The Week in Review – May 15-19

A roundup of the week's main stories

Corina Cristea, 20.05.2017, 12:38

The law on prevention

The Government on Thursday adopted the bill on prevention, which is to be submitted to Parliament for debate and vote. The 267 offenses that fall within the range of the prevention mechanism do not pose a high social risk and concern taxation, labour legislation, agriculture, tourism, waters and forests, environmental protection, communications, education, consumer protection, the local administration and home affairs. The Government says that under the new bill economic agents will have the possibility of correcting a newly identified irregularity within 3 months at the most. According to the Minister for the Business Environment, Alexandru Petrescu, the law, representing a stage in the Governments strategy to improve its relations with the business environment, will also improve the rate of collecting budget revenues.

Decisions concerning vaccination

This week, the Government decided to set up a department for monitoring and implementing the national vaccination scheme. The new body will report directly to the Health Minister and will oversee the entire vaccination process, from the purchase of serums and inoculation of children to raising public awareness regarding the benefits of vaccines. In addition, the Government also set up an emergency inter-ministerial committee for solving the current vaccine crisis. The decision comes against the backdrop of a severe measles epidemic which broke out in Romania last year, affecting children under 4 years of age. One of the reasons was a drop in the vaccination rate. So far, some 5,700 measles cases have been reported, while 30 children and teenagers have died. In 2016, the first-dose vaccination coverage stood at 86%, while the second-dose rate stood at 67%, below the 95% level recommended by the World Health Organization.

Romanias economic growth hits record high

Romania reported the highest economic growth rate at EU level in the first quarter of 2017, its GDP going up by 5.6% as compared to the same period of last year, reads a Eurostat report made public on Tuesday. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2017 Romania had the largest growth rate in the EU, of 1.7% as compared to the previous quarter. According to data released by the National Institute of Statistics on Tuesday, Romanias economy reported a 5.7% growth in the first quarter as compared to the same period of last year. Economic expert Aurelian Dochia says it is very likely that Romanian economy should attain the 5.2% annual growth mark forecast by the Government, although it is too early to tell.

JINGLE

Compulsory vehicle insurances and the renewal of Romanias car fleet

Owners of cars older than 8 years who want to buy a new car in Romania, under the state-funded car-scrapping scheme can register with the certified producers and importers. This year, the government has allotted for this purpose a budget of around 66 million Euros, the amount of the scrappage premiums standing at 1,430 euros. Important incentives have been given for the purchase of electric and hybrid cars through the “Plus program, which provides eco-premiums of 10,000 euros for the purchase of 100% electric cars, and premiums worth 4,400 euros for the purchase of hybrid cars of the plug-in type. The Financial Surveillance Authority will set a reference price for the compulsory civil liability insurance for vehicle owners, which all insurance companies will take as a reference point when issuing a price for beneficiaries. The provision is included in the bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making body in this matter. Therefore, car owners will receive damages irrespective of the automobile repair shop they choose, and they will also benefit from direct reimbursement between insurance companies.

The unified pay scale bill reaches the Senate

The draft law on the unified pay scale will reach the Senate next week after being approved by Parliaments labour committee. Following three days of heated debates, a series of amendments have been passed, providing for a 15% salary increase for the employees of decentralized agencies of the Environment Ministry as well as the personnel of the National Integrity Agency, who have access to classified documents and information. The National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians have tabled an amendment providing for a 320-euro increase of allowances paid to city mayors and deputy mayors, with the exception of the Bucharest General Mayor and the Bucharest Deputy Mayor, as well as county council presidents and vice-presidents. (Translated by V. Palcu)