Embassy of Romania in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No. 1/ 7th Year
1st-15th January 2013
Politic
1.President Traian Basescu met US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland at the CotroceniPalace
2.President Basescu requests re-examination of order on energy production from renewable sources
3.PM Victor Ponta: 2013 a very good year, I want us to even better govern in 2014
4.2013: Gov't economic results, foreign agenda, reshuffle moves, pledged laws
5.ForMin Corlatean: We are not sitting idle for meeting Schengen political requirements
6.'The Rebirth of the Transatlantic Ties' on the agenda of Corlatean-Nuland meeting
7.Foreign Affairs Ministry hails EU's fully lifting labour restrictions on Romanian citizens
8.Free movement of workers, among the topics discussed by Corlatean with the head of the EC Representation
9.Romanian diplomacy route in 2013
10.Commissioner Laszlo Andor hails Romania's progress towards increasing structural funds' absorption rate
11.Romania holds Presidency of the General Working Group (GWG) in 2014, as part of the Wassenaar Arrangement
12.Ciolos: It is important both for R. Moldova and Europe for EC proposal on visa liberalisation to be adopted by summer
13.Romania has time till end-March to submit official draft of Partnership Agreement
ECONOMIC
1.EC confirms Romania a top EU macroeconomic performer in 2013
2.Economists expect Romania's economy to grow 2 - 2.3 pct in 2014
3.Romania's trade deficit, down by 3.5 bn euros, after 11 months; exports reach almost 46 bn euros
4.Turkey is Romania's number one economic partner outside EU
5.Austrian investors are interested in business projects in Romania, especially in energy and transports
Social
1.European Commission: Romania has highest growth rate of education budget
Culture
1.'Child's Pose' and 'Love Building' - top places in Romanian box office in 2013
2.Festival of European Regions to be organized in Brasov in May 2014
3.Romanian Christians celebrate Epiphany
4.Old Rite Christmas customs
5.Olimpia Melinte wins Goya Award nomination for acting performance in 'Cannibal'
6.Romanian tourism on display at Stuttgart CMT 'Holiday Exhibition'
7.164th birthday anniversary of Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu on January 15
8.National Culture Day highlighted in Bucharest by symposiums, concerts, exhibitions
Politics
1.President Traian Basescu met US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland at the Cotroceni Palace
President Traian Basescu, at the CotroceniPalace, received Victoria Nuland, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. The meeting lasted more than one hour.
Victoria Nuland was in Romania in order to discuss the bilateral relations, regional questions and the efforts to consolidate the rule of law, according to the US Embassy in Bucharest.
The importance of our alliance too, it is a very important relation between the United States and Romania, added Victoria Nuland.
She emphasized the fact that she was in Romania in order to mark the tenth anniversary of Romania being a NATO member state and in order to discuss future developments.
2.President Basescu requests re-examination of order on energy production from renewable sources
President Basescu sent the law approving the government order establishing the promotion of energy production from renewable sources, which he considers inopportune.According to a press release of the Presidential Administration the law approves government order 57/2013 on the amendment and completion of law 220/2008 establishing the promotion of energy production from renewable energy sources, a document amending state aid SA 331342011/N-RO.
“According to art 108 par 3 of the Treaty on EU functioning, the commission is informed in due time to present its observations on projects which intents to set up or modify the aid. On June 24 2013 EU sent a letter to the Permanent CE Representative Office which mentions that no previous notice had been sent. On October 3, 2013 the Commission sent another letter thatpoints out the need of pre-notification, an obligation which has not been fulfilled by the government of Romania” the press release shows.
President Basescu “considers that the approval of government order 57/2013 before carrying out obligations foreseen by the Treaty on EU functioning is inopportune and exposes Romania to notices on infringing EU constitutive treaties.”
On December 17, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the order on renewable energy which stipulates the payment of green certificates for three years and their transaction on the stock exchange. The deputies adopted the law with 243 voted for, 46 against and 21 abstentions.
3.PM VictorPonta: 2013 a very good year, I want us to even better govern in 2014
2013 has been a very good year in government, a thing also proved by the figures showing Romania has recorded one of the biggest growths in the European Union, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said in the opening of the Government's meeting on 7th of January, adding 'I want us to even better govern in 2014'.
'I want to thank you all. 2013 has been a very good year. Not even the propaganda succeeds in spoiling these things. We have one of the biggest growths in the EU. It is not necessarily because we wished it, but with the support of (Minister-delegate for Budget Liviu) Voinea we have one of the lowest budget deficits in the EU. It is by the work of you all - I usually congratulate Mr (Eugen) Teodorovici (the European Funds Minister - editor's note), but I am well aware it is also about the ministers of regional development, environment, transport, labour, education and all the others - that we certainly have Europe's biggest increase in the absorption rate of the European funds. We ended in more than 30 percent and I congratulate the ministers, but you must thank the chiefs of the Authorities, of the intermediate bodies and let us keep the pace in 2014 too', Ponta said.
