December 23, 2014
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Mihai Pelin, 23.12.2014, 12:00
Romania’s Constitutional Court on December 29 will be looking into the contestation submitted by the parliamentary groups in opposition, made of the National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democratic Party against the draft budget for 2015. MPs explained the decision to contest the document has been taken since the parties involved failed to meet the November 15 deadline when the draft budget bill was to be submitted, but also because the current Government failed to come up with an appropriate budget and fiscal strategy. Prime Minister Victor Ponta made an appeal to responsibility, underscoring the delay will take its toll on ordinary citizens themselves, all the more so since contestation will stall the increase of pensions, the granting of subsidies or the VAT deduction in the tourism sector. This past Sunday the Parliament passed the budget bill, which includes regulatory measures targeting economic growth, the creation of jobs, the increase of pensions and of the child support allowance, as well as the increase of allowances for people with disabilities. The draft budget structure carries a deficit level of 1.8 % of the GDP, an inflation rate of 2.2 % and an economic growth rate of 2.5 %.
Commemorating events dedicated to the December 1989 anti-communist revolution’s 25th anniversary have continued in Bucharest today. A military ceremony, a divine service and a wreath-laying ceremony were held at the Heroes Monument at the Henri Coanda International Airport. The event was organized by the Gendarmerie, to pay tribute to the 40 young military who lost their lives on the premises 25 years ago. On Monday, bells tolled in churches all across Romania and divine services were performed in the memory of those who were killed in action. The anti-communist revolt broke out in Timisoara on December 16, 1989, and rapidly spread across Romania, to the capital and the country’s major cities. More than 1,00 people lost their lives and Romania is the former Eastern Bloc’s only country where the change of regime occurred violently, with the communist leaders being executed.
The Government in Bucharest today will be examining the situation of Romania’s highway infrastructure. According to the Transport Ministry, at the end of 2014 the European Funds absorption rate stood at 59%, as part of the Operational Transport program. At present, Romania has 646 kilometers of highway, yet the government’s set target is to double the length of the highway infrastructure by 2018 and to subsequently expand the highway infrastructure. The officials have also considered finding better ways to put to good use the European funds that went to the retroactive payment of some of the highway infrastructure projects that at their onset had a different source of funding. Romania is among Europe’s bottom-of-the-table countries in terms of number of highway kilometers. Spain and Germany are on top position with 16, 000 and 12, 000 kilometers of highways, respectively.
The repatriation ceremony is being held today, of the military from the “Carpathians Falcons “ infantry battalion, who have recently returned home, after a six-month mission they took in Afghanistan. The 124 military, jointly with the international coalition and the Afghan security forces provided ground defense for the Kandahar airport. For “exceptionally well executed service”, all Romanian military were awarded appreciation certificates by their American counterparts.
The Eurasian Economic Union’s launching Summit gets underway in Moscow today. The union is made of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan. The Summit is held against the backdrop of a comeback of the Russian currency, in the wake of the sharp drop the rouble saw last week. High on the summit’s agenda are the way in which Russia’s hard currency crisis will impact the Union, the impact of the sanctions the West has put on Russia, as well as Russia’s retaliatory sanctions targeting several Western products. Last week the rouble saw its harshest drop since the 1998 financial crisis, when the authorities in Moscow declared insolvency. The crash of the rouble had its negative impact on the region’s currencies, also causing losses of tens of billions of dollars for the most influential Russian businessmen.
