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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 7/12/2007 |
| (2007-12-07) |
| Last updated: 2007-12-11 19:03 EET |
This week in Romania, strong winds, and heavy snows have left tens of towns without power and have seriously disrupted traffic, both on roads and railways. Winds of up to 70 km an hour have caused waves 4 to 5 meters high, that blocked sea ports and river harbors. In Bucharest, the traffic brought the streets to gridlock, partly because of the rain, partly because of the crowds of shoppers for St. Nicholas’ day. The large number of people caught in traffic blocked the telephone exchange, temporarily putting the main emergency number, 112, out of order, and stranding people in real need.
President Traian Basescu has proposed to Parliament a national pact to bring Romanian education to a level comparable to Western systems within 5 years. The president is asking politicians to agree on a long-term plan for reform in education. The head of state believes that this necessitates allocating the equivalent of 6% and 1% of the GDP for education and research respectively, between 2008 and 2013. The measures he proposed include reconfiguring schooling cycles, and the dismantling of arts and crafts schools. The president also pointed out the poor state of facilities in schools and universities, the poor training of certain teachers and instructors, and the corruption that pervades education at all levels.
President Traian Basescu asked Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu to urgently dismiss Minister of Justice Tudor Chiuariu and Minister of Labor Paul Pacuraru, under investigation for corruption. The request was turned down by the premier, who reminded the head of state that there are constitutional procedures for such cases. The President and Prime Minister exchanged letters regarding the issue a week ago, but they reached the press only on Thursday. In his letters, the head of state invoked the adoption of an executive order in October, amending the Law of Ministerial Responsibility, following which investigations into members of the government were suspended. Last week, the order was declared unconstitutional, and the Constitutional Court explained its decision: the government issued the order despite the absence of an extraordinary situation to justify such a move. At the same time, the order violates the principle of the separation of powers, which is fundamental to the Constitution, because the Presidential Committee, which is an executive body, includes magistrates, who are a part of the judicial branch. In the end, the Court concluded that the rules laid out in the presidential order, according to which the president should have asked the minister of justice to begin investigating members of government, limited the head of state’s constitutional prerogatives.
Romanian – British cooperation and several other European issues were the focus of talks held in London between PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu and his British counterpart Gordon Brown. Tariceanu called for the lifting of restrictions imposed on Romanian workers in Great Britain, saying the current interdictions do nothing but encourage the black market. However, the restrictions aren’t going to be lifted soon. The British PM said each country has the right to set its own rules regarding the labour force, as long as they are compliant with the European regulations. “Great Britain appreciates the Romanian workers’ contribution to the growth of its economy, but for now it chooses to maintain its current immigration policy”, Gordon Brown said. Also in London, the Romanian PM talked to British business people about investment opportunities in Romania, which currently stand at 5 billion Euros.
Romania will not give up its first registration fee for second hand cars, though in order to avoid a case at the European Court of Justice, it will bring its legislation in line with the European one. After a meeting with European commissioner for taxation, Laszlo Kovack, Romanian Minister of Economy and Finance, Varujan Vosganian has announced that the government will modify the first registration fee by an emergency ordinance. Next week Ministry experts will work with Brussels officials for the normative act to be brought into line with both Romania’s ecological objectives, and with European Commission regulations. Vosganian stated that by February next year Bucharest will submit the amendments to the first registration fee law to the European Commission.
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