October 10, 2017 UPDATE
A decision on a prospective reshuffle of the left of centre Government in Bucharest will be made by the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party, PSD, the main ruling party in Romania
Newsroom, 10.10.2017, 19:53
RESHUFFLE — A decision on the relations between the Romanian Government and the main ruling party, the Social Democratic Party, PSD, as well as another decision on a prospective reshuffle of the Government will be made on Thursday by the National Executive Committee of PSD, Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and the PSD leader, Liviu Dragnea, announced on Tuesday. Earlier, the Prime Minister had made public his decision to reshuffle his cabinet. He underlined that several members of the Government who are involved in criminal investigations or whose performance has been unsatisfactory will be replaced. According to the Prime Minister, these Ministers mar the image of the Government and in some cases its relationship with the European Commission. Also on Tuesday, PM Mihai Tudose met with President Klaus Iohannis for talks about his intention to replace several members of his cabinet. According to the spokesperson for the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis considers that the ministers who have problems should either withdraw or be sacked from the Government. The Liberal Opposition has also called on the Prime Minister to replace all ministers who are involved in criminal investigations. We recall that three members of the Government, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Sevil Shhaideh, Minister Delegate for European Funds Rovana Plumb and Minister Delegate for Liaison with Parliament, Viorel Ilie, are being investigated by anticorruption prosecutors.
MOTION — The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday debated a simple motion filed by the right-wing opposition against Health Minister Florian Bodog. The National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party are calling for his resignation and for quick solutions in the field of healthcare. The opposition is criticizing the vaccine crisis and the ministry’s failure to implement infrastructure projects, in particular as regards emergency hospitals in Cluj, Craiova and Iasi. The vote is scheduled on Wednesday. The opposition also wants Bodog to step down amidst allegations of plagiarism over his PhD thesis, which Bodog has firmly dismissed.
ROMANIAN ECONOMY- The International Monetary Fund has revised the outlook for the Romanian economy upward, from 4.2% to 5.5%, according to the institution’s “World Economic Outlook”, released on Tuesday. The IMF has also improved the forecast for the growth rate of the Romanian economy in 2018, from 3.4% as was estimated in April, to 4.4%. According to the institutions’ world economic outlook, Romania and Iceland will report the biggest economic growth in Europe, of 5.5%. Also on Tuesday, the National Institute for Statistics upgraded Romania’s economic growth rate from 5.9 to 6.1% for the second quarter of the year, as compared to the same period of last year.
DEFENSE COOPERATION — Bucharest authorities on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the US security giant General Dynamics for the manufacturing of armoured vehicles in Romania, the Government has announced. Defence Minister Mihai Fifor recently said that based on the contract with General Dynamics, the Bucharest Mechanical Factory will make 8×8 Piranha transporters for the Romanian Army.
FINANCE — Finance Minister Ionut Misa is as of Wednesday taking part in the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to a ministry release, Misa will meet with representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, First Vice President Philip Bennett and Vice-President Alain Pilloux. The agenda of talks will focus on Romania’s fiscal and budget strategy in the 2017-2019 period.
