|
RRI newsletter subcription
(e-mail address):
|
 |
Archives:
|
|
| The Week in Review |
| (2011-12-17) |
| Last updated: 2011-12-19 12:39 EET |
The Parliament in Bucharest has passed the national budget and the social security budget bills for 2012.
On Thursday, the Romanian Parliament, meeting in joint session, passed the state and social security budgets for 2012 in the form proposed by the government. The opposition introduced thousands of amendments to the bills, but they were voted down. According to the two laws, next year the same flat tax rate, the VAT rate, social security contributions, but also state salaries will be maintained. According to Prime Minister Emil Boc, who described it as a prudent budget, the state budget law focuses on investment, jobs, European funds and support for business, and is supposed to provide Romania with macroeconomic stability. The opposition accused the executive of lacking vision and acting irresponsibly towards the population.
Romania has agreed to ratify the European fiscal compact.
Parliamentary parties in Romania have agreed to ratify the European fiscal compact, a document adopted at the winter European Council, which is meant to introduce stricter discipline in order to help Europe restore confidence in its ability to solve its problems. As early as the Brussels summit, President Traian Basescu joined 22 other heads of state and government in agreeing to the document, and now, after consulting parliamentary parties in Bucharest, he confirmed Romania’s commitment towards it. According to the document, signatory states agree to set a ceiling of 0.5% of the GDP for their structural deficits, and one of 60% of the GDP for their public debt. European legal experts are supposed to issue by the end of this year the penalties that countries in violation of that agreement stand to incur. In Bucharest, President Basescu said he believed there was only one way to go about joining this agreement, stating it should be laid down in the Constitution. He added that he believed it was the only way to guarantee that it could not be easily changed, such as by gathering a parliamentary majority of half plus one. The president of the Social Democratic Party, Victor Ponta, who is co-chair of the Social Liberal Union, said that curbing the deficit should be done by special legislation, which should only pass by two thirds of votes in Parliament.
The Romanian government has taken responsibility for two draft laws, which involves the Parliament’s vote of confidence.
The Emil Boc cabinet has taken responsibility for a bill on jointly holding local and parliamentary elections in 2012, and the opposition has called for a vote of confidence. Victor Ponta, co-chair of the Social Liberal Union, told Radio Romania that the government wanted to stir confusion among the voters. Prime Minister Boc, however, claimed that the purpose of the merger was to cut expenses. According to the law, the censure motion introduced by the Social Liberal Union will be read out in Monday’s joint session, and it is supposed to be debated on December 22nd. If the motion is voted down, the law on joint elections passes, but if it goes through, the government loses its mandate.
The Boc government also took responsibility for one other law, that regulating the appointment of judges to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. According to that bill, judges and prosecutors who want to become magistrates in that court must have 15 years’ experience, and at least five years’ experience in similar positions in either courts of appeal or prosecutor offices associated with the High Court. Also, the law increases the number of exams that the magistrates have to pass before being appointed to the Court.
The EU calls on member states to lift labor market restrictions for Romanians and Bulgarians.
In Brussels, the European Parliament and the EuropeanCommission have this week made a recommendation to member states, under separate initiatives, to lift the restrictions imposed on Romanian and Bulgarian workers seeking employment in those countries. The Romanian Parliament passed a resolution in this respect, while labor market Commissioner Laszlo Andor called on the states which still have restrictions in place to lift them. The member countries may continue to deny access to Romanian and Bulgarian workers if they so wish, if they can prove that their presence affects their labor markets negatively and severely. According to Commissioner Andor, studies so far prove that in most cases, lifting labor market access restrictions did not have a significant impact on unemployment. Right now, 11 countries still have those restrictions in place.
President Traian Basescu went on a visit to Turkey.
President Traian Basescu went on a state visit to Turkey to sign the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two countries. The document lists priority areas, from cooperation in the field of security and economic cooperation to cooperation in science, culture and the environment. The head of state said there had been calls to simplify legislation in the two countries, and added that the Romanian and Turkish sides should be looking into creating optimal legal provisions to this purpose. At a Turkish- Romanian business forum, the Romanian president invited investors from Turkey to come to Romania, recommending involvement in areas such as tourism, agriculture and the food industry. In the first three quarters of 2011, two-way trade was worth over 3.5 billion Euro, while the target aimed at is 10 billion Euro.
And the Romanian team Steaua Bucharest have qualified for the Europa League 16th finals.
The Romanian team Steaua Bucharest have qualified for the Europa League 16th finals by defeating at home 3 to 1 AEK Larnaka of Cyprus. The other Romanian team that still had a chance to promote was FC Vaslui, which got thrown out by FC Zurich, beaten 2-nil in an away game. The finals of the Europa League will be in Bucharest in May 2012.
|
|
| |
WMA |
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
MP3 |
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
AAC+ |
|
|
48kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
 Historical mascot of
RRI |
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again