The prime minister underscored Romania recorded the highest growth in agriculture in 2013, not only thanks to the favourable weather, but also to the subsidies that were paid on time.'It is the first year in at least 20 years when we no longer import more food than we export, which I think was a curse on this rich country', he stressed.
Ponta added 2013 was also the year in which the Government made good on its promises of raising the pensions and wages.'I want us in 2014 to govern even better than in 2013. You already have more experience, you have all that you need for things to go to the right direction. And we also have the good news that the main adversary of the Government of Romania is packing his things. /.../ The bad news is he will still block enough things, enough important projects', the prime minister said.
4.2013: Gov't economic results, foreign agenda, reshuffle moves, pledged laws
Last year's three-quarter economic data most visibly represent the Government's outcomes in 2013. Thus, according to Eurostat, in Q3 Romania had the highest economic growth in the European Union compared to the previous three months and also compared with the period July - September 2012. Romania tops the EU rankings with 1.6%, followed by Latvia (1.2%), UK and Hungary (with 0.8% each), and Poland (0.6 %). The National Statistics Institute published the same data, adding that compared to the same period of 2012 the advance is 4.1%. Moreover, Romania's current annual inflation rate is 1.8%, the lowest recorded since 1989.
The European Commission refunded 7.10 billion euros to Romania, representing 36.96% of the EU allocations for the 2007-2013 period. Reimbursed interim payments account for 4.997 billion euros of this amount, which represents 26.01% of the 2007- 2013 EU allocation. Statements of expenditure submitted to the European Commission amount to 5.309 billion euros, a figure which stands for a current absorption rate of 27.63% of the EU allocations.
Romania's three-quarter agri-food trade balance ran a surplus of 3.2 million euros, the first such surplus since 1994.
The minimum wage reached 180 euros, the average monthly pension was 196 euros, and there are 66,000 new stable jobs in the economy (over the interval January 1 - September 30, 2013), which take the aggregate figure to over 100,000 new jobs since May 2012. The unemployment rate in the third quarter was 7%, down from the 7.5% registered in the previous quarter (ILO methodology comparable at European level). The number of unemployed fell by 46,000 from 758,000 in Q2 2013 to 712,000 in Q3, shows INS data.
*** Foreign agenda
As far as foreign actions are concerned, the Government's activity this year was marked by a series of high-level meetings between Premier Victor Ponta and heads of state and government from countries with a decisive role in international politics. Some of the highlights include: the visit to the USA; the two meetings with the Chinese Premier, in July in Beijing and in November in Bucharest, respectively; the Romanian Prime Minister's visit to Paris and Berlin, as well as to Spain.
* During the three-day official visit to Bucharest, over November 25 - 28, of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Romania's capital city hosted the economic and political negotiations between China and the Central and Eastern European economies. Apart from talks and negotiations, the official visit of the Chinese Premier, the Summit of Central and Eastern European Prime Ministers and the Economic Forum held on the sidelines of the Summit also meant the signing of important bilateral documents. At government level, Victor Ponta and Li Keqiang adopted a common Declaration on deepening bilateral cooperation and representatives of the two governments and of the two states' business milieu signed a series of Memoranda on bilateral cooperation in energy, the sanitary and veterinary sector, industry, the information society and culture.
* From October 21 to 23, Prime Minister Victor Ponta paid an official visit to Washington, accompanied by Minister of Energy Constantin Nita, Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlatean, Minister of Education Remus Pricopie, and Minister of Environment Rovana Plumb. The milestones of the visit were meetings with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the White House, congressmen and representatives of several U.S. companies - Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Motorola, IBM and HP. Also on the Premier's agenda were meetings with Congress representatives responsible for the modification of the legislation that would allow Romania's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program.
* On June 26, Prime Minister Victor Ponta embarked on the so-called Asian tour that included Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China. The visit to China, at the invitation of his counterpart Li Keqiang, was the occasion for the sides to establish the details of the Investment Forum and of the China - Central and Eastern European Prime Ministers Meeting in November, in Bucharest.
* Other key moments in the Government's foreign activity were Prime Minister Victor Ponta's visit to Paris in February and his trip to Berlin in June. In France Victor Ponta and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault signed the 'road map' for the relaunch of the Romania - France Strategic Partnership, which was initialled back in 2008 for a five-year period. Its validity was supposed to be successively extended by five-year periods. The Romanian Prime Minister was received at the ElyseePalace by French President Francois Hollande.
* In June, Victor Ponta was in Berlin at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel whom the Prime Minister assured that Romania has regained stability and wishes to become again a reliable partner for Germany. Chancellor Merkel said that Germany and Romania have a close partnership also due to the German minority living in Romania.
