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| The Week in Review |
| (2012-05-05) |
| Last updated: 2012-05-10 16:31 EET |
On the line-up:
· Romania’s PM Designate Victor Ponta has unveiled the line-up of the new cabinet and his government programme.
· The outgoing government in Bucharest headed by Mihai Razvan Ungureanu has presented the report of his short term in office.
· Political developments in Romania have had a negative impact on the currency exchange rates and the decisions of the National Bank.
· President Nicolae Timofti of the Republic of Moldova has paid a visit to Romania.
· And.. the conclusions of a report on the freedom of press and the politicisation of the media.
Romania’s Prime Minister Designate, Victor Ponta has announced the line-up of the new cabinet and the government programme
Romania’s Prime Minister Designate, Victor Ponta has announced the membership of the future Social-Liberal government, which will have a limited term in office until the parliamentary elections scheduled in November. The cabinet has 20 ministers, including 3 ministers delegate, and consists of members of the Social-Liberal Union, made up of the Social-Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Conservative Party, as well as of technocrats. Ponta has explained that by and large he has kept the structure of the previous government in order to ensure continuity. He has also kept one member of the outgoing cabinet, which collapsed in the wake of a motion of censure filed last Friday, namely the Minister for European Affairs, Leonard Orban. The Prime Minister Designate has decided that Victor Alistar, nominated as minister delegate for government strategies, will no longer be a member of the future cabinet, after the National Agency of Integrity decided that at this moment he was incompatible with any public office. Ponta has also spelled out the priorities of the government programme: intolerance to corruption and cronyism, ridding public administration from political influence, rectifying social inequities, the implementation of an economic vision that guarantees predictability and creates new jobs and protecting the country’s natural resources. The Prime Minister Designate, Victor Ponta:
Victor Ponta: “The top priority of the government I’m going to form will be the observance of this country’s laws, without any exceptions, derogations and excuses, as we’ve had so many lately.”
Developments in Romanian politics have affected the national currency exchange rate and have influenced the decisions of the National Bank.
The change of government in Bucharest has affected the exchange rate between the Romanian leu and the euro, with the Romanian currency dropping to an all-time low against the euro. The exchange rate has exceeded the psychological ceiling of 4.4 lei for one euro. The leu has also lost ground against the US dollar. The National Bank governor Mugur Isarescu has explained that this situation, which analysts have anticipated, is the result of the latest political developments and the upcoming elections at home, but also of an unfavourable foreign context, including in the banking system. Isarescu believes the depreciation of the national currency is not severe and that its impact on the inflation rate will be weak. He said officials should be restrained in their public statements so as to prevent panic among investors. Considering the current state of affairs, the National Bank of Romania decided to keep the monetary policy interest rate at 5.25% per year, thus putting an end to the series of consecutive decreases that began in November.
The president of the Republic of Moldova visits Romania
Romanian President Traian Basescu has welcomed his counterpart from the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, in Bucharest. This was Timofti’s first visit to Romania since taking office on March 16th. Basescu said the future Romanian government, regardless of its orientation, would support Moldova unconditionally on its road to EU accession, as this is one of the fundamental pillars of Romania’s foreign policy. In turn, Nicolae Timofti said his country is relying a great deal on Romania as regards issues relating to Moldova’s EU accession. The two presidents decided to speed up projects to connect Romania and Moldova’s energy, transport and communications systems.
Freedom and the politicisation of the Romanian press
Last year saw a growth in the pace of politicisation of the Romanian media, with several politicians becoming media owners and managers. This is shown by the 2011 FreeEx report on the freedom of the press in Romania released by Active Watch on May 3rd, on World Freedom of the Press Day. The report shows a paradox, namely that more and more TV news channels are appearing on a market where revenues from advertising are dropping. The authors of the study say this fuels speculations as to the real purpose of these media outlets, which might be used as political instruments during this election year. The agency also noted that television networks are increasingly hungrier for ratings. This has led to severe breaches of journalistic ethics, including the fabrication of news, giving exaggerated coverage to celebrity scandals and the exploitation of tragic events, all of which dominated in 2011. Meanwhile, the media showed little interest in discussing topics of major public interest and exposing cases of abuse by the authorities, the violation of fundamental rights or acts of corruption. On the other hand, the FreeEx report shows that worsening economic conditions has led to the shutdown of several publications, layoffs, pay cuts and work conflicts, with the written press being the hardest hit. Aside from political and economic constraints, the report also signals that journalists are still faced with attacks, insults and threats, mostly from representatives of state institutions.
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