The Year 2014 in Romania

A roundup of the most important events in Romania in 2014.

România Internațional, 02.01.2015, 12:18

Political Romania in 2014

From a political point of view, the year 2014 was a pretty dynamic one, as Romanian politicians are usually caught by a particularly kind of frenzy in an election year. After three years of existence, which saw a resounding success at the parliamentary elections of 2012, the most successful alliance in the post-Communist era, as it was described by observers, made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania left the political scene. After the National Liberal Party entered opposition, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians filled the vacancy. Three months later, in May, it was the time for the first electoral test of the year, the elections for the European Parliament. Quite predictably, the winner was the trio comprising the Social Democratic Party, the Conservative Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania, which took half of the 32 seats that Romania was entitled to in the European Parliament. There followed the National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party, the main parties in the opposition. Also taking seats were the independent Mircea Diaconu, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the People’s Movement Party. Against the disappointment of scoring that low, the leader of the National Liberal Party, Crin Antonescu, made some radical decisions, among which his own resignation and the start of negotiations for a merger with the Liberal Democratic Party. The latter was quite successful and led to the revival of the Justice and Truth Alliance, which ruled in mid 2000s. There followed six months of fierce fighting, which culminated in the campaign for the presidential elections. The vote, held in two rounds, on November 2 and 16 respectively, was won by the candidate of the National Liberal Party, Klaus Iohannis, who, quite surprisingly, defeated the favorite in the race, Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The many flaws in the organization of polling stations abroad outraged public opinion and had anti-Corruption prosecutors start a number of criminal investigations. There followed, in December, the formation of the 4th Ponta Cabinet, and the end of President Traian Basescu’s term in office. After a controversial decade at the helm of the country, Traian Basescu said that Romania is now safer than it has ever been and even a provider of security for other NATO member countries. In turn, the new president, Klaus Iohannis, has listed among his term’s priorities education, health and the reconstruction of political institutions.

The judicial system in Romania

In 2014, the fight against corruption, a chronic disease of the Romanian administration, reached its peak. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate worked at an unprecedented rate throughout the year. In the very first week of 2014, the prime minister of Romania in the 2000 — 2004 period, Social Democrat Adrian Nastase was sentenced to four years in prison, in a bribery case. Next came a prison sentence against a former transport minister, the Liberal Deputy Relu Fenechiu. The ex-ministers of justice Tudor Chiuariu and of telecommunications Zsolt Nagy, also received suspended sentences. Eight influential people from Romanian football, including agents, former club owners, and even a famous international player, Gheorghe Popescu, were sent to prison for fraud, money laundering and tax dodging. While still the president of Romania, Traian Basescu found himself in an awkward situation when his younger brother, Mircea, was arrested for having used his influence to get a milder ruling in a trial involving a notorious boss of a criminal gang. The series of criminal cases continued with a 10-year prison sentence given to Dan Voiculescu for money laundering. A businessman, the de facto leader of the Conservative Party in the ruling coalition, and a proven collaborator of the communist political police, the Securitate, Voiculescu caused the state losses worth some 60 million euros in a large-scale real estate sham disguised as privatization. Then came the so-called Microsoft affair, perhaps the largest corruption case of the last 25 years in Romania. Under investigation, among others, are nine former cabinet ministers and business people, suspected of involvement in fraudulent IT license contracts signed by the Romanian Education Ministry. Another complex investigation, in which the state reportedly incurred losses of 300 million euros, targets illegal forest restitution. The suspects include influential politicians and magistrates. Finally, in the last major corruption case of the year, the head of the Directorate fighting organized crime and terrorism, Alina Bica, was held for abuse of office. While she served as secretary of state in the Justice Ministry and a member of a commission in charge of land restitution, she allegedly facilitated the payment of compensation for an overpriced tract of land outside Bucharest.

Measures taken by the Government and laws endorsed by Parliament

The Government of Romania took a significant number of fiscal measures in 2014. One of them was a 5% reduction of the social security contributions payable by employers, the additional 7 eurocent excise on fuels and fiscal amnesty for certain categories of pensioners, public employees and mothers. The Government also cut down several charges and gave up the tax on reinvested profits. Also in 2014, the Transport Master Plan and the National Energy Strategy were presented, and new regulations took effect in public healthcare. In turn, the Parliament of Romania endorsed a new Education Law, a new Criminal Code and the Electricity and Natural Gas Act, under which the liberalization of natural gas prices is postponed to 2021.

25 Years On

In 2014 Romania celebrated 25 years since the fall of the communist regime, a landmark in Romania’s modern history. Ceremonies were held to honour the memory of the over one thousand victims of December 1989. The events of that year started on the 16th of December in Timisoara, a large cosmopolitan city in western Romania. The anti-communist protests quickly spread across the country, culminating in the execution of dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu on the 25th of December, after a swift trial. Since then, Romania has rediscovered its place in the western world, particularly with its NATO accession in 2004 and EU accession in 2007. However, these 25 years have not been enough to complete investigations in the so-called “Revolution case,” aimed at establishing the truth and identifying the individuals responsible for the violence back then.

A good year for Simona Halep

The most highly appreciated Romanian athlete, tennis player Simona Halep, who came to rank 2nd in world standings in 2014, proved that her performances in the previous year had not been an accident. In 2014, Halep won the tournaments in Doha and Bucharest, played the final of the 2014 WTA season finals in Singapore and of the Roland Garros and Madrid tournaments, while in Wimbledon and Indian Wells she reached the semi-finals. She finished the season on the 3rd place in WTA standings, after the American Serena Williams and Russian Maria Sharapova.