Romania Politics

Embarrassed government hosts in Romania have apologised after a minister on a VIP visit from the Lebanon had two coats stolen in less then 24 hours on an official trip to the capital Bucharest.

At the spring European Council, the leaders of the European Union agreed to postpone making a decision on when Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen Area until September, because of The Netherlands' veto.A More specifically, the Dutch Government argues that Romania and Bulgaria have not made enough progress against corruption and organised crime.

The EC has stopped payments worth 3.5 billion euro to Romania from the Human Resources funding line, An IMF team is visiting Bucharest to discuss policy with new government, American fast food chain Subway will open in April its first unit in Romania.

An IMF team visits Bucharest to discuss policy with Romania's new government. The IMF has said no changes to Romania's precautionary aid deal are envisaged.

PM Mihai Razvan Ungureanu on Sunday had a telephone conversation with the premier of the Republic of Moldova, Vlad Filat, in which the two officials agreed to hold , at Iasi, a joint session of their respective Cabinets, the Romanian Executive informs.

Romania's centrist coalition government enabled state-owned power grid Transelectrica on Tuesday to limit or temporarily halt electricity exports and lower deliveries to some industrial consumers due to freezing temperatures.

Along with their new government, Romanians may be seeing a new standard of living soon if the new executive economic programme comes to fruitation.

Romania has a new government, after the ruling coalition, made up of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Union for the Progress of Romania, has endorsed the nomination of former foreign intelligence chief Mihai Razvan Ungureanu... Romania has a new government, after the ruling coalition, made ... (more)

Parliament approved a new government on Thursday whose leader promised to keep the austerity measures the country imposed but also to raise public-sector salaries as soon as he can.

Romania's new Prime Minister Ungureanu places his hand over the bible and the constitution during a swearing-in ceremony in Bucharest BUCHAREST - Romania's new prime minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu won parliamentary approval on Thursday for a government that offers little political change but might ease some austerity measures as an election nears.

Prime Minister designate, Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, currently the head of Romania's foreign intelligence service, delivers a speech, in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Feb.

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Romania's Parliament on Thursday approved a government led by former spy chief Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, which the ruling coalition hopes will improve its popularity ahead of parliamentary elections this year.

Romania's Parliament approved a government led by former spy chief chief Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, which the ruling coalition hopes will improve its popularity ahead of parliamentary elections this year.

Romania's Parliament named Mihai Razvan Ungureanu as prime minister, moving to defuse a nationwide protest movement against government spending cuts.

Romania's Parliament named Mihai Razvan Ungureanu as prime minister, moving to defuse a nationwide protest movement against government spending cuts.

Romania: Parliament to vote on the country's new government

While the opposition may have forced the resignation of Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc, Romania is unlikely to make significant, strategic changes since the country's policies are conditioned by a much-needed agreement with the International Monetary Fund, argues Stratfor.

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Several projects will test the strength of the new Government in Romania this year, when officials will need to secure more funding to keep afloat, create more jobs and tackle the social distress in the country.

Romania's incoming prime minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu rang the changes at the economy and finance ministries Wednesday when he unveiled his new government.

In appointing the head of the secret service to lead the government, President Băsescu is attempting to avoid early general elections. But, as the Romanian press points out, the controversial Mr Ungureanu is perhaps not the politician that is best equipped to put an end to protests against austerity and the country’s political class. – România liberă, Jurnalul Naţional, Adevărul, România liberă, Revista 22 (Press review)

Romania's newly appointed prime minister has named his government, a mix of old and new figures.

Romania's newly appointed PM names government after previous collapsed over protests

It was a huge mistake. The real number of Romanians who hate Boc is actually very low, but the media has rallied many naive people against his government using cheap populism.

Romania has become the latest EU country to see its government collapse in the face of planned austerity measures. Isn't it time to think again, […] (Blog)

BUCHAREST, Romania -- Romania's newly appointed prime minister began talks Tuesday to form a new government after the previous one collapsed following protests over austerity measures and declining living standards.

"Operation Ungureanu"  has begun, headlines Adevărul: on 7 February, the young (age 43) intelligence service chief, Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, is to take over […] (News in brief)

(This post is by Christine McCann)

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

Japan will reportedly join the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), an international pact designed to establish uniform standards for compensation in the event of a nuclear disaster. The convention grants “exclusive jurisdiction” to the country where a disaster occurs, saving it from potentially exorbitant overseas litigation, and decrees that member states will share responsibility for any event for which liability exceeds $465 million. In addition, it guarantees “exclusive liability of the operator,” meaning that only nuclear power companies will be held liable for a disaster, not manufacturers of reactors. The United States, Argentina, Morocco, and Romania have already signed the pact. Up until now, Japan has refused to participate in the belief that a nuclear disaster could never happen on its soil.

Records show that three members of the task force that is revising Japan’s nuclear energy policy have received over 18 million yen in donations from the nuclear power industry over a five-year span. Although the payments were not illegal, critics, including some fellow task force members, say that the men have been influenced by the donations. Hideyuki Ben, who sits on the task force and represents the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center noted, “All three professors are experts on nuclear power, but they only made remarks in favor of nuclear power generation. It was as if no accident had occurred [at Fukushima.]”

In spite of Nuclear Crisis Minister Goshi Hosono’s promise late last month that employees who worked at Japan’s soon-to-be created Nuclear Regulatory Agency would not be allowed to later return to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), in order to prevent conflicts of interest, sources are now reporting that that rule will only apply to the top seven posts at the 485-person agency. Critics are expressing concern about a lack of independence and neutrality.
 
Japan Nuclear Fuel, Ltd., which operates the Rokkasho reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture, is delaying scheduled vitrification tests after similar tests failed last week, throwing a wrench into plans for the nation’s nuclear fuel cycle. Vitrification is the process of mixing molten glass with highly radioactive liquid nuclear waste, in order to store it more effectively. However, tests resulted in a blocked furnace at the plant, as well as the unexpected production of unidentified black particles. Rokkasho officials have no prospect of immediately fixing the malfunction. The plant has continued to encounter problems since testing began there in 2008, and this most recent issue is expected to spur a review of Japan’s nuclear policy.

A government investigation has revealed that METI intentionally concealed cost estimates of disposing of spent nuclear fuel in 2004, in order to promote Japan’s nuclear fuel cycle program—and that the cover-up was ordered by Masaya Yasui, who now serves as METI’s Deputy General for Nuclear Safety Regulation Reform. Critics, who say that the subsequent internal investigation was shoddy and incomplete, are calling for his removal.

An employment scandal involving contract workers at Kansai Electric’s Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture reveals that illegal labor is a common occurrence in Japan’s nuclear industry, and in some instances, involves organized crime syndicates. Workers frequently receive only a small portion of what their contracts promised, with the excess being funneled to the crime syndicates; safety of the workers is often compromised. The Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) says that of the 83,000 nuclear power workers who were exposed to radiation in 2009, 90% were contract workers not directly employed by utilities.
 
Recently disclosed documents reveal that power companies paid local municipalities over $2 billion over the past 40 years to host nuclear plants. Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) alone paid over $460 million, and while it stopped making payments after the Fukushima disaster, other utilities have continued to do so. The money was used to pay for public facilities, sports arenas, scholarships, and to cover budget shortfalls. The costs for those payments were routinely passed along to consumers.
 
The city of Musashimurayama in Tokyo will obtain power from sources other than TEPCO for the majority of public entities in the city starting in April, in order to save money and reduce reliance on TEPCO, which has traditionally held a monopoly on electricity there. City officials estimate that the move will save approximately 14 million yen per year, and will support renewable energy firms, including those that produce wind and solar power.

South Korea is now competing with Japan to build nuclear reactors on Turkey’s Black Coast. Analysts believe that Turkey is intentionally promoting competition between the two nations, in order to get the best deal.
 
TEPCO

Japan’s Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund (NDF) has agreed to give TEPCO an additional 689.4 billion yen to cover compensation costs for victims of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, bringing the total amount of government compensation funds to 1.6 trillion yen. Yukio Edano, the head of METI, is expected to approve the fund transfer next week.
 
Reactor Status

TEPCO has begun injecting boric acid into reactor #2 in an effort to prevent recriticality, and has increased cooling water flow to 13.1 tons per hour, after one thermometer showed that the temperature there had increased more than 25 degrees in less than a week, from 45ºC to 70.1, down from an earlier high of 72.2. TEPCO officials believe that plumbing work conducted last week may have shifted the flow of water within the reactor, preventing that water from reaching part of the melted fuel.  The utility said that no xenon-135 has been detected, which could indicate recriticality. Haruki Madarame, Chairman of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC), criticized both the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and TEPCO for a lack of transparency about the incident.
 
