The Week in Review
A review of the headline-grabbing events of the past week in Romania
Leyla Cheamil, 24.06.2023, 14:01
Romanias Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, and Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, visited Chișinău
Romania supports the start of EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova as soon as possible, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Wednesday in Chişinău, on his first foreign visit since he took office. He emphasized that the future of the Republic of Moldova is in the community bloc. The Romanian side showed availability to provide expertise to the Moldovan partners. In his turn, the Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean thanked Romania for all the support given to the Republic of Moldova in the process of joining the European Union, as well as in the economic and social fields. He emphasized that the relations on the two banks of the Prut River are increasingly being strengthened through the construction of bridges, roads and energy networks. Dorin Recean mentioned the existence of nine projects for the second installment of the aid provided by the Romanian Government. They are worth 28 million Euros and are aimed at investments for the development of localities in the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan PM said. Early this week, the Romanian FM, Luminița Odobescu, paid a visit to the Republic of Moldova, her first external visit since taking-over her mandate. She was received by the pro-Western president Maia Sandu and had discussions with her counterpart Nicu Popescu. The two emphasized the support which Romania offered to the Republic of Moldova, consisting in humanitarian aid, energy resources and support for increasing resilience. Last but not least, the Romanian FM said that opening the EU accession negotiations for the Republic of Moldova in the shortest possible time is a priority of Romania’s foreign policy.
Romanian magistrates protested, discontented with the prospect of being left without special pensions
Magistrates from several courts and prosecutor’s offices across Romania suspended their activity on Wednesday, showing discontent with the Governments intention to change the conditions under which they can obtain special pensions. Judges and prosecutors argue that changing the special pension scheme would violate the independence of the judiciary. The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party – PSD and the National Liberal Party – PNL wants to gradually increase the retirement age for judges and prosecutors up to 65 years, and for the pension to be calculated based on their income from several years, not just from the last year of activity. The Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, said that she respects the magistrates’ right to free expression, but insisted that dialogue, not protest, is the solution to any problem of the judicial system. The reform of the legislative framework regarding the special pensions scheme is a promise made to the European Union by the Romanian authorities under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. On the other hand, on Thursday, the draft law on the abolition of special pensions for senators and deputies received a favorable opinion, gathering a majority of votes, in the specialized Parliament committee. The president of the committee, the Social-Democratic MP Eugen Bejinariu explained that, if unconstitutional elements of the bill are identified, other solutions will be found to reduce or eliminate the special pensions of parliamentarians.
Measures announced by the Romanian Government
The prices of some basic food products may decrease in the next period, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Thursday. He claims that this decrease will not put pressure on Romanian producers. Marcel Ciolacu stated that he received a response from the large store chains regarding the scheme for reducing markup percentages. It is a list that contains basic foodstuffs such as bread, dairy products, meat, eggs, flour, corn flour, oil, vegetables and fruit. Also on Thursday, the Government discussed, in a first reading, the state aid scheme for Romanian producers of construction materials. In principle, the authorities want more materials produced in the country to appear on the internal market at competitive prices, which will lead to a reduced import of construction materials. Now, over 70% of the materials used are imported, and the Government wants to reduce this percentage. This years budget for the aid scheme could be 150 million Euros, but the Finance Ministry will have the final say. The Executive also approved the granting of emergency aid to support the population affected by floods, landslides and dangerous meteorological phenomena, up to the amount of 1.4 million Euros. Households in the center, south-west and south of the country were affected, this month, by heavy rainfalls. The support and intervention of the military firefighters was needed to remove the negative effects generated by the bad weather.
Development plan for gas deposits in the Romanian area of the Black Sea
OMV Petrom and Romgaz have approved the development plan for the Domino and Pelican Sud commercial natural gas fields in the Romanian area of the Black Sea. The National Agency for Mineral Resources is to confirm this plan. The investment amounts to 4 billion Euros for the development phase, and the total production will be 100 billion cubic meters, the equivalent of the annual demand for natural gas for 4.3 million households. According to the management of OMV Petrom, in 2027, the first amounts of gas are to be extracted through the Neptun Deep project, and Romania will become the largest producer of natural gas in the European Union. The project will last approximately two decades, and the revenues brought to the state budget will support Romania’s development. OMV Petrom states that the estimated revenues of the Romanian state would be 20 billion Euros. (LS)
