February 29, 2016 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 29.02.2016, 12:25
VISIT-The Romanian authorities are carrying on with the measures meant to reform the judiciary and have set as their main priority to observe the recommendations made in the European Commissions latest report issued under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the Romanian justice minister, Raluca Pruna, said in Bucharest Monday, fresh from a meeting with the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova. The Romanian official added that Romania was ready to assume its own assessment within internal mechanisms, which mainly consist in the strategy for the development of the legal system and in the new National Anti-Corruption Strategy. Previously the European Commissioner had met with the Romanian Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos. The two officials talked about cooperation with the European Commission in the field of justice, the anti-corruption fight, the lifting of the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification as well as about the consumer protection policy, gender equality, the social inclusion of the Roma population and the proposal of setting up, at EU level, the position of European Prosecutor General.
ECONOMY– An IMF mission is expected in Bucharest between March 2 and 15, for the annual assessment of the Romanian economy. The mission, led by the new head of the IMF mission for Romania, Reza Baqir, will meet with Romanian high officials, with representatives of the political parties, of trade unions, business associations, of the academic environment and the banking system. The assessment of the economy is, according to Article IV of the IMF Statute, a compulsory monitoring exercise for all member states. After the examination of the national situation, general recommendations are made related to monetary, financial and economic policies to be acted upon so as to ensure stability and a positive development of the economy. At present, Romania has no running agreement with the IMF.
APPOINTMENT-The former deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania, Cristian Popa, has been appointed Vice-President and member of the Management Committee of the European Investment Bank. He will take office on March 1. The EIB is the financial institution of the EU and the Banks Board of Governors consists of 28 European Union Finance Ministers. The bank grants loans mainly to the EU states at very advantageous interest rates for investments in such domains as transport, communications, industry, agriculture, energy, education, healthcare and SMEs. The Romanian Vice-President coordinates the funding activities in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
HEALTHCARE-One of the children hospitalized at the “Marie Curie hospital in Bucharest with the hemolytic uremic syndrome is still in intensive care, but his condition is stable, sources with the healthcare ministry report. The cause of infection is the E.Coli bacteria which has generated an epidemic in Arges county, in the south, since the beginning of February. In Arges county more than 50 children are still in hospital with serious digestive infections. The National Sanitary-Veterinary Authority has announced that the E.Coli bacteria has been found in cow cheese in Curtea de Arges, a town in the same county, and in poultry products made in a household in Bacau county, eastern Romania.
LAW ON DEBT DISCHARGE-
The Romanian Senate on Monday unanimously adopted the law on debt discharge,
which provides for discharging someone’s debt if they give the mortgaged dwelling
to the bank. The draft law is to be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, which
is the decision making body in this case.
SURVEY- More than 9 in 10 Romanians say they have little or very little confidence in the political parties, a survey conducted by the Romanian Evaluation and Strategy Institute, shows. Three quarters of the respondents have unfavourable opinions of the parties and only 6% of them say these parties are representing the citizens interests. Political leaders are believed to be the main beneficiaries of the parties activity. Some 6 in 10 Romanians prefer an independent politician and only 3 in 10 favour a politician affiliated to a political party. The sociological survey was conducted ahead of the local elections due in summer and of the legislative ones, due in autumn. The elections will be organised by the technocratic government led by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, which took office in November, following the resignation of the cabinet led by Social-Democrat Victor Ponta, as an outcome of the street protests against the corruption of the political class.
MASS MEDIA– The Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, has said the Romanian Television Company (TVR), which is facing severe financial problems, can redress itself only by a joint effort of the Romanian Government and Parliament. He said the separation of the two positions of Chairman and CEO, respectively, is not a solution to the issue. Tariceanu has also said the National Radio Broadcasting Corporation has had a totally different evolution from that of the Romanian Television Company, in terms of both ratings and financial results, although it functions based on the same law and with the same organizing structure, that is the formula: Chairman and CEO. The deadline for the public debate on the draft bill meant to amend the law regulating the organization and functioning of the Romanian Radio and Television Corporations expired on Monday. The initiator of the law proposes the separation of the positions of Chairman and CEO, in the two media institutions.
(Translated by Lacramioara Simion and Diana Vijeu)
