democratic reforms and strengthen the country’s path towards the EU. In another development, in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, officials from Romania and its southern neighbour, Bulgaria, discussed their joint interests related to energy diversification, the development of transport connections by building new bridges over the Danube, and joining the Schengen area. These topics were approached on Thursday in Bucharest by Romanian and Bulgarian foreign ministers Bogdan Aurescu and Daniel Mitov, respectively on Friday by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Plevneliev.
