14 November 2019, UPDATE

A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 14.11.2019, 20:00

Finance. For the past 3 years, Romania’s economy has
been managed according to 2 budgets, one presented in Parliament and for which
no prime minister or finance minister in the former Social Democratic
governments has taken responsibility, and another one containing accurate data
and used for financing party barons, the new Liberal finance minister Florin
Cîţu told a press conference on Thursday. He added he would notify the
competent authorities. According to the minister, the budget deficit for the
first 10 months of the year is 2.84% of the GDP, above the estimate for the
entire year, and unless measures are taken in the next one and a half months
the figure will exceed 4%. Some 500 million euros in the public pension budget
is unaccounted for, Cîţu added, and explained that this year’s budget should have
been adjusted downwards. The former finance minister Eugen Teodorivici has
rejected the accusations and says the data regarding the budget execution for
the first 9 months of the year have been presented out of context.

Brexit. The
Government of Romania passed an emergency order on the status of the British
citizens living in Romania in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Romania was the only EU member state
still to regulate the matter. The Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Ionel Dancă,
explained that the order was necessary and had been requested by the British
side.

EU commissioner.The
Romanian MEP Adina Vălean, nominated for the transport commissioner post, was
heard on Thursday by the European Parliament’s specialist committees, along
with the commissioners nominated by France and Hungary. On Tuesday she was given the green light by the
Committee on Legal Affairs, which looked at possible conflicts of interest.
Also on Tuesday, Vălean was heard by the joint European affairs committees of
the Romanian Parliament, whose opinion is advisory. When the formal hearings
are over, the president elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
will present the full commission and its programme to the European Parliament
on the 27th of November.

Elections. President Klaus Iohannis won the first round of the
presidential elections in Romania with 37.82% of the votes, followed by Viorica
Dăncilă, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, now in opposition, with
22.26% of the votes, according to the final count, the Central Election Bureau
has announced. Dan Barna, the candidate of the USR PLUS Alliance was in third
place with 15.02%. Voter turnout stood at 51.19%, amounting to 9,359,673 people.
25,319 voters cast their ballots by post. President Klaus Iohannis, supported
by the National Liberal Party, will be facing Viorica Dăncilă in the decisive
round on the 24th of November.

Romania-US. The Romanian defence minister Nicoale Ciucă on Thursday met the US
ambassador to Bucharest Hans Klemm to discuss the cooperation between the two
countries. Talks highlighted the dynamic pace of the Romania-US strategic
partnership and the intensification of cooperation in the area of defence,
given the current security context, as essential elements for the security and
stability of Romania and the region. Continuing to allocate 2% of the GDP to
defence, something the current government supports, ensures predictability,
coherence and continuity with regard to the programmes for the equipping of the
Romanian army, said the Romanian official. The justice minister Cătălin Predoiu
also had talks with the US ambassador on Thursday, at the latter’s request, to
exchange views on the ministry’s agenda and Romanian-American international
cooperation in the area of justice. The two officials agreed that the revision
of the justice legislation and the completion of the criminal codes are
essential objectives for the coming period.

Republic of Moldova. The Parliament
of the Republic of Moldova on Thursday voted for the investiture of a Socialist
government led by the former presidential advisor Ion Chicu. According to Radio
Romania’s correspondents in Chişinău, most of the 11 new ministers are, in fact, close to president
Igor Dodon, who is the de facto leader of the Socialists’ Party. The
installation of the new cabinet comes less than 48 hours after a vote of
no-confidence against the government led by the pro-European Maia Sandu. She accused
her former Socialist partners of bringing down the government because they fear
justice. In Bucharest, president Klaus Iohannis has warned that under the
current circumstances, Romania’s support, including financial, depends on the
continuation of essential reforms for democracy and a European future.

Growth. Romania’s GDP is up 4% in the first 9 months of this year,
compared to the corresponding period of 2018, the National Statistics Institute
announced. However, the economic growth rate slowed down in the 3rd
quarter, to 3% as against 4.4% reported for the 2nd quarter. In its
autumn economic forecast made public recently, the European Commission
estimates a 4.1% economic growth rate for Romania in 2019, and expects the rate
to drop to 3.6% in 2020 and 3.3% the following year.

Fair. 230 companies from 16 countries
are attending until Sunday the largest Tourism Fair in Romania, organised in
Bucharest. Taking part are representatives of travel agencies, tour operators,
and associations and local authorities promoting their regions. Visitors may
purchase holiday packages for this winter and for 2020, with discounts of up to
45%.