July 31, 2018 UPDATE

Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday notified the Constitutional Court with respect to the Administrative Code/ The African swine fever further continues to impact farmers in Romania, where some 450 hotbeds have been identified so far

Newsroom, 31.07.2018, 19:00

ADMINISTRATIVE CODE – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Tuesday notified the Constitutional Court with respect to the Administrative Code. The president claims, among other things, that the law has not been adopted transparently and that deficiencies in the parliamentary procedure have been reported. The president also says that the law, in its entirety, runs counter to the Constitution and he mentions, in that respect, tens of articles included in the new Administrative Code. The document was endorsed by Parliament on July 9.In its
turn, the Constitutional Court announced on Tuesday the president’s notification
regarding the Administrative Code will be debated upon on September 20.

SWINE FEVER – The situation of African
swine fever hotbeds in Romania was the focal point on the agenda of a
government session on Tuesday. Attending the informal meeting were several members
of the cabinet, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed
Arafat, as well as representatives of the National Sanitary-Veterinary
Authority. Romanian pig farmers having lost animals because of the African
swine fever outbreak have so far received compensations of nearly 28,000 Euros.
The compensations are granted both for the animals slaughtered in view of
containing the swine fever hotbeds, and for collateral damages. In order to
prevent the disease from spreading, restrictions have been introduced in
certain areas regarding the transport of pork products, and citizens have been
informed of relevant prevention measures. Since the beginning of the year, 440
African swine fever hotbeds have been identified in Romania, both in large
farms and individual households.

CAR POLLUTING FEE – The Romanian environment minister, Graţiela Gavrilescu, announced on Tuesday that she will come up with a new version of the car polluting fee by the end of the year. The car polluting fee was introduced in Romania in January 2007, shortly after the country joined the EU. At that time, the first car registration fee was calculated in accordance with three elements: the age of the car, the type of catalyst and the engine capacity. After the fee had been repeatedly changed, in 2013, a tax was introduced in 2013, depending exclusively on the level of exhausted fumes. Four years later, in 2017, the authorities scrapped that fee.

WORKERS – Over the past few years Romanian companies in hospitality, catering, light industry, agriculture and constructions have hired workers from outside the EU. Most of them come from countries with living standards below those in Romania, like the Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Thailand. Romanian employers have resorted to this strategy for various reasons, including the migration of domestic workers to more developed countries in western Europe, a drop in birth rates, labour mobility requirements and the inability of the national education system to adjust to the needs of the local labour market.

SHEEP FARMING – Romania, the 4th largest sheep and goat breeding country in the EU, last year imported mutton and lamb worth 3.5 million Euros, from countries as far away as New Zealand. According to data made public by the National Statistics Institute, last year 11.5 million sheep and goats were bred in Romania, of which some 10 million sheep. Romania exported live stock worth over 180 million Euros and sheep and goat meat amounting to more than 35 million Euros. Sheep farming relies extensively on exports, because Romanians are not regular consumers of lamb and mutton.

ASYLUM – 900 people applied for protection from the Romanian state in the first half of the year, 55% fewer than in the corresponding period of last year. According to the General Inspectorate for Immigration, the largest number of asylum seekers come from countries like Iraq, Syria and Iran, and the largest number of applications have been submitted to the centres in Bucharest and in Timişoara (in the west). Close to 950 other people have been included in an integration programme.

GREECE – The Greek authorities made public the latest toll of the wildfires that ravaged several towns and villages near the capital city Athens last week: 92 dead, 25 missing and 28 unidentified burnt bodies. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, 4 foreign citizens are among the victims. On Monday the PM of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, visited the villages of Mati and Rafina. An investigation is under way, looking into the causes of the tragedy. (Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)