Freshly sworn-in director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu said there will be "excellent institutional cooperation" between him and President Iohannis

Asked about the kind of collaboration with President Iohannis, Mr. Ungureanu said the President is also chairman of the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) and "there will be excellent institutional collaboration", local Agerpres reports.

As far as his relationship with Prime Minister Victor Ponta is concerned, he said he will have a very good institutional collaboration "with anyone that may be the prime minister because the prime minister is the deputy chair of the CSAT."

Asked whether or not he will resign his senatorial seat, he said he is under an obligation to resign. 

"There are very many procedural things to be solved, and, with the vote and all that means parliamentary procedure, it is normal for my obligation to resign my senatorial seat of Arad".

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu on Tuesday was voted in office by Parliament, 278 to 6, out of 284 valid votes.

PM criticized for spending too much time in Turkey from the inner ranks of his party

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who faces corruption charges in Romania, said he will return to the country in maximum two weeks, local romania-insider.com reports.
He is currently in Turkey, where he had a knee surgery on June 15.

“I will come home on my own feet in maximum two weeks, without a wheelchair or crutches,” Victor Ponta said at local TV station B1TV.

However, Mr. Ponta has been criticized lately for spending too much time in Turkey after the surgery, including by members of his party – the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

PSD Vrancea leader Marian Oprisan, one of the party’s most influential local leaders, said he would have returned faster in the country had he been in Victor Ponta’s place. He added, however, that he understood that Victor Ponta didn’t want to risk his health, reports local Mediafax.

Liviu Dragnea, another important PSD leader, also stated last week that there was “a state of disorientation among the party’s organizations” and Victor Ponta should make an effort to return, even if this was painful for him.

“Victor Ponta should return home to clear and discuss all the political and governmental topics about the coalition and its functioning, about how the Government is led, about the governmental and political offer in the following period,” said Mr. Dragnea, cited by local Mediafax.

Agerpres: Alcoholic Drinks and Tobacco Made Up 7.7 per cent of Total Household Costs in 2014

Foodstuffs and non-alcoholic beverages averaged 40 per cent of the consumption of households in 2014, while spending for alcoholic beverages and tobacco averaged 7.7 per cent, shows information published by the National Statistics Institute (INS) at the request of Agerpres.

Market in Bucharest.

"Costs regarding the household are allotted 21.2 per cent of consumption costs, with the largest part of them being made up of consumption of utilities necessary for the running and heating of the household (water, electric and thermal energy, natural gas and other fuels), which are largely necessary for households (17.2 per cent)", the INS informs.

According to the institution, the costs involved in fitting and maintaining the household make up a far lower amount, namely 4 per cent.

"The next in the order determined by the volume of resources allocated were the costs for alcoholic beverages and tobacco (7.7 per cent) and transportation costs (6.2 per cent). The costs incurred on households for healthcare and especially for education record a low level, especially due to the fact that satisfying these needs of the members of the household is done mainly through public services which they benefit through the social insurance system or for free", the information shows (read more on Agerpres).

Percentage of weekly household expenditure going on alcoholic drink, tobacco and narcotics in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2013, by disposable income decile group, was between 3.6 per cent (the lowest decile) and 1.7 per cent (the highest decile) (source).

Households in New Zealand spent over twice as much of their total expenditure on cigarettes and tobacco 40 years ago as we do today, according to 2013 HES results (source).

RRI's The Week in Review

Fiscal relaxation measures in the new Fiscal Code
Romanian MPs on Wednesday adopted the new Fiscal and Fiscal Procedure Codes, which are to come into force on January 1, 2016. Among the provisions of the new codes is also the VAT cut from 24 to 19% as of next year, the elimination of the tax on special constructions as well as the excise duty on fuel. The IMF and the European Commission have warned on the risks associated with the introduction of these fiscal relaxation measures. The measures will also trigger a temporary budget deficit growth, although no higher than 3% of the GDP, Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has said. After sitting down with European experts in Bucharest, Minister Teodorovici said the authorities failed to reach an agreement with European Commission representatives on the new Fiscal Code.

Romania’s new election law 
The deputies passed a new parliamentary election law which reintroduces the proportional representation system, maintains the 5% election threshold and establishes the rules for the allocation of seats depending on the number of voters. In 2016, Parliament will have 134 senators and 308 deputies as well as 18 representatives of ethnic minorities with the exception of the Hungarian minority and 6 MPs representing the Romanian communities abroad.

The National Defense Strategy
Romania’s Parliament on Tuesday adopted the National Defense Strategy for 2015-2019, previously introduced by president Klaus Iohannis. The president says the strategy is aimed at safeguarding the fundamental rights, liberties and safety of the citizens, in such fields as economy, education, health care or the environment. Also on Tuesday, parliament adopted the setup of two NATO structures in Bucharest – the NATO Force Integration Unit and the NATO Multinational Divisional Command.

