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Reactions to proposed changes in the judiciary

The National Anti-Corruption Directorate warns that some of the suggested changes to the laws regulating the judicial system, as announced by the Justice Ministry, affect the independence of the relevant institutions and might be a form of pressure on the work of prosecutors. According to the Prosecutor General of Romania, Augustin Lazar, the main reasons for the discontent expressed by the 2,500 prosecutors who have been consulted on the matter have to do with the prospective political interference in the judicial system and the expected reduction of the powers that the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has at present.

Augustin Lazar: “One idea that we disagree with is that the judicial inspection corps should be subordinated to the Justice Ministry. Similarly, all prosecutors are strongly against setting up a special directorate to investigate magistrates.

As far as this latter proposal goes, the Prosecutor General says it was likely made by people outside the judicial system and is designed to restrict the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. “Investigations are not conducted against specific categories of people, but against specific categories of offences, and there is no such thing as a set of offences committed by or against magistrates, Augustin Lazar pointed out.

In turn, the prosecutors investigating organized crime have voiced reservations with respect to some of these changes. Faced with the overwhelmingly negative response of both experts and the public, PM Mihai Tudose promised that the draft law would take into account the opinion of the Higher Council of Magistrates and of the street protesters, while Justice Minister Tudorel Toader promised comprehensive public debate on the bill.

Tudorel Toader: “I will submit the bill for endorsement after everybody, from the general public to professional associations, has expressed their opinions, views and objections.

One of the changes that have sparked fiery reactions and street protests is the by-passing of the president of the country in the nomination of the prosecutor general and of the chiefs of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism. The US Embassy in Bucharest has voiced concerns with the independence of the judiciary and says a country needs independent prosecutors, able to investigate crimes without political interference and restraints in judicial procedures.

The leftist Government of Romania, which many suspect is trying to weaken the Anti-Corruption Directorate and to take control over the main judicial institutions, is unable to dispel these fears. Early this year, the Cabinets attempt to change the criminal codes through an emergency order brought hundreds of thousands to the street, amid suspicions that the Power was trying to help influential politicians and civil servants to get away with corruption. These days, Minister Toaders bills reinforce the notion that the Social Democratic Party has a hidden agenda in the field of the judiciary.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

30 August 2017
August 25, 2017

JUSTICE – The European Commission has asked the Government of Romania to provide more details regarding the suggested reform of the judiciary, and has expressed concerns that this may be a step back in the fight against corruption. The European Commission requested further explanations from Bucharest and mentioned that the irreversibility of Romanias progress in curbing corruption over the past 10 years is vital. The ruling Social Democratic Party called for calm and reiterated that the endorsement of the new legislation is a lengthy process, requiring approvals from many institutions, and that its coalition partner, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, believes the changes will strengthen the rule of law. The National Liberal Party in opposition accuses the ruling coalition of trying to make the judiciary subordinated to the executive power. President Klaus Iohannis described the proposed changes of the justice system laws, announced on Wednesday by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, as an attack against the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In turn, the National Anti-Corruption Agency criticises the changes announced by the Justice Ministry, and announces a general assembly meeting in a weeks time, in order to express the institutions views on these changes.

VISIT – The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria today, had a meeting in Varna with his counterpart Rumen Radev, who said the EU Directive on seconded workers should seek a balance between the older and newer members of the Union. Macron pointed out that he would like Bulgaria, which will take over the half-year presidency of the EU Council on January 1, 2018, to play a full role in the talks on deepening the European integration, and added that this country should be a member of the new Schengen area. Bulgaria is the third stage of the French Presidents tour, after Austria and Romania. On Thursday in Bucharest, Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, decided to consolidate the bilateral strategic partnership, particularly in the political, economic, cultural and research areas. Iohannis said France and the EU need Eastern Europe if the European project is to be re-launched, and pointed out that Romania is a trustworthy partner.

