February 12, 2014 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.
Florentin Căpitănescu, 12.02.2014, 12:05
NEW GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE– The leaders of the ruling Social Liberal Union in Romania, continue negotiations on the new government structure. Social-Democrat leader Prime Minister Victor Ponta has called in favour of a formula with Sibiu Mayor Liberal Klaus Iohannis taking over as Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, but only if the cabinet has four deputy prime ministers, representing all parties making up the Social Liberal Union: the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservative Party. The prime minister’s proposal has been rejected by the Liberal leader, Crin Antonescu, who does not agree with the idea of increasing the number of deputy prime ministers from three to four. Apart from the Interior Ministry, other vacant portfolios are those of the finance, healthcare and economy ministries, all of them belonging to the Liberals.
DACIA GROUPE RENAULT-The Romanian car market is in a catastrophic collapse. 11 second-hand cars are being brought in for each new car sold, says vice-president of Dacia Group Renault and head of the Association of Romanian Carmakers Constanin Stroe, currently attending the France — South-eastern Business Forum held in Bucharest. Constantin Stroe went on to say that Romania’s two carmakers, Dacia Renault and Ford, had sold only 20,000 cars of an overall output of 410,000 units in 2013. Constantin Stroe nevertheless believes exports have gone up, with France, Germany, Algeria and Turkey among the top destinations. Romania’s car exports have grown from 16,000 cars in 2004 to over 360,000 in 2013. On the other hand, Dacia Group Renault does not want to leave Romania, a country where it has invested over 2 billion euros, although the French carmaker sees infrastructure as key to its future projects. The announcement follows a statement by president Traian Basescu, who said Romania risked losing its assembly line in Pitesti unless it completed the Pan-European Corridor IV.
VISAS– Romanian Foreign Minister, Titus Corlatean, on Wednesday hailed Wednesday’s voting of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on lifting visas for Moldovan citizens owning biometric passports. The Romanian foreign minister said a significant step forward was taken also due to the support of the Romanian MEPs, towards the free circulation of Moldovan citizens in the European area. The final vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament on the report which recommends the liberalisation of the visa regime is scheduled for February 25th.
AGREEMENT– Romanian foreign minister Titus Corlatean and his Palestinian counterpart, Riad al-Maliki, on Wednesday signed an agreement on eliminating mandatory diplomatic visas and boosting bilateral economic cooperation. On this occasion, Corlatean expressed Romania’s readiness to contribute to training Palestinian specialists in such fields as healthcare, diplomacy, technical sciences and civil defence. The Romanian support comes in agreement with the international efforts that are being made to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. The two officials attended a meeting of the Romanian-Palestinian Intergovernmental Commission, held in Bucharest. We recall that Romania traditionally boasts good relations with both the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
ECONOMY– EU Member States are confronted with a deficit of demand triggered by austerity measures, and need to come up with ways of boosting economic growth, Romanian Minister Delegate for Budget Liviu Voinea has posted on the Financial Times website. The Romanian official claims that last year, demand in the private sector, which was the main engine of economic growth, dropped by 3.9% of the GDP in Slovenia, 2.8% in Bulgaria and Hungary, 2.7% in Poland and 2.3% in Romania. Romania has recently endorsed a lending guarantee scheme for SMEs worth 500 million euros.
THE NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA– Attending a financial meeting held by the National Bank of Romania, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said the Bank was among the few institutions in Romania to have earned respect for its professionalism and political equidistance along the years. On the other hand, according to National Bank statistics, foreign direct investments stood at 2.71 billion euros last year, up by 26.8% as compared to 2012, reaching he highest level in the last four years. The all time high was reached in 2008, when foreign direct investment stood at 9.49 billion euros.
FAIR-A total of 40 Romanian businesses are attending the Agriculture and Organic Products Trade Fair in Nurnberg, Germany. On Thursday, The Bio Romania Association of Farmers will hold a debate entitled “The Danube Strategy — a great opportunity for eco-farming in Central and Eastern Europe”. Romania was designated Country of the Year at last year’s edition of the fair.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS– Romania went down three places, from 42 to 45, in a press freedom annual index organized by the French organization Reporters Without Borders. The ranking comprises 180 countries. Finland is in first place, followed by the Netherlands, Norway, Luxemburg, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Denmark, Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. Ranking last are Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea.
