TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca met NATO’s Secretary
\nGeneral Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Tuesday. Ciuca gave assurances that
\nRomania’s commitment to earmarking 2% of its GDP to defence would continue.
\nBucharest will also get actively and significantly involved in the debates over
\nNATO’s strategic concept and its future missions. The present Russian military
\nbuildup is significant, unprovoked and unjustified and we cannot understand how
\nNATO’s and Ukraine’s actions can be considered provocations, the Romanian
\nofficial went on to say. He reiterated Romania’s support for Ukraine’s
\nsovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized
\nborders. Also in Brussels on Tuesday, Ciuca met the European Commission
\npresident Ursula von der Leyen with whom he discussed ways of handling the
\npandemic. The Romanian Prime Minister presented the efforts of economic
\nrecovery included in the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, highlighting
\nthe concern for ensuring fiscal-budgetary stability. Ciuca also reiterated the appeal
\nthat a quicker decision be made over Romania’s joining the border-free zone,
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PROTEST The protesters who forced their way into the Parliament’s
\nbuilding courtyard in Bucharest on Tuesday resorted to cars that had unlimited
\naccess to the institution, says a communiqu\u00e9 issued by the Interior Ministry.
\nAbout two thousand people, supporters of the ultranationalist political party
\nAUR protested in front of Parliament on Tuesday the authorities’ intention to prevent
\naccess to the workplace without the green certificate. The unauthorized protest
\nwas promoted on AUR social networks and the authorities are presently trying to
\nidentify and sanction the protesters. Part of them became violent and attempted
\nto storm the premises. According to the Interior Ministry sources, the police
\nmade an appeal to calm and the observation of legal rules without resorting to
\nviolence. About 100 protesters later gathered in front of the government.
\nRomania has the second lowest vaccination rate in the EU, almost 40% of the
\ntotal population, data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention
\nand Control shows. <\/p>\n
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COMMEMORATION The
\nheroes of the anti-communist uprising of December 1989 were commemorated in
\nBucharest on Tuesday. Religious services and military ceremonies were held at
\nthe Revolution Heroes Cemetery and at the dedicated monuments downtown. Similar
\nevents are scheduled on Wednesday at the Romanian Revolution Heroes Monument,
\nat the Radio Hall and the Romanian Television Corporation. Originating in Timi\u0219oara
\n(west), on 16th December, the uprising spread across the country,
\nculminating with dictator Nicolae Ceau\u015fescu fleeing the capital city on 22nd
\nDecember amid the protests of hundreds of thousands of Romanians. Captured by
\nthe Army, Ceau\u015fescu and his wife Elena were subject to a summary trial and
\nexecuted in the southern town of T\u00e2rgovi\u015fte. Romania was the only country behind the
\nIron Curtain where the change of regime was accompanied by bloodshed. Over 1,000
\npeople were killed and some 3,000 wounded.<\/p>\n
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BUDGET The draft 2022 state budget and social security budget laws will
\nbe discussed and voted on in Parliament on Thursday. The budgets of the main
\npublic institutions were being discussed in Parliament’s specialised committees
\non Tuesday. The government passed the bills on Monday and promised they are
\nbased on predictability and stability. The budget is based on an estimated
\neconomic growth rate of 4.6% and a GDP of some 260 billion euro, a predicted
\ninflation rate of 6.5% and gross average salaries of 1,200 euros per month,
\nwith the budget deficit expected to stay within the limits agreed on with the
\nEuropean Commission under the excessive deficit procedure, namely 5.84% of GDP.
\nThe public pension fund will receive 7.32% of GDP. The Liberal
\npresident Florin C\u00ee\u0163u criticised the fact that only 6.7% of GDP was earmarked
\nfor investments, instead of 7% as agreed within the ruling coalition. The
\nSocial Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu argued however that the budget
\nexecution is more important than the exact breakdown of expenditure. The leader
\nof USR party in opposition, Dacian Ciolo\u015f, says the draft budget relies on
\nover-estimated revenues and said although public education is a priority for
\nPresident Iohannis, not enough funding has been earmarked for the sector.<\/p>\n
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