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| The Week in Review 24-30/04/2011 |
| (2011-04-29) |
| Last updated: 2011-05-02 13:34 EET |
A joint mission of the IMF, the European Commission and the World Bank is currently in Bucharest for a first assessment of the new agreement, a precautionary one, signed with Romania in March. The talks with the Romanian officials will come to an end on May the 9th and will focus on three technical issues, which are instrumental to consolidating the reforms started in the past two years. Romania’s representative to the IMF, Mihai Tanasescu has more:
“The first focal issue refers to the fiscal consolidation process, which should be continued. A second issue on the agenda of the talks focuses on the analysis of each company, ways to enhance the efficiency of those companies and a third aspect refers to tightening the surveillance process at the level of the banking system. I believe that Romania is embarking on the right path, but reforms should be continued to consolidate all efforts which have been made in the past two years.”
Under the new agreement, the IMF makes available to Romania some 3.6 billion Euros, but the money will be accessed only in exceptional situations. The agreement is accompanied by a 1.4 billion Euro precautionary support from the EU and a 400 million Euro loan from the World Bank.
Romania will continue to support the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a majority Romanian speaking population), in its effort to join the EU, Romania’s President Traian Basescu has said fresh from a meeting with the Moldovan interim President, Marian Lupu. Basescu has said the action plan to implement the Declaration on the Strategic Partnership for European integration between Romania and the Republic of Moldova will be drafted in the near future. In turn, Marian Lupu has said Moldova’s relations with Romania have made a significant progress in recent times and has thanked for the financial aid granted to his country.
Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Baconschi has taken a mini-tour of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in an attempt to boost political and economic relations with the two Gulf countries. Baconschi has held talks with officials in Riyadh and Doha on the latest developments in North Africa and the Middle East. Romania believes that reforms in the Arab countries can’t be delayed, because they are legitimately demanded by public opinion in the region, minister Baconschi has said. A series of political, economic and cultural agreements and documents have also been signed on the occasion of the visit.
Anti-corruption prosecutors will investigate the former Romanian Labor Minister, Liberal Democrat Ioan Botis, after the National Integrity Agency has notified the National Anti-Corruption Directorate about his involvement in a conflict of interests case. Botis resigned last week after the media had revealed that his wife was involved in a project funded with public and European funds allocated through the Labor Ministry. On the other hand, the former Agriculture Minister, once a member of the Christian- Democratic party, Ioan Avram Muresan, was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of office against public interest in aggravated form, embezzlement and intellectual property theft. Between 1999- 2000 he allotted from the state reserve a certain amount of oil to a company that did not meet the conditions provided by law to benefit from loans.
Several days ahead of the coming into force of the new Labor Code, Romanian PM Emil Boc announced an ambitious plan meant to do away with illegal work, warning employers tempted to break the law that they risk big fines and criminal charges. He explained that the measure was meant to protect employees who can benefit from their due rights only if they are hired based on a legal contract.
The Romanian government decided to use a solution frequently employed by EU countries, namely funding investments through public-private partnerships. The government approved a list of 18 projects in the field of infrastructure, energy and health-care that will be promoted by the related ministries. The projects are aimed at the construction of 5 highways, of a hydropower plant and a thermal power plant, of another two units at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant and of a liquefied natural gas terminal in Constanta. Other investments approved by the government are related to the building of the Siret- Baragan canal, the finalization of the Danube-Bucharest canal and the bridge over the Danube that links Braila to Tulcea.
In London, the former sovereign of Romania, King Mihai 1st, attended, together with his daughter, princess Margaret, the most eagerly awaited event of the year- the wedding of Prince William, the grandson of Queen Elisabeth II of Great Britain, second in line to the throne, with Kate Middleton. This is the biggest royal event taking place in Great Britain since the marriage of Prince William’s parents, Charles and Diana, thirty years ago. The ceremony at Westminster Abbey was attended by 1,900 guests. Almost one third of the world’s population watched the event on TV broadcasts and the Internet. Aged 90, King Mihai 1st, also attended the wedding ceremony of Queen Elisabeth with Prince Philip in 1947.
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