December 21, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 21.12.2014, 19:12
Starting Sunday, Klaus Iohannis is the new president of Romania. He was sworn in before senators and deputies in solemn plenary session. In his first speech as head of state, Iohannis promised a country free of corruption, with a reformed political class, a country based on stability, respect for genuine values and peace. ‘A country of things well done’ was the motto with which Iohannis convinced the voters, and, according to him, the first step towards achieving that goal is the reconstruction of political institutions. As for the foreign policy, Iohannis mentioned the three main pillars: NATO membership, EU membership and the strategic partnership with the US, which must be strengthened, not only in the military field, but also in trade and culture. Klaus Iohannis took over the office from Traian Basescu, who led the country for the past 10 years. He is the fourth anti-Communist president of the country.
The Romanian Parliament on Sunday approved the 2015 state and social security budget. The opposition voted against, saying the new budget does not ensure either a vision, or a strategy for Romania. The liberals announced they would contest the budget law at the Constitutional Court. Prime Minister Victor Ponta, however, has made an appeal to responsibility, saying that if the budget law is contested in court, pension rises will be delayed, jus like the allocation of subsidies and the reduction of the VAT in the tourism sector. The budget was built on a deficit of 1.8% of the GDP, a 2.2% inflation rate and an economic growht of 2.5%.
Events commemorating 25 years since the anti-Communist Revolution of December 1989 continued in Romania on Sunday. The revolt that broke out in Timisoara on the 16th of December spread quite rapidly across the country, and it gained momentum on the 22nd, when in Bucharest hundreds of thousands of protesters besieged the headquarters of the communist party, forcing the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife to flee. The two were eventually caught and executed on December 25th, after a brief trial. Romania was the only country in south-eastern Europe where the fall of the regime took the lives of over one thousand people.
Thirteen NGOs in Romania urge that the cyber security law be analysed by the Constitutional Court before promulgation. These organisations say that, as it is now, the law violates constitutional rights regarding private life. On Saturday, however, the Defence Committee of the Senate stated that the draft law addresses only public or private legal entities that are owners, administrators, operators or user of cyber infrastructures, not users that are natural persons.
Cristina Neagu, Romania’s best player at the 2014 European women’s handball Championship in Hungary and Croatia , was chosen member of the competition’s all-star team. Neagu, who was the world’s best player in 2010, run for this position against players from the Netherlands, Hungary, France and Montenegro. 18 thousand handball lovers voted for the ideal team. Their votes accounted for 40%, while the rest was decided by experts.
