November 28, 2016 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 28.11.2016, 12:30
ACADEMY– The Romanian
Academy on Monday marked through a solemn meeting, the Great Union and
Romania’s participation in WW1. Princess Margareta, custodian of the Romanian
Crown, and Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church held speeches
during the ceremony. The event also marked the union on November 28th
1918 of the Romanian kingdom with the province of Bukovina, which had come out
of Austrian control. 1st of December 1918 remains a symbol for the
union of all Romanians. Declared an official holiday after the anti-communist
revolution of 1989, 1st of December marks the completion, at the end
of WW1, of the creation of the Romanian nation state following the union of all
provinces with majority Romanian populations, that had been part of multinational
empires, under Bucharest’s authority.
POSTPONEMENT – The Chamber of Deputies
in Bucharest has postponed for the 5th of December a decision on
granting a request from Romania’s Anti-corruption Agency (DNA) to commence
criminal prosecution in the case of MP Eugen Bejinariu due to the lack of quorum.
Former secretary general of the government between 2003 and 2004, Bejinariu has
been accused by anti-corruption prosecutors of aggravating abuse of office in
a file entitled Microsoft 2. Bejinariu allegedly had a considerable hand in the
misappropriation of the 50% discount Microsoft had granted for IT licenses in
the Romanian schools. The prejudice in this case, where a couple of former
ministers and two former directors of Microsoft Romania are being probed in,
exceeds 67 million dollars. In another development, senator Vasile Blaga on
Monday was sent to court by the anti-corruption prosecutors in Ploiesti,
southern Romania for influence peddling. Blaga has been accused that between
2011 and 2012 as a secretary general of the Democratic-Liberal Party he
received from a representative of a company, also under investigation in the
file, the total amount of 700 thousand euros in order to facilitate that
company’s access to contracts.
WAGES – Representatives of the
government, trade unions and employers’ associations in Romania on Monday had
the first round of talks over the minimum wages in Romania’s economy in 2017.
Trade unions asked for a 200 lei pay rise, whereas the executive came with
several alternatives, including a 100 lei rise. A new round of talks on the
issue will be taking place several days after the Parliamentary elections on
December 11th. Labour minister Dragos Paslaru talked about a draft
bill on unitary salary, adding that in order to solve all salary inequities in
the public system, 19.5 billion lei should be earmarked until 2022.
DEFENSE-
Romania’s Supreme Defense Council convenes on Tuesday in Bucharest to discuss,
among other things, operations carried out outside the country’s borders
in 2017 and the stage of implementation of the
country’s national defence strategy for 2015-2019. Also approached
will be measures taken by Romania with a view to implementing the sanctions
imposed internationally between October 2015 and September 2016, as well as
Romania’s medium and long-term relationship with Moldova, whose president is
now the pro-Russian Igor Dodon. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said that
Bucharest plans to further support Chisinau in spite of this new context.
