Land Forces Day — The Romanian Army celebrates on April 23 the Land Forces Day. On this occasion, President Klaus Iohannis conveyed a message in which he underscored the involvement and valour of the land forces’ military that contribute to providing a climate of security and stability for all Romanians and to ensuring security and maintaining peace in the region and in Europe. The Romanian Land Forces continue to contribute soldiers to the missions Romania undertakes in the theatres of operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Western Balkans, President Iohannis underlined.
Justice – In Bucharest, the special committee for the justice laws is meeting today to debate the changes to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes. Last week, the senators passed a draft law on the modification of the Criminal Code which eliminated all articles declared unconstitutional by the judges of the Constitutional Court. Today the special committee on the justice laws debates the amendments submitted by the opposition representatives who claim that some of the articles, in spite of being analysed by the Constitutional Court, do nothing but encourage offences. They opposition criticizes the reduction of prescription deadlines, the reduction of deadlines for the release on probation and the abrogation of actionable negligence. In the end of the debates, the special committee will draft a report that will be submitted to the vote in the plenum of the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday.
Migration — In the context of migration, border security and the reform of the asylum policies dominate the agenda of European debates. The Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU is holding this week a conference entitled ‘Operational solutions for ensuring fluid and secure crossing of EU sea and land borders’. Recently, the ambassadors of the member states confirmed, on behalf of the Council, the informal agreement reached by the EP representatives and the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU on a new Border and Coast Guard Regulation at European level. Under this agreement, Frontex’s mandate is extended in the sense of continuing to assist member states in such matters as border protection, controls and return of people without the right to reside and cooperation with third countries. Europe has more than 13 thousand km of external border on land and almost 66 thousand km on sea, hence the need to secure and consolidate borders.
Colombo — Sri Lanka observes a national day of mourning today after Sunday’s blasts on churches and hospitals that killed at least 320 and wounded at least 500 people. Burial services have also been scheduled for today. Shops selling alcohol have been closed, flags have been lowered at half mast and radio and television broadcasts have been adapted to the solemnity of the moment. People in Sri Lanka on Tuesday morning observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims killed by several kamikaze that attacked luxury hotels and churches. A state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka on Monday, which allows the authorities to apprehend and arrest suspects. Meanwhile, the local police made new arrests. So far 40 people have been apprehended for the investigation into Sunday’s attacks blamed on a local Islamic movement.
Visit — North Korea announced its leader Kim Jong-un would pay a visit to Russia for his first summit with President Vladimir Putin. According to the BBC, North Korea’s state agency announced that news about the summit would be made public soon, and the Russian press writes that the summit will be held on Thursday on an island south of Vladivostok. The BBC also writes that, following the failure of talks on denuclearisation between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Hanoi in February, this visit is seen as a chance for Pyongyang to show that it has strong allies and that its economic future does not depend on an agreement with Washington alone. (translation by L. Simion)