Romanian President Urges Adoption Of Social Welfare, Magistrates Statute

The head of state sent a letter to the heads of the two chambers of Parliament calling for the urgent adoption of the two bills.

He argued the welfare law needs to be adopted as soon as possible, to improve the country’s social assistance system and thus help meet commitments undertaken in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the World Bank.

Debates on the social welfare bill have been stalling for several weeks on lack of quorum. Unless it is debated and put to the vote by November 3, the bill will be adopted tacitly in the Senate.

Basescu also reminded lawmakers the amendments that need to be adopted to the law regulating the activity of magistrates fall under EU requirements and Romania’s commitments under the Cooperation and Verification mechanism in the field of justice.

The bill amending the statute of magistrates was rejected by the Senate on October 5 with 52 to 48 votes and one abstention. The leader of democrat liberal senators, Cristian Radulescu, called on the Senate’s standing office Monday to schedule a revote.