Radio România Internațional

Tag: inquiry

  • November 19, 2024 UPDATE

    November 19, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PARLIAMENT The parliament of Romania convenes on Wednesday to approve 2 inquiry committees and their membership. The joint standing bureaus approved a draft resolution on setting up a joint parliamentary inquiry committee to check the spending by and on behalf of the Presidency in 2014 – 2024, initiated by the Social Democratic Party. Another joint inquiry committee will look into real estate mafia, beginning with the Nordis affair, initiated by the National Liberal Party. The Liberal Party president Nicolae Ciucă said the number of victims identified in this case is over 400. Many Romanians in the country and abroad were persuaded to purchase apartments in residential compounds and hotels built by Nordis, but the developers have sold the same apartments several times over to different buyers.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania sees the last days of the campaign for the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the president post, 9 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the official results of the election may be announced by late Monday, November 25. The second round of the presidential elections is due on December 8.

     

    ISRAEL The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Tuesday discussed over the telephone with Israel’s new diplomacy chief, Gideon Saar. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, Luminiţa Odobescu praised the dynamics of bilateral dialogue and cooperation, and its potential for development in key sectors. The 2 officials also exchanged opinions regarding the security situation in the Middle East. Odobescu voiced support for the international community’s efforts towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the region. The Romanian minister also reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, a topic constantly on the agenda of the Romanian government and supported by concrete measures. Gideon Saar praised the special relations between the 2 countries and thanked for Romania’s steady support.

     

    UKRAINE Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec said in a statement on Tuesday, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    FOOTBALL The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home, in their last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and moved into the competition’s League B. Romania is still waiting for UEFA’s decision regarding the match against Kosovo in Bucharest on Friday, when the guests left the pitch little before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation dismissed the accusations as unfounded.

     

  • January 23, 2021

    January 23, 2021

    COVID-19 – A 73-year-old woman from Romania died on Friday, on the same day when she was vaccinated against Covid-19. The National Vaccination Committee pointed out that the person had multiple chronic diseases and that her death was not caused by the vaccine. The national vaccination campaign in Romania has entered its second stage, when the elderly and the people with chronic diseases are going to be vaccinated. Other categories included in the 2nd vaccination stage are: the employees of key sectors, seafarers, members of the diplomatic missions, athletes participating in international competitions as well as the homeless and the disabled. In the first stage, vaccination was for the healthcare personnel. The Prime Minister Florin Cîţu said Saturday that the authorities maintain the objective of having at least 1.2 million Romanians vaccinated with both doses by the end of March and 10.4 million by the end of September. The Prime Minister also stressed the importance of continuing to observe anti-coronavirus protection rules everywhere and at all times. Despite the recommendation of the Romania Health Ministry, restrictions generated by Covid-19 will be partially lifted in Bucharest as of Monday – the Municipal Committee for Emergency Situations announced. Theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, cafes and gambling halls will be able to operate, but at a capacity of maximum 30%. Official data made public on Saturday show that 2,719 new COVID-19 cases have been identified in Romania following 26.700 tests made. Another 94 people have died from COVID-19. So far, more than 709 thousand cases have been reported in Romania, and about 90% of the patients have recovered.



    Travel – All persons reaching the US by air will be required to present, upon boarding, a negative SARS-CoV-2 test or a document attesting that they have been infected but have recovered. The negative test should be made 72 hours (3 days), at the most, prior to reaching the USA – the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. The measure, which will apply to all people over the age of 2, including to US citizens, permanent residents and citizens transiting the US, will take effect on January 26. In another move, people in risk areas, including Romania, who travel to the Netherlands by air or sea, should present, starting on Saturday, a rapid test for the new coronavirus, made no later than four hours before departure. France will also require, as of Sunday at midnight, a negative PCR Covid-19 test that needs to be taken with a maximum of 72 hours before the trip. Exempted from the rule are road transporters and cross-border workers.



    Brussels – The European Ombudsman, quoted by Reuters, has announced the launch of an investigation into the way in which the European Commission is managing the contracts for the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccines concluded with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the EU member states. The EU has spent about 2.5 billion Euros for down payments to buy about 2.3 billion doses of vaccine from six companies that have Covid-19 vaccines approved or in the experimental phase. The prices, delivery deadlines and other important clauses in the contracts are kept secret, the European Commission claiming that confidentiality is essential to obtain the best possible contractual conditions. However, the Ombudsmans inquiry concerns the EC’s refusal to provide public access to those documents. EU states have complained about insufficient vaccine deliveries and uncertain timelines.



