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| The Week in Review |
| (2012-02-11) |
| Last updated: 2012-02-13 12:29 EET |
The Boc cabinet has resigned. Romania has a new government and a governing program.
The Romanian PM, Liberal Democrat Emil Boc, on Monday submitted his and his cabinet’s resignation to ease the country’s social and political situation and to safeguard the economic stability the country has managed to obtain under difficult economic circumstances. The decision comes after more than 3 weeks of anti-governmental and anti-presidential street protests. President Traian Basescu designated Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service and a politically non-affiliated historian and diplomat, to form the new cabinet. The Liberal Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, proposed new ministers, while the other partners in the ruling coalition maintained their former ministers. The new government and governing program were voted in Parliament on Thursday. The attitude of the new government will be cautious and responsible, its main targets being the economic and political stability of the country, the new PM underlined. He also announced that the government would not oversee dialogue with civil society as regards the decisions that will impact the population. The new government intends to encourage Romanian investments, so as to capitalize on markets outside the EU, to carry on with the restructuring of the state economy and to strengthen partnerships with the private business environment. On a parliamentary strike since February 1st, the Social Liberal opposition boycotted the investiture vote. The opposition Social Liberal Union continues to ask for early elections, which in their opinion should result in a legitimate parliamentary majority.
The 4th joint mission of the IMF, the EC and the World Bank has issued its conclusions.
The representatives of the joint IMF, EC and World Bank mission came to Bucharest for their 4th assessment of the precautionary agreement they concluded with Romania in March 2011. The head of the IMF mission in Bucharest, Jeffery Franks, announced that all qualitative targets were met and that an agreement was reached with the Romanian government regarding future policies. He added that Romania should set priorities regarding major public investments and should redirect available funds towards those sectors that can generate economic growth, such as healthcare, transports and energy. Other challenges the Romanian authorities will have to cope with are the reform of the healthcare system and the elimination of arrears of state owned companies. Jeffrey Franks believes that the best incentive for Romania’s economic development is the substantial improvement of European funds absorption. The governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, believes European funds are Romania’s chance to recover. On the other hand, Isarescu said that after the completion of the current precautionary agreement in 2013, Romania should not conclude another agreement with the IMF because this would send a bad signal to the markets.
A second wave of snowstorms and extreme cold weather has left Romania paralyzed.
Another week of harsh winter has come to an end in Romania, as everywhere else in Central and Eastern Europe. An orange code warning against snowstorms, heavy snowfalls and sleet was issued earlier this week in southern and south-eastern Romania, whereas the cold snap has taken the entire country in its grip as of Wednesday. Dozens were killed while several thousands were left temporarily stranded following the heavy snowfalls and powerful winds that dashed through the snow. Hundreds of towns and villages were left without power supplies and running water. Romanian authorities have called on policemen and the army to clear a path to snowed-in areas, where snow reached nearly 3 meters high, and distributed water, food and medicine among the locals. Classes were suspended in thousands of schools and kindergartens for several days. Railway traffic was crippled, as hundreds of trains were canceled or reported several-hour delays. The blizzard and sleet also disturbed road traffic, resulting in the partial or complete shutdown of dozens of national roads and over a hundred county roads. Traffic was also banned on the highway linking the capital city Bucharest to the Romanian Black Sea Coast. Seaports and river ports were temporarily closed as the powerful snowstorm or large icepacks made it impossible for ships to reach them. After snowstorms, Romanians had to face a fierce cold snap, with negative temperatures throughout the day.
The European Commission has made public its interim report assessing progress in the Romanian judiciary.
Romania has made important progress in combating corruption and reforming the judiciary, reads the mid-term report of the European Commission made public on Wednesday. The report has acknowledged that the High Court of Cassation and Justice has accelerated high level corruption cases and the endorsement of a law providing for disciplinary penalties for magistrates. However, the Commission still has reservations regarding the commitment and ability of the Higher Council of Magistrates to ensure the integrity and responsibility of magistrates. The Commission has recommended that Romania clear the ground for the enforcement of the new Codes of Criminal and Civil Procedure, and ensure transparency and integrity within the judiciary. Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu said that Bucharest needed to prove the irreversibility of reforms in order for the Commission to lift the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. On the other hand, European Commission spokesman Mark Gray said that the mechanism and Romania’s Schengen accession should be kept apart. The Netherlands, the only EU member states that still opposes Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen bid, has announced it will wait until the Commission issues its final report assessing the progress made in the two countries’ justice systems, before taking a decision.
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