The Week in Review, December 12-18

A roundup of the main events of the week

Newsroom, 17.12.2016, 13:10

The Social Democrats win the December 11 legislative elections, but do not have a majority in Parliament

The Central Electoral Bureau Thursday announced the final results of the legislative elections held on Sunday, December 11, in Romania. The new political make-up of Parliament includes 6 groups. The leftist Social Democratic Party won the election by a substantial margin, and has 221 of the 465 seats in the two Chambers. This means that the Social Democrats only need to secure another 12 votes to get the majority they need in order to nominate the new cabinet members. The second-largest group will be the National Liberal Party, with 69 Deputies and 30 Senators, followed by the Save Romania Union with 30 Deputies and 13 Senators. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania will have 21 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 9 in the Senate, while the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania won 20 seats in the Chamber and 9 in the Senate. The Peoples Movement Party, headed by the former president Traian Basescu, will have 18 deputies and 8 Senators, whereas the ethnic minorities, other than the Hungarian one, will have a combined 17 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

President Iohannis holds consultations on the new government

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Wednesday held a first round of talks with the political parties elected into the new Parliament, concerning the new government make-up. The Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats declined the invitation, on grounds of procedural flaws, but said they would discuss with the head of state after the validation of the new Parliament. The declination was regarded as impolite by President Iohannis, who only met with the representatives of the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the Peoples Movement Party and the ethnic minorities. He emphasised that the prime minister he would appoint must come from a party or alliance that proved it had a majority in Parliament. The interim president of the National Liberal Party, Raluca Turcan, criticised the economic programme of the Social Democratic Party as unsustainable. The head of Save Romania Union, Nicusor Dan, said he wanted an honest, transparent government, working for the common good instead of personal interests. He also announced Save Romania would not be part of a government led by the Social democrats and their president Liviu Dragnea. A new round of talks will be held after the new Parliament takes office.

The Social Democratic Party makes its first decisions after the elections

The Social Democrats nomination for the new prime minister will only be made public after it has been communicated to President Klaus Iohannis in the forthcoming consultations. The Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea said on Wednesday that his party would go for a name that was in line with the Constitution and was acceptable for everyone.

Liviu Dragnea: “I will not make this proposal while keeping in mind an advantage for myself, or for President Iohannis, or even for the Social Democratic Party. I will keep in mind the advantages for the country.

The ruling alliance will include the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Liviu Dragnea also told a press conference. In fact, he made a detailed presentation of the governing programme, which, he said, would be fully implemented. Some of its provisions are tax cuts, a raise in minimum wages and pension benefits, as well as higher salaries in public education and healthcare. The budget deficit target is set at 2.95% of the GDP.

Romania consolidates its military defence

Three more F16 aircraft Wednesday landed in Romania. The fighters come from Portugal and will join the six other aircraft already taken over in late September from the Mont Real Air Base, while three more will arrive in Romania in the first half of next year. Three years ago, Romania decided to purchase from Portugal 12 used F16 aircraft for 628 million euros, and last year the authorities announced their intention to buy more such planes. Experts say Romania needs 48 multirole planes, that is, 4 squadrons.

Meanwhile, the US will step up measures to increase troops in Romania, Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general US Army Europe has announced. He has added that the American troops will arrive in the German port of Bremerhaven on January 6, and will be immediately sent to Romania, Poland and the Baltic states. This summer NATO approved a plan to reinforce its military presence in Eastern Europe. The plan sets up 4 multinational combat battalions comprising up to 4,000 troops, backed by a 40,000-strong rapid response force.

President Iohannis takes part in the winter session of the European Council

The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis took part on Thursday in the winter meeting of the European Council in Brussels, on which occasion he emphasised the importance of strengthening the NATO – EU cooperation and the need to closely monitor developments related to the migration flows in the eastern Mediterranean. Discussing the developments in Syria, the EU leaders firmly condemned the continuing siege of Aleppo. In this context, President Iohannis and the other EU leaders reiterated the importance of an inclusive political solution, able to end the tragedy in Syria. As regards the Russian Federation, an agreement was reached to extend the EU sanctions against this country for another 6 months, starting on January 31, 2017, given the lack of progress in implementing the Minsk agreements. Finally, with respect to Britain leaving the EU, the European leaders confirmed that they would not accept free access of British products on the single market if London restricted the free movement of Europeans to the UK.