July 10, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 10.07.2014, 11:30
Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean has decided to urgently set up a crisis cell to assist Romanian citizens in the Gaza Strip. The Bucharest authorities are monitoring the situation and are in permanent contact with the local authorities and with Romania’s diplomatic and consular missions in the area. On Tuesday, the Romanian Foreign Ministry increased the alert level for Israel and the Palestinian Territories and recommended Romanian citizens to avoid travelling in the region. The move comes against the background of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
Romania’s president Traian Basescu says he will not sign into law the bill on the 5% reduction in social security contributions for employers as of October 1st, a bill recently passed by Parliament. The president argues this measure would affect macroeconomic parameters and the country’s relationship with its international lenders. The business environment hailed the reduction of social security contributions for employers, while the Tax Council, the advisory body for policies in this field, has given a negative opinion on the measure.
The Romanian Anticorruption Directorate opened an investigation into alleged bribe taking by some Romanian officials in exchange for granting the German company EADS, in 2004, a contract for an integrated system for border security, worth 534 million euros. Prosecutors are suspicious about a feasibility study indicating the German company as the only company in the world able to supply the services requested by Romanian authorities. In another move, the National Integrity Agency has came to the conclusion that Romania’s Ambassador with UNESCO, Nicolae Manolescu, cannot justify 78,000 euros and has notified the expert committee with the Bucharest Court of Appeal to look into the matter. In a statement with Radio Romania, Nicolae Manolescu voiced surprise at the Integrity Agency’s move.
The leadership of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, UDMR, will decided on Friday if they leave the government coalition dominated by the Social Democratic Party or choose to stay in power. Tensions within the coalition were triggered by the Foreign Ministry’s decision to support the viewpoint of the European Commission and reject an UDMR initiative on the protection of national minorities.
The American company Chevron has announced it halted exploration works for shale gas in Pungesti in eastern Romania. The announcement was made a day after Greenpeace activists tied themselves with chains to the fences surrounding the pipe.
