January 5, 2017
Romanian MPs convene in extraordinary session to endorse changes to the Fiscal Code.
Newsroom, 05.01.2017, 12:00
OMBUDSMAN — Romania’s Ombudsman, Victor Ciorbea, has challenged in the Constitutional Court the law that prevents individuals who received a criminal sentence from becoming Government members. According to Victor Ciorbea this law violates several texts of the Romanian Constitution, as well as provisions of the international law. The law that doesn’t allow convicted people to become Government members was adopted in 2001. However, this law only came up after the parliamentary elections, when the Social Democratic Party leader Liviu Dragnea couldn’t name himself prime minister as he had received a suspended prison sentence for election fraud in the 2012 referendum to impeach president Traian Basescu.
ENERGY — The Hunedoara Energy Complex in south-western Romania is in a very difficult financial situation and unless it starts making profit and curbing expenditure it faces a high risk of bankruptcy, deputy director Petru Nica, a former trade union leader until the autumn of 2016, has said. The employees of the Lupeni mine refuse to go into the mines and some of them went on a hunger strike. Protesters call for the resignation of the current management, whom they blame for incompetence. They are particularly discontent with the conduct of the deputy director Petru Nica, whom they accuse of trying to intimidate the miners and of threatening them with lay offs if they do not resume their activity.
GOVERNMNENT – After being sworn in, the new government of Romania are today taking over their portfolios from the former ministers. On Wednesday, the ministers in the Sorin Grindeanu Cabinet, nominated by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, received Parliament’s vote of confidence, with 295 MPs voting in favour and 133 against. Under the new governing programme, the economic growth must reflect in Romanians’ living standards, that is, in higher wages. Romania also expects foreign investors, who must find here good fiscal legislation and highly skilled labour. President Klaus Iohannis has urged the new Government to preserve the country’s Euro-Atlantic orientation, support the independence of the judiciary by consolidating the rule of law and make sure that Romania continues to be a stability and security pillar in the region.
FISCAL CODE — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has convened today in an extraordinary session to endorse changes to the Fiscal Code. The Social Democratic Party’s governing programme stipulates the elimination of health insurance contributions for all pensioners and of the income tax on all pensions below 450 euro. For these measures to be applied, the Fiscal Code needs to be modified.
TENNIS — The team made up of the Romanian tennis player Raluca Olaru and the Ukrainian Olga Savciuk qualified to the doubles final of the WTA tournament in Shenzhen, China, with 625,000 dollars in prize money. They made it to the final after the competition’s favourites, Raquel Atawo of the US and Yifan Xu of China. Olaru and Savciuk will find out who their opponents are on Friday.This is the second WTA final for Olaru and Savciuk after the one in Taskent in 2008, when they won the title.
WEATHER — The weather is getting colder in Romania. Maximum temperatures range from minus 3 to plus 6 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 3 degrees. Meteorologists have issued a yellow code alert for heavy snowfalls for southern, eastern and central Romania and an orange code alert for blizzard valid for the south-east of the country, the capital Bucharest included, in force as of this evening until tomorrow night. The eastern part of Romania will be under a yellow code alert for bad weather until Saturday.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
