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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Romania and Romanian News



  
Country Profile
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe.Romania is the largest country in Southeastern Europe - 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi) and the 9th largest Country of the EU by Area and has the 7th largest Population of the EU with over 19 Million people.
Romania is divided into 41 Counties and the Municipality of Bucharest. Each County is administered by a County Council, responsible for local affairs, as well as a Prefect(the govt) responsible for the administration of National affairs at the county level. The Prefect is appointed by the Central Govt but cannot be a member of any political party.Each county is further subdivided into Cities and Communes which have their own mayor and local council. There are a total of 319 Cities and 2686 Communes in Romania.

Romania is an upper-middle income country economy.By the first quarter of 2011 the average monthly household income is 2,318 Romanian Leu (equivalent to approximately $862).
Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe.

Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu known as Inna,the Romanian Dance-Pop Singer is regarded as the catalyst to the wave of European dance music to hit Western Europe.As of February, 2012 Inna is the first European female singer to surpass one billion hits on YOUTUBE.

 Debut Single 'Hot' released in Nov 2008                              Second Single 'Love' released in March 2009

 


Romanian Gymnastics has had a large number of successes – for which the country became known worldwide. In the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal,Canada, the Gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the 1st Gymnast ever to score a Perfect Ten in an Olympic event. She also won 3 Gold Medals, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze, all at the age of fifteen.Her success continued in the1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union, where she was awarded 2 Gold Medals and 2 Silver Medals. In her Career, Nadia Comaneci won 30 medals, of which 21 were gold.


Romania is the 4th fastest growing country in the world in terms of travel and tourism total demand, with a yearly potential growth of 8% from 2007 to 2016.

Capital                                          Bucharest
Currency                                       Romanian Leu
Official Language                           Romanian
Population                                     19 Million (2011 Census)
Ethnic Groups                                89% Romanians;7%Hungarians and 4% Others


History
Nicolae Ceaușescu(Jan 26,1918-Dec 25,1989)was the Romanian Communist Party General Secretary from 1965-89 

 and was also the country's Head of State from 1967 to 1989.The Romanian Revolution of 1989,a series of riots and protests in Romania in Dec 1989 marked the end of the Communist Regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu which led the Romanian Dictator to abandon power and flee Bucharest with his wife.Captured in Targoviste, they were tried in a Show Trial by a Military Tribunal on Charges of Genocide, damage to the national economy and abuse of power and  found guilty of all charges, and immediately executed onDec 25,1989.



Politics and Government
Romania is a Semi-Presidential Parliamentary Representative Democratic Republic where the President of Romania is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Romania is the Head of Govt and of a Multi Party System.
Executive Power is exercised by the Govt.
President of Romania
The President of Romania is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two 5-year terms.The President nominates the Prime Minister of Romania, following consultations with the party that holds the majority in the Parliament.

Traian Băsescu(Democratic Liberal Party - PD-L) is the Current President of Romania in office from Dec 20,2004(suspended from office during April 21 - May 22,2007)and serving a 2nd term after winning the 2009 Presidential Election held on Nov 22,2009 defeating Mircea Geoana(Social Democratic Party-PSD).


The results are -
Traian Băsescu(Democratic Liberal Party - PD-L) 50.33% of the Votes

Mircea Geoana(Social Democratic Party-PSD) 49.67% of the Votes


Prime Minister of Romania
According to the Romanian Constitution, the President of the Republic shall designate a candidate to the office of Prime Minister, as a result of his consultation with the party which has obtained absolute majority in Parliament, or -unless such majority exists - with the parties represented in Parliament.The candidate to the office of Prime Minister shall, within ten days of his designation, seek the vote of confidence of Parliament.


Parliament of Romania 
 
Legislative Pwer is vested in both the Govt and the 2 Chambers of Parliament -
The Chamber of Deputies and
The Senate
As of 2008, there are 137 senatorial seats and 334 seats in the Chamber of Deputies; of the 334 deputy seats, 18 are held by the ethnic minorities representatives.Members are elected for 4-year terms by universal suffrage under Party List Proportional Representation Electoral Systems.


The Judiciary is independent of the Executive and the Legislature .






Romania's "Balea Lac Hotel of Ice"




Entirely made of icethe hotel offers accommodation in 10 doublerooms with king size bedswhere the temperature is between -2 and +2 degrees Celsiusat a price of35 Euro ($45.73) per person. 
Tourists visit a room inside the Balea Lac Hotel of Ice in the Fagaras mountains, 300km (184 miles)northwest of Bucharest






























A bartender arranges ice glasses inside the Balea Lac Hotel of Ice in the Fagaras mountains


Romanian Prime Minister and Cabinet Resign En masse

The Romanian prime minister and his cabinet have resigned after weeks of  violent protests over widespread corruption and austerity measures .

Emil Boc said on Monday April 06,2012 he was quitting "to release the tension in the country's political and social situation".

 

President Traian Basescu asked Foreign Intelligence Service Head Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu to form a new cabinet.

                  Romonia's President                                                        Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu

 

President Traian Basescu named Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu as Interim Prime Minister until Ungureanu puts his team and plans up for Parliament's approval.

                                                           Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu

 

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu,the PM in office from Feb 09, 2012(following the resignation of the Emil Boc Govt he was appointed Prime Minister)

He is the first independent Prime Minister of Romania in almost twelve years, and the fourth overall.After two and a half months, Ungureanu's cabinet failed to pass a no-confidence vote introduced by the Social Liberal Union(a political alliance formed on Feb 05,2011 among 3 Political Parties - Social Democratic Party;National Liberal Party and Conservative Party

Victor-Viorel Ponta(leader of PSDand the joint leader of Social Liberal Union)was designated the Prime Minister of Romania in April 2012.

Romanian parliament votes to suspend President Traian Basescu

The Romanian parliament has voted to suspend the country's president for 30 days. A referendum on whether to remove him from office will follow(on the grounds that he had overstepped his authority by interfering in government business and legal affairs)

A total of 256 members of parliament of 432 voted in favour of the move against the centre-right Mr Basescu, according to an official count.
The impeachment will only take effect if approved in the referendum.

Traian Basescu, who has been president since 2004, has recently clashed with his rival Prime Minister Victor Ponta. The political conflict between the president and prime minister has stalled decision-making processes in Romania



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