February 1, 2018 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 01.02.2018, 19:55
PARLIAMENT – A new parliamentary session started in Romania on Thursday. The Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, intends to adopt the law on the establishment of the Sovereign Fund for Development and Investment, the Administrative Code and the Pensions Law, while its partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, will focus on the countrys economic development. The rightwing opposition has announced that, in the current parliamentary session, they intend to block all the ruling powers initiatives to amend the justice laws.
GOVERNMENT – One of the Governments priorities is the development and extension of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US in several fields, including the protection and promotion of human rights and the fight against human trafficking, said the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila in a message she conveyed at a debate on human trafficking organized by the US Embassy in Bucharest. Also, the Interior Minister Carmen Dan stated that Romania takes part in all the efforts made by EUROPOL, INTERPOL, EUROJUST, FRONTEX and SELEC to fight cross-border crime and curb the negative effects of human and children trafficking, the fight against human trafficking being one of the Interior Ministrys priorities. The event brought together magistrates and officials representing authorities specialized in fighting human trafficking from the US, Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
POLAND – On Thursday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Tedor Melescanu had a meeting in Bucharest with his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz. The Romanian minister stated that a potential vote on suspending Polands EU voting rights would not benefit anybody. He stressed that Poland had not called on Romania to take a stand against suspension. In turn, Czaputowicz stated that his country had signals from other countries in the region that they would not favour the activation of article 7 of the EU Treaty. As a first in the EU history, the European Commission has decided to trigger article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty against Poland, saying there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in that country, after the Polish Parliament adopted two laws under which the countrys judiciary is now under the political control of the ruling majority.
MOLDOVA – The Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had a phone conversation on Thursday with her Moldovan counterpart Pavel Filip, focusing on the strategic partnership between Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The two officials agreed that joint projects must continue. Dancila reiterated Romanias firm commitment to supporting the Republic of Moldovas European path and its efforts to implement reforms for the benefit of its citizens. In turn, Filip said that the Chisinau Government would remain a reliable partner to the Bucharest authorities.
EBRD – Romania must adopt a different economic model, if it wants to avoid a crisis triggered by the current boom, based on consumption, the Regional Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Matteo Patrone has stated. After stimulating growth by reducing taxes and increasing salaries in the public sector, the Bucharest Government should take a more sustainable path, Patrone has also said. In his opinion, Bucharest officials can do that by increasing investment in infrastructure and improving the rate of absorption of European funds.
EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu has officially launched the presentation site of the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. The interactive portal can be accessed at www.romania2019.eu and includes information about the EU Council Presidency, preparations for the mandate, a forum of ideas and opportunities for volunteers. According to minister Negrescu, the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council is designed so as to ensure transparency and focus on the citizens.
(translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)