Meanwhile, in accordance with Japanese law, NISA began a three-week long inspection at the Fukushima Daiichi plant this week, in order to confirm that the reactors there are still in a state of so-called cold-shutdown.

Contamination (Includes Economic Impact and Human Exposure)

Japan will measure aerial radiation over the 20 km no-entry zone surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for the first time since March.  The government is considering revising the no-fly zone over the plant.

Other Nuclear News

A fire broke out this week at Russia’s Alikhanov Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics in Moscow. The Institute is home to a 60-year-old reactor, which is no longer in use but contains large amounts of radioactive materials. Russian officials insisted that no radiation has leaked into the atmosphere, but details about the event conflicted repeatedly. Ivan Blokov of Greenpeace Russia said, “This is extremely dangerous…it shows there has been a major failure in their operations.” During the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, Soviet officials did not inform the public about the meltdown for two days.

After last week’s reports of a radiation leak and severely worn tubes at its San Onofre reactor, Southern California Edison Power Company admitted that a worker fell into a nuclear reactor pool there. The utility said that the worker was not exposed to significant amounts of radiation. However, critics are questioning quality control procedures at the plant, and asking how so many incidents could take place in just a week. The San Onofre plant has a history of safety issues and other infractions.

BUCHAREST, Romania - Romania's government collapsed Monday after weeks of protests against austerity measures, the latest debt-stricken government in Europe to fall in the face of public anger ...

Romania's government collapsed Monday following weeks of protests against austerity measures, the latest debt-stricken government in Europe to fall in the face of raising public anger over biting cuts.

Romania's government collapsed Monday following weeks of protests against austerity measures, the latest debt-stricken government in Europe to fall in the face of raising public anger over biting cuts.

Romania's Prime Minister Emil Boc resigned following weeks of protests against his government's tough austerity program.

President Traian Basescu is expected to meet government and opposition parties representatives on Monday to the discuss the EU's new fiscal treaty and other themes.

Romania's President Traian Basescu nominated Catalin Predoiu as interim prime minister, replacing Emil Boc who stepped down earlier on Monday.

BUCHAREST, Romania -; The Romanian prime minister on Monday announced the immediate resignation of himself and his government, saying he wanted to protect the stability of the country. Emil Boc ...

The Romanian Government is considering offering state aid to German group Bosch, which is preparing a EUR 77 million investment in the Cluj area of Romania, and for De'Longhi's planned take over of the former Nokia factory at the same site.

This time around, there was no question of a last-ditch summit. Nonetheless, the 30 January European Council meeting will have far reaching consequences. Twenty five member states – in other words the EU without the UK and the Czech Republic, which refused to be involved – adopted the fiscal and budgetary pact that Germany, seconded by France, wanted to impose.  Once twelve national parliaments have approved the text, which is slated to be signed in March, participating countries will no longer have the right to declare a spending deficit of more than 0.5% of GDP, and will be subject to automatic sanctions if this figure exceeds a ceiling of 3%. So from now on the economic policy of virtually all of Europe’s member states will be confined to a strict and immutable European framework. This should have been a logical consequence of the Maastricht Treaty and the introduction of the single currency, but it was a challenge that the European leaders of the time were reluctant to face. Under pressure from the crisis, today’s leaders have moved a step further towards a federal Europe, or – from another perspective – they have abandoned even more national sovereignty. The new order will thus be characterised by Merkelian discipline, but that does not mean an automatic end to the eurozone crisis. At a time when Athens, its private creditors and the troika are continuing to blame each other for the persistence of the threat of Greek default, and demanding additional efforts from each other to resolve it, the discovery of a new €15bn black hole in Greece’s books is not likely to facilitate discussions. Nor is the unofficial German plan to appoint a budget commissar for Greece. And this situation may be further compounded by the ratings agencies, and in particular Standard & Poor’s, which will probably not be prepared to politely wait for the ratification of the pact before announcing further eurozone downgrades. Finally, the manner in which the pact was adopted has left a sour atmosphere, which could herald further difficulties in the future. No one can be happy to see London and Prague shy away from the proposal, even if internal politics played an important part in those decisions. A Europe without the British would certainly be a much weaker world power, and Central Europe’s need for a solid anchor in Europe has never been greater: Hungary is increasingly in breach of community standards, while Slovakia is being rocked by a corruption scandal which may have unpredictable consequences. Meanwhile, Romania is perhaps only beginning to revolt against austerity. In Ireland, arrangements to ensure that the pact can be adopted without a referendum could backfire and undermine the bailout plan established in 2010. Finally, with regard to Greece, everyone – with the apparent exception of Angela Merkel and the troika negotiators – is aware that, regardless of the inadequacy of national authorities in the country, the population is close to breaking point. In the middle of all of this, Germany is continuing to design the Europe it wants to see, especially now that it has been “freed” from the constraint of partnership with a domestically weak Nicolas Sarkozy, while remaining reluctant to assume the new responsibilities thrust upon it by the crisis. The consequences of this state of affairs are not only economic, but also cultural. Angry and impulsive outbursts have become increasingly common, and allusions to Germany’s Nazi and Prussian past are more and more prevalent in Europe. More insidious than economic and social ills, the emergence of this trend and the renewed rise of nationalism are cause for serious concern of a kind that cannot be allayed by a budgetary pact. (Editorial)