DIPLOMACY – A new round of 3-party talks between the foreign ministers of Romania, Poland and Turkey, takes place today in Warsaw. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the topics include the situation in the Western Balkans, with a focus on the support given by NATO to these partners in its eastern flank. Special attention will be paid to strengthening NATOs deterrence and defence posture, based on the guidelines laid down at the 2016 Warsaw Summit and the specific roles of Romania, Turkey and Poland in this process. The Foreign Ministry mentions that todays meeting is the fourth in this format. The previous 3-party consultations were held in Ankara in August 2016.

MILITARY – Constanta County in south-eastern Romania, hosts several multinational naval and air exercises. The Romanian Navy and the American destroyer USS PORTER are taking part in a joint exercise at the Black Sea, aimed at enhancing the interoperability of the participating vessels. The military drills will end on August 28th. The USS PORTER, which arrived in the port of Constanta on Tuesday, is in Romania for the 4th time. Meanwhile, 4 CF-188 Hornet aircraft of the Canadian Air Forces will conduct air policing missions together with Romanian Air Force planes, as part of NATOs plan to strengthen the Alliances eastern flank.

MIGRATION – Illegal migration at Romanias western border has surged recently, says the Regional Border Police Inspectorate. The Timisoara police found more than 100 migrants, including 42 children, in a local boarding house. Out of the total number, 82 are Iraqis, and most of the others are African refugees. The majority are coming from Serbia and trying to cross into Hungary, so as to go further into western Europe. Apart from the increase in the number of migrants trying to get into the Schengen area, the number of people smugglers identified and arrested by the Romanian border police.

MEASLES – The number of deaths caused by measles in Romania has reached 33, the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control, subordinated to the National Public Health Institute, has announced today. The latest victim was a 10-month Iraqi girl, who came into Romania through Timis County, in the west, in early July. Romania is struggling with the most severe measles epidemic of the past few years. More than 8,000 cases have been reported so far. The large number of cases and deaths made the World health Organisation include Romania on a list of 5 countries that account for a combined 80% of the total number of measles cases in the world. The Government of Romania has recently passed a bill that makes children vaccination mandatory.

FOOTBALL – Romanias football vice-champions, FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest), are to find out their opponents in the Europa League group stage, following the drawing in Monaco today. On Wednesday night, FCSB was kicked out of the Champions League playoffs, after it was defeated at home 1-5 by the Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. The first leg had ended in a goalless draw. On Thursday, Romanian champions Viitorul Constanta lost the playoff for the Europa League groups, being thrashed 0-4 by the Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg. Viitorul had already lost the first leg, 1-3 at home.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

25 August 2017
Reactions to new justice legislation

A comprehensive judicial reform plan made public on Wednesday by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has sparked tough reactions, with President Klaus Iohannis going as far as describing it as “an attack against the rule of law.

The initiative, which comes 6 months after the left-of-centre government tried to loosen the anticorruption laws, stipulates, among other things, the narrowing of the powers of the National Anticorruption Directorate, which under the new bill would no longer be entitled to investigate judges.

The proposed changes concern a variety of areas, from the procedure to appoint chief prosecutors to the set-up of a special unit to prosecute offences committed by magistrates. The President was quick to react. “If this mix of measures gets passed by the Cabinet and endorsed by Parliament, Romanias efforts during these past 10 years will be wiped away, and the judiciary will be thrown back to a time when it was subordinated to politics, he said.

At present, it is the President who appoints the chief prosecutors, based on nominations made by the Justice Minister and the approval of the Superior Council of Magistrates, the institution that safeguards the independence of the judiciary. Under the proposed bills, the President would be left out of this procedure. Furthermore, Toader wants the justice minister, who, as a cabinet member, represents the executive power, to be in charge of the judicial inspection corps. Analysts and magistrates alike see this as an interference of political factors in the judicial system, and the General Prosecutors Office says prosecutors have not been consulted on these alarming proposals.

In turn, politicians reacted to the announcement. The main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, says that the changes in the justice laws are unconstitutional, insofar as they affect the separation of powers, and that they disregard both the will of the people, so strongly expressed in the streets early this year, and Romanias international commitments. In turn, the Save Romania Union firmly condemns the changes announced by Minister Tudorel Toader and plans a motion against him in Parliament.

