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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 23-29/08/2010 |
| (2010-08-27) |
| Last updated: 2010-08-30 13:17 EET |
A new version of the National Integrity Agency’s functioning law was this week approved by the Senate, with previous versions having been rejected twice by parliament and declared unconstitutional. The Senate is in fact the final body to have a say in this controversial issue. The bill passed in the form it had been adopted by the Chamber of Deputies, with one sole exception – an amendment was rejected, which provided for trade union leaders to be exempt from submitting wealth declarations.
Prime Minister Emil Boc said that ‘’with the adoption of the new National Integrity Agency functioning law, Romania is regaining part of its lost credibility.’’ The Agency’s was set up in 2007 to look into potential conflicts of interests and the illegal amassing of wealth by dignitaries, and its proper functioning represents one of the pre-requisites demanded by the EU in order to give up monitoring Bucharest in the fields of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In the report regarding Romania’s judicial reforms, published in July, the European Commission criticized the National Integrity Agency law, with Brussels mentioning ‘’the insufficient political will to back reform processes’’.
The Agency secretary general Horia Georgescu believes that the current form of the law is much improved. The wealth declaration form will remain public and will contain data regarding properties, accounts and jewelry. The only details not to be made public relate to the properties’ address. The declarations will also mention the state’s contracts with dignitaries. Another provision regards the possibility for a former dignitary to be verified for 3 years following the end of their term in office.
Also this week, the Senate approved a government emergency ordinance to modify the Fiscal Code, whereby the rate of VAT was increased from 19 to 24%, as of July 1st. The measure hopes to achieve a reduced budget deficit of 6.8% of GDP, as negotiated in a previous agreement with the IMF, which granted Bucharest a loan. The opposition wanted basic foodstuffs to be exempt from the increase, and put forth a figure of 5% for constructions, but their plan fell through. Economic analyst Razvan Voican, from Ziarul Financiar explains:
‘’The VAT increase was practically an emergency measure, because we had run out of time for any other method. We would clearly need other measures to replace these additional incomes. They are very hard to find and they would translate into tax increases anyway, because the budget needs money in the short run. There is great pressure on daily spending, ensuring the necessary liquidity, that is why the measure of increasing VAT produces results faster than others.”
Senators from the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party have criticized the whole anti-crisis plan drafted by the government, believing that the exaggerated increase in the level of taxation will have effects in the medium and long term. One of these effects will be an increase in tax evasion.
The National Bank of Romania has warned, in a report on financial stability, issued on Tuesday, that credit risk is the main vulnerability of the Romanian banking system because of the population’s high degree of indebtedness. In spite of the registered economic contraction, the financial system was stable last year and in the first half of 2010, the Central Bank says, underling the positive role played by the authorities, who made several commitments to the international financial institutions.
The nurse who was supposed to monitor newborn babies in the Intensive Care Unit of the Giulesti Maternity in Bucharest last week is being prosecuted for manslaughter and gross negligence. Tragedy struck when fire broke out in the ward and 5 babies died due to severe burns. She has also been taken into custody this week. The preliminary results of the investigation show the nurse was absent from the ward for 12 minutes, when the fire broke out, due to a make-shift connection in the air conditioning system, and spread very fast. 6 other babies who were in the same ward are in critical condition.
The Romanian and French authorities have agreed to increase the number of Romanian policemen dispatched to France from 4 to 14. The decision was made shortly after Paris expelled several hundred Roma, of Romanian and Bulagrian citizenship, who lived in improvised camp, on the outskirts of towns and cities. France’s decision to repatriate ethnic Roma has been criticized by many European countries. Romanian state secretary, Valentin Mocanu who has held talks with the French authorities, warned against the risk of racism and xenophobia, speaking in Paris on Thursday. The authorities in both countries agreed however that the principle of free movement could not be used as cover for human trafficking, prostitution, begging and delinquency.
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