April 3, 2018 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 03.04.2018, 19:45
TALKS – On Tuesday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis warned the Executive that the salary law for public sector employees ran counter to the principles of equality and predictability and called for caution in approaching economic policies. The head of state also said that transferring the obligation to pay social security contributions from employers to employees and reducing the tax on salaries lead to an insignificant increase in the net salaries, and the effect was annulled by the growing inflation rate. The president made the statements during the meeting he had with the Social Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu. In turn, the latter ensured the president of the fact that the financial resources needed for the application of the salary law and the subsequent pay rises were stable. We recall that lately, the coalition government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats has been the target of many protests triggered by the new salary law.
MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday discussed the simple motion tabled by the opposition National Liberal Party against the Culture Minister George Ivascu. The Liberals have denounced negligence in preparing the events dedicated to the anniversary of 100 years since the Great Union and have voiced concern over what they see as the Governments inability to ensure a proper celebration of the day of December 1st. The Liberals say that a public debate is needed in order to put together a national plan for the celebration of the centennial. The Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party are also supporting the motion. The vote has been scheduled for Wednesday.
GENDARMERIE – A special military ceremony was held on Tuesday in the capital Bucharest, marking the anniversary of 168 years since the establishment of the Romanian Gendarmerie. Many cities in the country have been hosting events devoted to this anniversary, with activities for both kids and adults. In Bucharest people were invited to participate in the Gendarmerie Race over a distance of 5 kilometers.
MOLDOVA – As many as four parties would make it to Parliament in Chisinau, if early elections were called, according to the results of a poll presented by the Moldovan Association of Sociologists and Demographers. These are President Igor Dodons pro-Russian Party of Socialists, the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, the ruling Democratic Party and the pro-European Dignity and Truth Platform. The poll shows that the pro-Moscow president Igor Dodon enjoys the trust of 50% of the people interviewed, followed by the leader of the Action and Solidarity Party Maia Sandu and the former communist President Vladimir Voronin. More than half of the respondents do not trust any politician.
HACKERS – 20 hackers have been arrested in Romania and Italy after stealing approximately one million Euros from bank clients, the European Unions Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) announced on Tuesday. The hackers have stolen from more than 100 clients of banks from both countries. According to Eurojust, the hackers sent to those banks clients e-mails resembling those sent by banks or fiscal authorities and thus obtained personal data and information about their bank accounts.
CONSTRUCTION – The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday launched the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey, by the Russian giant Rosatom. According to France Presse, this is evidence of the two countries flourishing relationship. The 20 billion Euro project is part of a development plan initiated by Erdogan, who wants to turn Turkey into one of the worlds ten richest countries by 2023, when the Turkish Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary. On Wednesday, the two presidents will be joined by the Iranian president Hassan Rohani to discuss Syria. Ankara and Moscow have overcome the diplomatic crisis triggered by the incident of 2015, when Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria.
