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Difference between revisions of "Romania"
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Romania’s telecommunications sector was privatized in 2003. Within five years, the fixed-line market expanded substantially, and there was an increase in Internet availability. Romania has significantly more cellular phone subscriptions than people, which marks an exponential increase from 2000, when about one-tenth of Romanians subscribed to a cellular service. | Romania’s telecommunications sector was privatized in 2003. Within five years, the fixed-line market expanded substantially, and there was an increase in Internet availability. Romania has significantly more cellular phone subscriptions than people, which marks an exponential increase from 2000, when about one-tenth of Romanians subscribed to a cellular service. | ||
==Government and | ==Government and politics of Romania== | ||
Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister. The president is elected by popular vote, and resides at Cotroceni Palace. Since the constitutional amendment of 2003, the president's term is five years (previously it was four). | |||
A prime minister, who appoints the other members of his or her cabinet, and who is nearly always the head of the party or coalition that holds a majority in the parliament, heads the Romanian Government, which is based at Victoria Palace. If no party holds 50 percent + 1 of the total seats in parliament, the president will appoint the prime minister. Before beginning its term, the government is subject to a parliamentary vote of approval. | |||
The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the bicameral parliament of Romania (Parlamentul României), consists of two chambers – the Senate (Senat), which has 137 members, and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor), which has 332 members. The members of both chambers are elected every four years under a system of party-list proportional representation. All aged 18 years and over may vote. | |||
The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice. There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is influenced by the French model, is based on civil law, and is inquisitorial in nature. The Constitutional Court (Curtea Constituţională) is responsible for judging the compliance of laws to the constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amended by a public referendum. The Constitutional Court comprises nine judges who serve nine-year, non-renewable terms. The court's decisions cannot be overruled by any majority of the parliament. | |||
The country's entry into the European Union in 2007 has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and taken steps to combat corruption. | |||
'''Counties''' | |||
Administrative map of Romania outlining the 41 counties. The map also shows the historical region of Transylvania in green, Wallachia in blue, Moldavia in red, and Dobrogea in yellow. | |||
Romania is divided into 41 counties]] (judeţe), as well as the municipality of Bucharest, which is its own administrative unit. Each county is administered by a county council (consiliu judeţean), responsible for local affairs, as well as a prefect, who is appointed by the central government but cannot be a member of any political party. | |||
Alongside the county structure, Romania is divided into eight development regions, which correspond to divisions in the European Union, and are used for co-ordinating regional development projects and for statistical purposes. The country is further subdivided into 2686 communes, which are rural localities, and 265 towns. Communes and towns have their own local councils and are headed by a mayor (primar). Larger and more urbanized towns gain the status of municipality, which gives them greater administrative power over local affairs. | |||
'''Military''' | |||
The Romanian Armed Forces (Forţele Armate Române or Armata Română) consists of three branches: Land, naval, and air forces. Since Romania joined NATO, extensive preparations have been made to abolish conscription and make the transition to a professional army by 2007, which would include 90,000 men and women. About 75,000 of these would be military personnel, while 15,000 would be made up of civilians. Sixty thousand would be active forces, while 30,000 would comprise the territorial forces | |||
==Culture Life of Romania== | ==Culture Life of Romania== | ||
==History of Romania== | ==History of Romania== | ||