    Expo — The Commissioner of the Romanian Section for Expo 2020 Dubai, Ferdinand Nagy, paid a working visit to the United Arab Emirates between January 17-21. He met with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of the Expo Dubai 2020 Steering Committee. During the talks, the two stressed the importance of bilateral relations, in the context of the Strategic Economic Partnership concluded in 2018. The Romanian official also had a meeting with Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, both expressing confidence that Romanias presence at Expo 2020 Dubai will attract both the interest of visitors and of the business environment. Romania will participate in the World Exhibition with a national pavilion entitled New Nature. Expo 2020 Dubai will have the theme Connecting Minds, Creating the Future and will take place between October 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022.



    Chisinau – The president of the Committee for International Relations of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, Konstantin Kosaciov, virulently criticized the recent decision of the Constitutional Court in Chisinau, which declared unconstitutional the law that gave the Russian language a special status in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Konstantin Kosaciov considers similar the Moldovan Constitutional Court’s decision and Ukraines decision of 16 January, which introduced the Ukrainian language to the countrys service sector, calling the decisions attacks on the Russian language. The Russian senator makes a link between the two measures and Republic of Moldova’s and Ukraine’s aspirations for European integration. In his opinion Russophobia becomes a systemic element of European policy, encouraged by the European Union in Russias neighborhood. The Romanian Ambassador to Chisinau, Daniel Ioniţă, on the contrary, has appreciated as correct and normal the decision of the Constitutional Court, this being an additional proof that the Romanian language must be known by all the citizens living on the territory of the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. (tr. L.Simion)

  • 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)

  • End of the parliamentary inquiry into the presidential election of 2009

    End of the parliamentary inquiry into the presidential election of 2009

    Romania’s Parliament meeting in plenary session has passed the report of the commission of inquiry into the presidential election of 2009. The report has been endorsed by the ruling coalition and rejected by the opposition. The chair of the commission, Social-Democrat MP Oana Florea, said that the report was based on dozens of hearings, thousands of pages and a lot of disputes. In her view, the report highlights a number of facts feeding suspicion about the rigging of the presidential election of 2009 won by the former head of state, Traian Basescu, to the detriment of Social-Democrat Mircea Geoana. Oana Florea:



    “The Commission has noted concrete actions undertaken by the presidency represented by Traian Basescu and the government headed by Emil Boc, with a view to rigging the election in favour of candidate Traian Basescu. The actions of the two institutions were perfectly synchronized, which proved they were part of a large-scale, well-defined plan and were premeditated. The representatives of the two institutions acted forcefully, in bad faith, utterly defying the law.”



    The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition have criticized the report. Liberal MP Cezar Preda said Parliament could not be a substitute for the state authorities with prerogatives in the field. Cezar Preda:



    “There is a report. What does it include actually? There are some conclusions that were primarily drawn politically. What’s their use? Could they be of use to the Prosecutor General’s Office? No, they couldn’t. The respective file was closed by the Prosecutor General’s Office. We demanded that the Commission should conclude its activity, to say nothing of the fact that its establishment was inopportune.”



    Directly targeted by the report, former president Traian Basescu, senator of the People’s Movement Party, said that the result of the 2009 ballot had reflected the options of the electorate. Traian Basescu:



    “Did Geoana get 70,000 votes less or did I win 70,000 votes more? Let me tell you the truth: I beat Geoana. Such reports are no good, either to democracy or to Parliament, because they make it lose credibility through the fake views they advocate and make public.”



    The report highlights the election was rigged to favour Traian Basescu, who thus won his second presidential term in office, which was a narrow victory over Social-Democrat Mircea Geoana. According to the revelations of a controversial journalist, the 2009 election process was allegedly influenced by high-ranking state officials. The investigation into the presidential election of 2009 had been submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office, which closed it, as prosecutors concluded there was no evidence about an electoral fraud. The report passed by Parliament was submitted to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Presidency, the Government and the High Council of Magistracy, institutions that can take action according to their legal prerogatives.


