TALKS There is a need for a referendum on justice and this is
going to happen on May 26th, concurrently with the elections for the
European Parliament, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said today at the end of
his talks on this issue with Parliament parties. In his opinion, the Romanians are
afraid that ruling Social Democratic Party is going to dominate the country’s
judicial system. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats had already made public
their decision to boycott the referendum talks. On Thursday, upon talks with
opposition parties, PNL, USR PMP, with UDMR as well as the group of national
minorities, other than the Hungarian one, president Iohannis said the
participants endorsed the idea of a referendum. According to Iohannis, the
Romanians want a justice system outside the political sphere of influence. The aforementioned
talks have been staged against the background of frequent legislative
amendments initiated by the ruling PSD-ALDE coalition, which attracted a lot of
heat from Romania’s European partners. During the referendum people will have
to express their will on several issues, such as banning amnesty and pardon for
corruption crimes as well as emergency ordinances for offenses, penalties and
judicial organization.
MEETING The European Commission has approved all the projects the
Romanian government submitted, but I believe more could have been done as there
is more money to access, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina
Cretu said in Bucharest on Friday. The EU official attended the informal
meeting of the ministers in charge of European funds against the background of Romania’s
holding the EU rotating presidency. In another development Rovana Plumb,
Minister for the European Funds, said the relation the authorities in Bucharest is having with the
European Commission is a normal one based on dialogue so that the European
money Romania deserves may reach this country. Among other things, the meeting
agenda also includes investment priorities envisaged by the Cohesion Policy for
the period between 2021 and 2027. Romania’s presidency of the EU Council is
unfolding under the motto, ‘Cohesion, a common European Value’ laying emphasis
on the unity between the EU members and the importance of reducing economic,
social and territorial differences at the EU level.
SUMMIT The city of Dubrovnik in Croatia is playing venue for the 16+1
Summit bringing together leaders from countries in Central, Eastern Europe and from
China. Romania is being represented by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila who is
expected to deliver a speech and participate in a ceremony occasioned by the
signing of a memorandum of understanding over the setting up of a group of
experts for promoting unrestricted trade between Romania and China, the signing
of an accord over the export of bees as well a cooperation agreement between
the Chinese Bank of Development and Eximbank. On Thursday, the Romanian Prime
Minister met her counterparts from Slovenia and Croatia.
INVESTMENT According to Romania’s Central Bank, direct foreign
investment in Romania rose by 47% in the first two months of this year up to
one billion Euros as compared to the 704 million Euros in the similar period of
2018. 935 new enterprises with foreign capital were registered in the first two
months of the year, their number being on the rise against the same period last
year. The Netherlands, Austria and Germany are the main providers of foreign
capital.
EXERCISE On Thursday night Bucharest played venue for an exercise involving
the intervention of rescue teams to remove the effects of several explosions
allegedly taking place in the city’s underground railway. The exercise in
Bucharest was part of an ampler multinational military-medical drill, the
biggest in the history of the North-Atlantic Alliance. The drill has been
staged by the NATO Center of Excellence for Military Medicine, Romanian Chief
of Staff and the Medical Department of the Romanian Defence Ministry.
(translated by bill)