Radio România Internațional

Tag: justice referendum

Political agreement for a European Romania

Opposition parties, the National
Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, Pro Romania and the People Movement’s
Party have signed the National Agreement proposed by President Klaus Iohannis,
aimed at consolidating Romania’s European track. All parties agreed to support
efforts to transpose into national law the results of the May 26 referendum and
to correct the controversial modifications brought in the last couple of years
to the justice laws. The ruling coalition, made up of the Social-Democratic Party
and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats refused to sign the agreement. The
head of state again criticized the Social Democrats, saying the number of
amendments they asked for exceeds the number of articles in the agreement.
Klaus Iohannis said however that other parties are still free to sign the
agreement.

By signing this
agreement we don’t want to exclude the others, there is a possibility the other
parties will change their mind later, and I want the door to stay open to every
politician who wants to build a better Romania.

Liberal leader Ludovic Orban in
turn said the document can serve as the foundation of a genuine democracy in
Romania.

There is no other way
for Romania except a profound and serious integration, that should allow our
country to capitalize on all the opportunities and strengths at its disposal.

Save Romania Union signed the
agreement because it supports the rule of law and an independent judiciary,
Save Romania Union President Dan Barna argues.

This national agreement
is the cornerstone of a new construct that should also prevent people with
corruption sentences from holding public office.

PRO Romania leader, former
Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta, in turn explained why he signed the
agreement:

I signed the agreement
together with my colleagues from PRO Romania Party for a very simple reason:
its principles are sound and benefit our society.

The President of the People’s
Movement Party Eugen Tomac in turn expressed hope that politicians would
understand Romania is closely bound to European values.

Our attachment to values
such as democracy, liberty, peace and the rule of law, which underlie the
European Union, are non-negotiable.

Social-Democrat interim leader,
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila refused to sign the document, as it does not
contain the amendments tabled by the Social Democrats:

I was not invited to
discuss the agreement, probably my statement contributed to that aspect. I’ve
said this agreement entails the consensus of all political parties, it is a
project that can be amended by political parties. We wanted to table certain
amendments, and since they were discarded, there was no reason for us to sign
the agreement.

The Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians also announced it would sign the agreement next week.

14 June 2019
April 6, 2019 UPDATE

REFERENDUM – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has called a round of consultations
next week regarding the justice referendum. On Thursday the National Liberal Party,
Save Romania Union and People’s Movement Party will start consultations, along
with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and national minorities. On
Friday, the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
are expected to meet the president. The latter has already declined the
president’s invitation, while Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea said he
won’t attend the consultations, although the party will send a delegation. We
recall that on Thursday, the President announced
that the themes which he would submit to the vote at the May 26 referendum,
held simultaneously with the European Parliament elections, are related to
forbidding amnesty and pardon of corruption crimes and forbidding the
government to pass emergency decrees related to criminal offences and
punishments, correlated with the right of other authorities to notify the
Constitutional Court over such decrees. At the same time the President
criticized the Social-Democrats’ propensity for passing emergency decrees and
has called on the Government to refrain from any such actions until the
referendum. The power in turn accused the head of state of defending election
interests while the Liberals have welcomed the referendum.

ELECTION – The Central Election Bureau has admitted the
list of candidates submitted by nine political parties and independent
candidate for the European Parliament election due in May. According to a
release published on the institution’s website, the Bureau admitted the
candidacies submitted by the Social-Democratic Party, the National Liberal
Party, the 2020 Save Romania Union – Plus Alliance, the Alliance of Liberals
and Democrats, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the PRO Romania
party. The candidates of the People’s Movement Party and the United Romania
Party have also been declared eligible. The Bureau also accepted the
independent candidacy of Gregoriana Tudoran, a representative of the Together
for A8 Association. The decision can be challenged by April 12 and the final
result will be announced on April 16. The election campaign starts on April 27
and the election will be held on May 26.

MEETING – The
informal meeting of the EU finance ministers continued in Bucharest on Saturday
against the backdrop of Romania’s holding the EU presidency. One of the main
topics on the agenda was selective mobility. Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici
said at the end of the ECOFIN meeting that European states whose workforce
migrates to other states should come up with an aggressive package of measures
for selective mobility. On Friday the meeting hosted under the name Eurogrup
brought together Finance Ministers from the Eurozone and marked the first
working session of the informal meeting of Finance Ministers and central bank
governors, chaired by Romania’s line minister Eugen Teodorovici. Eurogroup
members discussed the banking sector, inflation and the exchange rate as well
as the developments in Greece.

REPORT – Over a third of the 2,300 alerts on dangerous
products were triggered with respect to toys, a report published by the
European Commission for 2018 reads. Toys are followed by motor vehicles,
clothing, textiles and fashion items. The main risks flagged are chemical risks
and injuries, followed by the choking risk for children. Over half of the total
number of products identified as dangerous originate from China. Cooperation with Chinese authorities in the
product safety field continues to be a priority, the European Commission has
announced.

