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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 30/08-05/09/2010 |
| (2010-09-03) |
| Last updated: 2010-09-06 15:24 EET |
Several members of the Romanian government were reshuffled on Thursday. The holders of significant portfolios – the Finance, Labour, Economy, Transport, Agriculture and Communications ministers – have been replaced. The changes are made against the backdrop of the economic crisis Romania has been facing since the late 2008. Liberal Democrat PM Emil Boc says this government reshuffle is meant to reach two fundamental goals - going ahead with reform projects and making efforts for Romania to register economic growth again. In September 2010, data made public by the National Institute of Statistics show that after 6 quarters of recession, the Romanian economy has shown timid signs of recovery. According to the aforementioned institute, between April and June, the Romanian economy increased by 0.3%, as compared to the first three months of the year. The budget deficit stood at 3.9% of the GDP in the first seven months of the year, and investments decreased by approximately 19% in the first quarter of the year, as compared to the same period of 2009.
The two-chamber Parliament in Bucharest on Wednesday started the autumn parliamentary session. The main priorities of the representatives of the ruling majority, made up of the liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and some independents, are draft laws on the unified payment system in the state secotr, national education and the single pension system. In another move, the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party, in opposition, have set as their main objective the removal of the Boc cabinet by a motion of censure.
Approximately 20 thousand farmers on Thursday picketed the prefectures of 23 counties in Romania, calling for solutions so that they might receive quotas of European funds and subsidies for agriculture. Farmers also ask for the restoration and improvement of the national system for irrigation, as well as for the introduction of genetically modified plants. If their claims are not met, farmers threaten to block national roads and customs checkpoints, at the end of the month. Trade unions in the railway sector have threatened to call an all out strike if negotiations with the management fail to produce results. They will hold a new round of talks at the Transport Ministry next week on the restructuring of the Romanian Freight, Travelers and Infrastructure Railway Companies. The leadership of the ministry intends to made redundant some 8,000 employees in this sector by 2011, which will help it save some 190 million Euros. Trade union leaders have said they will not accept new layoffs, because a plan to restructure the Romanian Railway Company has already been carried out, and called for erasing the debts of the railway companies or for increased subsidies.
The already traditional annual meeting of Romanian diplomats held in early September has offered president Traian Basescu the opportunity the revise the priorities for Romanian foreign policy in 2011. The utmost priority is Romania’s accession to the Schengen area in March 2011. The president, speaking to Romanian ambassadors to the EU member states, mentioned the blood link, the cultural and linguistic connection between Romania and the Republic of Moldova, which determined Bucharest to unreservedly support Chishinau’s EU accession bid. The Romanian president has said this support might be the origin of the tense relations between Romania and Russia of late. However, Basescu called on the diplomats to explain to foreign circles that Bucharest is neither hostile to nor an enemy of Moscow, but merely follows its interests in the domain of security and energy policy. He pointed out that the two countries have, however, converging interests, such as peace and security in the Black Sea area, the fight against terrorism, tackling drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe, as well as fighting arms smuggling. Last but not least, Traian Basescu has hailed the closer relations with Romanians living abroad and the fact that, in spite of financial difficulties generated by the crisis, Bucharest has managed to open new consulates in Italy, France and the US, and to allot funds to the Romanian communities living just outside the borders of the country.
The decision by the French authorities to repatriate hundreds of Roma immigrants, mostly to Romania and Bulgaria, from the French territory, continues to stir criticism from the European chancelleries, who have expressed their discontent about the issue. On Tuesday in Brussels, EU Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, held talks with Romanian and French officials on the situation of the Roma people. Bucharest has said it will not tolerate acts of discrimination against the Roma, while French officials stated that the recent repatriations abide by European law, in terms of free movement of people. The Roma issue has also been approached in Bucharest by Romanian president Traian Basescu and the president of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Mevlu Cavusoglu (SE PRONUNTA CEAVUSOLU). The European official has said the Roma issue in Europe has required resolution for a long time, demanded that the rights of this minority to be observed.
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