December 9, 2013 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 09.12.2013, 19:18
WORKERS FREE MOVEMENT — The EU labour ministers reiterated Monday that the full free movement of workers in the member states as of January 1st 2014 cannot be denied since it is a fundamental right and nobody has to right to restrict free movement. A statement in this respect was made by the Romanian Labour Minister, Mariana Campeanu, at a council meeting in Brussels. Referring to the letter of the 4 foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, in which they rejected the British arguments related to restricting the free movement of workers, Mariana Campeanu showed that the Commission report was very clear, saying that there was no information to confirm the existence of instances of large-scale abuse.
BUDGET— The Romanian President, Traian Basescu, on Monday said he promulgated the State Social Security Budget for 2014. Last Wednesday the Parliament had passed the state budget and the social security budget in the presence of PM Ponta and the cabinet ministers. The Romanian President had said on several occasions that he would reject the state budget if they did not eliminate the additional excise duty on fuel. In reply the PM Ponta announced he would postpone by 3 months the increase in the excise duty on diesel oil.
COOPERATION— The president of the Romanian Senate, Crin Antonescu, on Monday met with Maia Pandjikidze, the Georgian Foreign Minister, who is on an official visit to Romania. They reviewed bilateral relations in the context of Georgia’s advancement in the process of political and economic association with the EU, following the recent signing of the Association and Free Trade Agreements at the Eastern Partnership summit held in Vilnius. Crin Antonescu reiterated Romania’s firm support for the European and euro-Atlantic aspirations of Georgia and underlined the importance of continuing the process of EU enlargement as part of the Eastern Partnership with a view to ensuring stability and security in the region.
STRIKE – The Romanian road freight transporters went on strike for an unlimited period of time, angry at the newest additional excise duty worth seven Eurocents per liter of fuel. Union representatives claim that the Ministry of Transportation did not observe their commitments related to improving legislation under which they carry out their activities. In addition, they claim that the new tax would make them less competitive in relation to other Europeans. The trade union confederation representing them in this conflict said that the around 7,500 transporters are taking part in various forms of protest, negatively affecting supplies in stores as well as traffic in general.
FUNERALS– The Romanian PM Victor Ponta will attend on Tuesday the funerals of the former South African President Nelson Mandela. Over 50 heads of state and government will attend the funerals, including the US President Barack Obama, the French President Francois Hollande, and the British PM David Cameron. In the 1990s Nelson Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize for his fight against race discrimination, and he was the first black president in South Africa’s history. He died on Thursday at 95, and will be buried on December 15.
KIEV– The European foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, will go to Ukraine this week to try to find a solution to the political crisis in that former Soviet Republic. The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, reiterated during a phone conversation with the Ukrainian president, Viktor Ianukovici, the need to work out a peaceful solution through dialogue with the opposition and civil society. A wave of protests started in Ukraine as of November 21st following the Ukrainian power’s decision to suspend the process of association to the EU. On Sunday in Kiev protesters called once again for the resignation of the president and his government and for early parliamentary and presidential elections.