Romania to host US heavy weaponry
Romania is on a list of Baltic and Central-European states where the United States will pre-position 250 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers and armored combat gear. The US State Department says the measure is aimed at supporting training exercises carried out by military units rotating on NATO’s eastern flank. Some 1,000 military from 25 NATO countries have taken part in an over-arching NATO collective defense exercise in Cincu Range in Brasov County.

The case of Prime Minister Victor Ponta
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Thursday discussed the case of Romania’s Social Democrat prime minister Victor Ponta, following a Parliament vote in Bucharest to reject a request by the National Anticorruption Directorate to strip him of his parliamentary immunity. At the moment, the prime minister is recovering from a knee surgery, with deputy prime minister Gabriel Oprea acting as the temporary head of government.

President Klaus Iohannis attends the summer meeting of the European Council
After intense talks on urgent community matters, EU leaders agreed to relocate 40,000 immigrants from Greece and Italy to other EU countries over the next two years, with home affairs ministers expected to draw up a final scheme by the end of July. A further 20,000 people will be resettled. This is one of the decisions taken at the summer meeting of the European Council, where Romania was represented by its president Klaus Iohannis.

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, set to return as head of Foreign Intelligence Service
Before flying to Brussels, he appointed Mihai Razvan Ungureanu as the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Ungureanu chaired the service before, between 2007 and 2012, and also served as foreign minister between 2004 and 2007 and as a prime minister in the first half of 2012. His nomination needs the Parliament's approval.

See more on RRI. 

"A competent entity" will propose how many migrats Romania can receive

President Klaus Iohannis has stated, on Friday, in Brussels, that EU member states have committed to participate in the relocation of migrants, showing that Romania will propose through its Interior Ministry (MAI) the number of migrants it can receive, local Agerpres reads.

"The Presidency of the Council of the European Union will request proposals from member-states. Each will propose through the competent entity — for us, it is the MAI — how many migrants it can receive. There will be checks to see if these proposals summed up will cover the necessary number between 20,000 and 40,000. If so, the matter is settled and we move on. If not, there will probably be a new discussion to reach the targeted number — we have not yet decided in what format", said Klaus Iohannis after the reunion of the European Summer Council.

According to Mr. Iohannis, the compromise concluded consists of intra-European relocation, showing the fact that all member states have committed to participate in the relocation of the 40,000 migrants in Italy and Greece.

"The process is to take place based on volunteering in regards to the number of persons that each member-state can take over. Everybody participates, only the number can be volunteered", said Iohannis.

He indicated that this mechanism is temporary, its duration being of two years, and is exceptional in nature.

In what regards extra-European relocation, President Iohannis showed that it was agreed to relocate, on the basis of volunteering, a number of 20,000 persons who need international protection.

He mentioned that the topic of migration was approached broadly in the European Council, being an important challenge for the EU.

Read more on Agerpres.

"No Agreement Between Romania and European Comission" on the Fiscal Code

The European Commission and Romanian authorities have failed to reach an agreement on the Fiscal Code, but it would make a decision at the upcoming meeting of the EU’s Finance Ministers of July 14, regarding the status of the financial agreement with Romania, reports RRI. 

Additionally, the IMF will cancel its assessment mission to Romania for next month, given that the Commission will already have presented its conclusions, Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici announced on Thursday on public radio RRA.

According to the Romanian official, the European Commission is concerned regarding the impact of the new fiscal code on the budget as of next year. The new Fiscal and Fiscal Procedure Codes are to come into effect on January 1, 2016.

Among the main provisions is the VAT cut from 24 to 19%, slashing the tax on special constructions as well as the excise duty on fuel.

Additionally the authorities want to eliminate the 16% tax on dividends.

Minister Teodorovici said that Romania stands by its financial commitments, especially regarding structural reforms.

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, Nominated the New Head of Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service

Former prime minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu is nominated again for the office of director of SIE - Romania's Foreign Intelligence Service, reads a release of the Presidential Administration.

The Presidential Administration points out that, according to the Constitution provisions, the head of state informed the chairs of the two Chambers of Parliament of this nomination and the Legislature is going to adopt a decision in this respect.

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu. Photo: anchetatorul.ro.

46 yo politician Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu held the same office between 2007 and 2012, under the office tenure of former President Traian Basescu.

Before that, M. R. Ungureanu has held several offices, among them foreign minister (December 2004 — March 2007).

Mr. Ungureanu was prime minister February-May 2012, in April the same year he shortly held the office of interim environment and forestry minister.

In the parliamentary election of December 9, 2012, he became senator on the lists of Right Romania Alliance (ARD) in Arad, western Romania.

After President Klaus Iohannis was elected, Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu became his personal adviser. In the National Liberal Party (PNL) he holds the first vice-president chair.