January 29, 2024

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Newsroom, 29.01.2024, 13:55

PARLIAMENT This week sees the start of this
year’s first parliamentary session in Romania, marked by a special election
context in which Romanian citizens are expected to take part in 4 types of
elections-for the European Parliament, for the national parliament, as well as
presidential and local elections. The Senate’s agenda includes, among others,
emergency orders concerning the farmers and carriers who have been protesting
across the country. The Chamber of Deputies has a number of bills pending
endorsement, including legislation concerning drug trafficking and gambling. This
weekend the justice minister Alina Gorghiu said 3 bills have been submitted to
Parliament, which are aimed at curbing drug trafficking. They concern the
set-up of a national drug trafficking register and of regional rehab centres, while
the so-called 2 Mai Bill eliminates suspended sentences for drug trafficking
and increases penalties to up to 10 years in prison. Other bills pending
approval introduce 10-year driving bans for DUI, and healthcare and
psychological assistance for people found in possession of illegal drugs.

ECONOMY An International
Monetary Fund mission headed by Jan Kees Martijn arrives
in Bucharest today to review the latest economic and financial developments.
This is a regular consultation based on Romania’s relation with the IMF, and it
comes 4 months after the previous visit. The IMF expects a budget deficit of 6%
of GDP and an economic growth rate of 2.3% this year. IMF experts also
recommend a number of additional reforms, and in the previous assessment visit
they mentioned the scrapping of the remaining exemptions, privileges and
loopholes, a more efficient VAT implementation, a reformed property tax system,
and the use of fiscal policies in order to promote efficient energy and the
clean energy transition. Romania has no ongoing agreements with the IMF at
present.

BRANCUSI Some 100 works were included in the largest
exhibition in 50 years in Romania devoted to the sculptor Constantin Brâncuși.
Opened in late September in western Romania as part the Timişoara – European
Capital of Culture, the exhibition came to an end on Sunday night. Sculptures,
photographs, arhive documents and footage were on display in Timişoara’s National
Art Museum. To mark the end of the exhibition, the National Bank of Romania
launched a commemorative silver coin honouring the sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi.

PROTESTS The French farmers’ protests have
reached a new stage today, with major roadways into Paris and other large
cities to be blocked indefinitely as of today. The main trade union in the sector threatened
large-scale operations, including a complete obstruction of food supply flows
to the capital city’s supermarkets, so that the locals may feel the effects of
the protests. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, the plan
includes the use of tractors to shut down motorways and slow down traffic. Similar
steps are also planned for France’s second-largest city, Lyon. Farmers protest the
inadequate payments for their produce, the red tape and the competition coming
from cheap imports. In a move to address the situation, PM Gabriel Attal admitted
that a first set of measures, announced on Friday, was insufficient and
promised new decisions to increase farmer revenues would be made this week.

MIDDLE EAST Iran denies involvement in
Sunday’s drone attack on a US military base in north-eastern Jordan, near the
Syrian and Iraqi borders, in which 3 US troops were killed. The Islamic
resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, and the US president
Joe Biden said these are groups known to be supported by Iran. Biden warned
that the US would respond to the attack. These are the first US troops killed
in the Middle East since the start of the war in Gaza, prompting fears of an
extended conflict in the region. Meanwhile, Paris hosted a meeting of officials
from the US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel, aimed at brokering a new ceasefire in Gaza
and the release of the hostages taken by Hamas. Negotiations will continue this
week. Violence continues in Gaza, and locals say Israeli air raids and shelling
have increased in recent days in the region’s north and centre. According to
the Israeli Army, its troops are involved in heavy fighting in the south, in Khan
Younis, where they have taken out a number of terrorists. The humanitarian
crisis is worsening, and UN calls on nations to resume their donations. (AMP)