The Romanian Parliament convened on Friday afternoon to vote on a request to impeach President Traian Basescu. The votes of 217 members are needed to suspend the President, and the governing alliance of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) hold by themselves 212 votes. The Constitutional Court issued an advisory ruling on the request earlier today, but gave no final ruling whether the arguments including in the impeachment request were valid. The vote comes as EU pressures intensify on USL, an alliance accused of threatening the rule of law. In his speech at the beginning of the Parliament session today, Basescu pointed out that, for USL, more important than his suspension the interest to take hold of all reigns of power, including justice.
UPDATE 8.10 p.m. Parliamentary debates are over. Voting on President Basescu's impeachment has started
UPDATE Senate speaker Crin Antonescu - a Liberal who is due to take over as interim President if Basescu is suspended, said he would witdraw from politics if Basescu is not dismissed in a referendum
The City Hall of Brașov, a popular mountain resort in central Romania, announced that the narrow Strada Sforii (Rope Street), one of the city's best-known tourist attractions, will be temporarily closed. The authorities cited urgent public safety concerns after experts warned that crumbling plaster from nearby buildings poses a risk to visitors. Mayor George Scripcaru […]
Train ticket prices will rise by nearly 10% starting December 14, when the new 2025–2026 railway timetable comes into effect in Romania, officials confirmed on Wednesday, as reported by Agerpres. The increase of 9.88% reflects the annual inflation index published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), in line with...
Deputy prime minister Oana Gheorghiu will lead a working group tasked with reforming Romania's loss-making state-owned companies, prime minister Ilie Bolojan said in an interview with ProTV, as reported by G4media.ro. Her predecessor, Dragos Anastasiu,
Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan, on November 19, in an interview given to ProTV and quoted by Hotnews.ro, explained that the pension-wage cumulation ban will apply only to the so-called special pensions, namely those not based on past contributions, as opposed to all pensions as implied by Social Democrat (PSD) labour...
Statements by Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan about cutting by 10% the total personnel budget for all ministers and other similar contracting units, as opposed to only the central administration of the respective bodies, prompted on November 19 a radical reaction from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and trade unions in the public sector. No […]
Romania’s Ministry of Labour unveiled for public consultations the revised law on magistrates’ pensions, and the government, in a press release, expressed its hope that the approval process, including by the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM), will proceed expeditiously. However, CSM vice president Claudu Sandu has already publicly rejected the law as insufficient. The bill is […]
