Romanian SocDem leader prepares new Royal House bill

Liviu Dragnea, the president of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), announced on Tuesday, March 27, that he would submit a new draft law on the functioning of the Royal House of Romania. He also said the new bill will enter into parliamentary procedure in the coming days, and will be adopted by the end of this parliamentary session, local Mediafax reported. In the fall of 2017, Liviu Dragnea and Senate president Calin Popescu Tariceanu initiated a draft bill that granted several advantages to Romania’s Royal House. However, they withdrew their initial draft law from the legislative circuit in early March this year, saying that they want to bring some changes to it. The initial bill included some important provisions, such as turning the Royal House into a public utility non-governmental organization (NGO) and granting the head of the Royal House the same privileges as former heads of state. The project aimed to grant the Royal House free use of the Elisabeta Palace in Bucharest and a yearly expense budget paid for by the state. Romanian Royal House bill, unclear on funding aspects Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com