Romanian deputies
\nand senators got back to work on Monday when Parliament’s first session this
\nyear started. Their activity in the upcoming period will
\nbe defined by preparations for the local elections due in June and
\nparliamentary elections at year-end. The resignation, last November, of the
\ncoalition government controlled by the Social Democrats and its replacement
\nwith a technocratic government have been regarded by some as convenient, as it
\ngives ambitious politicians time to prepare for their encounter with an
\nelectorate that is increasingly disappointed with political leaders. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Many of the country’s politicians have been
\nbrought to justice for corruption and for pursuing an agenda of their own that
\nhas nothing to do with the goals of the communities they promised to represent
\nwhen they asked for their vote. From this perspective, the first Parliament
\nsession this year will not be spared by controversy, generated mostly by
\ndisagreements over the current election law, which stipulates that mayors will
\nbe elected in just one round of voting. Less
\nthan six months ahead of the locals, the National Liberal Party wants the
\nelection law changed back to its previous form, namely to the two-round
\nsystem of voting. The Liberals’ initiative is
\nonly supported by a small party, namely the People’s Movement Party. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Another priority for the Romanian MPs is the law on equity swap,
\nprotecting people who took out loans to buy a house. Under the new bill, the debtor has the right to pay off the mortgage
\nloan by transferring to the lender the ownership right over the mortgaged
\nproperty in favour of the creditor, without further payment. President Klaus
\nIohannis sent this bill back to Parliament to be re-examined at the end of last
\nyear. According to the Social Democratic Party, the bill needs to support
\ncitizens who are unable to pay their bank instalments, without, however,
\nhaving a great impact on the banking
\nsystem. The Social Democrats also want to bring the law in line with the
\nConstitutional Court’s decisions and resume debates on the revision of the
\nCriminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This move has been triggered by the
\ncriticism that the European Commission levelled against Romania under the
\nlatest Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. Romania needs a coherent set of
\nlaws that should convince Brussels of the fact that Parliament supports the
\njudiciary. Parliament’s green lighting the anti-corruption prosecutors’
\nrequests to bring to justice some of its members suspected of corruption is
\nalso a must. One such request was made by anti-corruption prosecutors for the
\ncriminal investigation of former deputy prime minister and Interior Minister
\nGabriel Oprea, for malfeasance in office.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Parliament’s spring agenda also includes laws with social and
\nbudgetary impact, some of them hiding some electoral interests as well. Talks
\non the privileges that Romanian MPs have granted themselves, such as increased
\nsalaries for some of them and special pensions for current and former
\nParliament members and mayors will also be tackled. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Parliament’s spring session seems to be centered around the upcoming local elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":49343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[38326],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-67129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-romanian-parliament-spring-session"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n