Priorities on Parliament’s agenda
Parliament has resumed its activity, with a number of major decisions pending on its agenda
Leyla Cheamil, 03.09.2024, 14:00
Senators and deputies resumed their activity on Monday in the autumn session of the Romanian Parliament. This will be the last in the current legislature, since, on December 1, on the National Day of Romania, parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place. A priority in the new session is the project to increase the non-taxation threshold of pensions from 400 EUR to 600 EUR. According to the spokesperson of PSD, Lucian Romaşcanu, in two weeks at the most, the project should be adopted by Parliament and promulgated by the president. The draft law had been submitted by PNL in 2022. The opposition, however, mainly the nationalist AUR party, requests the amendment of the pension law, so that inequities invoked by certain categories of pensioners are settled. For their part, USR, also in opposition, announced they have already submitted a legislative proposal in this regard. On the other hand, Romanian MPs consider limiting gambling advertising and protecting children from ill treatment.
A priority topic is also the project by means of which Romania will send a Patriot missile system to neighboring Ukraine. The document was drafted by the Ministry of Defense in June, following a decision of the Supreme Defense Council in this regard. The President of the Senate Defense Committee, Liberal Nicoleta Pauliuc, pointed out that, through this donation, Romania proves it is a security provider in the area. Following this donation, Romania will certainly not be left unprotected. “We have a contract for the purchase of seven systems, two are functional, in the sense that we have the human resources to manage them, two more are in the Romanian Army’s equipment, and the other three will soon be transferred to the Romanian Army’s equipment”, the chairman of the Senate Defense Committee added. By means of this project, the Government is authorized to undertake the necessary steps for the reconstitution of Romania’s ground-based air defense capabilities, related to the essential endowment program “High-impact surface-to-air missile system”, by awarding the Government of the United States of America Letter of Offer and Acceptance government contracts, specific to the Foreign Military Sales Program for the purchase of a 3+ PATRIOT surface-to-air missile system. This includes, but is not limited to, transportation, materials, parts, maintenance equipment, cryptographic and special equipment. At the same time, the Defense Ministry is authorized to disburse funds for the payment of fees and commissions related to the rehabilitation of Romania’s ground-based air defense capabilities. (VP)