In Brussels, the former Justice Minister Norica Nicolai, currently an MEP in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, believes however that this is a good step forward and hopes the bill to be endorsed quickly and to take effect in 2018, so as to have the European Commission suspend the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. On the other hand, another MEP, Monica Macovei, herself an ex-justice minister, argues that Minister Tudorel Toaders bill brings “changes that are fatal to the judiciary and the country.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

24 August 2017
July 27, 2017

LEGISLATION – The Government of Romania is discussing today a bill on vaccination, which lays down responsibilities for the authorities, healthcare staff and parents. The bill is designed to regulate the organisation and financing of vaccination in Romania, and to raise awareness on the benefits, safety, quality and possible adverse reactions of vaccines. The bill also provides for a national reserve stock covering at least the annual vaccine needs, with doses valid for at least one and a half years. The bill was drafted after the large number of measles cases and deaths caused by this disease prompted the World Health Organisation to include Romania in the 5 countries that total over 80% of the number of cases reported worldwide. We have more on this after the news.

MOLDOVA – The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova has dismissed today as unconstitutional an order signed by the pro-Russian Socialist President Igor Dodon regarding a planned referendum in September. The Court president, Tudor Panţâru, quoted by Radio Romania correspondents in Chişinău, said that by signing that order Dodon breached the Constitution. According to the order, the referendum scheduled for September 24 was designed to give the President increased powers in order to dismantle Parliament and call early elections. The Moldovan pro-European Liberals challenged the order and notified the Constitutional Court.

EXPO 2017 – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, is on a visit to Kazakhstan today and tomorrow, to take part in the official ceremony occasioned by Romanias Day at “Expo 2017 Astana. Future Energy and to mark 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to a news release issued by the Foreign Ministry, during the visit Teodor Meleşcanu will have political talks with his counterpart, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, and meetings with officials and lawmakers in Kazakhstan. He will also visit Karaganda region, home to an important Romanian community. Expo 2017 Astana brings together participants from 114 countries and is due to end on September 10. Romanias stand will present the most powerful laser in the world, which is currently being built in Magurele, southern Romania.

JUSTICE – The Romanian Justice Minister, Tudorel Toader, discussed the progress in implementing the recommendations of the latest Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report, during a meeting with the first vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, in Brussels on Wednesday. Tudorel Toader emphasised that reforms in the judiciary will be operated in a transparent manner, based on public debates and consultations, and will follow the regular parliamentary procedure. In turn, Timmermans appreciated the major progress made by Romania in reforming its judicial system and fighting corruption, and said Brussels was expecting further improvement in this respect.

ART – As part of a Romanian-American cultural exchange project, the National Museum of Maps and Old Books in Bucharest and Blue Hill Art and Cultural Center put together an exhibition on contemporary American printmakers. The exhibition includes 34 works by 11 American artists, and the opening ceremony takes place today in Bucharest.

FOOTBALL – The 3 Romanian teams taking part in Europa League are playing tonight, on home turf, in the first leg of the competitions third preliminary round. Universitatea Craiova takes on the Italian side AC Milan, Dinamo Bucharest plays against Athletic Bilbao, and Astra Giurgiu against the Ukrainian team FK Oleksandria. On Wednesday night, Romanian champions FC Viitorul Constanţa defeated APOEL Nicosia 1-0, in the first leg of the third preliminary round of the Champions League. On Tuesday, in the same stage of the competition, vice-champions FCSB (formerly Steaua Bucharest) drew at home, 2-2, against the Czech side FC Viktoria Plzen. The second leg is scheduled for next week.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

27 July 2017
March 7, 2017

STATISTICS — Romanias GDP in 2016 went up 4.8% against 2015, according to preliminary data published by the National Institute of Statistics. The estimated GDP for 2016 was over 759 billion lei, approximately 169 billion Euro, as compared to 160 billion in 2015. All branches of the economy contributed to the growth in 2016, except for agriculture and construction, which stagnated. The economy was principally driven by consumption. For 2017, the European Commission estimates growth to be 4.4%, with a slowdown to 3.7% in 2018. The IMF expects the GDP in 2017 to be 3.8%, the highest rate of growth expected in Europe. This years national budget is based on an expected growth of 5.2% of the GDP.

REVIEW — Romanias General Prosecutor, Augustin Lazar, presented the general review of activity for last year, declaring that 2016 was a year with considerable results in judicial activity, considering the legislative instability in the country. In his opinion, the Public Ministry fulfilled its important mission in the institutional architecture of the rule of law. The General Prosecutor said that the institutional approach of his office is based on the National Defense Strategy for 2015-2019, as well as the National Anti-corruption Strategy and the National Strategy for the Reform of the Judiciary 2015-2020. For this year, he said, priorities will be mainly fighting corruption and tax evasion, fighting against environmental violations, especially in forestry, as well as violations regarding the national heritage. The event was attended by President Klaus Iohannis, who said Romania has made significant progress in terms of the justice system, but that it still awaits the final results of investigations into the 1989 Revolution and the miners raids of the early 1990s.

POLICE — In Bucharest today, police union representatives hold a new round of discussions regarding the Unitary Salary Law, attended by Interior Minister Carmen Dan, and Finance Minister Viorel Stefan. Yesterday, police unions negotiated the law with Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, but said they did not reach a conclusion, announcing protests for mid-March. Their main complaint is that incentives are not calculated based on the present minimum wage of around 320 Euro, but on the minimum wage as it stood in December. Interior Minister Vasilescu said that the Unitary Salary Law will be ready in July, as provided by the government platform.

COUNCIL — Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall, takes part today in Brussels in the meeting of the General Affairs Council. Under discussion is the draft conclusion of the council regarding the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report, which acknowledges the major progress made by Romania, and emphasizes support for the Romanian authorities in meeting the demands of the mechanism. The meeting in Brussels is in preparation for the European Council agenda scheduled for March 8 and 9. The ministers will analyze a draft recommendation on Eurozone economic policies supporting economic growth, and will focus on reaching an accord on a European banking insurance system. Another point on the agenda is the update provided by the Maltese presidency of the Council on applying the inter-institutional accord for better legislation, passed in March last year. This accord is supposed to make the EU legislative process easier to monitor and more transparent.

TENNIS — Several Romanian women tennis players are present at the Premier Mandatory tournament in Indian Wells in the US, with 6.9 million USD in prize money. Patricia Țig, 99th seeded, went to the final qualifiers by defeating Japanese player Shuko Aoyama, 212th seeded, 6-0, 6-2. Țig plays next American Julia Boserup, 97th seeded. Ana Bogdan, ranked 124th, was eliminated by Japanese player Nao Hibino, ranked 81st, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7. Sorana Carstea, 66th seeded, and Monica Niculescu, 45th seeded, plays against each other in the inaugural round, while Simona Halep, 4th in the world, and Irina Begu, ranked 32nd, play in the second round, with adversaries yet to be established.

FOOTBALL — In Romania, the premiere football league regular season is over, with the play-offs and play-outs starting on March 10. The top six teams will contend for the title, while the last eight will have to fight to stay in the league. Viitorul, Steaua, standing champions Astra, Craiova, CFR Cluj and Dinamo are in the play-offs. Gaz Metan Medias, FC Botosani, FC Voluntari, CSM Poli Iasi, Concordia Chiajna, Pandurii Tg. Jiu, ACS Poli Timisoara and ASA Tg. Mures remain in the play-outs.

7 March 2017
February 13, 2017

REFERENDUM — The Parliament in Bucharest is scheduled today to meet for deciding whether or not to endorse President Klaus Iohannis initiative to run a referendum on the fight against corruption. Expert committees have already met with approval this initiative, which the head of state proposed after the government attempted to operate changes in the criminal code. On January 24, the President initiated the procedure for referendum, and Parliament had 20 days to endorse it, without the decision being binding.

