The Week in review, June 6-12

A review of the week's headline-grabbing events.

Newsroom, 11.06.2016, 12:10

Romanian politics after local elections

With the result of last week’s local election validated, the victors are ready to get to work. Expectations are very high. The leftist Social Democratic Party (PSD) got 34.83% of the mayor seats throughout the country. Next came the National Liberal party (PNL), with 31.49%. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) only got 5.73%. The same top three positions have also been maintained in the race for local and county councils. The Social Democrats also won the position of Bucharest mayor and all six district mayor positions. This is also the first time when a woman, Gabriela Firea, runs the capital city Bucharest.

Gabriela Firea: “I’m a person who relies on dialogue and that will not change in the future. I’m also not the type of person to hold grudges so I’ll be able to communicate very well with all general councillors, irrespective of the party they represent, because it’s in the best interest of the people of Bucharest. I can assure you I’ll only come up with projects that are in the best interest of the Bucharest locals, and not with controversial projects. If we have doubts about something, then we’ll ask for the people’s opinion, we will consult with the Bucharesters.”

The surprise of this year’s local election was mathematician Nicusor Dan, the leader of Save Bucharest Union, who came out second in the competition for Bucharest mayor. After elections Nicusor Dan has announced his party will be renamed, with a view to the parliamentary elections this fall, into Save Romania Union.

Salary increase for public sector employees

More than 650,000 public sector employees will see their salaries rise starting in September, under a government emergency order on salary standards in the public sector passed this week. The ordinance was needed in order to bridge the pay gap between employees holding the same position and having the same qualifications but different salaries.

Healthcare employees will see the biggest rises, labour minister Dragos Paslaru explained: “There are major dysfunctions in the healthcare sector as far as salaries are concerned. We had to rethink the salary scheme to make sure that doctors with the same position and seniority have the same basic salaries, regardless of where they work across the country. We’re also working on a similar payment scheme for the education sector.”

This new piece of legislation will cost the budget around 200 million euros this year and some 580 million euros in 2017.

Problems in the agriculture sector

Hundreds of farmers have taken to the streets of Bucharest on Tuesday, unhappy with the delays in the payment of subsidies and in the adoption of some crucial laws for this sector. The head of the Agriculture Committee with the Chamber of Deputies, Nini Sapunaru, alongside other MPs, announced that they are working on several bills for the farming sector, while Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu has promised them that subsidies will be fully paid by end-July. Minister Irimescu’s activity, however, has been monitored by MPs, who are accusing him of bad management. The Chamber of Deputies’ plenary sitting has even passed, with a majority of votes, a simple motion against Achim Irimescu. Under the law, this motion does not automatically trigger the minister’s dismissal, as such decision can only be taken by the prime minister.

Anti-corruption and the rule of law

The Ambassador of France to Bucharest, François Saint-Paul, awarded the highest French civilian decoration, that of Knight of the Legion of Honour, to the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruţa Kövesi. According to the French official, the Romanian anti-corruption agency is highly popular and has become a model at European level. Laura Codruţa Kovesi emphasized that fighting corruption was vital to safeguarding the rule of law.

Laura Codruţa Kovesi: “I am very proud to be working with brave, active people, who want to change Romania, who want to live in a country free from corruption, who know that we are all equal before the law and who have not allowed people with impressive wealth or with high-level public positions to intimidate them. This medal also rewards the fight to maintain and consolidate the rule of law. We will stay on this path, to the extent to which the institutional stability and the investigative abilities of the Anti-Corruption Directorate are preserved.”

Official visits abroad

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, pleaded for stronger cooperation between Romania and Luxembourg. On Monday and Tuesday the head of state made an official visit to Luxembourg, where he stated, following talks with top-level officials, that there are promising results and further opportunities in the economic field, with Luxembourg being one of the most important investors in Romania. The President emphasized that Romania offers favourable market and resource conditions to investors, and that the two countries should consolidate the current achievements and identify cooperation areas to be approached in the future.

Meanwhile, in Paris, the Prime Minister Dacian Cioloş took part on Thursday in a special meeting of the Council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which Romania intends to join. On Friday, Dacian Cioloş and his French counterpart Manuel Valls signed an updated roadmap for the strategic partnership between Romania and France. The Romanian PM was also invited to attend, together with President François Hollande, the opening ceremony of the European Football Championship and the opening game, between the host country and Romania.