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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 20-26/04/2009 |
| (2009-04-24) |
| Last updated: 2009-04-27 19:54 EET |
The Romanian government has passed the general measures that will form the foundation of a new law instituting a single salary policy in the state system, a law which is supposed to pass by 30 June. According to prime minister Emil Boc, this upcoming law will be implemented over three years, starting in 2010, and will eliminate inconsistencies, gaps and discrepancies. The prime minister said that, over the next few years, large salaries would either be frozen or will go up very little, while smaller ones will go up faster. The ratio small salary to large salary will reach 1 to 15, while bonuses cannot exceed 30% of salary revenue. Some state employees are grumbling, their biggest complaint being the way in which internal hierarchies in the state system are organized, as well as the way in which public positions are evaluated in comparison to one another. Passing this law is one of the conditions imposed by the IMF in relation to the recent loan it has mediated for Romania. Other commitments made by Romania as part of that agreement are a pension reform, lower budget expenditure, a smaller portion of the GDP allocated to state salaries, and lower bonus to salary ratios.
Romania is in the last stages of having its foreign loan approved by the IMF and the EC, and the green light is supposed to be given between May 4 and 6. The announcement was made by prime minister Emil Boc, who used the occasion to emphasize once more that this loan is a preventive measure, and is meant to buffer the effects of the crisis. The loan totals almost 20 billion Euro, of which almost 13 billion will be given by the IMF to the National Bank to sustain currency reserves, 5 billion coming from the EC, and one billion coming from the World Bank will go to the Finance Ministry to reduce the budget deficit, and one billion Euro from the EBRD will be supplied to commercial banks for funding credit lines.
Romanian foreign minister Cristian Diaconescu discussed with British officials, while on an official visit to London, ways to consolidate the strategic partnership between the two countries, and ways of strengthening cooperation. During his encounter with his British counterpart, David Miliband, Diaconescu brought under discussion the issue of labour market restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who wish to work in the UK. The agenda also included the latest international developments, such as the situation in the Republic of Moldova and the Ukraine, recent developments in Iran, and EU enlargement.
The situation in the Republic of Moldova was this week in EU’s attention. Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, went on a visit to Kishinev, meeting communist president Vladimir Voronin and leaders of the opposition. According to Topolanek, Brussels views the political crisis in Moldova as disquieting. He said an investigative team should be sent to the Republic, where the pro-European opposition continues to claim fraud in the April 5th elections that left the communists entrenched in power. Leaders of the opposition presented the Czech president with alleged evidence of election fraud, and mistreatment of people arrested during protests. Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero -Waldner was also in favour of an investigative team. She said that she was very surprised by the decision made by the authorities in Kishinev to introduce mandatory entry visas for Romanian citizens, which she deemed unacceptable. However, Ms. Waldner told the authorities in Bucharest to exercise prudence in the decision to grant citizenship to Moldovan citizens.
Prince Albert the second of Monaco was on a two day visit to Bucharest to strengthen political, economic and diplomatic ties. He discussed with president Basescu, PM Boc and Senate speaker Geoana the economic crisis and the measures to be taken to limit its effects. They also discussed cooperation between the two states, especially in environmental and climate change issues. The two heads of state agreed on mutual support for Black Sea and Mediterranean projects. The visit schedule included, for that reason, a visit to the Danube Delta, a UNESCO protected area.
NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, at the end of his term, made a visit to Bucharest on Friday, an opportunity for him to thank Romania for being a staunch ally during its five years of membership. In April 2008, Bucharest hosted a major NATO summit, where important decisions for the alliance were made. The secretary recalled the important contribution by Romanian troops on NATO missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo. He added that right now NATO was undergoing major restructuring in order to live up to challenges such as asymmetric warfare, which will be the next major challenge for his successor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark.
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