September 29, 2023 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 29.09.2023, 20:00

TAXES USR and the Force of the Right parties in
opposition in Romania Friday notified the Constitutional Court with respect to
the set of fiscal measures for which the Government has recently assumed
responsibility. The 2 parties argue that many
provisions in the bill are against the Constitution. Two members of the
National Liberal Party (in the ruling coalition) have also signed the
notification, the USR floor group leader Ionuţ Moşteanu said. According to him,
the Cabinet has initiated a reform which is not implemented consistently and violates
the principle of judicial security. The move by USR was criticised by another
Opposition party, AUR, which is collecting signatures in Parliament to table a
no-confidence motion. The finance minister, Marcel Boloş, claims however that
the set of fiscal measures endorsed by the government is needed for Romania’s
modernisation process, and a failure to solve the budget deficit issue would
jeopardise the payment of EUR 75 billion in EU funding for Romania’s
development projects.

FUNDING Romania has received from the European Commission EUR 2.7
bln in response to the second disbursement application under the National
Recovery and Resilience Plan, submitted in December. The finance minister
Marcel Boloş says Romania is among the first countries in the Union to complete
the steps required for obtaining a second instalment of the funds. In a social
media post, he said Romania has so far received combined payments of nearly EUR
10 bln in grants and loans, out of the EUR 29 bln earmarked for the country
under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

MOTORWAY The Development Ministry in Bucharest has approved a EUR 6
bln investment for the mountain segment of the A8 Motorway, between Miercurea
Nirajului (centre) and Leghin (north-east). The approx. 160-km segment
includes 47 tunnels and over 250 overpasses. The project is to be approved in a
Cabinet meeting, and then a bid would be initiated for the procurement of
design and construction works. The project is to be finalised in 54 months. The
Union Motorway (Târgu Mureş-Iaşi-Ungheni) will be over 300 km long, but so far contracts
have only been signed for the 30 km between Leghin and Târgu Neamţ.

EXHIBITION Nearly 100 works are included in the most
important exhibition in the past 50 years in Romania devoted to the great
sculptor Constantin Brâncuși. The exhibition opens on Saturday in western
Romania as part of the Timişoara – European Capital of Culture programme.
Sculptures, photos, archive documents and video materials will be on display at
the National Art Museum in the city until the end of January. The works, whose
insured value is half a billion euros, come from public and private collections
in Romania and abroad, including famous galleries such as the Pompidou centre in
Paris and Tate in London.

DEFENCE Romania will procure all the military equipment needed to
enhance the security at the Black Sea, the Romanian defence minister Angel
Tîlvăr said during a visit at a military equipment producer in Timişoara. He
emphasised that Romania is a safe country and not involved in any conflict with
anyone, but that incidents such as the Russian drone falling on Romanian
territory are still possible. We are doing our best and have made public the
additional measures we took after drone pieces were found in Romania, he added.
He also mentioned the Army is still interested in attracting young members,
especially since a large number of military staff have retired recently. (AMP)