    (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • Parliamentary inquiry into the 2009 presidential elections

    Parliamentary inquiry into the 2009 presidential elections

    In 2009, the then president of
    Romania Traian Basescu surprisingly won the second round of the presidential
    elections to secure a second term in office. His opponent, who was considered the favourite, was Mircea Geoana,
    the leader of the Social Democratic Party at the time. The very small difference of
    just several thousands votes between the two contenders, the large number of
    special polling stations with a massive turnout and suspicions regarding the
    way in which voting was carried out in several polling stations abroad fuelled
    suspicions that the voting may have been tampered with. However, no wrongdoing
    could be proven and the election result was validated, while Traian Basescu
    remained for another five years in the presidential seat.




    The whole controversy is again in the spotlight
    following the revelations of the journalist Dan Andronic, a former adviser to
    president Basescu. Andronic says people heading important state institutions in
    Romania, such as the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate Codruta
    Kovesi who at the time was Romania’s Prosecutor General, as well as the then
    head of the Romanian Intelligence Service George Cristian Maior and his first
    deputy Florian Coldea had a meeting on the eve of the second presidential
    ballot, hence the suspicion that they might have become involved in order to
    influence the result of the vote.




    Following these statements, the Prosecutor General’s
    Office started a prosecution in rem, therefore targeting actions and not
    people, for abuse of office and forgery of electoral documents and records.
    However, that was not enough, because the parliamentary majority made up of the
    Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, which has
    among its members some of Traian Basescu’s fiercest enemies, have mobilised
    themselves and pushed for the creation of a parliamentary commission to
    investigate the 2009 elections. They managed to do that despite opposition from
    the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union.




    The Liberals’ interim president Raluca Turcan
    suspects the Social Democrats of only seeking to bring down the current head of
    the National Anticorruption Directorate Codruta Kovesi, who is strongly
    disliked by the current power. The Social Democrat MP Eugen Nicolicea, however,
    has denied the accusations:




    Not only that we make no specific reference to the
    possibility of investigating prosecutors or magistrates in general, but article
    3 also clearly states that the offences specified by the Prosecutor General’s
    Office are not to be investigated by the parliamentary commission.




    The Save Romania Union has also voted against the
    creation of the special commission, saying that its activity will overlap with
    that of the prosecutor’s office. Here is deputy Ion Stelian:




    We cannot ignore the fact that the prosecutor’s
    office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice has started a judicial
    investigation that targets the exact facts that would make the object of the
    parliamentary investigation.




    It’s unclear what the parliamentary investigation
    could prove. In his very particular style, senator Traian Basescu has jokingly
    threatened that, if the result of the inquiry establishes that Mircea Geoana
    should have been president instead, he will run again, a nightmarish scenario
    for many in Romania.

  • Inquiry into the soaring energy prices

    Inquiry into the soaring energy prices

    Suspicious deals, artificially increased prices, bankrupt companies and doubled electricity bills for certain consumers are the follow-ups of electricity prices hitting a record high on the Romanian Exchange market for three weeks in a row. The National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE) has started an inquiry into two energy deals struck on the energy exchange suspected of having violated the law and has called on the Competition Council to assist in the investigation.



    The electricity price amounts to some 140 euros/megawatt hour, twice as much as on the first days of this year. The first problem is related to the high demand for energy last weekend. As a rule, at weekends, the energy consumption is low, so prices should go down but that did not happen. Last year, on the first days of January, prices stood at around 55 Euros. High prices of up to 96 Euros/megawatt hour were reported on January 15th and 23rd, which is unaccountable. On those two days, Romania reported the highest prices in Europe on the energy exchange. Experts in the field say that not only is the energy demand suspiciously high, but so are the prices offered by retailers too. Most of the suppliers have announced their clients about the price increase and the need for the deals struck with them to be changed so that other bankruptcies should be avoided.



    Economy Minister Alexandru Petrescu said that that price would also reflect in the consumers’ electricity bills. He said that the risk period was not over yet because temperatures were still expected to drop, but he made it clear that after that period, a very clear policy should be put in place to secure the energy supplies. Director at the National Regulatory Authority for Energy, Marius Vlad said that the Authority planned to adopt an order disclosing the deals struck on the energy exchange so as to make known both sellers and buyers and do away with possible suspicions related to the transactions. This month, the energy consumption has also hit a record high. The upward trend of energy prices started around January 12th, when Energy Minister Toma Petcu made a controversial statement at the government session, saying that the coal stocks would only last 4 days. This month, the highest price in Europe has been reported in Hungary, standing at 300 Euros/megawatt hour. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)