People’s Movement Party Submits Bill On Correspondence Voting
Lawmakers who have joined the right-wing People’s Movement Party (PMP) submitted a bill Monday introducing correspondence voting for Romanians abroad.
Party president Eugen Tomac said the bill covers all the stages of the voting process and the Foreign Affairs Ministry would be the one managing the correspondence voting process.
Tomac added 3.5 million Romanians live abroad and it is the Romanian state’s duty to ensure they may exercise their right to vote. (Puterea)
Constitutional Court To Discuss Referendum Quorum Bill On October 23
Romania’s Constitutional Court will discuss the head of state’s unconstitutionality claims on the referendum quorum bill on October 23.
President Traian Basescu challenged the bill lowering the required quorum of national referendums to 30% from a majority of 50% plus one.
Basescu said the bill undermines the sovereignty of the people, which is guaranteed by the Constitution. (Romania Libera)
Opposition Democrat Liberals Announce Shadow Government
Romania’s opposition Democratic Liberal Party announced Monday its shadow government, led by Catalin Predoiu.
The party’s shadow government has Monica Macovei for justice minister, Gheorghe Ialomitianu for finance, Andreea Paul for economy, Gheorghe Stefan for agriculture, and Lucian Bode for energy.
Predoiu said the shadow government only has 16 ministries, six out of ten shadow ministers are women, and the average age among shadow ministers is 45. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Nuclearelectrica Should Use IPO Proceeds To Increase EnergoNuclear’s Capital
Romanian state-run nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica could use the proceeds from an initial public offering of 10% of its stock to finance a capital increase at EnergoNuclear, a joint-venture set up to build two new reactors at the Cernavoda plant, said Energy Minister Constantin Nita.
“Nuclearelectrica has advanced several proposals on how to invest this money, but they need to be analyzed. If the nuclear reactors project pans out, Nuclearelectrica will have to increase the share capital of EnergoNuclear, so the money should go there,” Nita told a news conference.
The nuclear power producer has raised 281.8 million lei (EUR63 million) in an initial public offering of 10% of its shares, which was priced at RON11.2 a share, or the low end of the expected RON11.2-RON15 range. (Adevarul)
Bread Prices Down 6% After VAT Cut
Shelf prices on bread have decreased around 6% following a lowering of the sales tax from 24% to 9% in the industry, according to Romanian antitrust authorities.
“Ideally, the price of bread should have dropped by 12%. What we see is a decrease of about half or a little more than half, which means part of the decrease goes to the consumer and a part to the economic operator,” said Competition Council president Bodgan Chiritoiu. (Puterea)
Two Romanian Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
Two Romanian troops have been killed in an improvised explosive device blast during a combat mission in Afghanistan, the Romanian Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday.
Warrant Officer 3 Vasile Claudiu Popa, 28, and Master SergeantAdrian Postelnicu, 34, were severely injured Sunday evening in eastern Afghanistan, during a mission. The two were rushed by helicopter to the military hospital in Bagram but died due to their sustained injuries. (Adevarul)