* In July, Prime Minister Ponta was in Madrid, and the conclusions of the visit were clearly expressed by his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy: Spain and Romania are strategic partners and bilateral relations will be intensified.
*** Government - Parliament relationship and parliamentary opposition
The Victor Ponta Government pledged responsibility for two laws this year, the Property Restitution Law and the Decentralization Law, and also faced several simple motions tabled by the opposition.
* On April 17 the Ponta II ruling line-up pledged responsibility before Parliament for the Property Restitution Law. According to the Government, the piece of legislation was aimed at bringing 'a historical reparation for those who suffered almost 70 years ago when their properties were seized by the political regime of the time.'
Towards the end of the year, on November 20, the Ponta II Government pledged responsibility before Parliament for the Decentralization Law, in absence of PDL lawmakers. The purpose of the piece of legislation is to strengthen local government.
The opposition deputies tabled nine motions this year, all of them having been defeated when put to vote. Thus, the PDL and PP-DD deputies tabled the motion entitled 'Taxation to the Very End! The USL Wants You Poor', in which they called for the immediate withdrawal of the 2014 budget plan and 'an end to public money theft and making the central and local budgets expenditure and revenues transparent'. Other motions included 'The Romanian Railways CFR Freight Division - The Chronicle of a Failed Privatization', 'Save the Bucharest Underground', 'The Victor Ponta Government Produces Unemployed Alone', 'The Anti-European Policy or How Can the USL Live without Schengen', 'The State-Owned Companies under the USL Governing - State Management or Party Kinship', 'Stop the Institutionalization of the Audio-Visual Inquisition and the Manipulation of Democracy'.
*** Two budgets adopted in one year
The Victor Ponta II ruling line-up devised and approved in 2013 two public budget drafts, that for the current year and the budget for 2014.
On January 23, the Government adopted the draft budget for 2013, which was built on a GDP of 623.314 billion lei, an economic growth of 1.6% compared to 2012, an average annual inflation of 4.3%, an average exchange rate of 4.5 lei per euro and a deficit of 2.1% of GDP, specifically 13.394 billion lei. The State Budget Bill cleared the joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on February 7.
The Government approved on July 30 the first budget revision for the current year, having agreed thereon with the international partners.
The second budget revision was approved on October 30.
The draft public budget for 2014 was adopted in the Government sitting of November 15 and narrowly avoided being killed by President Traian Basescu. The head of the state conditioned the signing of the bill on the Government's renouncing the planned fuel tax increase of 7 eurocent per litre. The Government accepted to postpone the measure by three months till March 31. As a result, on December 19, the President signed into law the 2014 State Budget. In round figures, Romania's consolidated budget next year will be 230 billion lei.
5.ForMin Corlatean: We are not sitting idle for meeting Schengen political requirements
Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Titus Corlatean said that a favorable decision on Romania's Schengen accession will be taken when the 'political requirements' for a consensus are met, but pointed out that Romania will not wait 'arms crossed' to meet these conditions.
'The Premier has already clearly expressed the position of the Romanian government, I am merely repeating it, namely that as soon as the political requirements for consensus are met, we expect this subject to be immediately entered on the agenda of the Council for a correct and legitimate decision to be made on Romania and Bulgaria. I assure you that we are not sitting idle for these requirements to be met. We keep on doing what we have to do, yet without bidding over, without overestimating, and after a more complicated European period we expect rationality to return to legitimate and non-discriminatory decision-making for all EU members. (...) When the political conditions are met you will have a favorable decision on Romania and Bulgaria,' Corlatean declared at the European Commission's Representation in Romania at the ceremony for Greece taking over the Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2014.
In response to the question whether Romania will still insist with the Greek Presidency for the inclusion of the Schengen subject on the agenda of the Council, Corlatean underscored that regardless of the government, Romania's steady and consistent stance has been that joining the free movement space is a legitimate and natural goal based on the fulfillment of the criteria.
'According to EC assessments and having also the EP political support to rely on, Romania fulfills the objective criteria of the Schengen acquis,' added the Foreign Minister.
He reminded the statement European Commission President Jose Barroso has made on the Schengen issue, pointing out that this had been a 'very accurate and fair intervention.'
'He said many things we ourselves have stated in the domestic political context or in relationship with the European partners, so there was nothing new, but with the EC authority he stressed that there is no connection whatsoever between the Schengen accession criteria, the criteria clearly set forth in the acquis, and other political considerations, some of which have to do with the European climate which is even more complicated by the economic crisis or by specific and political conditions in certain member states,' said Corlatean.
The Minister indicated that at their meeting in Athens in November last year, he and his Greek counterpart Evangelos Venizelos also discussed Schengen accession.
'Greece has consistently supported and further supports this legitimate goal of Romania and of course, Bulgaria, and we appreciate this,' concluded Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean.