September 29, 2014
News and current affairs from Romania
Roxana Vasile, 29.09.2014, 11:57
Romania’s Central Election Bureau has closed its list of candidates for the November presidential elections. Of the 14 candidates, two represent alliances, 8 represent political parties, and 4 run independently. Favorites in the running are the head of the Social Democratic Party, Victor Ponta, supported by the alliance formed by his party with the smaller National Union Party and the Conservative Party, and the candidate of the main opposition group, Klaus Iohannis, currently mayor of the city of Sibiu, representing the Christian-Liberal Alliance.
European Parliament commissions started confirmation hearings for the prospective commissioners designated by President Jean-Claude Juncker, set to end on October 7, in an attempt to gauge their competencies and experience relevant to the position. The Parliament takes the final vote on October 22nd. One Romanian EMP is on the list as the proposal for regional policy commissioner, Corina Cretu, scheduled for hearings on October 1st. This upcoming European Commission is set to handle a budget of 350 billion Euro for 2014-2020, listing as its priorities investments, jobs, competitiveness, economic growth, better quality of life, and sustainable development.
Romanian Defense Minister Mircea Dusa, currently on a visit to China, visits the headquarters of the 3rd Division in Beijing for a demonstration. Tomorrow, the Romanian official meets his Chinese counterparts, General Chang Wanquan, and will attend the reception hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On Sunday, the Romanian minister stressed, during a meeting with the vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, General Xu Qiliang, that the Romanian and Chinese armed forces have been enjoying close cooperation for a long time, which Romania wants to enhance in the future.
The Cartel Alfa national trade union confederation of Romania picketed today the Ministry of Labor in Bucharest, angry at the government’s failure to amend the law on social dialog, as promised previously. Specifically, the trade unionists want changes to the rules of union representation and the way in which collective labor contracts are applied nationally, as well as to the rules of labor conflicts and protection for union leaders. They announced that protests will continue until mid-October. A protest in front of the main government building is scheduled for October 7th.