DRUG OPERATION – Over 300 police officers,
gendarmes and divers are currently taking part in a wide drug search operation
on the Romanian Black Seacoast over an area of 90 km, Romanian Police spokesman
Georgian Dragan said on Saturday. Some 14 ships and two helicopters are also
taking part in the mission. Organized by the Directorate for Investigating
Organized Crime and Terrorism, the operation kicked off after several drug
packages washed off on the shore on several beaches. The search op will
continue over the next days. The Police say two people have been placed under
pre-trial arrest and searches were made at their homes. The investigation is
ongoing. Some 200 km of drugs have been found on beaches and out at sea so far.

TENNIS – Romania’s Davis Cup team on Saturday defeated
Zimbabwe 4-1 in the first round of Group II in the Europe-Africa zone. Romania
on Saturday grabbed three wins. Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea defeated Benjamin
and Courtney Lock in the doubles match 6-1, 6-4. In the singles, Marius Copil defeated
Takanyi Garanganga 6-4, 7-5, while Filip Jianu defeated Mehluli Don Ayanda
Sibanda. On Friday Dima defeated Garanganga while Copil lost to Benjamin Lock.
The two teams previously met in 2000 when Romania won 3-2.

(translated by V. Palcu)

6 April 2019
April 6, 2019

REFERENDUM – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has called a round of consultations
next week regarding the justice referendum. On Thursday the National Liberal Party,
Save Romania Union and People’s Movement Party will start consultations, along
with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and national minorities. On
Friday, the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
are expected to meet the president. The latter has already declined the
president’s invitation, while Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea said he
won’t attend the consultations, although the party will send a delegation. We
recall that on Thursday, the President announced
that the themes which he would submit to the vote at the May 26 referendum,
held simultaneously with the European Parliament elections, are related to
forbidding amnesty and pardon of corruption crimes and forbidding the
government to pass emergency decrees related to criminal offences and
punishments, correlated with the right of other authorities to notify the
Constitutional Court over such decrees. At the same time the President
criticized the Social-Democrats’ propensity for passing emergency decrees and
has called on the Government to refrain from any such actions until the
referendum. The power in turn accused the head of state of defending election
interests while the Liberals have welcomed the referendum.

ELECTION – The Central Election Bureau has admitted the
list of candidates submitted by nine political parties and independent
candidate for the European Parliament election due in May. According to a
release published on the institution’s website, the Bureau admitted the
candidacies submitted by the Social-Democratic Party, the National Liberal
Party, the 2020 Save Romania Union – Plus Alliance, the Alliance of Liberals
and Democrats, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the PRO Romania
party. The candidates of the People’s Movement Party and the United Romania
Party have also been declared eligible. The Bureau also accepted the
independent candidacy of Gregoriana Tudoran, a representative of the Together
for A8 Association. The decision can be challenged by April 12 and the final
result will be announced on April 16. The election campaign starts on April 27
and the election will be held on May 26.

MEETING – The
informal meeting of the EU finance ministers continued in Bucharest on Saturday
against the backdrop of Romania’s holding the EU presidency. The meeting hosted
on Friday under the name Eurogrup, brought together Finance Ministers from the
Eurozone and marked the first working session of the informal meeting of
Finance Ministers and central bank governors, chaired by Romania’s field
minister Eugen Teodorovici. Eurogroup members discussed the banking sector,
inflation and the exchange rate as well as the developments in Greece.
Eurogroup president Mario Centeno said following an analysis of the monitoring
report, Athens has made important steps towards receiving a new financial
assistance package from the EU, worth 1 billion euros.

REPORT – Over a third of the 2,300 alerts on dangerous
products were triggered with respect to toys, a report published by the
European Commission for 2018 reads. Toys are followed by motor vehicles,
clothing, textiles and fashion items. The main risks flagged are chemical risks
and injuries, followed by the choking risk for children. Over half of the total
number of products identified as dangerous originate from China. Cooperation with Chinese authorities in the
product safety field continues to be a priority, the European Commission has
announced.

HANDBALL – Romanian handball champions CSM
Bucharest on Friday lost 31-26 to Metz Handball of France at home in the first
leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. The team from France has thus taken
an important step towards securing qualification to the competition’s Final
Four. For the first time in four years, CSM Bucharest runs the risk of not
qualifying to this phase of the competition. The return leg will be played on
April 13 in Metz. The Final Four tournament will be hosted by Budapest in
Hungary over May 11-12, 2019. CSM won the Champions League in 2016 on its first
appearance in the competition.

TENNIS – Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea will play Benjamin
and Courtney Lock in Piatra Neamt in the doubles match of the Davis Cup match
pitting Romania against Zimbabwe in Group II of Europe-Africa zone. In the
singles, Marius Copil will play Takanyi Garanganga, while Dragos Dima will play
Benjamin Lock. The score is tied 1-all after Dima defeated Garanganga on Friday
while Copil lost to Benjamin Lock. The two teams previously met in 2000 when
Romania won 3-2.

(translated by V. Palcu)

6 April 2019