Radio România Internațional

Tag: anticorruption directorate

  • May 9, 2022 UPDATE

    May 9, 2022 UPDATE

    EUROPE DAY – Military
    ceremonies, laying of flowers, exhibitions and film screenings were held around
    the country on Monday to mark Romania’s National Independence Day, the Victory
    of the United Nations Coalition in WWII and Europe Day, all three of which are
    celebrated every year on May 9. The European Commission representation in
    Romania launched a communication campaign entitled Faces of European
    Solidarity and consisting in an exhibition of photographs documenting
    Romanians’ solidarity with the people who fled Ukraine following the Russian
    invasion and the care and warmth with which they were received by the Romanians
    near the border areas, at refugee centers and in their homes. Europe must
    become stronger, more vocal, more capable and better prepared, said Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis in a Europe Day statement.


    VICTORY DAY -
    Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday said his army is fighting in Ukraine
    to defend the fatherland against an unacceptable threat posed by the
    neighboring country supported by the West. Putin told the crowds attending the
    military parade in Moscow that he ordered the special operation in Ukraine
    because the Ukrainian authorities were preparing an attack against pro-Russian
    separatists in the east, because they wanted to develop nuclear weapons and
    bring NATO to Russia’s doorstep. No foreign leader attended the festivities in
    Moscow, which marked the victory of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany in
    WWII. In Kyiv, president Volodymyr Zelensky said that evil has returned to
    Europe, in a different form, under different slogans, but for the same
    purpose, comparing the Russian invasion to the 1941 Nazi invasion.


    REFUGEES – The
    way in which Romania received refugees from Ukraine is a strong argument
    proving our country is already acting as a member of Schengen, Foreign Minister
    Bogdan Aurescu said on Monday in the opening of the debate 15 years since
    Romania’s EU accession – Romania’s contribution to the EU and its role in
    consolidating the Union. Minister Aurescu said citizens’ involvement in
    helping the refugees is a clear expression of Romanians’ genuine European
    spirit. Since the start of the conflict, Romania has provided direct support
    to over 927 thousand Ukrainian refugees, of whom over 89,000 chose to stay in
    Romania. On Monday, the Border Police announced that nearly 7,700 Ukrainian
    citizens entered the country in the last 24 hours, down by 15% compared to the
    previous day.


    PRESIDENCY – On
    Europe Day, president Klaus Iohannis selected two projects which will take
    place this year under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidency, designed
    to strengthen the unity of history, language, culture and European aspirations
    between Romania and the Republic of Moldova -a the Bookfest International Fair
    and the Meeting of Romanian Theatres. In 2022, Bookfest will take place over
    August 31 – September 4, and is meant to promote reading and Romanian
    literature in the Republic of Moldova. In turn, the Meeting of Romanian
    Theatres will take place over September 15-25. The two events are also held
    under the high patronage of the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu.


    DNA – The National Anticorruption
    Directorate (DNA) announced 39 final sentences were passed in March against 86
    defendants in corruption cases, including giving and taking bribe, peddling in
    influence and fraud involving European funds. Sentences vary between 7 years
    and 8 months in prison and fines amounting to the equivalent in lei of 3,000 Euro.


    WTA – Poland’s Iga Swiatek comfortably leads the WTA ranking published on
    Monday, followed by Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Spain’s Paula
    Badosa. Former world no. 1 Simona Halep remains the highest-ranked Romanian
    tennis player, at no. 20. Romania has five other players in the top 100: Sorana
    Cîrstea, at no. 26, Gabriela Ruse at no. 57, Irina Begu at no. 63, Jaqueline
    Cristian at no. 70 and Ana Bogdan at no. 95. In the women’s doubles ranking,
    Monica Niculescu is the highest-ranked Romanian, at no. 42, as Raluca Olaru
    drops six places to no. 49. Irina Begu is at no. 47, Irina Bara at no. 62 and Gabriela
    Ruse at no. 93. (CM & VP)



  • July 24, 2018 UPDATE

    July 24, 2018 UPDATE

    WILDFIRE
    – On Tuesday, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila conveyed to her Greek
    counterpart Alexis Tsipras sincerest condolences for the deaths caused by the
    fires that have engulfed the Attica region. Also, she expressed Romania’s
    willingness to help the Greek authorities deal with the disaster. The Romanian
    Defense Minister Mihai Fifor stays in contact with his counterpart to establish
    ways in which Romania can help. At least 60 people have been killed and some 200
    wounded in the fires. Athens has also activated the EU Civil Protection
    Mechanism, calling for help from the EU member countries. The wildfires were
    caused by a heat wave that has hit the country recently, with temperatures of
    over 40 degrees Centigrade.




    COOPERATION
    – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis received in Bucharest on Tuesday the Irish
    Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. On the occasion, the two officials stressed the
    dynamics of bilateral trade exchanges, which doubled in the past year. Also,
    president Iohannis thanked Prime Minister Varadkar for the way in which the
    Romanian community was integrated in Ireland. The two officials also discussed
    other topics on the European agenda, such as the future of the EU, the Romanian
    presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of 2019, the Union’s new
    budget framework and migration management.




    ANTICORRUPTION – The four candidates running for the position
    of Head Prosecutor of the Anticorruption Directorate in Romania meet the legal
    conditions, according to the Ministry of Justice. The Justice Minister Tudorel
    Toader has announced that a decision is scheduled to be made on Friday. The
    position has been vacant after the former head prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi
    was dismissed by presidential decree on July 9, as a result of a ruling issued
    by the Constitutional Court.




