March 15, 2019 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 15.03.2019, 19:43
Budget — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday promulgated the 2019 state budget law. He said that he would have liked to promulgate a better budget for Romania and its citizens. President Ioahnnis criticized the fact that the Social Democratic Party, the main force in the ruling coalition, allotted only one day for the re-examination of the budget bill requested by the president and decided to send the bill back to the president without any modifications. President Iohannis labeled the MPs’ gesture as an ill-intentioned act and lack of responsibility. According to Klaus Iohannis the entire Social Democratic governance is a black hole for the Romanian economy and society. On Wednesday the Romanian Parliament adopted in its initial form the 2019 state budget law, which was re-submitted to Parliament by Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian President had previously notified the Constitutional Court over the budget bill but the Court rejected his recommendations. The ruling coalition claims the budget has the necessary resources for all the important domains of the economy.
Army – Romania has purchased a third set of missiles for the Patriot system, worth 85 million dollars, Defense Minister Gabriel Les announced on Friday. Also on Friday, representatives of the Raytheon company, an American company producing missiles for the Patriot system, said the Jam T incerception missile will offer Romania the highest degree of protection the country has ever had. The American company’s release also says that alongside Romania, 15 other states count on Patriot systems for the protection of their citizens and armed forces, including the US, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Sweden.
Wellington — The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated on Friday on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left behind around 50 dead and many injured. They conveyed a message of condolence to the families of the victims and reiterated Romania’s support in fighting terrorism. The PM of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, described the attack as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence” adding that the authorities are on maximum alert level. She said 4 extremist suspects were arrested, and none of them were on security watch lists. PM Ardern underlined that New Zealand was a place of diversity, wellbeing and compassion, a home for those who share these values, that cannot be shaken by this attack. Islamic and political leaders from Asia have expressed their abhorrence at the attack, as their fellow nationals were allegedly killed in the attack.
Prague – The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila on Friday paid an official visit to Prague upon the invitation of her Czech counterpart Andrej Babis. Talks were aimed at consolidating economic and political ties and focused on the main files currently negotiated within the EU and on the way in which the Czech Republic could support Romania to reach the key objectives of the presidency of the Council of the EU. The visits agenda also included meetings with high officials from the Czech Republic, the PM Andrej Babis and the speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate.
European summit — The participants in the 8th European Summit of regions and cities on Friday adopted the Bucharest Declaration entitled ‘Building the EU from scratch, together with the regions and cities’. The declaration was officially handed in, on Friday, to President Klaus Iohannis by the president of the European committee of Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, and it represents the contribution of local and regional authorities within the EU to the drafting of the 2019-2024 strategic agenda, which will be presented to the EU leaders in Sibiu on May 9, 2019. The document also includes ten measures aimed at consolidating the democratic basis of the EU and at strengthening the EU actions at local level in order to build a better future for the European citizens.
Protest – For 15 minutes on Friday, March 15, at 15.00, employees and employers, companies, football players, journalists, town hall representatives, personalities from various fields, students, professors and trade unions stopped working and took part in a protest dubbed “Romania Wants Motorways.” The protest was intiated by a businessman from Suceava, in northeastern Romania, who simbolically built the first meter of motorway in the region of Moldavia, in eastern Romania, with his own money. The purpose was to draw attention to the sorry state of road infrastructure in Romania, and especially to the lack of motorways.
Meeting — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis met on Friday in Bucharest with Marija Buric, Croatia’s deputy PM and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. Talks focused on bilateral political dialogue, economic situation, the situation of the Romanian community in Croatia and of the Croatian minority in Romania. Iohannis emphasised the importance of a close collaboration of the two countries, in the context of their holding, for the first time, of the presidency of the Council of the EU as part of the same Trio, alongside Finland. (Translated by Elena Enache)
