The Week in Review, August 11-18

A roundup of the main important developments this past week

România Internațional, 17.08.2019, 14:03

The first budget revision of 2019

The Government in Bucharest on Monday made the first budget revision this year. The Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has said the budget revision is a positive one and it secures the payment of salaries and pensions by the end of the year. The Finance Ministry, the Development Ministry, Labour Ministry, the Environment Ministry as well as the Romanian Intelligence Service will receive more money from the state budget. On the other hand, the Transport Ministry, the Ministry for the Business Environment and the Education Ministry will have their budgets slashed. The Finance Minister has said that in the first quarter of the year the economic growth stood at 5% and that the 2.76% budget deficit target is not being exceeded.

Eugen Teodorovici: “The budget revision secures the payment of salaries and pensions and the amounts needed for investment projects under way and for new projects set to begin by the end of the year. Funds will not be slashed, but certain overestimations, made when the 2019 budget was drawn up, will be corrected.

Teodorovici has also said the budget revision will make available over one billion Euros for local communities, for social welfare expenses and for investment.

The Liberals, in the parliamentary opposition, say the rectification is based on false figures. The President of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, says:

Ludovic Orban: “This budget shows in fact that the PSD-ALDE ruling coalition squandered the money collected from taxes and duties, spent public money in an unjustified manner, on things that have nothing to do with the interests of the Romanian citizens. Consequently, we have reached the point where the funds needed for vital expenses, for ensuring the activity of public services for the Romanian citizens, are threatened.

The Social Democrats have also been criticized for the budget revision by their junior partners in the ruling coalition, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE). ALDE has asked for a new governing programme and a restructured and competent Cabinet.

15 August- Romanian Navy Day

August 15 is US Navy Day, celebrated in all the country’s marine and river ports. The most important events are held in Constanta, the biggest port city on the Black Sea. Over 15,000 people attended the show put on by the navy, with dozens of ships and aircraft. Over 3,000 military seamen took part in the biggest naval exercise of the year. They were joined by ships and aircraft from Italy, Ukraine, and the US. American destroyer the USS Porter was there next to Italian ships, while Italian Eurofighter jets ran mock dogfights.

The star of the events was the training sail ship Mircea, which was decorated by President Klaus Iohannis, celebrating 80 years since it was baptized into the military navy. Attending the manifestations, the president recalled the strategic importance of the Black Sea region for both NATO and the EU. Defense Minister Gabriel Les warned that the security situation in the Black Sea forced NATO to adopt a defense and deterrence measure. Navy Day festivities were also held in the Danube ports of Tulcea, Braila, and Galati, as well as in the capital Bucharest.

The 2019 Izvoru Muresului Summer University

This week, the town of Izvoru Muresului in Harghita County hosted the 17th edition of the Summer University. The theme this year was Romania and Romanians Across the World One Year from the Centennial of the Great Union. Topics included the preservation of identity among Romanians in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in view of geopolitical evolution, as well as Romanian policy related to Romanians living abroad.

The events were attended by people from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and many other countries, with lectures by academics from the country and abroad, representatives of civil society, as well as the media. Presidential adviser Sandra Pralong said in the keynote speech that the Romanian state has to pay more attention to the needs of Romanians living outside the country. Secretary of State for the Ministry of Culture and National Identity Alexandru Pugna recalled that a 2019 executive order allocated 4 million Euro for churches abroad, in order to support Romanian communities, helping their parishioners preserve their Romanian identity. Representatives of Romanians from the counties of Covasna, Harghita, and Mures called for the creation of a government structure to protect the cultural identity of Romanian communities in those counties.

Two Romanian football teams have qualified for the next stages of European competitions

Romanian football champions CFR Cluj have qualified for the Champions League play-offs, where they will play against Czech champions Slavia Prague. Their presence has been secured in the Europa League group games. Vice-champions FCSB have won their away game on Thursday against FK Mlada Boleslav, 1-0, qualifying for the Europa League play-offs. In the first leg in Bucharest the score was blank. In order to make it to the groups of the European competition, FCSB has to get past the Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes. Universitatea Craiova was halted in the third preliminary round by getting routed by AEK Athens.