THE WEEK IN REVIEW

July 10-14, 2023

Daniela Budu, 15.07.2023, 14:23

President Klaus Iohannis attends NATO summit

Romania fulfilled its objectives set for the NATO summit in Vilnius, where a decisive step was made towards further consolidating the Alliance, said president Klaus Iohannis after NATO’s annual summit. He recalled that the adoption of the new defence plans provides the highest level of security for the Eastern Flank at the Black Sea, and said the Alliance has an answer to any security threat that Bucharest may face. He thanked all allies present in Romania for their contributions. Klaus Iohannis:

“We made sure the framework was in place for expanding the battle groups, including that based in Romania, at brigade level, by means of reinforcement troops, if necessary. Also, we will step up the processes related to the pre-positioning of equipment. I thanked all allies present in Romania for their contributions and welcomed Spain’s decision to deploy troops to Romania.”

The Romanian president also reiterated the need for NATO to provide consolidated support for its vulnerable partners, in particular the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population). He announced further financial assistance for Chişinău which Romania will transfer to the NATO voluntary fund for this state. Speaking about the war in the neighbouring Ukraine, Klaus Iohannis supported the materialisation as soon as possible of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions and underlined that Romania, alongside the other member states, would provide support for Ukraine as long as necessary, until it wins the war. NATO deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană also said that as far as Romania was concerned, the most important decision taken at the NATO summit in Vilnius was that related to the new generation of defence plans for allied territory, representing a strong element of deterrence when it comes to different types of threats, including Russia.

The European Parliament supports Romania’s Schengen entry

The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted a resolution based on a petition submitted by Romanian civil society asking that the legality of Austria’s veto against Romania’s Schengen membership be contested. The resolution was adopted with 526 votes in favour, 57 votes against and 42 abstaining. The resolution calls on the Commission to estimate the opportunity costs incurred by Romania and Bulgaria and analyse possible options for financial compensation. In December last year, the Justice and Home Affairs Council did not adopt a unanimous decision on the two countries’ entry into the Schengen area because of the opposition of Austria and The Netherlands. Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer explained the move by mentioning the illegal migrants reaching his country, many of whom he said came via Romania and Bulgaria, something which the Romanian authorities contradicted. The Netherlands said it supported the accession of Romania, but not together with Bulgaria.

Abuses in asylums in Romania

Dozens of nursing homes for the elderly, people with disabilities and children have been closed or shut down, or had their activity suspended, and received fines after extensive checks that took place throughout Romania this week at residential social centers. The authorities announced that numerous irregularities were found, hostels that operated illegally, and several criminal cases were filed for crimes against individuals, or crimes of an economic nature. Everything takes place in the context of the scandal caused by the situation of some homes for the elderly in Ilfov county, near Bucharest, where the prosecutors found inhumane conditions in which the residents were kept. Several people were detained for 30 days in this case, others are under house arrest or are under judicial supervision. President Klaus Iohannis described the situation in the centers for vulnerable people as a national shame, and said that all those guilty of the ill-treatment applied in the so-called asylums of horror must pay. All care centers for children or for the elderly, state and private, will be reviewed, and all their operating authorizations will be re-analyzed – Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stated, after several meetings with ministers and officials in the field. Marcel Ciolacu appealed to all the religious denominations in Romania, as well as to NGOs, to get involved on a social level. Marcel Ciolacu:

“The deeds perpetrated in these asylums of horror showed us a total lack of humanity in some people, whom I cannot call people. The system must be changed. It is inadmissible to have so many control institutions, which pass the blame each other. The entire authorization, monitoring and control system must be redesigned. I am firmly convinced that, in the next session, together with all the social partners, all the legislative changes will be made in this regard”.

The heads of several institutions in the field were dismissed, at the request of the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Labor, Marius Budai, resigned from his position due to the accusations regarding his responsibility in this case, and the investigations made by DIICOT and DNA. USR, in the opposition, notified the European Commission regarding the asylums in Ilfov county, and requested the activation of the Unions mechanisms that could compel respect for human rights, but also respect for the rights of persons with disabilities.

Hidroelectrica Company listed on the Stock Exchange

The main electricity producer in Romania – Hidroelectrica – was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Wednesday. On its first day of listing, it successfully concluded the largest public offering ever made on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the largest in Europe, as well as the third in the world this year. The moment was described as historic by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who stated that the state will retain its 80% stake in full, and Romanian citizens and other institutional investors will be able to become shareholders in the most valuable company in Romania. The market value of Hidroelectrica is estimated at 50 billion lei (10 billion euros). The company produces and supplies electricity that it generates through the 187 hydropower plants and micro-power plants it manages, as well as from the wind energy segment.