A selection of the main stories in Romania this week.
Budget adjustment without green light from Supreme Defence Council
The Government of Romania, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, on Wednesday passed a state budget adjustment bill that had not been green lighted by the Supreme Defence Council, amid disagreements on this topic with President Klaus Iohannis.
On Tuesday, the President suspended a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council, after its members failed to reach an agreement on the state budget adjustment bill. Klaus Iohannis asked the Cabinet to come up with a new bill, eliminating what he saw as "unaccountable" cuts in the budgets of national security institutions. The Government has a parallel agenda to the one of Romania's citizens and is trying to divert attention from the serious problems to which it is unable to find solutions, the President argued. He publicly requested the Ombudsman to notify the Constitutional Court with respect to the 2018 state budget's compliance with the Constitution. On the other hand, the President says the PM ignored his invitation to a dialogue regarding the public budget adjustment, which, in his opinion, is a dangerous precedent in institutional relations.
Thursday's planned talks between the President and the Prime Minister were replaced by a meeting between the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici and the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, on the one hand, and two presidential advisers, on the other hand. The Government said the Prime Minister was unable to answer the President's invitation because she was on an official visit to Spain.
PM Viorica Dancila on an official visit to Spain
During the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila's visit to Spain, the Romanian official and King Felipe VI discussed the privileged relationship between the two countries and the excellent level of bilateral political and economic relations. Previously, the head of the Romanian Government and her Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez signed 2 agreements, in the field of defence and public administration. The two prime ministers praised the excellent economic cooperation, which sees a positive trend both in terms of bilateral trade, amounting to some 4 billion euros, and in terms of Spanish investments in Romania.
Viorica Dancila thanked the Spanish authorities and society for their constructive attitude towards the Romanian community in that country, whose 870,000 members make the second-largest foreign community in Spain. Viorica Dancila also tackled the issue of dual citizenship for the Romanians residing in Spain, which, for the time being, is not accepted by Madrid. Dancila's visit did not include meetings with representatives of the Romanians living in Spain, some of whom protested and displayed anti-governmental posters as a response to the incidents during the protests of August 10, when the gendarmes used disproportionate force.
New chief of National Anti-Corruption Directorate proposed
Of the 6 applicants for the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has chosen Adina Florea. She headed the Constanta County Prosecutor's Office for several years and was later the deputy chief of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Constanta Court of Appeals. The objectives in Florea's management plan include an analysis of the acquittals ordered by courts, reducing the prosecutors' backlog of case files, and enhancing the transparency of the Directorate's activity. After the Supreme Council of Magistracy issues an official opinion on the candidate, the nomination will be forwarded to the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. The post has been vacant since President Iohannis was forced by a Constitutional Court ruling to remove Laura Codrut Kovesi from office, at the request of Justice Minister Toader.
African swine fever in Romania
Under the budget adjustment bill passed on Wednesday, the National Veterinary Authority received an additional 30 million euros for measures to contain the African swine fever epidemic. The institution announced that the assessment of over 3,000 households and farms has been completed, and less than 200 compensation applications have been approved. Compensations total more than 10 million euros, which will be financed from the budget of the Veterinary Authority and from funds earmarked by the European Commission. The Authority announced that over 830 outbreaks of swine fever are active in 190 villages from 11 counties in the north-west and south-east of Romania. Over 170,000 pigs were infected or killed. The African swine fever is a viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs alike, which develops rapidly and has mortality rates of up to 100%. The General Prosecutor's Office has announced that it is investigating the management of the crisis by the authorities. President Klaus Iohannis also requested checks into how the authorities implemented swine fever control and prevention measures.
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