Parliament begins its second ordinary session of the year on Tuesday

The Senate and the Deputies’ Chamber start on Tuesday the second ordinary parliamentary session of the year.The two Chambers were convened by the President of the Senate and, respectively, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, in accordance with the decisions published in the Official Gazette, ‘pursuant to the provisions of Article 66(1) and (3) of the Constitution of Romania, as republished’, as well as Article 83( (1) of the Senate’s Rules of Procedure and Article 34(a) of the Chamber of Deputies’ Rules of Procedure, respectively.   In the Chamber of Deputies, the plenary sitting was convened for 4.00 pm. In the Senate, the Standing Bureau is due to meet at 12.00, whilst the plenary sitting is also scheduled for 16.00. In accordance with the procedures, on the first day of the parliamentary session, the vice-presidents, secretaries and quaestors of the Standing Bureaux will be elected in each chamber.   In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the two Chambers, the election of members of the Standing Bureaux is carried out on the proposal of the parliamentary groups, in accordance with their representation, the political composition of the respective chamber and negotiations between the leaders of the parliamentary groups. The lists of candidates will be put to a vote by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate as a whole and will be approved by an open vote of the majority of MPs present.   Among the priorities for this parliamentary session is the vote to appoint a Government with full powers, given that Speaker Nicu?or Dan has announced that he will organise a new round of consultations with the parties in early September to appoint the Prime Minister.   Also on the legislature’s agenda are, amongst other things, a unified pay scale and, in the field of education, the secondary school admissions system.   The Liberals have already announced their priorities, which, according to PNL parliamentary group leader Gabriel Andronache, include the reform of central public administration and state-owned enterprises, administrative-territorial reform, electoral reform (with the focus on reducing the size of the Romanian Parliament as well as local government), reform of the health insurance budget, and the Lustration Law.   AUR stated on Saturday that among the legislative priorities for the ordinary parliamentary session are a bicameral Parliament with 300 members, the election of mayors in two rounds of voting, and a limit of two terms for the leadership of public institutions.   The Social Democrats will set their priorities on Monday at the meeting of the National Political Council; these will focus, first and foremost, on unblocking the appointment of the new Prime Minister and securing a majority for the vote on a new Government.