Discussions on the laws of justice between Prime Minister and civic organizations ended without results
Discussions on the laws of justice between Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and representatives of civic organizations ended without results. Mihai Poliţeanu, the representative of Romania Initiative, says that civic organizations sent a very clear message to the Govenrment. The delegates present at the meeting said Romania is in a major slippage from standards of the rule of law and democratic standards. Moreover, the separation of powers in the state has been erased altogether and Parliament is under the subordination of some people with criminal files. As far as the requests are concerned, Mihai Poliţeanu said the representatives of civic organizations had requested the Venice Commission to be informed about the laws of justice and the amendments to the Criminal Codes, and they demanded postponing their application by emergency ordinance, until the Venice Commission would say its opinion. Thirdly, they demanded the dismissal of Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, whom Mihai Poliţeanu said was no longer a credible, moral and professional partner for civil society and for foreign partners. Mihai Poliţeanu underlined he was dissatisfied with the results of the discussions, saying that the only thing he had received was the Venice Commission. When asked what would be the solution to resolve this deadlock, he said: „We continue the protests. We also expect a communiqué from the Executive on this subject”.
President of Romania signed into law the bill of so-called Split VTA
The bill on the split VAT payment was promulgated by President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, announces the Presidential Administration. Chamber of Deputies passed the law two weeks ago, with several changes to the original draft. One of the changes refers to the fact that the Split VAT measure, as it is called, will no longer be mandatory for everyone, but only for companies in insolvency or bankruptcy, or those who have state debt to pay. Companies who pay VAT incorrectly will be penalized with 0.06% of the day, from the day of the wrong payment to the date of the correction. The measure will come into force early next year.
Romanian Transport Ministry sends to European Commission the application for funding a new subway project worth € 1,4 bln
The Romanian Transport Ministry has submitted the European Commission the application for funding for the construction of a new subway line between North Railway Station and Otopeni Airport, in Bucharest. The project is estimated to cost € 1.4 bln., of which the operator Metrorex already has approximately € 300 million of a credit granted by the Government of Japan since 2010. Romanian Transport Minister Felix Stroe has recently pledged that M6 line to Otopeni will be finalized by 2020, although the line has a 4-year execution deadline and the bidding process has not yet been launched.
Magda Baciu
