December 19, 2018 UPDATE
No confidence vote against Dancila Cabinet to be held on Thursday
Newsroom, 19.12.2018, 20:22
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION – The Bucharest Parliament on Thursday is debating and voting on the no confidence motion against the cabinet made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, headed by PM Viorica Dancila. The document was introduced and signed by 163 MPs, mainly from the Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party, as well as by independents. 233 votes are needed to bring down the government. Signatories claim that the executive, whom they define as an “organised crime group” destroys the rule of law and undermines the country’s political and economic stability. Liberal leader Ludovic Orban called on Parliament to pass the motion. The head of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, has announced his party members will be present in Parliament but will abstain from voting.
DEFENSE — The meeting of the Supreme Defense Council of Romania, suspended on December 11 by President Klaus Iohannis at the request of the members, resumed on Wednesday in Bucharest. According to the Presidency, the plan of equipping the armed forces between 2019- 2028 was approved at the meeting as well as the number of troops Romania will send in international missions next year. The agenda of the meeting also included major issues related to the countrys defense and national security, the councils schedule for next year and the National Plan for Informative Priorities.
STOCK EXCHANGE – The business environment in Romania warned on Wednesday over the negative effects of the new taxes to be introduced by the Bucharest Government as of next year. The Bucharest Stock Exchange opened Wednesday in free fall. The fiscal and budget measures for 2019 presented by Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici sent the market plummeting to minus 7%. Teodorovici announced so called taxes on greed leveled on banks, depending on the evolution of interbanking loans, as well as a package of measures for energy companies — a contribution equal to 3% of turnover, capping natural gas prices, and price controls for electricity prices. Investors’ trust has eroded quickly, in only a few hours after the Government’s announcement, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bucharest has said, asking for the immediate withdrawal of the emergency decree on the newly proposed measures. The Opposition is firmly against the move while the country’s president Klaus Iohannis has warned the Government that its decision has negative effects on economy and Romanians’ revenues.
PENSIONS – The law regulating pensions passed in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday. The bill sets a minimum of 15 years of employment in order to qualify for social benefits, with contributions to the system in the 15 years. The only changes that deputies brought to the bill introduced by the executive regards the rights of people with disabilities, who would get benefits for working a third of the mandatory period. This amendment, introduced by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, was initially turned down by the Labor Committee. The bill passed by 193 votes. The novelties in this bill, according to Social Democrat Deputy Olguta Vasilescu, are eliminating inequalities in pensions for people with similar work experience, granting the most advantageous survivor pension to a spouse, and the possibility of retiring six years early for mothers of three children or more. Vasilescu, former Minister of Labor, specified that a gradual rise in pensions until 2020 will bring pensions up to 1,775 lei.
RULING – Romania’s Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that there is a constitutional conflict between the Government and the country’s President, Klaus Iohannis. The Court debated Wednesday the governments claim regarding a possible constitutional conflict between the government and the president, who delayed the appointment of the ministers for transportation and regional development. The proposals were Lia Olguta Vasilescu for regional development and Mircea Draghici for transportation. According to the claim filed by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila with the high court, the prolonged analysis by President Iohannis of the proposals has no legal basis, and constitutes willful obstruction.
MEDIA — The Reporters without Frontiers organization accuses Romania of excessive politicization of the press and corrupt financing mechanisms, making editorial compromises under pressure from owners, and the infiltration of intelligence agents in editorial rooms. The 2018 annual report of the organization points out that the use of the press as a political propaganda tool was more visible than ever in the last few years, especially during election campaigns. In Romanias case, the worsening climate in the press is in part due to the activity of small extreme right groups . The organization adds that the bill proposed by majority leader Liviu Dragnea, introducing penalties for denigrating Romania, and reintroducing calumny in the Penal Code, raises fears of political censorship in the media. Romania was ranked 44th in the world in the freedom of the press index for 2018. (Translated by E. Enache)
