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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-05-14
May 14, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Prime Minister Radu Vasile Presented Parliament with Draft Budget;
[02] PDSR, PRM and ApR Will Reject the Budget;
[03] "Operation Cigarette 2": Further Hearings;
[04] General Gheorghe Florica Was Not Released;
[05] ApR Opinions on Budget, Bucharest City Hall Elections and "Operation
Cigarette 2";
[06] President Emil Constantinescu Attends a Political Forum in Berlin;
[07] Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu Back from Italy;
[08] US War College Delegation on a Visit to Romania;
[09] MAE Spokeswoman on Hungarian Elections;
[10] PDSR Leader Ion Iliescu Back from Yugoslavia.
[01] Prime Minister Radu Vasile presented Parliament with draft Budget
According to the draft Budget as presented by Prime Minister Radu Vasile in
Parliament on Wednesday, its main tasks include: an enforced effort of
macroeconomic stabilisation and deeper structural reforms, prevention of
GDP decline, investments, deficit and balance of bayments redressed and
consolidation of hard currency reserves. The governing programme is
proposing lower inflation rate, growing exports and imports, developing
agriculture and building works, lower industrial production. The budget
deficit is expected to hit 3.6% of the GDP. Revenues as result of
privatisation are to be used in financing reform programmes, preserving the
mines and EXIMBANK recovery. The number of public workers is expected to
drop by 10% while salary funds for loss-making autonomous companies are to
be freezed. The unemployment rate is to hit 11.2% by the end of the year.
RADOR
[02] PDSR, PRM and ApR will reject the Budget
Though criticised by many parties, only three opposition parties clearly
declared they would vote against the draft Budget. The three parties
include the Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), the Greater
Romania Party (PRM) and the Alliance for Romania Party (ApR). Though
bitterly criticising and contesting the Budget, the Romanians' National
Unity Party (PUNR) said that many of its members would vote for it as "they
respected the community which, according to recent opinion polls, still
supported the governing coalition". Florin Georgescu, senior PDSR member
and former finance minister, said the draft Budget was imoral and
antisocial. PDSR has expressed its dissatisfaction with the fact that their
over 80 amendments were not taken into account during debates by special
commissions. RADOR
[03] "Operation Cigarette 2": further hearings
The Commission for defence, public order and national security in the
Romanian Senate has questioned on Wednesday generals Cornel Grigoras, a SIE
(ed.n. Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service) chief, and Nicolae Berechet,
head of Romanian Police. After the hearings, Chief Commissioner Nicolae
Alexandru concluded that the affair at the Otopeni airport was the result
of an operation which actually crossed the Romanian border covering a large
area between North-Africa and Moscow. According to Mr Alexandru,
irrespective of the people already detained, the cigarette smuggling
scandal involved many other people, some of them representing the ruling
bodies. The commissioner informed that the Otopeni affair also involved
worker of foreign embassies in Bucharest and some other institutions
abroad. Further hearings have started at the Military Attorney's Office.
Wednesday morning, Gabriel Negoescu was subject to further questioning
while in the afternoon Mihai Ghezea was questioned as he was the man who
drove Colonel Gheorghe Trutulescu to Arad. RADOR
[04] General Gheorghe Florica was not released
General Gheorghe Florica is still under arrest. The Military Attorney's
Office has rejected the Bucharest Military Court ruling concerning the his
release. On Wednesday, the court has approved the petition of former
Financial Guard chief Florica against his arrest on May 4 under the
accusation of complicity to smuggling and association to crime. According
to the general's lawyer, his client has been actually accused of avoiding
taxes for cigarette imports through the port of Constantza between 1996-
1998. RADOR
[05] ApR opinions on Budget, Bucharest City Hall elections and "Operation
Cigarette 2"
The ApR position towards the Budget was similar to the position the PDSR
adopted on Tuesday. The ApR has announced it would vote against the Budget.
The party claimed that none of the proposed 60 amendments was taken into
account. At a press conference on Wednesday, ApR First Vicepresident Mircea
Cosea said the Government should announce shortly the date for the City
Hall elections as the regulations in the local public administration law
have been already violated. Referring to the "Operation Cigarette 2", Mr
Cosea said the time has come to denounce an activity which, for many years
now, has got the support of state institutions - the underground economy.
RADOR
[06] President Constantinescu attends a political forum in Berlin
Romanian President Emil Constantinescu has left for Berlin on Wednesday to
attend an international forum on the concept of nation in countries where
several minorities lived. Mr Constantinescu said that his address to the
forum was expected to present the Romanian concept of the role the nation
should play in creating and consolidating democratic structures and market
economy. Referring to his visit to the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, the
Romanian president expressed the hope that the local authorities would take
concrete measures to improve the economic and administrative management and
solve the social problems. He announced he intended to resume the programme
against poverty. RADOR
[07] Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu back from Italy
Romanian Interior Minister Gavril Dejeu was on a visit to Italy following
an invitation by his Italian counterpart, Giorgio Napolitano. Minister
Dejeu has offered details about a future training programme for Romanian
officers in Italy. He also spoke about a renewed two-year cooperation
contract with the Italian Antimafia Department. Mr Dejeu has informed that
the Italian Interior Ministry representative in Hungary could soon extend
his responsibilities to Bucharest. During his three-day visit to Italy, the
Romanian minister met Italian Police chiefs and other representatives of
the "carabinieri". When asked about recent rumours concernig his virtual
dismissal, Mr Dejeu replied: "There are forces who would like me out of the
ministry. I will continue however to do my job as before". RADOR
[08] US War College delegation on a visit to Romania
State Secretary Constantin Dudu Ionescu, the head of the Defence Policy
Department with the Romanian National Defence Ministry (MApN) met the US
delegation of the War College on Wednesday. The Americans are interested in
issues concerning the modernisation of the Romanian army, defence
facilities and budget as well as Romania's efforts to meet NATO standards.
Quoting a Defence Policy Department communique, the RRA informs that the
American delegation has only visited two countries in the region this year -
Romania and Bulgaria. RADOR
[09] MAE spokeswoman on Hungarian elections
Referring to the results of the first round of voting in the Hungarian
general elections, the spokeswoman of the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE),
Anda Filip, said it was too soon for Bucharest to express its official
position on the matter as long as the electoral process was still going on.
Mrs Filip expressed however her regrets about the recent revival of
communist and far right movements in some European countries. RADOR
[10] PDSR leader Ion Iliescu back from Yugoslavia
The leader of the opposition Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR)
Ion Iliescu was on a private visit to Yugoslavia early this week and met
Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Mr Iliescu has expressed his support
for the position of the authorities in Belgrade towards the conflict in
Kosovo province. While back to Romania on Tuesday, he explained his
attitude. Mr Iliescu said: "It is very dangerous to promote such ideas, I
mean, to impose international mediation in an attempt to solve a domestic
problem. Ion Iliescu believes that authorities in Belgrade are expected to
solve the Kosovo crisis shortly: they may amend the Constitution in order
to grant autonomy to the province. According to a communique issued by the
PDSR leadership, Ion Iliescu was invited to Yugoslavia in "gratitude for
his efforts during his presidential mandates to restore a fair peace in the
region". Some sources indicate that the gratitude may refer to the help
that Romania has provided during the embargo allowing a state refinery to
export its oil products to Serbia. Ion Iliescu denies any involvement of
his officials at the time, but he stops however short of referring to the
"Solventul" refinery. RADOR
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