Two months after being sworn in, the government led by Mihai Razvan Ungureanu fell on Friday, brought down by a no confidence vote. The opposition, formed by the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, accused the government of failing to meet most of the targets it set for itself. It also accused it of channeling money towards Liberal Democratic party clientele, and of violating university autonomy by creating a new school within the Targu Mures University of Medicine and Pharmacy with classes in Romanian, Hungarian and English. The no confidence motion passed by 236 votes, 5 more than the minimum 231. The opposition managed the move after several members of the ruling coalition switched parties. The Ungureanu cabinet now sets the record for the briefest stint in power, 78 days. The new executive’s main task is organizing local elections on June 10, the most important event in Romania in the near future.

The President of the European Council visits Bucharest

The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on Wednesday paid an official visit to Bucharest. The visit marked the anniversary of 7 years since the signing, in Luxembourg, of Romania’s EU accession treaty. During the talks with the Romanian authorities, the EC president underlined that Romania, and the entire Union, should establish budget discipline as their main priority. As regards Schengen accession, he appreciated the measures taken by Romania and noted that at the European Council meeting of all European leaders in March underlined that Bucharest had managed to comply with the conditions for Schengen accession. The absorption of EU funds is also critical and the government has to be more efficient in order for Romania to overcome its weaknesses and reform state-owned enterprises, Herman Van Rompuy added.

Decisions on pensioners’ health insurance contributions.

The Romanian PM Mihai Razvan Ungureanu has given assurances that the Constitutional Court decision regarding pensioners’ health insurance contributions will take effect. The court decided that the payment of health insurance contributions on pensions of more than 170 euros goes against constitutional rights. The Court’s ruling could affect the national budget to the tune of 150 million euros. Convening in joint session, the labor and health committees of the Chamber of Deputies, on Wednesday voted for the return of the 5.5% tax levied on the total sum of pensions, and not just on that part of the pension exceeding 170 euros. The money unjustly taxed will be returned in monthly installments until the end of 2012.

A new evaluation mission of international lenders has come to Romania.

A joint IMF, European Commission and World Bank mission is currently in Bucharest for the 5th evaluation of the precautionary agreement concluded in the spring of 2011 with Romania. This is the last visit of the current head of the IMF delegation for Romania, Jeffrey Franks, as Holland’s Erik De Vrijer will replace him. The current precautionary agreement between Bucharest and the IMF is worth 3.6 billion euros. Romania has also concluded a similar agreement with the European Commission worth 1.4 billion euros and the World Bank opened a 400 million euro credit line for Romania. The commitments made by the Romanian authorities, which were only partially fulfilled or even delayed, include privatizations, the introduction of private managers in state-owned institutions and the reduction of the budget deficit. The IMF experts estimate that this year Romania will see economic growth of 1.5% of the GDP, less than previous forecasts. This is due to the anticipated recession in the euro zone and the deterioration of conditions on international markets.

The European Commission investigates the activity of Hidroelectrica, a state-owned company.

The European Commission initiated 5 investigations into the activity of the state-owned energy company Hidroelectrica. They will verify whether or not the hydro-electric power producer purchased or sold electric energy at preferential prices in its dealings with several companies, thus infringing EU norms in the field of state subsidies. Industrial customers and electric energy producers are supposed to have been favored by reducing their operating costs or by increasing their incomes. Hidrolelectrica announced they handed all the sales-purchase contracts involving the sale of electricity over to the Commission.

The contracts of the American company Chevron in Romania have been made public.

Chevron is the second largest oil group in the US, and currently holds a number of areas on Romania’s territory for the exploration and exploitation of shale gas. The town of Barlad in the east of Romania and three other areas in the southeastern county of Constanta are where the exploration activities are taking place. Chevron has obtained the right to lease on the areas in southeastern Romania for a period of 30 years, which can be extended by another 15 years, according to documents published by the National Mineral Resources Authority. Also, if Chevron discovers gas and oil, it will pay dividends to the Romanian state of between 3.5% and 13% of production. The level of dividends is the same for all companies, following the privatization contract of Petrom of 2004, and will remain so until the end of 2014. As regards environmental protection, the contract with the American company has triggered heated debates and the opponents of shale gas exploitation have organized rallies against gas fracking in Romania.