June 28, 2023 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 28.06.2023, 19:42

European Council — The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, on Thursday and Friday, in Brussels, in the summer European Council meeting. According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting will begin with a working lunch with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, an opportunity to discuss the challenges and common approaches at the level of the two organizations in the context of Russias aggression against Ukraine. Later, during the working sessions, European leaders will debate, among other things, the situation in Ukraine, the need to maintain strong European support for this state at all levels, as well as the implementation of sanctions and the continuation of efforts to hold Moscow accountable for the crimes committed. Previously, President Klaus Iohannis was in The Hague at a small-scale meeting dedicated to the preparation of the NATO summit in Vilnius next month, attended by representatives of seven allied states from the eastern and northern flanks.

Special pensions – The Romanian Senate adopted, on Wednesday, the draft law on the reform of the special pension system in the form previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies. The document refers to the pensions of magistrates, soldiers, diplomats, parliamentary officials, Court of Accounts or aeronautical personnel. The bill provides, among other things, for a gradual increase in the retirement age from 60 to 65 years, a minimum of 25 years of experience in the specialty so that magistrates can benefit from a special pension and the taxation by 15% of the sums that exceed the level of the average net salary. The reform of special pensions is not only an obligation assumed by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, but also an outstanding debt to the Romanians – said the representatives of the coalition made up of the PSD-PNL, who argued that the imbalances in society must be eliminated, and the rules must be the same for everyone. From the opposition, Save Romania Union – USR criticized the bill, for the lack of real reform, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians on Romania – UDMR appreciated that the parliamentarians failed to be braver and eliminate special pensions, but that the adopted law represents an important step to create a fair and equitable system. We remind you that, on Monday, the Romanian Parliament also adopted a bill regarding the elimination of the special pensions of senators and deputies. The reform of the special pension system is a milestone in the PNRR.

Deficit – Romania’s budget deficit went up to 2.32% of the GDP after the first five months of the year, from 1.72% at the end of April, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. Budget revenues stood at over 197 billion lei, up by 10.4%, while expenses amounted to 234 billion lei, up by 17.3%. This years budget is based on a budget deficit level of 4.4% of the GDP.

Moldova — The pro-Western President Maia Sandu remains the most popular political figure in the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population), and her party, Action and Solidarity (PAS), would get the most votes in the event of early parliamentary elections — according to a study quoted by Radio Chisinau. If presidential elections were held next Sunday, almost 38% of the respondents would vote for Maia Sandu. The former pro-Russian president, the socialist Igor Dodon, would be voted by only 14.2% of the voters, and the current mayor of the capital, Chisinau, the ex-socialist Ion Ceban, would get 6.2% of the votes. The criminal fugitive Ilan Şor, who is in Israel and considered the main vector of Moscows interests in the Republic of Moldova, would get 2.5% of the votes. About 43.5% of the respondents said that they do not trust any political figure. In the case of the parliamentary elections, PAS would obtain 44.3% of the votes, the pro-Moscow Bloc of Socialists and Communists 21.5%, and the recently dissolved populist party of Ilan Şor – 13.6%. Almost 60% of the respondents were in favor of joining the European Union, while 37% would vote to join the Russian-controlled Eurasian Union. Joining NATO is supported by 33.4% of the respondents.

Court — The Constitutional Court of Romania rejected, on Wednesday, the notification of the Save Romania Union – USR (in opposition) and Forța Dreptei — the Force of the Right (Liberal opposition) in relation to the law amending the Criminal Code regarding the sanctioning of protests and established that the law, adopted by the PSD-PNL government majority, is constitutional. According to a press release, the Court says that increasing the special limits of criminal penalties and regulating some aggravated forms of crimes is the exclusive competence of the legislator, a responsibility that it exercises in accordance with the states criminal policy. The MPs of USR and Forţa Dreptei notified the judges of the Court, on the law amending the Criminal Code, after the sanctions regarding the disturbance of public order and became harsher.

Anti-corruption – In Romania, in the months of April and May 2023, in the corruption files dealt with by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), 57 defendants were convicted, through 39 final court decisions, for crimes of taking and giving bribe, influence peddling, abuse of office or embezzling European funds. According to a press release issued by the DNA, the sentences ordered by the judges against the 57 defendants vary between 7 years and 4 months in prison and one year with the postponement of the punishment. Among those definitively convicted are: a minister, a secretary of state, a prosecutor, a public notary, a police officer, three city mayors, a director from the National Citizenship Authority, a director from the Mures Water Basin Administration (center), a manager of a Bucharest hospital and nine other civil servants. (LS)