The Week in Review 17-23 August

The Romanian Government announced that salaries in the public healthcare sector, which employs nearly 200,000 people, will be raised by 25% as of October 1. The measure, which will be endorsed in next week’s Cabinet meeting, was followed by criticism from the Opposition and similar demands from other categories of state-sector personnel, including teachers and policemen. Also next week, the Government will send a bill to Parliament, with clarifications on how patients can give doctors the so-called “bribes.” The Justice Ministry will draw up a law laying down the terms under which patients may offer supplemental contributions to the doctors who have treated them. Such contributions will not qualify as bribery and will not entail prosecution if they meet 3 criteria: they have been volunteered by patients, they have been offered after the treatment is over and they have been declared by recipients for tax purposes.

Mihai Pelin, 22.08.2015, 14:07

Government takes new measures in the public healthcare system

The Romanian Government announced that salaries in the public healthcare sector, which employs nearly 200,000 people, will be raised by 25% as of October 1. The measure, which will be endorsed in next week’s Cabinet meeting, was followed by criticism from the Opposition and similar demands from other categories of state-sector personnel, including teachers and policemen. Also next week, the Government will send a bill to Parliament, with clarifications on how patients can give doctors the so-called “bribes.” The Justice Ministry will draw up a law laying down the terms under which patients may offer supplemental contributions to the doctors who have treated them. Such contributions will not qualify as bribery and will not entail prosecution if they meet 3 criteria: they have been volunteered by patients, they have been offered after the treatment is over and they have been declared by recipients for tax purposes.

Parliament to vote on the draft Fiscal Code on Monday

On Monday the Parliament of Romania is to convene in a special session to discuss and vote on the President’s request to re-examine the new Fiscal Code bill. The parliamentary parties have agreed on the key technical details of the Code. The VAT for foodstuffs is to be cut from 24 to 20% as of January 1, and further to 19% in 2017. The additional excise on fuels remains in place next year as well, while provisions regarding the scrapping or keeping of other taxes will be decided on at a later date. Last month, President Klaus Iohannis sent the draft Fiscal Code back to Parliament, which had unanimously endorsed it. The President argued that its enforcement was not sustainable. PM Victor Ponta on the other hand says the new Code is sustainable and the roughly 1.5-billion euros impact of the VAT cut on the state budget may be offset by improved collection of budget revenues, put at 2.2 billion euros.

Former MPs are facing corruption charges

The former presidential adviser and interior minister Gabriel Berca has been taken into detention pending trial, under charges of influence peddling. The same measure was taken against Mihai Banu, a Liberal Democratic Deputy at that time, and his son. According to prosecutors, between 2010 and 2012, Gabriel Berca claimed and received, via Mihai Banu, 185,000 euros from a businessman. The money was split between Berca and the National Liberal Party, which he was a member of. In exchange for the bribe, Berca promised to use his influence to get the government allot a substantial amount to a particular local administration.

Moldovan Defence Minister visits Bucharest

The formation of a new pro-Western Government in Chisinau paves the way for stepping up bilateral projects, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said during a meeting with the Defence Minister of the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, Anatolie Salaru. Aurescu emphasised Romania’s constant support for Moldova’s European accession efforts and for its larger campaign to modernize the state, including in the defence sector. In turn, Salaru presented the priorities of his term in office and the main action lines in reforming the country’s defence sector, while also thanking Romania for its consistent and substantial support. He also had a meeting in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart, Mircea Dusa, who announced that a NATO liaison office will be opened this autumn in Chisinau, to support Moldova’s NATO accession and the inter-operability of its army with the Allied forces. The vice-president of the Moldovan Liberal Party, Salaru was appointed defence minister last month in the new Cabinet headed by the Liberal Democrat Valeriu Strelet.

Heavy rainfalls follow extreme heat wave in Romania

After more than two months of extreme heat, heavy rainfalls have hit Romania. The drought has however caused substantial damages already in most regions of the country, with farmers putting losses at more than 2 billion euros. The Government made an analysis of the measures that can be taken to help farmers whose crops have been affected, including aid from the European Commission for large-scale farms. For small farms, the authorities promised aid from the state budget. The most affected crops are maize, sunflower and soy, but according to experts wheat, rape, vegetables and fruit will also stand to suffer. One immediate consequence will be a spike in fruit, vegetable and grain prices, producers warn.

Europa League playoffs bring mixed results for Romanian teams

The football team Astra, from the southern Romanian town of Giurgiu, defeated on Thursday, on home turf, 3-2, the Dutch team AZ Almaar, in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs. After the Dutch players scored twice in the first 15 minutes, Astra recovered spectacularly and took the lead by half time. Also on Thursday, in Bucharest, Romania’s defending champions, Steaua, was outplayed 0-3 by Norway’s Rosenborg Trondheim. Viewed by sports media as quite shameful, the defeat comes after last month Steaua was kicked off the third preliminary round of the Champions League by the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade.