Radio România Internațional

Tag: anti-corruption

  • October 14, 2024 UPDATE

    October 14, 2024 UPDATE

    SEARCHES The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Monday approved a request from the National Anti-corruption Directorate (known in Romania as DNA) on starting searches at the house of the former Health Minister, Nelu Tataru, who is presently facing bribery charges. The Legal Committee of the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved on Monday a report on searches conducted at Tataru’s house and into his computer. The case of the aforementioned Liberal MP and surgeon accused of continued bribery has reached the Chamber of Deputies after anti-corruption prosecutors have called for lifting his immunity. Tataru reiterated his innocence on Monday underlining that he never conditioned the medical act on any rewards. The former Health Minister has been withdrawn from all political positions and has been excluded from the lists for the Parliamentary election on December 1st.

     

    PRIZE The Nobel Prize in Economic Studies was awarded on Monday to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity. By examining various political and economic systems introduced by European colonizers, the three recipients have been able to demonstrate a relationship between institutions and prosperity. The US economist of Turkish origin, Daron Acemoglu, as well as the British-American Simon Johnson, are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while the British-American James A. Robinson is professor at the University of Chicago. The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was established by the Swedish Central Bank in 1968 and was awarded for the first time a year later. The award ceremony is held every year on December 10th in Stockholm when the death of Alfred Nobel is being commemorated.

     

    DAY On October 14th Orthodox Christians in Romania celebrate Saint Parascheva, the spiritual protector of Moldavia. The saint, a nun who died aged 27, in the 11th century, became the patroness of the eastern region of the country in 1641, when her relics were brought to Iasi, after being taken to Bulgaria, Serbia and Constantinople. Every year, on the feast of St. Parascheva, impressive crowds of pilgrims come to Iași to worship and pray, the city becoming the largest pilgrimage center in Romania and the fifth in Europe.

     

    RATING The rating agency Standard & Poor’s reconfirmed the rating related to Romania’s government debt and stable outlook for the long-term and short-term foreign currency debt. The decision is supported by the moderate level of foreign and government debt and Romania’s solid economic growth prospects next year. The agency estimates that Romania’s economy will grow by 1.6% this year, respectively by an average of 3% in the next three years. The evolution is determined by the allocation of important European funds, both from the Community budget and from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.

    (bill)

  • June 28, 2023 UPDATE

    June 28, 2023 UPDATE

    European Council — The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating, on Thursday and Friday, in Brussels, in the summer European Council meeting. According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting will begin with a working lunch with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, an opportunity to discuss the challenges and common approaches at the level of the two organizations in the context of Russias aggression against Ukraine. Later, during the working sessions, European leaders will debate, among other things, the situation in Ukraine, the need to maintain strong European support for this state at all levels, as well as the implementation of sanctions and the continuation of efforts to hold Moscow accountable for the crimes committed. Previously, President Klaus Iohannis was in The Hague at a small-scale meeting dedicated to the preparation of the NATO summit in Vilnius next month, attended by representatives of seven allied states from the eastern and northern flanks.



    Special pensions – The Romanian Senate adopted, on Wednesday, the draft law on the reform of the special pension system in the form previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies. The document refers to the pensions of magistrates, soldiers, diplomats, parliamentary officials, Court of Accounts or aeronautical personnel. The bill provides, among other things, for a gradual increase in the retirement age from 60 to 65 years, a minimum of 25 years of experience in the specialty so that magistrates can benefit from a special pension and the taxation by 15% of the sums that exceed the level of the average net salary. The reform of special pensions is not only an obligation assumed by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, but also an outstanding debt to the Romanians – said the representatives of the coalition made up of the PSD-PNL, who argued that the imbalances in society must be eliminated, and the rules must be the same for everyone. From the opposition, Save Romania Union – USR criticized the bill, for the lack of real reform, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians on Romania – UDMR appreciated that the parliamentarians failed to be braver and eliminate special pensions, but that the adopted law represents an important step to create a fair and equitable system. We remind you that, on Monday, the Romanian Parliament also adopted a bill regarding the elimination of the special pensions of senators and deputies. The reform of the special pension system is a milestone in the PNRR.



    Deficit – Romania’s budget deficit went up to 2.32% of the GDP after the first five months of the year, from 1.72% at the end of April, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. Budget revenues stood at over 197 billion lei, up by 10.4%, while expenses amounted to 234 billion lei, up by 17.3%. This years budget is based on a budget deficit level of 4.4% of the GDP.



    Moldova — The pro-Western President Maia Sandu remains the most popular political figure in the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population), and her party, Action and Solidarity (PAS), would get the most votes in the event of early parliamentary elections — according to a study quoted by Radio Chisinau. If presidential elections were held next Sunday, almost 38% of the respondents would vote for Maia Sandu. The former pro-Russian president, the socialist Igor Dodon, would be voted by only 14.2% of the voters, and the current mayor of the capital, Chisinau, the ex-socialist Ion Ceban, would get 6.2% of the votes. The criminal fugitive Ilan Şor, who is in Israel and considered the main vector of Moscows interests in the Republic of Moldova, would get 2.5% of the votes. About 43.5% of the respondents said that they do not trust any political figure. In the case of the parliamentary elections, PAS would obtain 44.3% of the votes, the pro-Moscow Bloc of Socialists and Communists 21.5%, and the recently dissolved populist party of Ilan Şor – 13.6%. Almost 60% of the respondents were in favor of joining the European Union, while 37% would vote to join the Russian-controlled Eurasian Union. Joining NATO is supported by 33.4% of the respondents.



    Court — The Constitutional Court of Romania rejected, on Wednesday, the notification of the Save Romania Union – USR (in opposition) and Forța Dreptei — the Force of the Right (Liberal opposition) in relation to the law amending the Criminal Code regarding the sanctioning of protests and established that the law, adopted by the PSD-PNL government majority, is constitutional. According to a press release, the Court says that increasing the special limits of criminal penalties and regulating some aggravated forms of crimes is the exclusive competence of the legislator, a responsibility that it exercises in accordance with the states criminal policy. The MPs of USR and Forţa Dreptei notified the judges of the Court, on the law amending the Criminal Code, after the sanctions regarding the disturbance of public order and became harsher.



    Anti-corruption – In Romania, in the months of April and May 2023, in the corruption files dealt with by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), 57 defendants were convicted, through 39 final court decisions, for crimes of taking and giving bribe, influence peddling, abuse of office or embezzling European funds. According to a press release issued by the DNA, the sentences ordered by the judges against the 57 defendants vary between 7 years and 4 months in prison and one year with the postponement of the punishment. Among those definitively convicted are: a minister, a secretary of state, a prosecutor, a public notary, a police officer, three city mayors, a director from the National Citizenship Authority, a director from the Mures Water Basin Administration (center), a manager of a Bucharest hospital and nine other civil servants. (LS)

  • Le gouvernement a décidé de supprimer la Section d’investigation des infractions de la Justice

    Le gouvernement a décidé de supprimer la Section d’investigation des infractions de la Justice

    L’histoire d’une des plus controversées structures du système judiciaire de la Roumanie postcommuniste touche à sa fin. Le gouvernement de Bucarest a approuvé lundi un projet de loi prévoyant le démantèlement de la Section spéciale d’investigation des infractions dans la Justice. Le chef du cabinet de Bucarest, le libéral Nicolae Ciuca a rappelé que cette décision comptait parmi les objectifs assumés tant dans le programme de gouvernance que dans le Mécanisme de coopération et de vérification, par le biais duquel l’UE suit le fonctionnement de l’État de droit dès l’adhésion de la Roumanie en 2007. Aux termes du projet de loi élaboré par le ministère de la Justice, les dossiers instruits par cette section seront transférés vers d’autres structures. Les dossiers qui sont en train d’être solutionnés seront transférés par voie administrative dans un délai de 60 jours ouvrables depuis l’entrée en vigueur de la loi vers les parquets qui continueront les travaux en vue de les solutionner.

    Ainsi, c’est le Parquet près la Haute Cour de cassation et de justice qui enquêtera sur les juges et les procureurs de haut rang, alors que les parquets près d’autres juridictions de rang inférieur seront chargés des enquêtes sur les magistrats de rang inférieur. Le personnel de cette section sera transféré à la section des poursuites pénales et criminalistique de la Haute Cour de Cassation et de Justice alors que les procureurs rentront aux parquets d’où ils provenaient. Le projet de loi sera envoyé au Parlement pour être débattu et adopté.

    Rappelons-le, la presse roumaine, mais aussi toute une série d’experts indépendants ont constamment affirmé que la section spéciale d’investigation des infractions de la Justice n’était qu’un outil inventé pour intimider les magistrats et empêcher même la lutte anti-corruption. Selon les médias, le marrain de cette institution a été l’ex homme fort du PSD, Liviu Dragnea, celui qui a dominé pendant plusieurs années la vie politique à Bucarest, avant d’être condamné et emprisonné en 2019 pour des faits de corruption.

    L’actuelle cheffe du Bureau du procureur public européen, Laura Codruta Kovesi, celle qui a dirigé d’une manière extrêmement efficace la Direction nationale anticorruption de Roumanie, avouait avant sa destitution en juin 2018 que le défi le plus important de la Justice roumaine était de préserver l’indépendance des juges et des procureurs. « Des tentatives répétées de modifier la législation anti-corruption afin de limiter les instruments législatif utilisés par les procureurs ou pour dés-incriminer certains faits ont constamment existé. Dans certaines situations, les procureurs se sont vu refuser la demande de lever l’immunité des politiciens accusés de faits de corruption » se souvenait à l’époque Laura Codruta Kovesi. (trad. Alex Diaconescu)

  • December 18, 2021 UPDATE

    December 18, 2021 UPDATE

    VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă will be on a visit to
    Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, for talks with senior EU and NATO officials. According
    to the Government, on Monday the Romanian PM will have a working dinner with
    the president of the European Council Charles Michael. On Tuesday, Ciucă will
    have meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der
    Leyen and with other EC members. The PM will also have a meeting with the
    secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO headquarters.


    BUDGET The
    government of Romania passed a number of measures on which the 2022 public
    budget is based. An emergency order freezing the salaries of public officials and
    other public sector staff, with 2 exceptions, was endorsed by the Cabinet with
    amendments compared to the version subject to public debate. The bill also
    includes other measures, such as a low VAT rate only for the purchase of a
    family’s first home. The new tax provisions, alongside the new Ceilings Act,
    are the foundation of next year’s state budget, and are designed to reduce
    expenditure and maintain the public deficit below 6.2% of GDP.


    ANTI-CORRUPTION The government approved the 2021-2025 National
    Anti-Corruption Strategy, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu announced. He pointed
    out that the document is a political commitment to support all institutions
    involved in fighting corruption, and also a first goal met out of the ones
    included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the judicial sector. Predoiu
    added that the Strategy is correlated with international instruments to which
    Romania is affiliated, such as GRECO and the Cooperation and Verification
    Mechanism. The CVM was introduced in January 2007, upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU accession, to support the 2
    countries in overcoming deficiencies in judicial reform and in fighting
    corruption.


    BORDER As of Monday, December 20, travellers entering Romania are
    no longer required to fill in separate COVID-19 statement, because all the data
    will be included in the digital Passenger Locator Form (PLF). The measure is expected
    to help reduce waiting times at border checkpoints, including at the Henri
    Coanda Airport, near Bucharest. The transport minister Sorin Grindeanu Saturday
    requested the Airport management to take steps to streamline passenger flows
    and to avoid crowding. The request came after hundreds of people waited for a
    long time for the authorities to check their documents. Romanian border
    checkpoints are getting crowded these days, as many Romanians living abroad are
    coming home for Christmas. Queuing is reported at the checkpoints on Romania’s
    western borders, where apart from travel documents the digital Covid
    certificates and PCR tests must also be checked. In order to streamline border
    crossing, at the checkpoint in Giurgiu (south), the number of border police
    will be increased by 20%.


    MINORITIES Romania
    celebrated on December 18 the Day of Ethnic Minorities. President Klaus
    Iohannis said on this occasion that ethnic minorities make an essential
    contribution to social cohesion and that only together can a modern Romania be
    built, with no place for racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Protecting cultural
    heritage, including that of national minorities, is a priority for the Culture
    Ministry, which treasures the culture of minorities as an element contributing to
    the shaping of Romanian culture as we know it today, reads a news release
    issued by the institution.



    COVID-19 733 new COVID-19 cases
    and 64 related fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the
    authorities announced on Saturday. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign,
    Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced on the other hand that the number of people
    requesting their first doses of anti Sars-CoV-2 vaccine is on the decrease. He detailed
    that the number of people who get their first vaccine doses drops by 15-25%
    from one week to the next. On Saturday only 4,500 first
    doses were administered. Meanwhile, the Omicron variant of the virus has been
    reported in 89 countries, with the number of cases doubling over 1.5-3 days in
    areas with community transmission, the WHO announced on Saturday. WHO first
    labelled Omicron a variant of concern on November 26. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • December 18, 2021

    December 18, 2021

    VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă will be on a visit to
    Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, for talks with senior EU and NATO officials. According
    to the Government, on Monday the Romanian PM will have a working dinner with
    the president of the European Council Charles Michael. On Tuesday, Ciucă will
    have meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der
    Leyen and with other EC members. The PM will also have a meeting with the
    secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO headquarters.


    BUDGET The
    government of Romania passed a number of measures on which the 2022 public
    budget is based. An emergency order freezing the salaries of public officials and
    other public sector staff, with 2 exceptions, was endorsed by the Cabinet with
    amendments compared to the version subject to public debate. The bill also
    includes other measures, such as a low VAT rate only for the purchase of a
    family’s first home. The new tax provisions, alongside the new Ceilings Act,
    are the foundation of next year’s state budget, and are designed to reduce
    expenditure and maintain the public deficit below 6.2% of GDP.


    ANTI-CORRUPTION The government approved the 2021-2025 National
    Anti-Corruption Strategy, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu announced. He pointed
    out that the document is a political commitment to support all institutions
    involved in fighting corruption, and also a first goal met out of the ones
    included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the judicial sector. Predoiu
    added that the Strategy is correlated with international instruments to which
    Romania is affiliated, such as GRECO and the Cooperation and Verification
    Mechanism. The CVM was introduced in January 2007, upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU accession, to support the 2
    countries in overcoming deficiencies in judicial reform and in fighting
    corruption.


    BORDER Romanian border checkpoints are getting crowded these days,
    as many Romanians living abroad are coming home for Christmas. Queuing is
    reported at the checkpoints on Romania’s western borders, as apart from travel
    documents the digital Covid certificates and the PCR tests must be checked. Crowding
    was also reported on the Otopeni International Airport, near Bucharest. Hundreds
    of people waited for a long time for the authorities to check their documents. On
    Monday, an additional digital form will be introduced, to trace travellers. In order
    to streamline border crossing, at the checkpoint in Giurgiu (south), the number
    of border police will be increased by 20%.


    MINORITIES Romania
    celebrates on December 18 the Day of Ethnic Minorities. The president Klaus
    Iohannis said on this occasion that ethnic minorities make an essential
    contribution to social cohesion and that only together can a modern Romania be
    built, with no place for racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Protecting cultural
    heritage, including that of national minorities, is a priority for the Culture
    Ministry, which treasures the culture of minorities as an element contributing
    in the shaping of Romanian culture as we know it today, reads a news release
    issued by the institution. As many as 18 ethnic minorities are officially
    recognised in Romania at present, namely Hungarian, Rroma,
    German, Ukrainian, Russian, Lipovan, Jewish, Turk, Tatar, Armenian, Bulgarian,
    Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovakian, Polish, Greek, Albanian and Italian.


    COVID 733 new COVID-19 cases and 64 related fatalities were
    reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the authorities announced on
    Saturday. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced
    on the other hand that the number of people requesting their first doses of anti
    Sars-CoV-2 vaccine is on the decrease. He detailed that the number of people
    who get their first vaccine doses drops by 15-25% from one week to the next. Valeriu Gheorghiţă also said that Romania
    might receive Pfizer vaccine children doses next month, and the vaccination of
    children aged 5 to 11 may begin in the second half of January. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

    The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

    Several amendments to the laws on the judiciary, dating back to 2018 and 2019, continue to raise concern with respect to their impact on judicial independence, says the chapter on Romania in the first report on the rule of law in the EU made public by the European Commission.



    The document assesses 4 key areas: national justice systems, anticorruption legislation, mass media pluralism and freedom, as well as other institutional aspects related to checks and balances systems.



    Last April, a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the special law on corruption were passed by Parliament in an emergency procedure, but sparked wide-spread criticism and they were eventually ruled as unconstitutional in July. The task to bring the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in line with all decisions of the Constitutional Court remains pending. The legal uncertainty and the risks to the sustainability of the fight against corruption therefore remain, reads the report.



    The document also says Romania has a comprehensive national anti-corruption strategic framework based on the large participation of national and local institutional actors, providing for the voluntary involvement of a very large part of the public administration, including local government, and State-owned enterprises, as well as law enforcement, the prosecution service, the courts, and civil society.



    Although the Constitution provides that the adoption of government emergency orders is only possible in exceptional and motivated cases of urgency, successive governments have used GEOs to legislate in many areas, raising concerns regarding the quality of legislation, legal certainty and respect for the separation of powers, the report also says, mentioning that Romanian civil society is active in defending the rule of law.



    Also, the level of implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy has increased and preventive actions are being followed up both at national and at local level. At present, the document says, the Ministry of Justice is evaluating the strategy in view of designing the next one.



    On the very day the EC report was released in Brussels, in Bucharest the Justice Ministry initiated a public debate on proposed changes to the laws on the judiciary. The announcement was made by minister Cătălin Predoiu, who said these amendments ensure the implementation of European recommendations:



    Cătălin Predoiu: “[The amendments concern] strengthening the role of the Higher Council of Magistrates in the organisation of exams and competitions through the National Magistracy Institute, ensuring that magistrate selection is based on professional criteria and eliminating any possibility of entry into profession without an exam, scrapping early retirement schemes, strengthening the independence of prosecutors, reintroducing compulsory competitions for access to High Court judge posts, and the dismantling of the special section investigating offences in the judiciary.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Nominations for chief prosecutors

    Nominations for chief prosecutors

    Romanias main prosecutors offices, the General Prosecutors Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, have too long been headed by interim chiefs. This happens at a time when the administrative and legislative problems in the judiciary have piled up and threaten to disrupt the activity of the judicial system. But these provisional terms are about to come to an end. The new Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu announced on Tuesday the proposals for the new prosecutors office chiefs.



    Gabriela Scutea is nominated for chief prosecutor of the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice. According to Minister Predoiu, she had the most substantial professional record and the best performance of all candidates. She has proved to be knowledgeable, farsighted, strong and a good professional, and her plan for the organisation of the office was the best of those presented so far, covering both the administrative side and internal organisation of the Public Ministry, and the representation side, Predoiu emphasised. The length of investigations into economic and financial cases and the deadlock in the Directorate for Criminal Investigations within the Romanian Police are the main weaknesses identified by Gabriela Scutea.



    Nominated for chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate is Crin Bologa, a prosecutor that the Justice Minister has described as a guarantor that the fight against corruption will be carried on vigorously, while also in full compliance with civil and judicial rights and guarantees. Crin Bologa must honour the legacy of the most successful of the former chiefs of prosecutors offices, Laura Codruta Kovesi, whose outstanding performance has secured her the European Public Prosecutor post, in spite of the sabotage of the Social Democratic Party in power at that time.



    Last but not least, Catalin Predoiu announced that Giorgiana Hosu is the nomination for chief of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT. Predoiu highlighted that the work of DIICOT mainly consists in cross-border investigations and inter-institutional and international cooperation, and Giorgiana Hosu is in the best position to handle this aspect. She came up with a comprehensive organisation plan and a balanced performance, supported by all-encompassing knowledge of the problems and activities of DIICOT, Predoiu argued.



    The Ministers nominations require the advisory opinion of the Higher Council of Magistrates, and President Klaus Iohannis will sign the appointments. Like many other competent and honest prosecutors, the ones nominated for these top positions see the division investigating crimes in the judiciary, established by the Social Democratic Party while in power, as an offence to all magistrates, or, even worse, as an instrument to intimidate them. This is precisely why the Liberal Government is considering the option of dismantling this division.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 30, 2019 UPDATE

    October 30, 2019 UPDATE

    GOVERNMENT In Bucharest, the hearings of the candidates for minister posts in the Liberal PM designate Ludovic Orbans new cabinet have concluded. On Wednesday, the specialised parliamentary committees interviewed the candidates for minister of labour, justice, youth and sports, education and research, economy, energy and the business environment, development, administration, and public works, and foreign affairs. All candidates, except for the ones nominated for labour minister and minister for public works, development and administration, were greenlighted by MPs. On Tuesday, all candidates except for the one nominated for finance minister were also approved by the relevant parliamentary committees. However, the parliamentary committees only have consultative powers, and the decisive vote is scheduled for Monday, November 4. In order to replace the Social Democrat Viorica Dancilas Cabinet, dismissed on October 10 following a no-confidence vote in Parliament, Ludovic Orbans team needs at least 233 votes. To this end, the PM designate and president of the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, has signed political agreements with Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, the Peoples Movement Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and MPs representing ethnic minorities. PRO Romania, a splinter from the Social Democratic Party, said they would decide on whether to vote on the new cabinet after the hearings, whereas the Social Democratic Party announced they would not take part in the vote.



    MISSION ‘Regele Ferdinand’ Frigate of the Romanian Navy, together with a Puma Naval helicopter and a Navy Special Operations unit are taking part until November 7th in a new NATO mission in the Mediterranean. The goal of Operation ‘Sea Guardian 19’ is to discourage illegal activities in the southern flank of NATO and the EU, by means of sea and air traffic monitoring. During the mission, the Romanian frigate will have stopovers in Haifa, Israel, and Limassol, Cyprus. The first stop was in the port of Aksaz, in the south of Turkey, followed by another one in Alexandria, Egypt, where a first meeting was held aboard, with members of the Romanian community in Egypt.



    MILITARY A military delegation from Bulgaria, headed by Gen. Major Mihail Dimitrov Popov, chief of staff of the Bulgarian Land Forces, is on an official visit to Romania between October 29 and 31. The host of the event is the chief of the Romanian Land Forces, gen. major Dorin Blaiu. The visit is intended on the one hand to assess the cooperation between the Romanian and Bulgarian land forces, and on the other hand to identify new fields and opportunities for future training. The agenda of the Bulgarian delegation also includes visits to the Romanian military units in Bucharest, Cincu and Sibiu (centre).



    ANTI-CORRUPTION The interim chief of the National Anti-Corruption Agency, Călin Nistor, has reported that over the past 4 years anti-corruption prosecutors sent to court over 900 individuals suspected of crimes against the financial interests of the European Union, in cases having caused combined losses of over 100 million euros. The chief prosecutor also said the acquittal rate in cases involving EU fund frauds is rather low, and added that Romanian courts have already sentenced more than 450 defendants and forced them to pay compensations of around 30 million euros.



    TENNIS In the Purple Group of the WTA Finals in Shenzhen (China), the Romanian Simona Halep (5 WTA) Wednesday lost 7-5, 6-3, to the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who moved up into the semi-finals. Simona Halep played the final of the tournament at her first participation in 2014, when she lost to the American Serena Williams (9 WTA). Also on Wednesday, the Romanian-born Canadian Bianca Andreescu (4 WTA) forfeited the match against Karolina Pliskova (2 WTA), after the Czech player had won the first set, 6-3. Andreescu stands no chances to qualify into the semis, even if she was fit to play the last group match on Friday, against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 6-12, 2019

    January 6-12, 2019

    Romania officially takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union


    On January 10th, Romania officially took over for the first time the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, in a ceremony held at the Romanian Athenaeum and attended by Romanian and EU leaders.


    Twelve years since its accession, Romania undertakes a key role at European level, with the stated goal of contributing to the consolidation of a more cohesive, more united and stronger Europe, the Romanian head of state Klaus Iohannis said in his address. Romania will head the Council of the European Union with dignity, PM Viorica Dancila said in her turn, and added that she would like the Union to be more robust, more united and more interconnected at the end of the Romanian term in office.


    The president of the European Council Donald Tusk gave a poignant speech in Romanian. Among others, he said that it was up to Romania to prove whether its politics may be a good example or a harsh warning for a European Union struggling with the rise of populism and nationalism. He also urged Romanians to safeguard the foundations of political civilisation, freedom, integrity, respect for truth in public life, the rule of law and Constitution, in Romania and in Europe.


    Romania takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union at a crucial time, the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said. He mentioned that the Union would not be complete without Romania, and that Romania also belongs in the Schengen area. I am counting on the energy and unity of the Romanian nation, in order to decide what we must do and what we can do in the months to come, Juncker concluded.


    The launch of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union was celebrated with a concert at the Romanian Athenaeum given by the European Union Orchestra, which performed George Enescus Romanian Rhapsody no 1 and Beethovens Ode to Joy, which has been the anthem of the European Union since 1985.


    On Friday in Bucharest, the European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker had talks with president Klaus Iohannis, PM Viorica Dancila and other Romanian officials. The European officials had meetings with the Romanian Cabinet ministers who will chair working meetings with their EU counterparts in the next 6 months, both in Bucharest and in Brussels.




    Romania chairs first General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels


    The Romanian minister for European affairs George Ciamba took part in Brussels in the General Affairs Council meeting, the first chaired by Romania since the start of its presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1. Ciamba presented Romanias priorities for its 6-month term in office, highlighting the 4 main directions: Europe of convergence, a safer Europe, Europe – a stronger regional actor, and Europe of shared values.


    Talking about the European context in which Romania holds the rotating presidency, which is marked by a number of complex processes such as Brexit, the negotiations on the next multi-annual financial framework, the European Parliament elections due in May 2019, and the reflection on the future of the Union, Ciamba said that now more than ever the Union needs unity and cohesion.



    Tension between the Presidency and the Government over appointments


    The conflict between the president and the government in Romania carries on. President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday rejected again, for the 2nd time, the appointment of Adina Florea as chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) and Anca Jurma, the interim chief prosecutor, announced she no longer wanted an extension of her term, which led the prosecutor general to make a new nomination. Thus he appointed the deputy chief prosecutor of the DNA Calin Nistor as interim chief prosecutor.


    The position remained vacant after Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed by a presidential decree issued on July 9, 2018 by president Iohannis who had to enforce a decision of the Constitutional Court.


    Also this week, the PM Viorica Dancila forwarded to president Iohannis the same nominations for the positions of deputy prime minister and minister of regional development and public administration and minister of transports, namely Lia Olguta Vasilescu and Mircea Draghici. According to the PM, the two nominations comply with the conditions stipulated by law and the two persons are compatible with the respective positions.


    On Thursday the Romanian president had sent the PM the motivation explaining the reasons why he had previously rejected the two persons nominated.



    Romanian economy reported very good results in 2018


    Last year Romania reported very good economic results, the PM Viorica Dancila announced in the first government meeting of 2019. She said that in the first 9 months of 2018, Romania reported a 4.2% economic growth rate, two times more than the rate reported by the EU, which was due mainly to industry. The PM also mentioned a drop in the unemployment rate in 2018 as well as an increase in the absorption rate of European funds, of more than 26%.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, Lacramioara Simion)

  • January 9, 2019

    January 9, 2019

    DNA — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, on Wednesday sent a letter to the Justice Minister, Tudorel Toader, saying the grounds on the basis of which he first rejected the proposal to appoint Adina Florea (prosecutor at the Prosecutor’s Office with the Court of Appeal in Constanta, in the south-east), Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, DNA, still stand. Toader requested, at the end of 2018, that his proposal be re-examined by the president. The position of DNA Chief Prosecutor became vacant after Laura Codruta Kovesi was removed from office under a decree issued in July 2018 by President Klaus Iohannis, who enforced a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court. Earlier, the Constitutional Court took note of a legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the Justice Minister and the President of Romania, caused by the president’s refusal to endorse the proposal to remove Kovesi from office. Kovesi has announced that she challenged the decision at the European Court of Human Rights, citing human rights violations. She said she didn’t have the possibility to defend herself before the Constitutional Court and it was impossible for her to challenge the ruling issued by the Constitutional Court judges. The former DNA Chief Prosecutor says she does not want damages or to be re-appointed Chief Prosecutor but she wants to put an end to what she called the submission of prosecutors.




    EU –The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker and the College of Commissioners will arrive in Bucharest on Thursday for the official launch of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Attending the official ceremony will also be the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The moment will be marked by a concert at the Romanian Athenaeum given by the EU Orchestra, which will be performing Romanian Rhapsody no.1 by George Enescu and an excerpt of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Ode to Joy, which became the Anthem of the European Union in 1985. On Friday, Jean-Claude Juncker, will have talks with President Klaus Iohannis and PM Viorica Dăncilă, as well as with the Speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament. The European officials are due to hold talks at the Government with the Romanian ministers who will chair for six months, in Bucharest and Brussels, working meetings with their EU counterparts.



    ECONOMY – Romania’s economy will register a growth rate of 3.5% in 2019 and of 3.1% in 2020, that is one percentage point less than it was estimated in June 2018, a report issued today by the World Bank shows. It is also estimated that Romania will report a 4.1% increase in the GDP, that is one percentage point less than in the June forecast. The growth will slow down in 2021, when the Romanian economy is expected to register a 2.8% growth rate, the report also shows. In another move, reducing the income taxation level and increasing salaries in the state sector have compensated an increase in social securities. The aforementioned financial institution estimates that in Europe and Central Asia, the economy slowed down to 3.1%, from 4% in 2017, thus reflecting the contraction of economic activities in Turkey in the second half of 2018. Except for Turkey, the regional growth rate is still unchanged, standing at 2.9% in 2018, because the slower pace of economic activities in such countries as Bulgaria and Romania has been compensated by the stepping up similar activities in the east of the region, which benefitted from higher crude oil prices, the World Bank reports.



    DEFICIT — Romania’s trade deficit has increased by over 18%, according to data collected in the first 11 months of 2018 as compared to the same period in 2017. Figures released earlier today by the National Institute of Statistics show the difference between imports and exports has reached 13.4 billion Euros. In the first 11 months of 2017, Romania’s trade deficit stood at 11.3 billion Euros.



    TENNIS — Romanian woman tennis player Irina Begu has qualified to the quarter finals of the WTA tennis tournament in Hobart (Australia), with some 250,000 USD in prize money up for grabs. Begu defeated Russian Ana Blinkova on Wednesday in three sets. She will next face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia. In another move, Simona Halep, no.1 WTA, has been defeated by Australian Ashleigh Barty, in two sets, in her first match played in 2019, in the 8th finals of the Sydney tennis tournament with 823,000 USD in prize money up for grabs. Simona Halep will next play at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, in Melbourne, where she played the final last year. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • December 28, 2018

    December 28, 2018

    SUPREME DEFENCE COUNCIL – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday, fresh from the Supreme Defense Council meeting, that he has extended the mandate of general Nicolae Ciucă as chief of staff. The mandate of general Ciucă expires on December 31, and Romania cant be left without an Army chief, president Iohannis has also said. He said he rejected the proposals made by the defense minister Gabriel Leş, on generals Ciucas successor, because they do not abide by the law. Earlier the line minister announced he will not extend general Ciucas mandate. The previous session of Romanias Supreme Defence Council was held on December 19, when the Council approved, among others, the army endowment plan for the 2019 – 2028 timeframe, as well as the forces and means that Romania will contribute to missions and operations on theatres of operations abroad next year. 1,902 Romanian troops will take action on international theatres of operations, that is 127 more troops than in 2018, and some 759 military and policemen from the Romanian Interior Ministry will be sent on EU, OSCE, NATO and UN missions. Romania will further contribute troops to the NATO-led Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan and will maintain the level of troops deployed as part of allied operations in the Western Balkans. As a first, a detachment of cargo and rescue helicopters will take part in the UN mission in Mali.



    GOVERNMENT – Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is today chairing the last government session of the year 2018. The agenda of the meeting covers such issues as a draft law on accepting the changes made by the European Council to the electoral procedure for the EP elections. The novelty is that “Member States may provide for the possibilities of advance voting, postal voting and electronic and internet voting. Where they do so, they must adopt measures sufficient to ensure in particular the reliability of the result, the secrecy of the vote and the protection of personal data. Referring to Romanias 2019 budget, Viorica Dăncilă has said it might be adopted in the first government session in January 2019 and submitted to Parliament for approval, so that it could be adopted by the end of January.



    ANTI-CORRUPTION – The prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate in Bucharest, DNA, in early November closed the file on the EADS contract, which provided for securing Romanias frontiers for 750 million Euros, the aforementioned institution has announced earlier today. DNA has announced this solution has been embraced because the deed is not included in the criminal law and there is no evidence indicating that a person has committed crime. In May 2004, the French group EADS signed with the Romanian Interior Ministry a contract to secure the countrys borders, because Romania wanted to join the EU and tightening border control was a prerequisite condition. The first investigation was started in 2005, against some persons who were employed by the Interior Ministry back then. The verification started following a notification sent by the leadership of the Interior Ministry, according to whom public funds had allegedly been used inappropriately, and those taking part in the negotiations did not observe some legal terms, and the value of the contract to tighten border control had been overestimated. Some of the names involved in the case include former ministers Marian Săniuță, Vasile Blaga and Dan Nica.



    BORDER TRAFFIC – The Romanian border was crossed by over one million people between December 21 and 26, during the Christmas mini-holiday, registering a 10% increase as compared to the same period of 2017, the Border Police has announced. The most transited border was that in the west of the country, where some 450,000 border crossings were reported. 260,000 other people chose to fly to and from Romania during this time span. Also, 159,000 people crossed the border from and into the Republic of Moldova, and 68,000 others from and into Bulgaria.



    HANDBALL – Romanias mens handball team tonight take on the similar team of the Czech Republic, in a fixture counting towards the 4 Nations Cup semifinals trophy staged in Poland. In the other semifinal, host country team faces Japan. On Saturday, the defeated teams are pitted against each other, while the winners will be pitched against each other as well. In early 2019, the national squad coached by Spaniard Manuel Montoya and the former international handballer Eliodor Voica will have a training session in Slovakia. A tournament will follow suit, with host country Slovakia and the Netherlands taking part. We recall Romanias mens national handball team failed to qualify for the World Championship due in January 2019 and jointly hosted by Germany and Denmark. However, Romanias womens national handball team has already secured their participation in the 2019 edition of the World Championships, to be hosted by Japan. We recall Romania came in 4th at the recently-held European championships in France.

  • Political Consultations on the Justice Laws

    Political Consultations on the Justice Laws

    On Wednesday, just one day after a European Parliament address in which he vowed that Romania respects the rule of law and that the fight against corruption will carry on, President Klaus Iohannis held consultations with the parliamentary parties on a topic that dominates the public agenda in Romania: the controversial changes that the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, backed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, has operated on the justice laws.



    Previously, the Venice Commission had released a report which found that some major elements introduced by the laws on the status of judges and prosecutors, on the organisation of courts and on the Higher Council of Magistracy, might undermine the independence of the Romanian magistrates and public confidence in the judicial system.



    This is precisely why the President believes these laws have to be reconsidered, modernised and improved. He argues that the law-making cycle must be resumed and urges politicians to take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission.



    Klaus Iohannis: “As far as the political class is concerned, we clearly need a pact, an agreement between parliamentary parties in order to resume this legislation cycle and improve these laws. We have the final opinion of the Venice Commission, these recommendations made by the Commission must be taken very, very seriously.



    The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, opposes the resumption of the law-making process. He says an emergency order has already been tabled by the Justice Minister, which brings the necessary corrections to the 3 laws.



    Liviu Dragnea: “Order no. 92 has been sent to parliament and is already included in the parliamentary agenda. This order, which incorporates a large part of the recommendations of the Venice Commission, has been drafted by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, following the meetings he had in Strasbourg with Venice Commission experts.



    The Social Democrats ally, ALDE leader Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, believes that a parliamentary pact on the justice laws could be useful, if based on the principle of protecting individual rights and freedoms.



    The National Liberal Party, in opposition, shares the opinion of President Iohannis, says the Liberal president Ludovic Orban:



    Ludovic Orban: “In resuming the debates, we must pay heed to the recommendations made by the Venice Commission, the rulings of the Constitutional Court concerning the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code. We should also take into account all the treaties that Romania has signed and the countrys international obligations.



    Whereas Save Romania Union, also in Opposition, announces that it tabled a bill in Parliament that transposes the recommendations of the Venice Commission, the Peoples Movement party takes a radical view on the matter and wants the removal of this Cabinet, which has lost all credibility as far as the justice laws are concerned. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania says it is open to any talks on the justice laws, provided that the independence of the judiciary is not affected, while the other ethnic minorities represented in parliament plead for the creation of a special committee to harmonise the views of the Constitutional Court and of the Venice Commission.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • October 8, 2018 UPDATE

    October 8, 2018 UPDATE

    REFERENDUM – 21.10% of the Romanian eligible voters took part in the referendum for rephrasing the constitutional definition of family as being based on the marriage of a man and a woman, rather than of “spouses, as it is at present. According to final data provided by the Central Election Bureau, the voter turnout in the 2 days of the vote, Saturday and Sunday, was below the validation threshold. To be validated, the referendum needed a minimum 30% turnout. Out of the participants in the referendum, some 91.5% voted in favour of changing the Constitution article, and only 6.5% voted against. The bill revising the Constitution was passed in Parliament and was based on a citizen initiative signed by 3 million people. On the other hand, the minister delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu announced that a bill regulating civil partnership will be tabled to Parliament next week. The bill is finalized, and it has been discussed with partners in political parties and civil society, Negrescu said.




    INTERVIEW – The Prosecutor Department of the Higher Magistracy Council in Romania Monday issued a negative opinion on Adina Florea, nominated by the Justice Minister, Tudorel Toader, for the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. The Councils opinion is consultative, and the appointment decision must be made by President Klaus Iohannis. In the project with which she applied for the post, Adina Florea says that, apart from the good things, the activity of anti-corruption prosecutors in recent years also comprised deviations from the requirements of the rule of law. The office of chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has been vacant since July, when Laura Codruţa Kovesi was removed from office by President Klaus Iohannis, who was forced to implement a Constitutional Court ruling. In this respect as well, the Higher Council of Magistracy issued a negative consultative report.




    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies Monday debated a simple motion filed by the National Liberal Party, in opposition, against Economy Minister Danut Andrusca. The Liberals accuse Andrusca of deliberately destabilizing the country’s economy. According to the motion text, “industrial activity failed nearly to zero in August, the lowest level since February, economic growth is offset by inflation and managers expectations for the next 6 months remain pessimistic. Meanwhile, Liberal Deputies also filed on Monday a simple motion against the Culture Minister George Ivascu, whom they accuse of being unable to coordinate the historical celebration of December 1, when Romania marks the Union Centennial.




    HEARING – The High Court of Cassation and Justice Monday postponed for November 5th the first hearing in the appeal filed by Social-Democrat leader and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea against a 3-and-a-half-year prison sentence from the court of first instance. In June, the court handed Dragnea this sentence for instigation to abuse of office. Anticorruption prosecutors say Liviu Dragnea ordered the fictitious employment of two party members at the Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate. The two were paid with taxpayer money, although they allegedly worked exclusively for the Social-Democratic Party. Liviu Dragnea denied the accusations. In 2016, Dragnea was handed a suspended 2-year prison sentence for attempted election fraud. This summer the High Court cancelled the ruling to suspend the prison sentence. Dragnea is also prosecuted for abuse of office in 2 other cases, one of them re-opened last week, further to reports coming from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).




    JUDICIARY – The Romanian Supreme Court postponed for November 5 an appeal filed by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate against the acquittal of constitutional court judge Toni Grebla. In May, a Constitutional Court 3-judge panel dismissed the charges against Grebla, who had been indicted in 2015 for influence peddling, forgery, financial operations incompatible with his office, and setting up an organised crime group. In a government re-shuffling announced for October, Toni Greblă might become a secretary general of the Government. The president of the Social Democratic Party in power, Liviu Dragnea, proposed Grebla for this office in a late September meeting of the partys National Executive Committee.




    EUROPEAN WEEK OF REGIONS – The 2018 edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities started in Brussels on Monday, in the presence of European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, the head of the European Committee of the Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertsz and European Parliament vice-president, Pavel Telicka. This year’s edition is a special one, devoted to the European Commission’s cohesion policy proposal for 2021-2027. Decision-makers and local, regional, national and European experts will take part in a series of debates as part of the most important event devoted to cohesion policies at European level.




    NOBEL – The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded this year to the Americans William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, for integrating climate change and technological innovation into long-run macroeconomic analysis. The Nobel in economics was introduced in 1968 by Swedens Central Bank and was first granted in 1969. Unlike the other Nobel prizes, which are funded by the Nobel Foundation, this award is financed by the Central Bank of Sweden. The 2018 Nobel season has concluded with the award of this last prize.




    INTERPOL – The Interpol chief, Meng Hongwei, is probed into for bribe taking and other alleged offences, Chinas Ministry of State Security announced on Monday. Beijing confirmed that Meng Hongwei, who is also the deputy Minister for State Security in China, has resigned as Interpol chief. Meng Hongwei, 64, was announced missing last week, while on a trip to his home country. The Interpol will elect a new president at the General Assembly scheduled for next week in Dubai.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • September 5, 2018

    September 5, 2018

    CONSULTATIONS – President Klaus Iohannis has invited the PM Viorica Dancila to consultations on Thursday concerning the forthcoming state budget adjustment. The invitation comes after on Tuesday the head of state suspended the meeting of the Supreme Defence Council on this topic and explained that an agreement had not been reached with the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The President criticised the cuts in the budgets of the intelligence services. In response, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici says the Presidents decision will obstruct the payment of salaries, investments and compensations for the African swine fever cases.




    PARLIAMENT – The Chamber of Deputies Wednesday rejected a request by the right-wing Opposition to set up 2 inquiry committees, one on the Governments handling of the African swine fever crisis, and another one on the intervention of riot police at the anti-government protests in Bucharest on August 10th. The authors of the request said they wanted to identify the causes for the quick spreading of the disease in Romania and to find out whether certain public institutions were involved in activities beyond their legally defined powers. At present swine fever outbreaks are reported in 11 counties in Romania, triggering the culling of over 140,000 pigs and spreading further, in spite of the measures taken by authorities. On Tuesday the Senates defence committee cancelled the hearings on this topic, at the request of the Social Democratic Party in power. Scheduled to be heard in Parliament were the Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, the coordinator of the gendarme intervention Laurenţiu Cazan, and the Prefect of Bucharest, Speranţa Cliseru. So far 770 people affected by the brutal police intervention during the protests have filed criminal complaints.




