September 12-17

A look at the headline-making events this past week

Newsroom, 17.09.2016, 13:10

The French President paid a state visit to Romania

Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, and his French
counterpart, Francois Hollande, agreed in Bucharest that their countries should
boost the strategic partnership and develop cooperation in the fields of
economy, defence, education and research. On this occasion, Klaus Iohannis said
that France is a priority of Romania’s foreign policy. In turn, the French
President said his visit is proof of the privileged economic, cultural and
scientific relations between the two countries. He announced that, from now on,
the Romanian and French defence ministers would have regular meetings, in order
to boost the strategic partnership in the field. The two presidents also
approached such issues as Romania’s Schengen accession and the situation in
neighbouring Ukraine. The common agenda also included a visit to the National Institute of Research and Development in Physics
and Nuclear Engineering, in Magurele, near Bucharest, which hosts the most
powerful laser in the world. The two presidents also attended the opening of
the economic forum French-Romanian Partnerships for the Future. Also,
President Hollande and Romanian technocratic PM, Dacian Ciolos, visited the
Airbus helicopter factory in Ghimbav, central Romania. The latest state visit
by a French President to Bucharest had been paid by Francois Mitterrand, in 1991.

Lower prices for mandatory
liability insurances for car owners

Romanian road carriers have reached an agreement with
the Financial Surveillance Authority (ASF) on the price of mandatory liability
insurance for car owners (RCA). The level of prices, the carriers have
announced, will be three times lower than the current ones. Trade unions in the
field staged big rallies across the country. In another move, the cabinet
adopted an emergency ordinance freezing the prices of mandatory liability car
insurances for car owners set by ASF for six months. Also this week, the Government
adopted Romania’s General Transport Master Plan. The line minister, Sorin Buse, has said the Master Plan provides for building some 6,800 km of
highway and upgrading over 5,000 km of railway, 15 airports and over 30
bridges.

Problems in the budgetary system

The employees of penitentiaries are
preparing for rallies, in protest at not receiving the sums of money that their
colleagues from other institutions in the defence and public order system are
already cashing in. Trade unions claim that, overall, the impact on the state
budget is not significant and that this year’s budget for the penitentiary
system can cover a possible pay-rise. The employees of the system have started
various forms of protest, such as the refusal to work extra hours, which might
block activity in penitentiaries, because of the shortage of staff. The
employees in the healthcare system are also unhappy with the significant wage
gaps in the budget system. They call for the
elimination of inequities from a government ordinance under which only the
salaries of some specific categories of employees have been increased. Trade unions in the healthcare system have
announced they will stage protests next week, to culminate in an all-out
strike, on October 31.

Preparations
for the parliamentary elections

The deadline by which
Romanian citizens living abroad could have enrolled in the Electoral Register,
in order to be allowed to vote in the parliamentary elections scheduled for
December 11, has expired this week. According to the centralised data made
public by the Permanent Electoral Authority, over 10,000 requests have been
validated. Of them 7,200 refer to postal voting and 2,800 to
voting in polling stations. Five days after the closing of electoral
registrations, Romanian citizens who opt for postal voting can check online to
see whether or not they have been registered. Once registered, they will
receive the necessary documents at home, via the Romanian Post, 30 days ahead
of the elections, at the latest. Delivery confirmation is required.

–

A new school year

Over
three million Romanian pupils started a new school year, this week. This year,
too, schools have been faced with problems such as an insufficient
number of teachers or the lack of sanitary and operation permits. The 2016-2017 school year will have 35
weeks, divided into two semesters.

Failures in the Europa League

The two Romanian teams playing in the Europa League
group stage, the defending champion Astra Giurgiu and vice-champion Steaua
Bucharesti, started on the wrong foot. Astra was defeated on home turf, 2-3, by
Austria Vienna, whereas Steaua lost the away match against the Turkish team
Osmanlispor, 0-2. During the current
Europa League football season, Romania has also been represented by
Viitorul Constanta, Pandurii Targu Jiu and
CSMS Iasi, which got eliminated in the qualifiers.