December 31st, 2013
Click here for a roundup of domestc and international news.
Leyla Cheamil, 31.12.2013, 12:14
Work restrictions on the European labor market will be lifted as of January the 1st, 2014, for Romanians and Bulgarians. The EU member states who have kept the measure in place until December 31st are Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Malta, France, Great Britain, Ireland and Spain. High-ranking officials in the European institutions have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that the complete freedom free of movement of the labor force is a fundamental right. The reaction has occurred in the wake of a press campaign allegedly emphasizing the fact that right after January the 1st, 2014 Great Britain would be flooded by job seekers from Romania and Bulgaria, who might also be after Great Britain’s social benefits.
The former CEO of Southern Romania-based Oltenia Investment Fund, Dinel Staicu this past Monday was sentenced to 11 years in prison, in a file targeting the embezzling of more than 11 million euro of Natural Gas Delivery Association Transgaz Medias. The decision is not final and can be attacked with appeal with the Bucharest Court. Staicu received the sentence on various counts, among which are abuse of office and aiding and abetting for the perpetration of crime. Other 8 defendants in the aforementioned file received prison sentences ranging from 5 to 7 years, with full completion of penalty. All defendants will have to pay Transgaz more than 25 million Lei ( that is around 6 million euro) as damages.
The Emergency Ordinance by means of which the Government in Bucharest changed the Education Law has taken effect after having been published in the Official Gazzette this past Monday. The document stipulates that compulsory education in Romania lasts 11 years. Also, admission to university will solely be based on the baccalaureate final grades, irrespective of the high-school record. In 2013, the admission rate for the Baccalaureate exam in the summer session accounted for 55 %, while, for the autumn session admission rate stood at 20%.
For the New Year’s Eve Party, local administrations in Bucharest and the major cities across Romania have prepared large-scale public events — street concerts, winter customs and traditions parades as well as fireworks. In Bucharest’s main squares, the most renowned Romanian artists will together this year as well, renewing the outdoor parties tradition. In front of the Parliament Palace , the New year will be marked by a fireworks show, where more than 20 tons of pyrotechnical material will be used, which has been imported from Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain and China. Also, organizers look set to take the biggest group photo, since more than 40 thousand people are expected to join the party in front of the Parliament Palace.
