February 5, 2020 UPDATE
President Iohannis invites political parties to consultations over new cabinet
Newsroom, 05.02.2020, 20:00
MOTION Romanias Liberal government was dismissed on Wednesday under a no-confidence motion tabled by the Social Democrats in Opposition. The motion got 261 votes, which was more than the required 233-vote threshold. The document signed by the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, accuses the Orban Cabinet of breaching democratic principles, by changing the electoral legislation too close to the scheduled election date. As a result, the bill reintroducing the 2-round voting system in local elections is also rejected. President Klaus Iohannis invited political parties to consultations on Thursday, and said he may announce his proposal for a PM on the same day. Iohannis made it clear that he is in favour of early elections and that the best solution for Romania is to turn to voters. Iohannis also said that if parliamentary parties do not agree with early elections, he will insist for a government with a reform agenda, built by and around the Liberal Party.
MOLDOVA International Monetary Fund experts Wednesday announced that the 3-year plan agreed with the Republic of Moldova has run according to expectations and has met all performance criteria. The reforms implemented by the authorities helped rehabilitate the banking sector and strengthen macroeconomic and financial stability. The progress is particularly commendable considering the unstable domestic political scene, with 3 governments succeeding each other during the implementation period, the IMF also says. According to the institution, in 2019 Moldovas GDP grew by 4.2%, and it is expected to stay around 4% in the medium run. The budget deficit in late 2019 was 1.5% of the GDP, below the cap set under the programme.
WHO – The director general of the WHO said the world
still has time to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading and causing a
larger-scale global crisis. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pointed out that the
epidemic is first of all an emergency for China, and managing the situation at
the virus epicentre is the best way to stop its spreading. On Wednesday the WHO
requested over 610 million euros in funds for fighting the epidemic in the next
3 months. So far over 24,000 people have been contaminated with the new
coronavirus and almost 500 have died from the virus. In Bucharest, the
government approved the setting up of emergency care stocks for epidemic
situations and the required quarantine measures, through an emergency order
which also provides for the purchase of thermal scanners to equip the country’s
16 airports.
GERMANY For the first time in post-WW2 Germany, the prime minister of a state was elected thanks to the votes of a far-right party on Wednesday. The Liberal candidate Thomas Kemmerich was elected in Germanys eastern state of Thuringia with help from Angela Merkels Christian Democrats and the anti-immigration and anti-elite party Alternative for Germany. So far Germanys traditional parties had rejected any cooperation with the far-right, or even agreed to various alliances in order to isolate the far-right. Wednesdays result is seen by the German media as a “political earthquake.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
