The Week in Review: December 12-18

A look at the headline-making events this past week

Corina Cristea, 19.12.2015, 14:25

President Klaus Iohannis addresses Parliament one year after taking office

Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis talked before
Parliament on Wednesday about his first year in office. In his opinion, 2015
has proven that consensus can be reached on public issues, such as the 2016
state budget and the political agreement on increasing the country’s defence
budget to 2% of the GDP by 2017. Also benefiting from support across the
political spectrum was the national defence strategy, which now for the first
time includes provisions on education and health-care, on preserving the
national identity and protecting the national heritage. Talking about Romania’s
foreign policy, president Iohannis said that Romania’s objectives for 2015 were
boosting the partnership with the US, strengthening the strategic partnerships
with countries such as France, Poland, Germany, Spain, Great Britain and
Turkey, as well as consolidating ties with its neighbours, such as Ukraine,
Serbia and Bulgaria. The privileged relationship with the Republic of Moldova,
Romania’s neighbour with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, has been
and will be in the focus of Romanian foreign policy, the president also stated.

Parliament endorses the 2016 budget
bill

This week, the
Romanian Parliament has endorsed the 2016 state and social security budget
bill. Talking about the estimated revenues to the budget – by some 800 million
euros higher than in 2015 – Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos told a joint meeting
of the two houses that the Executive intends to simplify the process of
collecting money to the budget, while at the same time showing the due respect
to both citizens and companies. As for the expenditure, which next year will
grow by approximately 2.9 billion euros, the Government intends to reduce
waste, by rendering public procurement more transparent and more effective, by
reforming and cutting the loses incurred by state-owned companies and by
boosting the efficiency of public administration. Next year’s budget is based
on a deficit level of 3% of the GDP, in keeping with the EU ceiling, and an
economic growth rate of 4.1%.

Events are held to
commemorate 26 years since the anti-Communist revolution in Romania

Events are being held to celebrate 26 years since the
victory of the anti-Communist revolution and to pay tribute to the more than
1,000 victims of the December 1989 repression. It began in Timisoara, in the
west of the country, in reaction to an abusive measure taken by the local
authorities, then the Revolution spread rapidly all across the country,
culminating on December 22nd with dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s
trying to flee. Over 1,000 people were killed and more than 3,400 were wounded
between December 16th and 25th, 1989. Romania was the
only country in the Eastern bloc where regime change was achieved with violence
and bloodshed and where the deposed communist rulers were executed following a
hasty trial.

Transporters and
shepherds protest in Bucharest against recent government decisions

Thousands of transporters protested in Bucharest on
Thursday against the increase in the compulsory motor vehicle insurance cost.
Romanian transporters are also unhappy with the fact that the extra-tax on
fuels will stay in force after January 1st, 2016 and that they have
to pay royalties for the radio sets their vehicles are equipped with. Angered
by the latest amendments to the hunting law, thousands of shepherds protested
in front of the Parliament building. The controversial law restricts the number
of sheepdogs at a sheepfold and bans grazing from December till April, which,
shepherds say, would cause them a lot of losses. Shepherds are angry and say
they cannot watch hundreds of sheep with just two or three dogs, while hunters
complain that their dogs kill hare and deer.

The anti-missile shield component in Deveselu is
operational

Starting this week,
the component of the US anti-missile defence shield in Deveselu, southern
Romania, is operational from a technical point of view and is to be integrated
into the NATO structure. A communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry
reads that the activation of the anti-missile defence system in Deveselu is a
major project with regard to consolidating the strategic partnership between
Romania and the US, two countries that first established diplomatic ties 135
years ago. The system of intercepting missiles can destroy enemy missiles by
just using their kinetic force, without needing any other type of explosive or
nuclear charge, the chief negotiator of the agreement on the anti-missile
defence system in Romania, Bogdan Aurescu, told Radio Romania. The Romanian
Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu says the system does not target Russia; the
elements of the shield are strictly meant to protect Romania’s territory and
population in the face of concrete threats.

The Romanian
Chamber of Deputies passes smoke-free law

The Romanian Chamber
of Deputies has passed a law banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, a bill
that had already been endorsed by the Senate back in 2011. The law fully bans
smoking in all enclosed public spaces, on public transport, in health and
education facilities and in children’s playgrounds, be they indoor or outdoor.
Although club and restaurant owners in Romania are afraid they might lose
customers, the experience of the other countries, where a similar law has long
been in force, has shown that smokers still go out and spend time in clubs and
bars. Moreover, the absence of smoke in such facilities will allow the
installation of smoke detectors as a means of fire prevention. The most recent
data made public by the National Statistics Institute shows that one of five
Romanians smokes on a daily basis.

Romanian PM
Dacian Ciolos attends the European Council summit in Brussels

The migration crisis, securing the EU’s external
borders, fighting terrorism and Great Britain’s proposals for reforming the EU
were high on the agenda of the European Council summit held in Brussels on
Thursday and Friday. Romania was represented at the summit by its Prime
Minister, Dacian Ciolos. Bucharest is in favour of the implementation of the
measures aimed at strengthening the EU’s external borders and guaranteeing
internal security, while at the same time observing the principle of freedom of
movement within the EU.