February 1, 2017

The Higher Council of the Magistracy in Romania unanimously decided to challenge at the Constitutional Court the emergency ordinance amending the criminal codes

Newsroom, 01.02.2017, 12:00

CRIMINAL CODES – The members of the Higher Council of the Magistracy in Romania, meeting this morning, unanimously decided to ask for the opinion of the Constitutional Court on the existence of a conflict between powers, in the case of the adoption by the government of an emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. The meeting of the Higher Council of the Magistracy was also attended by Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis. The president said the judiciary is independent in Romania and the magistrates are outraged by the way in which the government dealt with such a sensitive issue as the amendment of the criminal law, by issuing an emergency ordinance at midnight, without having received an opinion from the Higher Council of the Magistracy. Protests against the emergency ordinance were resumed in Bucharest this morning. Last night, after the adoption of the emergency ordinance, thousands of people took to the streets in Bucharest and other major cities across the country to protest against the move taken by the government. The interim president of the National Liberal Party, Raluca Turcan, says that if the leftist cabinet made up of the Social Democratic Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats does not step down, the Liberals will introduce a censure motion in Parliament today. Their move is also backed by the Save Romania Union. The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, and First Vice-President Frans Timmermans have warned the government in Bucharest that the fight against corruption should continue and not be undermined. They draw attention to the fact that the irreversibility of the progress made in the fight against corruption is essential to allow the European Commission to take into consideration the gradual elimination of Romanias monitoring under the cooperation and verification mechanism.

AmCham – The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham) has expressed big disappointment about the legal grounds brought forth, the adoption procedure, the provisions and effects produced by the emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Codes in Romania. Adopting these emergency ordinances this way, the lack of transparency, in spite of the stands taken and recommendations made by the relevant institutions, mar the image of the cabinet which thus loses credibility and sends a strong signal of distrust and uncertainty both at domestic and international level, AmCham writes. According to the same source, the adopted emergency ordinances undermine the rule of law and infringe the fundamental principles of transparency, stability and predictability and thus Romania distances itself from European values and standards. Set up in 1993, AmCham is the most representative professional business association which is currently bringing together over 400 American, international and local companies. The overall value of their investments exceeds 20 billion dollars, generating some 250,000 jobs.

STATE BUDGET – Romanian MPs get together today to discuss and approve the timetable of the debates on the 2017 draft budget. The Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, estimates the procedure might be completed within eight days. The document, adopted on Tuesday evening by the government is based on a 5.2% economic growth rate and a budget deficit of up to 3% of the GDP. The government estimates the inflation rate will stand below 1.4% and the unemployment rate at 4.3%. According to the finance minister, Viorel Stefan, special attention will be paid in the ensuing period of time to investments, healthcare, education and infrastructure.

TAXES – New provisions recently introduced into the Fiscal Code by an emergency ordinance come into effect in Romania, on February 1. They eliminate 102 taxes and fees, the most well known being the radio and television licence fee and the tax on registering automobiles. Also in February, Romanians earning the minimum wage, almost 1.6 million citizens, will get increased salaries. Local public authority employees will get a 20% raise. A number of further measures come into effect on February 1, such as eliminating the ceiling for social and health contributions and taxation for real estate deals worth under 100,000 Euro.

NAVY – The Romanian frigate King Ferdinand heads manoeuvres in the east of the Black Sea, to be attended, as of today, by over 2,800 military marines from the NATO member countries. The multinational exercise Sea Shield is the first of 50 large scale navy exercises planned by NATO this year. Attending the exercise are 16 ships, one submarine and 10 Romanian and allied aircraft. Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, head of the Allied Maritime Command, will be attending the manoeuvres in Constanta, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. At the same time, it was announced in London that one of the most important Royal Navy ships will have its first operating mission in the Black Sea since the Cold War. Allied manoeuvres in the Black Sea take place almost three years since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, in March 2014.

TENNIS – Romanias best-placed tennis player, Simona Halep, WTA no. 4 has today defeated Croatias Ana Konjuh WTA no. 39, 6-4,7-6, in the second round of the St Petersburg tournament in Russia. Simona is the tournaments top-seed tennis player. In the next round she will meet the winner of the match between Daria Kasatkina, WTA no.27, and Natalia Vikhlyantseva WTA no. 115, both from Russia. The other representatives of Romania, Monica Niculescu WTA no. 35 and Irina Begu WTA no.28 got eliminated in the first round.( Translated by D. Vijeu)