Romania’s Prospects in 2016

A different kind of politics, stimulating culture, innovation and research, achieving solid economic growth, these are some of Romania's goals in 2016.

Roxana Vasile, 17.12.2015, 13:37

The time for change has come, the
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis told Parliament on Wednesday, urging the
entire political class to meet the expectations of society in the year to come.
And people do have a lot of expectations, which they voiced loud and clear in
the street. Their angry protests against the endemic corruption in their
country led to the resignation of prime minister Victor Ponta and his majority
Social Democratic cabinet in November. The greatest challenge in 2016, in the
opinion of the president, is rebuilding trust in politics and its ability to
establish a good course for the country.

This month, Romania also celebrates 26
years since the toppling of the communist regime. The best way to honour the
sacrifice of the people who died in the name of freedom and democracy is to
pursue a different kind of politics, said president Iohannis. To this end, he
said the main goal in 2016 should be a renewal of ideas, practices and the
political class.

Klaus Iohannis: Rebuilding trust in the
political class is what I propose for 2016, as well as the trust in democratic
institutions, the political act, political parties and those who represent
them. I convey here today the call for renewal expressed in different forms by
our citizens.

Romania also needs to place more
emphasis on education, to encourage arts and culture, innovation and research,
stimulate creativity and reward achievement. The president also spoke about the
need for responsible government and economic growth to improve the lives of
every citizen. The new technocratic government in Bucharest on Wednesday had
its first success as Parliament passed the state and social security budget for
2016 with a large majority. The budget is based on a deficit level of maximum
3% of the GDP, in keeping with the ceiling approved by the European Commission,
and on an economic growth rate of 4.1%. Prime minister Dacian Ciolos, a former
European Commissioner for Agriculture, promised his cabinet would handle public
money in a transparent, efficient and cautious manner.

Dacian Ciolos: We will do everything we
can from a legal and administrative point of view to ensure the transparency of
the budget execution, the way in which the money is used and how the funds are
distributed. On the one hand, citizens should know how public money is spent,
and, on the other, we, the government, should be able to act and react in real
time to redirect the money that is not used as planned to other investments.

In a nutshell, 2016 appears to be a
good year, at least when it comes to words. It remains to be seen if good
intentions can be transformed into a palpable reality that would benefit the
entire society.