    VISIT- Romanian PM Viorica Dancila has announced that on
    Wednesday she will begin a visit to Montenegro and Macedonia. The political
    dialogue will focus on enhancing bilateral relations, support for the two
    countries’ bid to join the EU, and ensuring regional stability and security.
    The PM specified that the main focus of the visit will be the European agenda
    of the two states, which Romania sees as a priority during its future
    presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first semester of next year.




    DIRECTIVES – Romania still has to transpose
    45 European directives, according to the Government spokesperson Nelu Barbu.
    After the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he stated that, in the coming period, all
    ministries that have responsibilities in implementing European directives would
    make the necessary steps in that direction. The European Commission has been
    notified in relation to 13 transposition procedures, and there are already
    three infringement procedures against Romania, Nelu Barbu also said.




    REFERENDUM – The referendum on changing the
    Romanian Constitution, by redefining the concept of family, could be held in
    late September or early October, the leader of the Social Democratic Party
    Liviu Dragnea announced on Tuesday. Several NGOs, grouped under the so called
    ‘Coalition for Family’, have gathered three million signatures to organize a
    referendum aimed at banning marriages between same sex people. Currently, the
    Romanian Constitution stipulates that family is based on the consented marriage
    between spouses, and the ‘Coalition for Family’ would like the constitution to
    read that marriage is only the union between a man and a woman.



  • 22 February, 2018

    22 February, 2018

    EU. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will attend an informal
    meeting of the European Council held on Friday in Brussels, the president’s
    office has announced. Talks will tackle the multiannual financial framework
    beyond 2020 and institutional aspects of the European Union. Klaus Iohannis is
    expected to emphasise that during its presidency of the EU Council in the first
    part of next year, Romania will seek a political agreement on a modern and
    efficient EU budget beyond 2020. The talks in Brussels are also expected to
    look at issues related to the composition of the European Parliament for the
    2019-2024 parliamentary term. The Romanian president backs the Parliament’s
    proposal for a new distribution of seats in the next term, which will increase
    Romania’s seats to 33, one more than it currently has.




    Anticorruption. The Romanian justice minister Tudorel
    Toader will today present the conclusions of a report on the managerial
    activity of the National Anticorruption Directorate. Last week, he cut short an
    official visit to Japan after prime minister Viorica Dancila asked him to
    return to Romania and clarify allegations about the National Anticorruption
    Directorate circulating in the media. Earlier, the former Social Democrat MP
    Vlad Cosma, who received a 5-year-sentence for corruption in a court of first
    instance, accused anticorruption investigators of using him to fabricate
    evidence against other Social Democratic politicians. The head of the
    Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi firmly denied her investigators were using any
    illegal means, while president Klaus Iohannis reiterated his trust in the
    anticorruption body. On Wednesday evening, some 100 persons gathered in front
    of the president’s office to protest against the Directorate head, accusing her
    of a number of abuses, and against what they called the president’s
    passiveness.




    Transparency Internationa. Romania remains on the 25th position in the European
    Union in a ranking made by Transparency International in its corruption
    perceptions index. The only EU members to score lower than Romania are Hungary
    and Bulgaria. Made public in Berlin on Wednesday, the ranking looks at the
    public sector in 180 states as perceived by the business community and
    independent experts.




    Human rights. In its annual human rights report, Amnesty
    International has criticised the attempt to decriminalise acts of corruption
    and the conditions in Romanian prisons. Published on Thursday in London, the
    report mentions that the attempt of the government coalition in Bucharest to
    ease anti-corruption legislation last year sparked wide-scale street protests
    in Romania and abroad. The Amnesty International report also notes that
    European and international institutions criticised the overcrowding of prisons
    and the detention conditions. Another observation made by Amnesty International
    is that in 2017, the Rroma in Romania faced discriminatory practices from the
    authorities.




    Flu. The flu has killed 47 people in Romania this season
    according to the latest toll published by the National Centre for the
    Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases. 500 people have the flu
    virus, mostly in Bucharest and the counties of Constanta, in the south-east,
    Brasov, in the centre, and Iasi, in the north-east. The authorities advise
    people to get vaccinated, and the health ministry says around 80,000 vaccine
    doses are still available. So far 920,000 have received vaccination. The
    healthcare minister Sorina Pintea says Romania is not faced with a flu
    epidemic.




    Air pollution. The Romanian
    environment minister Gratiela Gavrilescu is today having talks in Bucharest with
    the European Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Karmenu Vella. Romania has requested the support of the European
    Commission as part of a mechanism designed to share expertise between national,
    regional and local public authorities in charge of implementing EU
    environmental law and policy within the EU member states. Last month, the
    European Commission demanded Romania and eight other EU states to take measures
    to reduce air pollution levels or face penalty procedures for exceeding the
    level of harmful substances in the air.






    European funds. The absorption rate of European funds is
    unsatisfactory and Romania risks losing 800 million euros under the Regional
    Operational Programme, prime minister Viorica Dancila said today at the General
    Assembly of the Union of County Councils. She called on the local and central
    authorities to share the problems they face in this respect so that solutions
    can be quickly found. The government’s mission is for Romania to climb to the
    top half of a ranking of the Union’s strongest economies by 2020, Dancila also
    said. To achieve this goal, her cabinet is considering investing more in
    infrastructure, increasing people’s incomes, reforming the administration and
    reducing bureaucracy.




    Europa League. The Romanian football vice-champions FCSB,
    formerly Steaua Bucharest, today face the Italian side Lazio Rome in a return
    match away as part of the Europa League last 32. A week ago, the Romanian side
    pulled off a surprising win at home, 1-nil. This is the first time after five
    years that FCSB have made it this far into the competition. Lazio Rome, who are
    managed by the famous ex-player Simone Inzaghi, were the odds-on favourites to
    win that match.