German automotive parts maker Bosch will invest 77 million euros ($101 million) in a new plant in Romania, the Romanian government said Thursday.Bosch will initially employ...

The European Parliament's Liberal and socialist leaders, Guy Verhofstadt and Hannes Swoboda, gave their support to the Romanian opposition during a public hearing over the democratic situation there, as protests continue in Bucharest over government austerity measures.

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Thousands of protesters have been braving freezing temperatures over the past two weeks across the country, calling on the centre-right government and President Traian Basescu to step down Anger over austerity measures and corrupt politicians used to be discussed privately in this ex-Soviet bloc country but slowly the street has become the stage ... (more)

Riot police in combat gear observe demonstrators during an anti-government protest in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Jan.

Poland on Thursday signed an international copyright agreement which has sparked days of protests by Internet users who fear it will lead to online censorship.

Poland's ambassador to Japan, Jadwiga Rodowicz-Czechowska, signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, in Tokyo, she told the all-news station TVN24.

Later in the day, hundreds of people took to the streets of the eastern city of Lublin to express their anger over the treaty.

ACTA is a far-reaching agreement that aims to harmonize international standards on protecting the rights of those who produce music, movies, pharmaceuticals, fashion, and a range of other products that often fall victim to intellectual property theft.

It shares some similarities with the hotly debated Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S., which was shelved by lawmakers last week after Wikipedia and Google blacked out or partially obscured their Web sites for a day in protest.

Poland was one of several European Union countries to sign ACTA Thursday, but it appeared to be the only place where support for the agreement has caused outrage and protests by Internet activists.

Rodowicz-Czechowska said other countries that signed included Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Greece.

Several other industrialized countries, including the United States, Canada and South Korea, signed the agreement last year.

Poland's support for ACTA has sparked attacks on Polish government Web sites by a group calling itself "Anonymous" that left them unreachable for days, as well as street protests in several Polish cities.

ACTA aims to fight the online piracy of movies and music, and those opposed to it fear that it will also lead authorities to block content on the Internet. Critics also say governments have negotiated the agreement in secret and failed to consult with their societies along the way.

Thousands of people took to the streets in past days across Poland to voice their outrage over...

Numerous reporters were physically assaulted by protesters and policemen while covering peaceful anti-government protests that degenerated into violence in Bucharest between January 15 and 16 2012.

As protests against Romania's centre-right government and president continued for a second week, the Party of European Socialists called for a transitional government to be given the pivotal task of ensuring free and fair elections.

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After nearly two weeks of anti-government protests, Romania's leader acknowledged on Wednesday that some citizens have lost faith in his leadership but insisted that the austerity measures he has introduced have pulled the country out of a recession.

Riot police in combat gear observe demonstrators during an anti-government protest in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Jan.

After nearly two weeks of anti-government protests, Romania's President took to national television to defend his government's tough austerity policies in the face of growing discontent.

Riot police in combat gear observe demonstrators during an anti-government protest in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Thousands, from all over Romania, joined protests in the Romanian ...

Amidst continuing demonstrations against austerity measures in Bucharest, the Romanian government is cleaning house. The Foreign Minister, Teodor Baconschi, was informed of his […] (News in brief)