The Week in Review, June 20-24

A look at the headline-making events this past week

Corina Cristea, 25.06.2016, 12:30

Reactions to the Brexit vote

Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, has said after talks with Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu, that there are no reasons for concern for Romanian economy, following Britains historic decision to leave the European Union. Iohannis has also said, after discussions with the Romanian political leaders, that Romania must further follow the European path. The head of state invited Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, Central Bank Governor Isarescu and parliamentary party leaders to discuss Britains recent decision to exit the EU. Central Bank experts say that Britains decision to leave the EU will affect Romanias development but the impact will be small, of about 0.5% of the GDP. The experts have given assurances that the Romanian banking system is solid and measures will be taken to temper the leu/euro exchange rate. On the other hand, Brexit might ruin the plans of Romanians willing to work in Britain, as the access on this labour marked will be more difficult. At present, over 180 thousand Romanians are legally working in Britain.

Political decisions in Bucharest

Romanias president Klaus Iohannis has notified the Constitutional Court of Romania regarding the law on the statute of elected officials, according to which mayors, local and county councillors with suspended prison sentences for acts of corruption are allowed to keep their mandate. The president argued that the law goes against the Constitution, the jurisprudence of the Court and the principles of the rule of law. Additionally, Klaus Iohannis believes the law is also hindering the fight against corruption. Also this week MPs have adopted a draft law according to which those who hired their relatives in their personal cabinets before August 2013 cannot be accused of conflict of interests. The law passed with 306 votes in favour and one abstention. Pundits say that by decriminalising conflict of interests, MPs have created a loophole to get off unpunished. The National Integrity Agency has warned the decision breaches the regulations in the Criminal Code, which has been sanctioning conflicts of interests ever since 2003.

Financial measures

Starting July 1, the Government has simplified procedures for granting parental leave and child-rearing benefits. The Government has adopted a new methodology for implementing the regulations, which will benefit some 140,000 parents. The allowance will be recalculated automatically, without additional documents being needed on their part. Additionally, parents who opted for a 1-year parental leave can benefit from another 12-months extension. Procedures for granting child-rearing benefits have also been simplified, Labour Minister Dragos Pislaru has said. The Labour Ministry will also draw up a guide to help parents who want to apply for child-rearing benefits.

Brussels calls for EU-funded projects to be carried out at a faster pace

European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu has called on the Romanian Transport Minister Dan Costescu to speed up the projects financed through the European structural and investment funds. Cretu has warned over delays in transport projects under way and the lack of new products. Although the European Commission approved 30 out of the 123 transport projects affected by delays, national authorities have failed to send all necessary documents to Brussels, so there is the risk for Romania not being allowed to use the European money allotted to it, thus having to resort to its own budget. For the 2014-2020 Large Infrastructure Operational Programme, Romania has been earmarked 9.4 billion euros, under both the European Regional Development Fund and also the Cohesion Fund.

The President of Germany paid a visit to Bucharest

Germanys president Joachim Gauck paid a three-day official visit to Romania where alongside his counterpart Klaus Iohannis attended a meeting of business people from the two countries. On this occasion, Iohannis said Romania plans to develop a new model for economic development, based on innovation and competitiveness, and voiced hope that, on the long term, economic cooperation would be expanded to numerous sectors. The two officials also travelled to Sibiu, in central Romania, an important hub of coexistence between Romanians and ethnic Germans. Moreover, Joachim Gauck commended the Romanian model of interethnic coexistence and thanked the Romanian authorities for the way they manage the German minoritys cultural and identity problems.

Flooding and heat in Romania

Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has called on local authorities to asses the damages generated by the extreme phenomena that have affected Romania lately. For about three weeks Romania has been confronted with extreme weather, such as heavy rainfalls, flooding, storms, hail and very high temperatures. The bad weather claimed the lives of several people and caused serious material damages. The heavy wind left hundreds of houses without their rooftops and dozens of localities without electricity. In other regions, hail destroyed thousands of hectares of crops.