May 23, 2018 UPDATE
EC publishes European Semester 2018 spring package
Newsroom, 23.05.2018, 19:48
Country report — The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced it took note of the country- specific recommendations published by the European Commission as part of the European Semester 2018 spring package. The Romanian officials says they will coordinate the drafting of the national stand on this issue, in order to ensure an active participation in the decision-making process that will materialize in the adoption of the recommendations by the Council of the European Union. The Foreign Ministry officials also say that the Country Report for 2018 includes Romania among the member states without macroeconomic imbalances. In the country-specific recommendations 2018 report the EU officials pointed to the fact that the recent reduction of contributions to Pension Pillar 2 diminished, on short term, fiscal concerns, but the move could have negative consequences for the development of the capital markets. Contributions to the Pension Pillar 2 were reduced from 5.1% to 3.75% from gross salaries starting in 2018, although, under the law, the contribution quota to Pillar 2 should have grown gradually to 6% of the gross salary- EU experts have said.
Brussels — Romania complies, at present, with one of the 4 economic criteria necessary for the adoption of the single currency, namely the criterion related to public finances- shows the 2018 convergence report published Wednesday by the European Commission. However Bucharest fails to meet the criteria related to price stability, the currency exchange rate and the long-term interest rates and the Romanian legislation is not entirely compatible with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In March, the Romanian Government decided to set up a national commission for the substantiation of the national plan for the adoption of the Euro, which, according to experts, might occur in 2022 at the earliest.
New York — The chief prosecutor of the Romanian National Anti-Corruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi on Wednesday stated in a speech delivered at the UN headquarters in New York that Romania’s biggest challenge was to maintain the independence of judges and prosecutors. Chief prosecutor Kovesi said that there were repeated attempts at changing the anti-corruption legislation aimed at limiting the legislative instruments used by the anti-corruption prosecutors and at decriminalizing certain crimes of corruption. The debate attended by Laura Codruta Kovesi in New York marks the anniversary of 15 years since the adoption of the UN Convention against Corruption.
Chisinau — The Central Electoral Committee in the Republic of Moldova announced on Wednesday that the 2nd round of the early elections for the new mayor of Chisinau would take place on June 3. After Sunday’s first round, still running in the race for mayor are Socialist Ion Ceban, close to the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon, who received 41% of the votes and the candidate of the Platform Dignity and Truth, a former pro-European civic activist, Andrei Năstase, with 32% of the votes. According to Radio Romania’s correspondents to Chisinau, 5 out of the 9 candidates eliminated in the first round expressed their support for Năstase, to prevent hostile forces opposed to Moldova’s European accession to come to power.
EU — The EU’s popularity is growing, shows a survey made public one year ahead of the elections scheduled for May 23- 26, 2019, the first elections after Brexit. 67% of the interviewees said that their country benefited from the status of EU member, the percentage growing constantly as of October 2016 when the community bloc was faced with the migration crisis and lost people’s trust after the Brexit vote. The survey was ordered by the European Parliament and was conducted in April on a number of 27,601 people from all the 28 EU members. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)
