Minister Says Planned Protests In Healthcare Sector Are Ungrounded
Romania’s Health Minister Eugen Nicolaescu said the planned protests in the healthcare sector are ungrounded since the ministry is preparing a package of laws meant to bring radical changes to the country’s healthcare system.
Nicolaescu said all parties involved in the process should sit down and talk on the matter. (Adevarul)
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Performs In Bucharest
The famous Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia will perform at the Palace Hall in Bucharest, on the 11th and 12th of September, within the international George Enescu Festival.
Antonio Pappano, one of the world’s leading opera conductors and director of music at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, will be conducting the famous Italian orchestra in the 2013 edition of the George Enescu Festival, on September 11 and 12.
The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of the best-known orchestras in Italy and has performed over 14,000 concerts since its inception in the nineteenth century.
The George Enescu Festival, held in honor of the celebrated Romanian composer George Enescu, is the biggest classical music festival and classical international competition held in Romania and one of the biggest in Eastern Europe.
This year’s edition takes place between September 1 and 28. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Industrial Output Inches Lower In July
Romanian adjusted industrial production inched 0.1% lower in July compared with the previous month, on declining output in the mining sector, according to the country’s statistics institute INS.
Mining output fell 5.1% on the month in July, but production in the manufacturing and the energy sectors increased 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively. The data are adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors.
In annual terms, the country’s adjusted industrial output rose 6.3% in July, largely due to a 7.7% increase in the manufacturing industry.
Energy output was down 3.4% on the year, while mining production edged 0.2% lower, the data showed.
In the first seven months, Romania’s adjusted industrial output was up 6.1% on the year, due to increases in the manufacturing and mining sectors.
In unadjusted data, the country’s industrial production rose 7.2% on the month in July and was down 11.4% compared with the same month of 2012. (Adevarul)
Parliament Adopts Referendum Law
Romania’s Chamber of Deputies Tuesday adopted the bill lowering the required quorum in referendums to 30% of voters from 50%.
Deputies adopted the bill with 223 to 72 votes and 23 abstentions, rejecting President Traian Basescu’s request to reexamine the referendum law.
The Parliament adopted the bill lowering the quorum in referendums to 30% on May 29 and the bill was contested at the Constitutional Court. The court ruled in June the bill was constitutional as long as the measure was not applied within the first year of the change.
Basescu, who must sign the bill into law before it can take effect, sent the bill back to Parliament for revision in July, saying the new quorum of 30% fails to ensure sufficient representation in referendums.
The Chamber of Deputies had the final say on the bill. (Curentul)
Romania To Declassify Documents On Rosia Montana Mining Project
All documents concerning the gold mining project in Rosia Montana, western Romania, will be declassified and made public by Minister-delegate for Infrastructure Projects Dan Sova Wednesday, according to Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
Possible compensation for not pushing ahead with the project will be decided by Canada’s Gabriel Resources, which holds 80.69% in a joint-venture developing the gold mining project, Ponta added.
According to the prime minister, the government will declassify all documents on the Rosia Montana investment since 1999 and the mining project will be halted if it is rejected by Parliament.
Gabriel Resources said Monday it would assess all possible actions, including legal proceedings, if the project was rejected before debate by the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament.
On Tuesday, the Senate’s committees for legal matters and environment protection rejected the project. The Senate’s economic committee has yet to adopt a report on the bill before the normative act is sent to the Parliament plenum for a vote. (Gandul)
Stray Dogs May Be Euthanized If They Are Not Adopted In 14 Days
The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill allowing for stray dogs to be euthanized if they are not adopted in 14 days after being sent to pounds.
The lower house had the final say on this bill, which was approved with 266 to 23 votes and 20 abstentions.
Last week, a four-year-old child died from injuries sustained in an attack by a stray dog in a park in Bucharest, which prompted lawmakers to resume debates on a bill on stray dogs whose adoption has been postponed several times.
Some 64,000 stray dogs walk the Bucharest streets undisturbed. About 4,100 children and adults were bitten by dogs in the first four months of the year, according to the National Infectious Disease Institute in Bucharest. (Evenimentul Zilei)