Romanian Nationalists Rage in Brussels Against '15-Minute' Urban Bill | Balkan Insight

Nationalistic party leader insists draft bill to modernise Romanian urban centres will limit people's free movement from one district to another – a claim supporters dismiss as a conspiracy theory.

The leader of the nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians AUR, George Simion, protesting in Brussels against a new law on uirban planning in Romania. Video capture from Simion`s live video on Facebook

Supporters of Romania’s nationalistic Alliance for the Union of Romanians, AUR, protested in Brussels against a draft law on the efficient urbanisation of Romanian cities, claiming it will limit people’s freedom of movement.

The protest staged in front of the European Commission relates to a draft bill in Romania generically called “the 15-minute city”, based on the concept of Colombian urban planner Carlos Moreno, a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris.

The concept assumes that people should be able to get within about 15 minutes’ walk or cycle to the places they need every day, such as schools, shops, markets, doctors or work.

For this to be possible, governments should provide the necessary infrastructure and build new neighbourhoods according to certain models.

The bill is currently before Romania’s Chamber of Deputies for approval by specialist committees. Parliament’s other chamber, the Senate, already adopted it in the first reading in February.

If Romania’s parliament passes the bill, it will have implications for the future construction of urban centres according to specific rules and for the restructuring of existing ones.

The most affected construction expansion is the capital, Bucharest, which is struggling with dense traffic and a lack of road infrastructure. Bucharest has meanwhile blocked the Zonal Urban Plan, PUZ, for more than two years, preventing specific large-scale constructions.

The vice-president of the Romanian Order of Architects, Bogdan Andrei Fezi, quoted by Pro TV, has defended the new concept.

“Around 1900, garden city projects developed self-sufficient neighbourhoods. They were repeated in Europe, Milan, Valencia, Asia, and America – because it had a fundamental purpose. We all know what problems there are in big cities, especially in Bucharest,” he said.

However, AUR leader George Simion, who headed the protest in Brussels, claims the future law will limit the movements of residents of neighbourhoods to those areas where they live. He says those travelling outside those areas will need to have permits.

Right-wingers in other countries have also piled into the 15-minute concept, calling it authoritarian and socialistic.

A populist politician, Simion is known for spreading conspiracy theories. Many of the narratives he uses to draw on Russian propaganda.