March 19, 2024 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 19.03.2024, 19:52

Elections – The ruling coalition in Romania made up of PSD-PNL will have a common candidate for the General Mayor of Bucharest in the local elections on June 9, namely the physician Cătălin Cîrstoiu, the current manager of the University Hospital. He will be presented by the leaders of the two parties in a joint press conference. Regarding the candidates for Bucharest’s sectors, they will be announced after the proposals from PSD and PNL will be validated by the leaderships of the two parties. At the same time, the governing coalition should also finalize, this week, the common list of candidates for the European Parliament, which will also take place on June 9. On the other hand, the United Right Alliance, made by Save Romania Union – USR, the People’s Movement Party – PMP and the Force of the Right Party will be on the ballots at the June 9 elections. On Tuesday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice annulled the decision of the Central Electoral Bureau by which it had rejected its establishment protocol. We remind you that this year, besides local and European Parliament elections, parliamentary and presidential elections will also take place in Romania.

Car scrapping – A new car scrapping scheme got under way in Romania on Tuesday, available to those wishing to buy new, more environmental-friendly cars. People can receive up to 1,400 Euros for scrapping a used car and 2,000 euros for two used cars, according to the basic version of the scheme. Under the so-called ‘plus’ version, individual persons can buy cars with a lower pollution level to the amount of 60,000 Euros including VAT, with eco-bonuses and an eco-ticket to be potentially added to the scrapping bonus. The budget allocated for the basic version of the scheme is 60 million Euros, while that for the ‘plus’ version is 200 million Euros, according to the Environment Fund Administration.

Evacuation – Another 11 Romanian citizens and family members were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and arrived in Egypt, said the foreign ministry in Bucharest on Monday evening. A Romanian embassy mobile consular team took them over and accompanied them to Cairo, from where they will fly to Romania. So far, 313 Romanian citizens and family members have been evacuated from Gaza. The Romanian foreign ministry says it is in constant contact with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to facilitate the evacuation of other Romanian nationals and family members should there be requests to this end and depending on the developments on the ground and the agreement of the parties involved.

Capping – The capping of the trade markup to basic foods will be extended until the end of the year, according to a bill adopted on Tuesday by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, as a decision-making body. It is a law that complements the legislation in force and which was supported by the parliamentary groups of the Social Democratic Party – PSD, National Liberal Party – PNL and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR. PSD (in the governing coalition) says that the decision to extend this measure was taken following the large number of requests from citizens, while the opposition Save Romania Union says that the measure is populist and has proven ineffective. The law also provides for the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring the prices of agricultural and food products.

Law – Romania’s Constitutional Court rejected the notification submitted by Save Romania Union – USR and the Force of the Right (both in opposition) against the draft law decriminalizing tax evasion with the damage below one million Euros, if the amount is fully returned, the damage being increased by 15%, plus interest and penalties. The Court claims that the law is an important step for the transition “toward modern theories” of criminal law, in which the main objective must be aimed at the discovery and confiscation of illicit assets. The appellants argued that the law is an invitation to theft made by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. (LS)