JUDICIARY — Romanian interim Justice Minister Ana Birchall has her first meeting today with representatives of the Higher Defense Council, the Anti-Corruption Directorate and the department fighting organized crime, seeking solutions in the fight against corruption. The position of justice minister was vacated last week by Florin Iordache, in the aftermath of widespread public outrage at proposed changes to the criminal code. In spite of the fact that the executive order operating the changes has been withdrawn, protests continued on Sunday in Bucharest for the 13th day, as well as in other cities. Stay tuned for more after the news.

NATO — 500 US troops are deploying to the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in south eastern Romania. They are arriving from Poland, and bring the necessary equipment for running military exercises with the Romanian military. They are part of the 3rd Armored Brigade, headquartered in Fort Carson, Colorado. This move is meant to strengthen NATOs eastern flank, and is part of Atlantic Resolve, a series of multinational military exercises.

RADIO – Today is World Radio Day, celebrating the most accessible means of information, education and entertainment. This celebration was introduced by UNESCO in 2011 upon Spains proposal in order to draw attention to this medium. This year, the central event in celebration of this day takes place in Shanghai, China. In Romania, the first radio broadcast went on the air on 1 November, 1928.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis star Simona Halep this week held on to her position as fourth in the world. According to the WTA, Romania has three other players in the top 100 standings, Irina Begu, 28th seeded, Monica Niculescu, 39th seeded, and Sorana Carstea, 62nd seeded. Late last week, Romanias Fed Cup team, which did not include Simona Halep, sidelined by an injury, was defeated by Belgium in Bucharest 3-1. The Fed Cup is the womens version of the Davis Cup.

FUNDS– Romania has lost a total of 3.2 billion Euro in European funds for 2007-2013, according to official data published by Bucharest. The highest amounts were lost through the Transportation Sector Operational Program, 973 million Euro, followed by the environmental program, with 946 million lost, and the human resources program, over 850 million. The authorities have increased the rate of absorption of European funds for the 2007-2013 period, bringing the total to 18.8 billion Euro.

13 February 2017
Justice in Romania under the spotlight

The EC report published on January 25 says the political factor in particular must make efforts to ensure an efficient legal system and recommends the implementation of a robust and independent system for the appointment of top-level prosecutors and clear provisions with regard to the creation of a code of ethics for parliamentarians and the mutual respect between institutions, while also noting that parliamentarians must respect the independence of the legal system.

What would that report look like if issued now? This is an appropriate question considering that now, less than a week since the document was made public, the new Grindeanu government adopted a controversial emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, in spite of massive street protests, attended by tens of thousands of people. The new emergency ordinance stipulates the decriminalisation of the abuse of office if the damage caused falls below 200,000 lei. It also decriminalises the offence of aiding the offender. The ordinance stipulates that the offence of aiding the offender is also decriminalised if the act is made by a family member, up to a second-degree kin. The Grindeanu government has also drafted a pardon bill, which will be sent to Parliament, in an emergency procedure, says the justice minister. Florin Iordache says the decisions have been made due to overcrowding in prisons, denounced by the European Court of Human Rights and in an effort to harmonise the legislation with some rulings issued by the Constitutional Court.

The pardon and amnesty do not apply to rapists, to those accused of corruption and violent acts as well as to repeat offenders. In an interview on Radio Romania, the Expert Forum chair, Laura Stefan, has warned, shortly after the MCV report was published, that the measures, only circulated at that time, would become extremely dangerous if adopted. And thats exactly what happened.

