August 22, 2019

Meeting of the governing coalition, Former ANAF chief araigned

Newsroom, 22.08.2019, 14:00

Coalition — The representatives of the governing coalition in Romania (made up of the Social Democratic Party-PSD and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats-ALDE) met on Wednesday to discuss the situation of the coalition. A PSD communiqué shows that the talks tackled the issue of vacancies in the government as well as the extraordinary parliamentary session. They decided on rejecting the draft law on amnesty and pardon during the extraordinary session. The coalition will meet again next week, to look into an ample set of measures related to governing, the PSD release also shows. An ALDE communiqué writes that the party considers necessary the working out of a package of measures aimed at largely restructuring the executive. They say early next month the party leadership will analyze the results of the coalition governing, the prospects and future options. Last week the Romanian PM and leader of the PSD Viorica Dancila announced a government reshuffle and the adjustment of the governing program.

Corruption — The former chief of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration – ANAF Sorin Blejnar was arraigned by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) in a case in which he is accused of bribe taking together with the former vice-president of ANAF, Viorel Comăniță, the former deputy general inspector of the Fraud Squad, Sorin Florea, and his wife Andreea Blejnar. According to a DNA communiqué Blejnar, Comăniță and Florea allegedly received money from a businessman through intermediaries in order to protect the illegal activity of his company. The money destined for Sorin Blejnar was received by his wife through two intermediaries of the businessman. Anticorruption prosecutors claim that, between May 2011 and April 2012, Blejnar received 1.2 million Euros, Comanita 960,000 Euros and Florea 300,000 Euros. The money was a sort of ‘protection fee’ cashed by the 3 public servant with decision-making power who thus pretended not to see the illegal activity of that businessman’s company.

GfK – The annual net revenue per capita in Romania grew by 18% last year up to 5,083 Euros — shows a recent study made by GfK Romania. Bucharest and the counties of Cluj (northwest), Timis (west) and Ilfov (south) are the most developed areas. At the other end of annual net revenue scale are the counties with the lowest purchasing power, namely Botosani (northeast), Vaslui (east), Calarasi (southeast) and Giurgiu (south). The study also shows a rise in living standards in the counties of Brasov and Sibiu, regions where a new industrial zone of Romania is being set up, which attracts massive investments. The purchasing power index measured by GfK represents the annual net revenue available per capita from salaries, pensions, unemployment benefit and child allowances after deducting taxes and social contributions.

Golden Stag – The Golden Stag International Festival kicks off in the central Romanian city of Brasov today. The 19th edition of the festival is going to be very attractive featuring such artists as Ştefan Bănică, Irina Rimes and the Irish Ronan Keating. The first two evenings will be devoted to the singing contest in which 12 artists from 10 countries, two of them from Romania, will be competing for the Big Trophy. Continuing a tradition of more than 50 years, the competitors will also sing a Romanian song besides the song from their repertoire. Saturday will see the Awards Gala when the winners will be announced and the prizes granted. Sunday is devoted to traditional music and also to fiddlers’ music. The festival will also include recitals by Romanian and international artists. The Golden Stag International Festival started in 1968 and had 18 editions, the latest one being held in 2018, when 50 years were marked since its launch.

5G — The memorandum signed by Romania and the US in Washington on August 20 on the occasion of the Romanian president’s official visit to the US recommends a rigorous assessment of 5G technology providers in order to ensure full security in implementing this technology, shows a release of the Romanian Foreign Ministry. The document highlights the importance of protecting electronic communications networks against unauthorized access or interference, the quoted source also shows. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday, fresh from the meeting with US President Donald Trump, that a bilateral memorandum on 5G technologies was signed. He pointed out that the document did not refer to one single company, but that it clarified the criteria of transparency and compatibility with the rule of law. Romania is preparing for a public procedure for implementing the 5G technology.

Football — Romania’s football vice-champions FCSB are playing today at home against the Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs. The Portuguese side has not met any Romanian team so far in an official match. The return match is scheduled in one week’s time. Romania’s champions CFR Cluj were defeated by the Czech side Slavia Prague 1-0, on Tuesday, on home turf, in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs. The return match between Slavia and CFR is scheduled for August 28 in Prague. The winner will play in the Champions League groups and the loser in the Europa League groups. (translation by L. Simion)