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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

This past week, the first financing contracts were signed as part of the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, between local authorities and the Ministry of Development. They are aimed at restoring and modernizing certain schools and town hall buildings, as well as making more energy efficient administration buildings. All local communities, irrespective of region or the mayors political affiliation, have equal access to financing through the NPRR, said Liberal PM Nicolae Ciuca. He said that the process of applying for projects and the selection have been transparent, thanks to the digital platform used. Financing from Brussels has been used for a good portion of the Moldavia motorway, linking the south and northeast of Romania, for a total of almost 440 km, up to the border with Ukraine. The motorway between Ploiesti and Pacani, a length of about 320 km, also benefits from NPRR financing. Also this week, the contract has been signed for the first section, between the cities of Ploiesti and Buzau, as well as the middle section, Mizil — Pietroasele. Romania is slated to receive by the end of the year 10 billion Euro as part of the plan. The grants coming in from the EU is conditioned by compulsory reforms, in order to weather this complicated period of time, with multiple crises adding up.

Ştefan Stoica, 12.06.2022, 09:37

The first NPRR contracts

Romania in the ministerial council of the OECD

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu represented for the first time his country as candidate country for the annual meeting of the ministerial council of the OECD, after its candidacy was accepted in January. He received the roadmap for reforms that the country has to carry out in order to join the select group of 38 states with developed economies. Romanian will start the actual joining process by issuing a document called an initial memorandum, which will be the yardstick for the progress that the country makes in harmonizing with the OECD instruments and norms. Some of the pillars of this process will be modernizing and digitizing administration, solidifying and rendering more transparent public finance, as well as improving professional and competent management in state enterprises. Joining the OECD means joining an extremely select club of the most important economies of the world, economies generating the highest level of trade, while also producing investments. Minister Aurescu said that this is a passport to economic growth.

Parliamentary dialog between Romania and the Republic of Moldova

The parliamentary dialog between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, two countries with a common language and history, has reached the next level. In the near future, Chisinau will host a joint session of the two parliaments, as announced by the speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu, following talks with the speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu. During a visit this past week to the Moldovan capital, Ciolacu said that Moldova should be a part of the EU, and that Romania has an obligation to help it to that end. He underlined, at the same time, that the authorities in Chisinau and Bucharest should work together to secure borders. Talks with Moldovan president Maia Sandu centered on the difficult regional situation created by the war in Ukraine, as well as on the bilateral agenda. The head of the neighboring state thanked Romania for its help, including the 100 million Euro grant, convened on during the joint government session. After meeting PM Natalia Gavrilita, Marcel Ciolacu said that Romania firmly supports the expansion of EU financial assistance for the Republic of Moldova.

Controversies around the future national security law

The Romanian press this week has published some highly critical articles about the pending national security bill. Journalists claim that they provide a significant and dangerous boost in the power of intelligence services, dangerous for democracy, accusing the services of having written the bill in the first place. The bill were supposed to be introduced by the government and sent to Parliament for approval, but that has not happened. As a first reaction, President Klaus Iohannis gave assurances that the bills would be adjusted. He said that no one wants a restoration of the old Securitate, the political police of the communist state. He explained that this legislative framework was created in the early 90s, and must be adapted to present challenges, but that this new version is just a first project, which would be passed through a number of filters and changes in order to be approved by the government, the Higher Defense Council, and Parliament. The president seemed annoyed that this first draft of the legal package, which was not meant for the public, had appeared in the press, saying it was a mistake. The bills critics accused him of being more concerned with this leak of the national security bill to the press than with the pernicious content of said bill. The opposition USR leader, Catalin Drula, harshly criticized this draft bill, and called on those responsible for it to take responsibility publicly and to resign.

Romanian football adrift

On June 8, 1922, Romanias national team was in Belgrade, playing against Yugoslavia its first game, winning 2-1. Todays national squad failed to honor this centennial with a win. After these 100 years, they lost, over a few days, in a highly ironic twist, games against two states that broke off from Yugoslavia. The game against Montenegro was lost 0-2, and the one against Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-1. These were the first games played under the leadership of coach Edi Iordanescu. According to the press in Bucharest, this is the worst performance by a national team coach, and that years of failure in domestic football are expected to continue.