President-Elect Iohannis Talked To Basescu Ahead Of Taking Office
Tatiana Niculescu Bran, spokeswoman for President-elect Klaus Iohannis, said Wednesday Iohannis had a one hour talk with President Traian Basescu at the presidential palace.
Iohannis will be taking office Sunday, December 21.
This is the only private meeting Iohannis has had with Basescu since winning the presidential election in November.
The Parliament meets Sunday at noon for the new president’s swearing in ceremony. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Ordinance Allowing Political Migration Of Local Officials Unconstitutional
The Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday the ordinance passed by the government earlier this year allowing local officials to switch political party affiliations without losing office is unconstitutional.
The Court sustained the claim submitted by the Liberal Party, which contested the ordinance.
Parliament will have to regulate the measures regarding the legal effects produced while the ordinance was enforced and decide what happens to the official positions of those who migrated to other political parties. (Adevarul)
Transelectrica And Transgaz Placed Under Economy Ministry’s Authority
Romania’s government approved an ordinance placing state-run companies Transelectrica (TEL.RO) and Transgaz (TGN.RO) under the authority of the Economy Ministry, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Transelectrica is Romania’s power grid operator, while Transgaz operates the country’s natural gas transmission system.
Early February 2014, the two companies were placed under the authority of the government’s General Secretariat.
The two companies have been administered by the Finance Ministry since March 2013. Before that, they were under the authority of the Economy Ministry.
Romania owns 58.69% in Transelectrica and 73.51% in Transgaz. (Adevarul)
Foreign Investors: Cabinet Reshuffle Affects Business
The government reshuffle require efforts from the business environment, which needs to establish dialog with the new Cabinet ministers, but that shouldn’t be a problem as long as changes don’t go deeper that state secretary levels, the Foreign Investors Council said Wednesday.
“What can we do? It’s a given, we can’t change this, it’s an effort to establish a dialog with these people and organizations. At least this time we don’t have changes, or I hope we won’t, that go deeper than ministry levels, as is always the case when political power changes,” said Steven van Groningen, member of the council.
He added he does not expect problems for the business environment following the Cabinet reshuffle. (Puterea)
General Prosecution Office Takes Over Crashed Helicopter Investigation
The Military Prosecution Department with the general prosecution office will be taking over the investigation regarding the crash of an emergency rescue helicopter in Constanta county.
Prosecutors opened a criminal investigation for lack of works security measures and negligent homicide.
Four people died on December 15 in the helicopter crash. (Jurnalul National)
Romanians Eat 1 Million Pigs On Christmas, 14% Of Annual Pork Consumption
Romanians eat approximately 1 million pigs during Christmas, which represents 14% of the annual pork consumption, while over 400,000 of them are slaughtered in people’s backyards, Ioan Ladosi, head of the Romanian Association of Pork Producers, said Wednesday.
According to Ladosi, 3.5 million pigs are annually slaughtered in farms, out of which around 400,000 on Christmas.
At the same time, 1.6 million pigs are imported annually, of which 200,000 on Christmas.
“Nevertheless, the annual pork consumption is low in Romania, at 20 kilograms, half the European average,” Ladosi added.
The head of the Romanian Association of Pork Producers added slaughtering pigs in backyards is still a common practice in most of Central and Eastern European countries, but most popular in the Balkan region. (Romania Libera)