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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-07-24
July 24, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Weekly Cabinet Meeting;
[02] PNTCD Summer School in Campulung;
[03] Government Troubles Are Caused by PNTCD Tensions, PD Leader Petre
Roman Believes;
[04] PD Press Conference;
[05] PNL Programme of Economic Measures;
[06] PDSR Criticism on the Setting Up of a Hungarian Language Teaching
University;
[07] Balvanyos Summer University in Tusnad;
[08] Gheorghe Funar and His Supporters Will Join the PRM;
[09] PDAR and PNR Waiting for Court Ruling.
[01] Weekly Cabinet meeting
The Romanian Cabinet had its weekly meeting on Thursday. In his opening
speech, Prime Minister Radu Vasile has warned that recent difficulties were
due to the activity in the Privatisation and Finance Ministries. He said
that the provisions in the Budget Law concerning the privatisation-
resulting revenues might not be answered. The prime minister pointed out
that, according to international business sources, the Romanian
privatisation process is unpredictable, and the State Ownership Fund (FPS)
is to blame for it because, in his opinion, the institution is overcrowded
(more than 1,600 workers), highly bureaucratic and clumsy, with many
departments running similar activities. Referring to the Finance Minsitry,
Mr Radu Vasile has warned about the delays in collecting the taxes and
duties, and said there were growing complaints about its persisting
bureaucracy. The Cabinet has adopted several documents such as the strategy
of privatising the Romanian Bank for Development (BRD) and the Bancpost,
the draft law amending and completing the Law 61/1993 on child allowances,
the draft law amending and completing the Housing Law 114/1996, the draft
law removing prison terms by convicting the offenders to work for the
community, the draft order on public supply services, the draft order on
reducing the lead in the petrol, etc. The Cabinet has also approved the
setting up of an interministerial committee for national minorities.
RADOR
[02] PNTCD Summer School in Campulung
"The Role of the Youth in the Democratic Restructuring Process" was the
subject of a conference hosted by the PNTCD Summer School in Campulung
Muscel. The vicepresident of the ruling Christian Democrat National Peasant
Party (PNTCD), Ulm Spineanu, and PNTCD deputy Alexandru Badea met the PNTCD
students on Thursday. Mr Spineanu has announced that he was to submit to
the prime minister a new structure scheme focusing mainly on the economic
ministries. He was also expected to present the prime minister with two
draft laws designed to reduce the financial blockage and reorganise
investment companies. According to Ulm Spineanu, only a tough government
could make the economic growth possible because now Romania was facing a
growing institutional disorder. In his opinion, the FPS and the Finance
Ministry were the Gordian knot of the economy. Referring to the
privatisation process, the PNTCD leader said that the privatisation of big
companies had no chance if compared with the autonomous utilities, much
more attractive to foreign investors. RADOR
[03] Government troubles are caused by PNTCD tensions, PD leader Petre
Roman believes
The leader of the ruling Democratic party (PD), Petre Roman, said the
problems the government was facing were caused by recent tensions within
the PNTCD and by the fact that the main party in the governing coalition
did not support either the government or the prime minister. Mr Roman's
position is actually shared by most PD leaders. Referring to the issue, PD
vicepresident Cristian Dumitrescu told a press conference on Thursday that
"this was the PNTCD's main trouble: most of its leaders are going ahead
with the government trying to do something for the country while others
have a different opinion on Romania's stability". PNTCD vicepresident
Vasile Lupu has failed to hide the irritating surprise about the new PD
attack. "Mr Petre Roman, the leader of our ally, the PD, is actually
interfering in our party's affairs. As far as the reform is concerned, I do
not believe there were differences between the PNTCD lJadership and the
party's MPs. Therefore, Mr Roman would better clarify its position on the
land retrocession and on other laws of ministerial responsibility and on
other things of major importance. Mr Roman's concerns about the PNTCD and
its stability seem rather hypocritcal to me". RADOR
[04] PD press conference
At a press conference on Thursday, PD vicepresident Cristian Dumitrescu has
stopped short of expressing his party's position on the Bell Helicopter
contract. Mr Dumitrescu said: "As soon as the draft law will be submitted
to parliament, our party's position will take into account, in any case,
its principles and since we are speaking about principles, I can tell you
one thing right now: in case our national interest has nothing to suffer
and some sectors will prove they are recovering, then our party will
support the project". The PD leader mentioned that Romania's lower rating
was due to its political instability and the PNTCD tensions and blamed
former Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea for creating them. RADOR
[05] PNL programme of economic measures
Senator Viorel Catarama and his supporters have blamed the leadership of
the National Liberal Party (PNL) for lacking of a genuine Liberal economic
programme and even promoting a Social-Democrat economic policy. PNL
vicepresident Valeriu Stoica has announced on Thursday that his party was
preparing such a programme. "Our experience in the government has proved
that Liberal measures were needed more than ever", Mr Stoica said. "We
would like to draw up an economic programme able to point out the genuine
Liberal ideas in the governing programme. Liberal measures are now the only
solutions to solve the problems in Romanian economy", the PNL leader
concluded. RADOR
[06] PDSR criticism on the setting up of a Hungarian language teaching
university
Romania's main opposition party, the Party of Social Democracy in Romania
(PDSR) led by Ion Iliescu, has issued a communique expressing its protests
against recent statements made at the Summer University in Tusnad
concerning the setting up of a Hungarian language teaching university. PDSR
believes that the interference of the Government in Budapest over the issue
is unbearable. The communique comes after Hungarian state secretary
Palinkas Jozsef said that the setting up of a Hungarian language teaching
university in Cluj was part of both Romanian and Hungarian national
strategy, but it was the Hungarians who should decide the details over the
issue. According to Ion Iliescu's party, the national strategy of a state
cannot include elements in the national strategy of another state. Mr
Palinkas remarks did not include any reference to the Babes-Bolyai
University. He only spoke about the necessity of an autonomous Hungarian
state university as part of the national strategy in both countries. Mr
Palinkas said that it was the Romanian Government whi should make the
decision, but the Hungarian minority in Romania should decide the next
steps to achieve the goal. RADOR
[07] Balvanyos Summer University in Tusnad
The Balvanyos Summer University in Tusnad seem more likely a closed
training circle for the leaders of the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and their guests from Hungary. The Thursday's
proceedings focused mainly on isses concerning the privatisation and the
refor,. Participants included Hungarian deputy Varga Mihaly, the
vicepresident of Hungary's FIDESZ ruling party, Heinrich Otto,
vicepresident of the Office for National and Ethnic Minorities in Hungary,
UDMR deputies Akos Virtalan and Jeno Matis as well as Pete Istvan,
secretary of state with the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture. Romanian
Reform Minister was also expected to attend the meeting. The leader of the
Liberal Party (PL), Horia Rusu, has attended the meeting on Thursday as he
is seen as a close friend and a pilar of the Balvanyos Summer University.
He said the educational reform was among the first to be achieved. He
believes that the National Education Ministry (MEN) should be dismissed and
the training and education should develop according to realities in each
Romanian province, with different programmes from region to region. The PNL
leader said Romania's Government should include only seven ministries: the
Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the Education Ministry, the Justice
Ministry, the Budget-Finance Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Public
Heritage Ministry. As far as the privatisation was concerned, Mr Rusu said
Romania should follow the example of the Czech Republic and not the
Hungarian one. RADOR
[08] Gheorghe Funar and his supporters will join the PRM
The Appeal Court in Bucharest has rejected the Bucharest City Court (TMB)
registration of the Alliance for Romanians' Unity party led by Gheorghe
Funar. Under the final and irrevocable ruling, the court has accepted the
appeal of the Romanians' National Unity Party (PUNR) denouncing the name of
the party and the list of the signatures submitted to the court. Senator
CostiJa Ciurtin said the ruling proved that the court was under the
political control of the Democratic Convention in Romania (CDR) and the
PUNR. The Appeal Court ruling comes after an appeal by Gheorghe Funar
against a similar decision issued by the TMB. Mr Funar said that an
extraordinary meeting would be called on Sunday to announce his party's
dissolution. After the meeting, Gheorghe Funar and his supporters will join
the Greater Romania Party (PRM), the same source says. RADOR
[09] PDAR and PNR waiting for court ruling
The leaders of Romania's Agrarian Democratic Party (PDAR) and the New
Romania Party (PNR) have received on Thursday the Bucharest Appeal Court
ruling concerning their right to run their activity under the name of
Romanian National Party (PNR). The Appeal Court has decided the annulment
of the Bucharest City Court (TMB) ruling and sent it back to the TMB for a
new trial. According to the RRA, the two parties believe that only the time
will prove if the ruling was fairJor just ordered by obscure political
interests. RADOR
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