Laura Stefan: “We can see a re-evaluation of Romanias progress in the past 10 years. If you release all the offenders who have been sent to jail in the past 10 years, its only natural that the positive evaluations in this respect turn into negative ones. Besides the criticism attracted by this type of enactment, I believe the worst thing is that the European Commission has seen that Romanias old bad habits, such as the overnight adoption of extremely dangerous laws with a heavy impact on the anti-corruption policies are still a political instrument these days. Actually, the members of the European Commission have already seen this modus operandi in Romania, on what we call the Black Tuesday, or on other occasions when politicians tried to bring overnight amendments to criminal legislation. This is why the European Commission insists on taking mature political actions and we can be confident that Romania becomes a mature country, only after politicians in this country prove they can act accordingly. Unfortunately, we see this problem persists in 2017 as well.

But how much can civil society, every Romanian citizen, contribute to the progress of the judicial system? Laura Stefan: I believe Romania will become a mature country and the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism will be eliminated only when civil society and the political class learn the ropes of how to talk to each other. Unfortunately, these days the political class does not seem to have an appetite for discussion. I believe this is a mistake and I think that if we approach such a sensitive issue as overcrowding in prisons, there is a real need for this countrys minds to work together to find a solution to the problem. This is necessary because the problem is not easy to solve, it is a multi-faceted issue that cant be solved overnight. Its not going to be solved overnight, not even through these emergency ordinances whose collateral effect is sadly undoing any progress that has been made in the fight against corruption in our country. I believe we all should address such issues more wisely.

Opposition parties, civil society and the magistrates associations think the aforementioned amendments have been made to benefit influential people in the political class and the administration. Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has described the day the emergency ordinance was passed as a mourning day for the rule of law in Romania, deeming the situation as unacceptable.

3 February 2017
January 10, 2017 UPDATE

WEATHER IN ROMANIA – 5 people died to the cold snap in Romania so far, Radio Romania quotes representatives of the Department for Emergency Situations as saying. Code yellow and orange alerts against extreme cold were in place for the whole country on Monday and Tuesday. Snowstorms and blizzard are again forecast for the south and the east, as of Tuesday night. A code orange alert comes into effect in 7 counties and a code yellow alert comes into effect in 11 other counties and the capital city Bucharest, valid until Wednesday evening. Late last week, snowstorms and gale force wind disrupted road, rail and air traffic and caused electricity blackouts. In another move, also on Tuesday, navigation on a segment of the river Danube was shut down indefinitely. School inspectorates in 22 counties and the capital city Bucharest have shut down schools and kindergartens, while nine counties only partially suspended classes. Classes will resume on Monday in Bucharest.

WEATHER IN EUROPE– Hungary and Bulgaria on Tuesday banned shipping on the Danube, because the river is freezing. Over 60 people died to the cold snap in Europe, as low temperatures continue to hold Europe in their grip. Most victims were reported in Poland, where lows hit minus 30 degrees Celsius in certain regions. Five people died in the Republic of Moldova from carbon monoxide poisoning after the stoves they used to heat their homes caught fire. Hungary also reported record-high lows, both at national level and in the capital-city Budapest. In Serbia, low temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees. The worst hit were the refugees sitting in makeshift camps. Turkey too is seeing a very harsh winter. The city of Istanbul was hit by the biggest blizzard in the last seven years. Scores of flights were cancelled while the Bosphorus Strait was closed to traffic. Low temperatures and heavy snowfalls were also reported in Greece. The Doctors without Borders Humanitarian Organization expressed concern regarding the thousands of people across Europe who are left vulnerable to the cold.

TALKS – President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday is meeting Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu to discuss the Governments plans related to the 2017 state budget amidst concerns regarding the sustainability of certain measures announced by the Government and their impacts on the economy, the presidency reports. Attending the meeting will also be the Minister of Public Finance Viorel Stefan. The Government adopted, among other things, an increase of the minimum wage salary to 320 euros, as well as a 50% increase of the salaries of actors and other categories of artists. Besides, all pensions below 400 euros will become tax deductible, while pensioners will be exempt from paying health insurance contributions.