    ANTI-CORRUPTION – A nomination for the new chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate will be announced on Thursday, said the Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. On Tuesday he interviewed the last 3 candidates for the post, after the interviews of another 3 candidates on Monday. The Justice Minister is to send his proposal to the Higher Council of Magistracy, which is to communicate an official opinion on the candidate, and then the nomination is to be approved by President Klaus Iohannis. The former chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, was dismissed in July, under a presidential order imposed by the Constitutional Court of Romania. The dismissal had been requested by the Justice Minister, further to a report that had not been approved by the Higher Council of Magistracy.




    SPORTS MINISTER – The Romanian media hail the appointment of Romanian-born swimmer Roxana Mărăcineanu as the new sports minister in France. She has been living in France since 1984, when her parents fled communist Romania. Aged 43, the athlete born in Bucharest won a silver medal at the 200-m backstroke event of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, when the Romanian Diana Mocanu won the gold. “I felt it was my anthem as well, she said after hearing the Romanian national anthem played at the award ceremony. Two years before, Roxana Maracineanu had won the first world champion title for France, and in 1999 she had won the European swimming championship.




    FESTIVAL – Over 100 artists, representing the music and culture of some 70 countries, are taking part in World Experience Festival, held these days in Bucharest. The main theme of the event is World Music, promoted through concerts and workshops such as the ones focusing on Irish dances, the tea ceremony or the kimono dressing ceremony. Music instruments from 30 countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia and so on are also presented. The main stage of the festival is located in one of Bucharests parks.




    FORUM – The International Economic Forum carries on in the Polish town of Krynica. Romania is represented by some 50 politicians, analysts and business people. Participants from 60 countries in Europe, Asia and North America are looking at the prospects of world economy, and discuss topics such as the future of Europe, the energy field, international cooperation between EU member countries, the state of the European agriculture, as well as continental security. According to the Radio Romania correspondent, special attention will also be paid to the Black Sea region, where security has been vulnerable since 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.




    FOOTBALL – Romanias national football team carries on its preparations for the first game in the newly created League of Nations, which it is to play on home turf in Ploiesti against Montenegro on Friday night. On Monday the national team will play against neighbouring Serbia in Belgrade, and in October they will take on Lithuania, also away from home, in Group 4 of the competition. The results in the League of Nations are counting towards the preliminaries of the 2020 European Championship.


    (translated by Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • September 4, 2018 UPDATE

    September 4, 2018 UPDATE

    MEETING – The meeting of the Supreme Defence Council was suspended, and the Government must come up with a new budget adjustment proposal, after the Council members failed to reach an agreement on the current plan, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday. The head of state asked the Cabinet to come up with a plan to eliminate the “unaccountable cuts in the budgets of national security institutions. The President decided to convene the Supreme Defence Council after the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats criticised him for obstructing the first budget adjustment of this year, one concerning salaries, social assistance expenditure, the funding of activities to fight the African swine fever and Romanias contribution to the EU budget. Iohannis replied that the Government was free to adjust the public budget at any time, except for the part concerning the national security field. He also said that the Social Democratic Party is building an irresponsible budget, which cannot be implemented in practice.




    HEARINGS – At the request of the Social Democratic Party in power, the Defence Committee of the Romanian Senate cancelled Tuesdays hearings concerning the violent clashes during the August 10th anti-government protest in Bucharest. Originally invited to take part were the Interior Minister Carmen Dan, the coordinator of the riot police intervention, Laurenţiu Cazan, and the Prefect of Bucharest Speranţa Cliseru. Hearings on the same topic were however held at the General Prosecutors Office, and they were attended by the Mayor of Bucharest, the Social Democrat Gabriela Firea. She said that investigations would reveal who is to blame for the violence in Victoriei Square, and added that attempts had been made to turn the Bucharest Prefect Speranta Cliseru into a scapegoat. On Saturday during a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party, Gabriela Firea requested the resignation of the Interior Minister Carmen Dan, who, Firea said, had blamed the Prefect for the intervention of the gendarmes. So far 770 criminal complaints have been filed, by people injured in that intervention.




    VENICE COMMISSION – A Venice Commission delegation will be in Bucharest on September 13th and 14th, to prepare a report on the recent changes of the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure made by the Parliament of Romania, according to the web site of this Council of Europe institution. The delegation will have talks with President Klaus Iohannis, the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, and with officials of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the General Prosecutors Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and the Higher Council of Magistracy. The Venice Commission team will also have meetings with MPs, including the members of the special parliamentary committee in charge with modifying the justice laws, with judge and prosecutor associations, as well as with civil society representatives.




    ANTI-CORRUPTION – A new proposal for the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate will be announced on Thursday, the Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader says. On Tuesday the last 3 candidates for the office were interviewed by the Justice Minister, while 3 other candidates had their interviews scheduled on Monday. The Minister will select a candidate, who must be accepted by the Higher Council of Magistracy and approved by President Klaus Iohannis. The former chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed in July, under an order signed by President Iohannis in conformity with a ruling of the Constitutional Court. The dismissal had been requested by the Justice Minister, further to a report that had not been approved by the Higher Council of Magistracy.




    SPORTS MINISTER – The Ambassador of Romania to Paris, Luca Niculescu, Tuesday congratulated the Romanian-born former French swimming champion Roxana Mărăcineanu on her appointment as Sports Minister in France. The Romanian Embassy in France also mentions, in a Facebook post, that Roxana Mărăcineanu was one of the 10 Romanians living in France whose merits were recognised in a gala called “100 for the Centenary, organised by the Embassy in Paris in June 2018. Roxana Mărăcineanu, born in Bucharest in 1975, replaced the former Olympic fencing champion Laura Flessel, who resigned as sports minister in France.


    (translated by Ana-Maria Popescu)