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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 14-20/06/2010 |
| (2010-06-18) |
| Last updated: 2010-06-21 14:18 EET |
On Wednesday the center right cabinet in Bucharest led by the Liberal Democrat Emil Boc survived a motion of no-confidence filed by the left wing Social Democratic opposition. The vote failed to secure the 236 necessary votes to bring down the government. The 8 votes that the opposition fell short of meant that the government will have free reign in implementing its austerity plan. In order to have a clear mandate to impose the plan, the government had asked for a vote of confidence in Parliament.
The plan provides for the reduction in the salaries of the 1.4 million public sector employees in Romania by 25%, and a 15% cut in pensions, unemployment benefits and child allowances. “This is social genocide!” cried the Socialists and the Liberals in opposition, alongside thousands of protesters who formed a human chain around the Parliament Palace at the time of the voting and called for the resignation of the president and the prime minister. The cuts, the toughest in Europe, are vital for Romania to meet its 6.8% deficit target, argues prime minister Emil Boc. The reduction of the budget deficit is in fact one of the requirements Romania must meet in order to receive the next payment of a loan provided by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and other international financial institutions. Emil Boc:
“I feel no joy, but an immense responsibility which I share with my cabinet, to manage the affairs of the country so that we ensure economic growth, on the one hand, and be able to pay salaries and pensions in Romania, on the other, and thus overcome this difficult period as soon as possible.”
The opposition challenged the austerity laws at the Constitutional Court, which is expected to give a ruling next week.
President Traian Basescu attended the summer meeting of the European Council held on Thursday in Brussels, a meeting that focused on the economy. The Council adopted the 2020 Strategy for economic growth and jobs, a strategy which, according to the Romanian president, perfectly complements Romania’s modernization programme. Special emphasis was placed on the measures to consolidate economic governance in the European Union. A number of guidelines were established to consolidate budget discipline, with the Member States’ budget plans to be part of the stability and convergence programmes which will be presented to the European Commission every spring.
The feasibility studies for the construction of a pipeline crossing Romania, and an underground gas storage tank as part of the South Stream project will be carried out in the next few months. This announcement was made by the Russian company Gazprom in a press release following talks in Moscow this week between the Romanian economy minister Adriean Videanu and the Gazprom head Alexey Miller. Bulgaria, which South Stream reaches after crossing the Black Sea, recently decided to drop two major projects carried out with Russia in the energy field, namely the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline and the Belene nuclear power plant. Bulgaria says the European pipeline Nabucco is more important than South Stream, which hit numerous problems. As a result, Russian commentators say Moscow might look to Romania for building the South Stream gas pipeline.
Bucharest marked the 20th anniversary of the so-called miner raids of 13th-15th June 1990, which put a violent end to a wide scale demonstration against the new power that followed the collapse of the communist dictatorship in December 1989. Against the background of a number of incidents in the capital city, the then president Ion Iliescu spoke about a coup and asked the miners in Jiu Valley, in the centre-west, to defend the country’s democratic institutions. The miners arrived in Bucharest and stormed the headquarters of opposition parties and the offices of independent media. The miner’s raid of June 1990 resulted in the official death of 6 people, while hundreds of people were wounded and over 1,000 were abusively arrested.
On June 14th, Bucharest celebrated 130 years of diplomatic relations between the US and Romania. On this occasion, the US was hailed as a stout supporter of Romania in its NATO and EU accession. Bucharest’s contribution in the war against terror was also praised.
Romania faced the year’s first scorching temperatures, this week. Thermometers reached 37C, with a discomforting humidity factor that leapt past the critical 80-unit limit. The UVA factor also hit high figures and doctors recommended people to avoid sun exposure. Many people required medical assistance, and trains had to respect speed restrictions. The hot days were followed by extremely unsettled weather, mainly in hilly and mountain areas.
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