The time for change has come, the
\nRomanian president Klaus Iohannis told Parliament on Wednesday, urging the
\nentire political class to meet the expectations of society in the year to come.
\nAnd people do have a lot of expectations, which they voiced loud and clear in
\nthe street. Their angry protests against the endemic corruption in their
\ncountry led to the resignation of prime minister Victor Ponta and his majority
\nSocial Democratic cabinet in November. The greatest challenge in 2016, in the
\nopinion of the president, is rebuilding trust in politics and its ability to
\nestablish a good course for the country. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This month, Romania also celebrates 26
\nyears since the toppling of the communist regime. The best way to honour the
\nsacrifice of the people who died in the name of freedom and democracy is to
\npursue a different kind of politics, said president Iohannis. To this end, he
\nsaid the main goal in 2016 should be a renewal of ideas, practices and the
\npolitical class. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Klaus Iohannis: Rebuilding trust in the
\npolitical class is what I propose for 2016, as well as the trust in democratic
\ninstitutions, the political act, political parties and those who represent
\nthem. I convey here today the call for renewal expressed in different forms by
\nour citizens.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania also needs to place more
\nemphasis on education, to encourage arts and culture, innovation and research,
\nstimulate creativity and reward achievement. The president also spoke about the
\nneed for responsible government and economic growth to improve the lives of
\nevery citizen. The new technocratic government in Bucharest on Wednesday had
\nits first success as Parliament passed the state and social security budget for
\n2016 with a large majority. The budget is based on a deficit level of maximum
\n3% of the GDP, in keeping with the ceiling approved by the European Commission,
\nand on an economic growth rate of 4.1%. Prime minister Dacian Ciolos, a former
\nEuropean Commissioner for Agriculture, promised his cabinet would handle public
\nmoney in a transparent, efficient and cautious manner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Dacian Ciolos: We will do everything we
\ncan from a legal and administrative point of view to ensure the transparency of
\nthe budget execution, the way in which the money is used and how the funds are
\ndistributed. On the one hand, citizens should know how public money is spent,
\nand, on the other, we, the government, should be able to act and react in real
\ntime to redirect the money that is not used as planned to other investments.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In a nutshell, 2016 appears to be a
\ngood year, at least when it comes to words. It remains to be seen if good
\nintentions can be transformed into a palpable reality that would benefit the
\nentire society. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A different kind of politics, stimulating culture, innovation and research, achieving solid economic growth, these are some of Romania’s goals in 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":66581,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[38235,38269,29000],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-66580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-2016-budget","tag-2016-prospects","tag-president-klaus-iohannis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n