The Week in Review June 16-22, 2014

Click here for a review of the main events that have taken part in Romania this past week.

România Internațional, 21.06.2014, 13:47

The draft law on slashing 5% off of employers’ social security contributions was passed by the government in Bucharest.

The draft law on slashing 5% off of employers’ social security contributions was passed by the government in Bucharest. It is still to be passed by Parliament and endorsed by the head of state. PM Victor Ponta said that all the macroeconomic targets convened with foreign lenders, the IMF, the European Commission and the World Bank, which did not agree with this reduction, would be met. PM Ponta claims that there are enough funds to apply the measure, and said that the impact on the budget would be of around 190 million Euro in the first quarter of the year. The Cartel ALFA trade union confederation believes that the measure is meant to boost net profits for multinational corporations, at the same time reducing contributions to the pension fund and effectively reducing the social security budget. The PM, however, said that the budget would not be affected, and that the losses would be covered by debts recuperated from insolvent companies. The head of the Fiscal Council, Ionut Dumitru, said otherwise, explaining that the state could not possibly rely on such a measure, because the debt recovery rate is 30% on the average, and that this money only gets recovered one time.

The Romanian state listed on the stock exchange market 51% of the stake of the national electricity provider Electrica

The Romanian state listed on the stock exchange market 51% of the stake of Electrica, the national electricity provider, an endeavor wrapping up on June 25. This is the most expensive IPO so far. The state plans to get at least 435 million Euros, as 85% of the package is on offer for institutional investors, and 15% to individual investors. The price per share is between 2.5 and 3 Euros. In an attempt to boost sales, the state offers discounts. Investors buying between 1,000 and 20,000 shares in the power company would pay 5% less.

The National Integrity Agency filed a request with the European Parliament to reject Romanian MEP Mircea Diaconu’s appointment, for reasons of incompatibility.

The National Integrity Agency filed a request with the European Parliament to reject Romanian MEP Mircea Diaconu’s appointment, for reasons of incompatibility. The same institution filed a motion with the Bucharest Court of Appeals to annul Diaconu’s appointment, canceling the decision issued by the Central Election Bureau. Diaconu won a seat in the European Parliament as an independent. The National Integrity Agency claims that the Bureau rejected his candidacy, but that courts allowed him to run without issuing a verdict on the validity of his term in the European Parliament. The National Integrity Agency adds that the High Court of Cassation and Justice declared Diaconu incompatible with the position, so that he is unable to take up a public position.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry asked the French authorities to clarify as soon as possible the circumstances under which a young Romanian of Rroma ethnicity was assaulted on the outskirts of Paris.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry asked the French authorities to clarify as soon as possible the circumstances under which a young Romanian of Rroma ethnicity was assaulted on the outskirts of Paris. Darius, a 16 year-old, was abducted last Friday from a makeshift camp near Paris by 12 people who battered him on suspicion of having broken into several homes. The Foreign Ministry blames such extreme violence on xenophobic attitudes that are more and more visible among European politicians. The French authorities condemned the aggression, and have launched an investigation.

Romania’s president, Traian Basescu, rejected any claims that he was in any way party to the events leading to the scandal involving his brother, Mircea Basescu, accused of influence peddling.

Romania’s president, Traian Basescu, rejected any claims that he was in any way party to the events leading to the scandal involving his brother, Mircea Basescu, who is being investigated by anti-corruption prosecutors. He is accused of having received a bribe worth a quarter of a million Euros for influencing a court of law to issue a favorable verdict in an attempted murder trial.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that Romania has enough gas stored to cover its needs for the following six months.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that Romania is less threatened by a cut-off of Russian natural gas supplies than its neighboring Ukraine, and has enough gas stored to cover its needs for the following six months. Romanian Energy Minister Razvan Nicolaescu has also called on energy companies to boost their natural gas output to the maximum, while the government is considering starting extraction in newly acquired gas pockets in the Black Sea shelf.