January 14, 2014 UPDATE
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Valentin Țigău, 14.01.2014, 20:04
POLITICS – Last week’s visit to Bucharest by the American Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland is a signal of maximum concern in the USA with the rule of law in Romania, President Traian Basescu told a press conference on Tuesday. He said the current executive and legislative power in Romania continues to attack the independence of the judiciary, which may get Romania isolated at international level. The President added that, with the credibility of the judiciary undermined, Romania reverts to where it was in 2000, when there were question marks regarding its compliance with the Copenhagen criteria.
ECONOMY – Last year Romania’s economic growth was “close” to 3%, above government estimates, after consumption rates improved in the last quarter, Minister Delegate for the Budget, Liviu Voinea, told Bloomberg on Tuesday. Voinea added that the previous letter of intent that Bucharest sent to the IMF, and a new one to be discussed this month, are to be analysed by the board of the institution and approved in the spring of 2014. At the end of last year, president Traian Băsescu would not sign the letter of intent, because of divergences over the fuel excise. An IMF mission is expected to arrive in Bucharest in the second half of January.
EU – The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Tuesday endorsed a report that calls for sanctions, including the freezing of community funds, for those states that breach the Copenhagen criteria and European values, reads a news release issued by the EP. The European Commission must “immediately” set up a new system to monitor the compliance of all EU member countries with the accession criteria and the European values. The vote in the European Parliament plenary meeting might be held in the next session, of February 24th to 27th.