CONDOLENCES – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday sent a condolence message to his German counterpart, Joachim Gauck, for the death of Roman Herzog, former president of the Federal Republic of Germany. In his message, Klaus Iohannis says that Roman Herzog, the first elected president of reunified Germany, was a remarkable personality, a relentless advocate of economic reform during a stagnation period and a promoter of historical reconciliation. Klaus Iohannis also recalls that Roman Herzog was the first president of reunified Germany to visit post-communist Romania, in 1995, the year when he also became a member of the Romanian Academy.

INVESTIGATION – The budget-finances committees of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament will investigate the budget revisions made by the former government led by the technocrat Dacian Ciolos in the months of August and November 2016. The decision was made on Tuesday, by the leadership of the legislature, who endorsed a request made by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea. The initiator of the move says the relevant authorities should find out why the former cabinet approved positive revisions, in the context in which budget revenues were lower than estimated. The setting up of a commission to investigate the issue has been supported by the ruling parties. The opposition voted against the move, deeming it as political revenge.

JUSTICE – The Chair of the European Parliament Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, Claude Moraes, stands for a strong and independent judiciary, which must be fair to all European citizens and one of the pillars of the European project. The British MEP, who is a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats says he is following the events in Romania with great interest and considers that an alleged involvement by the intelligence services and public actors in the activity of the judiciary can only undermine its credibility. Moraes underlines that the fight against corruption should not have a political bias and its direction should not be guided by various interests. In his opinion, corruption should be cracked down at all levels, based on democratic and fair trials, and observing the rights of those investigated.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, WTA no. 40, has qualified to the quarter-finals of the WTA tennis tournament in Hobart, Australia, totalling over 225 thousand dollars in prize money. In the round of 16 she ousted Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, 73 WTA, 6-3, 6-2. In the next round Niculescu will play the winner of the game pitting Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic against Risa Ozaki of Japan. Niculescu has also secured qualification in the quarterfinals of the doubles event, alongside Abigail Spears of the United States. The two are first-seeded in the Hobart competition and will play the winners in the match between Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic and Pauline Parmentier of France and Fracesca Schiavone of Italy. Also in the womens doubles, Raluca Olaru of Romania and Olga Savchuk of Ukraine, who played the Shenzhen finals this month, advanced to the quarterfinals after winning 6-4, 6-2 against the pair made up of Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands and Johanna Larsson of Sweden. Olaru and Savchuk will be playing Ukrainian twins Lyudmyla and Nadia Kichenok.(Translated by Diana Vijeu)

10 January 2017
Positive Report on Romanian Judiciary

On Wednesday Transparency International released its 2015 ranking of states according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. Its President, Jose Ugaz, said on this occasion, “Corruption can be beaten if we work together. To stamp out the abuse of power, bribery and shed light on secret deals, citizens must together tell their governments they have had enough. The 2015 Corruption Perception Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world. But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption.”

With 46 points, compared to a EU average of 65.36 points, Romania ranks 58th out of 168 countries. Criticised for many years for insufficient efforts to curb corruption, Romania skipped 11 places towards the 100-point score assigned to a corruption-free country. The good results achieved by Bucharest in its fight against corruption did not go unnoticed in Brussels either. The European Commission report on the reforms in the Romanian judiciary is a positive one.

Here is the Romanian Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna: “This is the third positive report in a row, so this is no big surprise. The activity of the institutions in charge with fighting corruption, particularly the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, but also the courts, the High Court of Cassation, and the National Integrity Agency, is highlighted as a positive element. Again, no surprises as regards the fields where progress is yet to be made. Worth noting in this respect is the Parliament of Romania, and its response to immunity lifting requests.”

The Justice Minister believes that, even after a decade-long monitoring programme, there are still weaknesses that need addressing: “What we should be concerned with is that, ten years after the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was launched, there are still major aspects where we need to make progress. If we take the time to compare the institutions covered by this report as they were in 2006 to their current status, we can see that they have strengthened, they are a lot more efficient, more mature, and able to do what the law requires and entitles them to do. So in this respect the Mechanism has certainly proved its benefits.”

Bucharest hopes that in the near future Romania and the European Commission will reach the conclusion that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism is no longer necessary and should be given up.

27 January 2016