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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW (17-23.09.07) |
| (2007-09-21) |
| Last updated: 2007-09-24 14:11 EET |
This week, the compulsory private pension system was officially launched in Romania. According to the law, any Romanian employee aged up to 35 must opt for a compulsory private pension, being optional for employees aged between 35 and 45. 2% of the 9.5% of employees’ salaries, currently going to social securities, will be directed into a private pension fund. This quota will increase each year by a half percentage point until it reaches 6% of the monthly gross income within eight years. President Traian Basescu has urged the people targeted by the programme to have confidence in the private pension system.
“Private pensions can be a success story today and can be a catalyst for the Romanian economy and for citizens’ welfare in the coming period. I’m urging those meeting the conditions to opt for private pension funds. The great advantage for those who choose the private pension system is that they will not be affected by the vulnerabilities of the state pension system. I think that the introduction of the private pension system will be able to bolster fairness on the labour market, and those who participate in the private pension funds will see to it that their salaries and contributions are correctly laid down in their employment papers.”
Demographics experts studying Romania’s population warn that following ever bigger migration and the increasingly low birth rate, in 100 years only 9 million Romanians will remain, down from today’s 21 million inhabitants. This is by no means a singular case, with the whole of Europe being confronted with the same trend, though this doesn’t mean that urgent measures are not necessary as the reduction of the population triggers major structural changes in society. This week, officials in the field got together in Sibiu, central Romania, and reached the conclusion that the demographic trend must be rapidly revised. Attending the meeting, president Traian Basescu pointed out the need for the state to give a bigger financial aid to families having more than one child.
This week, after having put it off for a long period, the National Executive Committee of the main opposition party in Romania, the Social-Democratic Party, the PSD, decided to file a no-confidence motion against the minority government formed by the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. The motion, which criticizes the entire centre-right wing government that came to power following the 2004 elections, will be submitted early next week. Social-democrat leader Mircea Geoana told a press conference the reasons for their move.
“There is no other solution for Romania than to attempt to have a government that has parliamentary support, a government capable of bringing the country back to a correct and normal track. The present government and its policies have failed. It is a government incapable of functioning from a political, legal and practical point of view.”
The leader of the National Liberal Party, prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, the main loser should the motion be passed, has in turn given a press conference, directly referring to the scenarios drawn up in the last few days. He suggested that, in a way, what is happening is a positive development, because things are being cleared up on the political scene.
“As I can see, in the last few days, the Social-Democratic Party and the Democratic Party have been holding negotiations. In this way, we can clearly see that the old links they had while the National Salvation Front was in power have not been entirely destroyed; that there is a good understanding between the old comrade-in-arms, and for sure, the electorate will thus realize that the Democratic Party is merely an impostor in the centre-right arena and that it is actually a left-wing party in Romania.”
Former or present ministers are being targeted by the National Anti-corruption Directorate in Romania, which has asked for the approval of president Traian Basescu to start criminal investigations against them. Justice Minister, liberal Tudor Chiuariu and former Minister of Communications, Zsolt Nagy of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the UDMR, are accused of acts of corruption and abuse of power. Moreover, the former Defense Minister during the 1996-2000 period, democrat Victor Babiuc, is being investigated for bribe-taking and abuse of power with serious consequences. Justice Minister Tudor Chiuariu says that the request to start investigations into his case is a kind of retaliation to his request for the investigation of the National Anti-corruption Directorate’s activity, and to the fact that the inspection revealed irregularities. These accusations have been dismissed by chief prosecutor of the Directorate, Daniel Morar.
Just a few days are left for political parties in Romania to complete their lists of candidates for the Euro-parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 25th. For the time being, only the National Liberal Party of prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu has come up with a complete list, validated by the party’s board. The social-democrats have announced that the party’s general secretary, Titus Corlatean, will be top of the list and the Democratic Party in opposition has only a provisional list. Senator Gyorgy Frunda and ministers Iuliu Winkler and Attila Korodi are top of the UDMR’s list, while the Greater Romania Party is still being rather discreet about its candidates.
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