Radio România Internațional

Tag: mayors

  • January 20, 2020 UPDATE

    January 20, 2020 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT The Parliament of Romania will convene on January 29, for a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Government will ask the 2 chambers for a confidence vote over a bill reintroducing the 2-round election system for mayors, arguing that this will improve democratic standards at local community level. The election of mayors in 2 rounds, says the Government, will give local elected officials more legitimacy. President Klaus Iohannis had previously asked Parliament to convene in a special session for the amendment of election laws. The Social Democratic Party in opposition announced that, jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, will table a no-confidence motion against the Liberal Government.




    FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu took part on Monday in a EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels. The agenda included talks on Sahel region and on climate diplomacy, and a working lunch focusing on developments in the Middle East. As regards Sahel, Aurescu mentioned the dramatic deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation, and argued for a more substantial engagement of the EU in the region. He also emphasised the importance of consistent and quicker implementation of the Mali peace agreement. On the other hand, the Romanian diplomat said the EU must promote measures to address climate change among G20 and big polluters, as well as through a regional approach. With respect to the Iranian nuclear deal, Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the decision of the EU three to trigger the dispute resolution mechanism.




    POLLUTION The Environment Minister Costel Alexe Monday had a meeting with representatives of Brasov, Iasi and Bucharest, the 3 Romanian cities that are currently under an infringement procedure because of serious air quality problems. The Environment Minister said the local authorities understood that the agreed measures must be implemented at a much higher pace. The Bucharest Mayor Gabriela Firea said a lot more drastic measures will be taken with respect to the sanitation companies which must wash the streets more often. She explained that the dust in Bucharest is primarily caused by private construction sites, as well as by sites developed by the local authorities. In turn, the Iasi Mayor Mihai Chirica says local administrations cannot take all the necessary measures by themselves, and need governmental support.




    RUSSIA Russias president Vladimir Putin Monday presented Parliament with his suggestions to amend the Constitution, less than a week after a surprising announcement regarding a reform of the countrys political system. The bill includes measures such as strengthening the role of Parliament in appointing the prime minister and limiting the number of presidential terms in office to 2, instead of 2 consecutive terms. Another provision is the establishment of a State Council to “determine the main directions of home and foreign policy. Mondays amendments seem to rule out a prospective return to Kremlin for Putin after 2024, when his current term in office ends, but observers expect him to try to secure his control over the country after that date. Putin wants to remain Russias ruler for life, his main opponent Aleksei Navalny has said.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 12, 2020 UPDATE

    January 12, 2020 UPDATE

    Highway — An important meeting for the future highway linking Sibiu (centre) to Pitesti (south) is scheduled for Monday at the Transport Ministry in Bucharest. The meeting is meant to provide clarifications in relation to a request by the EC regarding the impact of this major infrastructure project on the environment. Granting European non-reimbursable funds for this project depended on these very clarifications. The meeting announced by the line minister Lucian Bode is going to be attended by representatives of the transport, European funds and environment ministries, and of the agencies for protected areas and environment protection. European experts will also participate in the meeting to provide consultancy for preparing infrastructure projects. Of the 5 segments of the highway, a contract for design and construction has been signed for only one segment and works are to star in spring. Two segments are still in the assessment stage, while for the other two segments, actually the most difficult ones given their location in a mountainous area, a tender will be held. The total value of the project stands at 1.3 billion Euros of which 85% is to be disbursed by the EC.



    Gendarmes — 14 Romanian gendarmes, who participated in the NATO mission of training the Afghan public order and security forces for almost 6 months, retuned home on Sunday. In Afghanistan the Romanian gendarmes carried out tens of missions of training and protection, for which they received the non-Article 5 NATO Medal, shows the Facebook page of the Romanian Gendarmerie. 12 contingents of the Romanian Gendarmerie have so far been deployed as part of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. At present, the Gendarmerie is participating in 9 international missions under the aegis of the EU, the UN and the OSCE.



    Epee — The Romanian fencer Ana Maria Popescu, 35, won the silver medal in the women’s epee event at the 2020 Fencing World Cup in Havana, Cuba, after she was defeated in the final by the Polish Aleksandra Zamachowska. An Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 in the team event, Ana Maria Popescu defeated in the eighth finals the Ukrainian Olena Aleksandra Zamachowska, in the quarter finals she won against the Chinese Sun Yiwen and in the semifinals she defeated the French Marie-Florence Candassamy. Another Romanian fencer Amalia Tătăran was defeated in the quarter finals by Zamachowska after she had defeated the Italian Giulia Rizzi in the eighth finals. (update by L. Simion)

  • On the election of mayors

    On the election of mayors

    Parliament could vote on the return
    to a two-round system for the election of mayors in this parliamentary session,
    believes the president of the Save Romania Union Dan Barna, speaking about a
    bill in this regard initiated by his party. He says the bill, which is also
    supported by prime minister Ludovic Orban, is a priority for the Save Romania
    Union. Dan Barna:

    In my opinion the bill could be on
    Parliament’s agenda in parallel with the budget bill, this month, in this
    parliamentary session, because it’s an amendment Romanian society is truly
    waiting for. There is consensus in society that it’s time to return to real
    democracy and real representation for the people.




    Prime minister Ludovic Orban says
    the Liberals are in favour of amending the election legislation as proposed by
    the Save Romania Union. The president of the People’s Movement Party Eugen
    Tomac has also said after a meeting with prime minister Orban that his party
    will support a two-round election system for mayors. The Social Democrats are
    opposed to the bill. Ion Calin has proposed a rejection bill and the
    maintenance of the current legislation, under which mayors are elected in a
    single round. Ion Calin:




    Democracy is expressed by vote.
    Whoever wants to take part in democracy will exercise it. They don’t want to
    exercise it, let them stay home! What’s your reference point when you say none
    of the mayors is representative, the people registered on the permanent
    election lists?




    We recall that the former Social
    Democratic prime minister Viorica Dancila said last June that it wouldn’t be
    possible to return to a two-round system because legislative changes cannot be
    made within one year of local elections. The bill initiated by the Save Romania
    Union is to be put to a vote in the Chamber of Deputies, which is the
    decision-making body in this case, after being rejected in the Senate and
    receiving a negative opinion from the deputies in the administration committee.

  • June 4, 2018 UPDATE

    June 4, 2018 UPDATE

    Rally — The leader of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the governing coalition, and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, announced the organization, on Saturday, of a rally against what they call abuses and violation of the rule of law principles. The Social Democrats point the finger to the existence of an illegitimate underground structure, which they generically called the ‘parallel state’ and which influences the decisions of the judiciary. On the eve of the rally, on Friday June 8 the High Court of Cassation and Justice might give its verdict in a case in which Dragnea is accused of corruption crimes. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors asked the court for a sentence of 7 years and 5 months in prison for abuse of office and of 2 years and 6 months for intellectual forgery. They accuse Dragnea of having ordered the fictitious employment of two Social Democratic Party members at the Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection when he was president of the Teleorman county council. The two were paid from public money although they worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. In 2016, Dragnea received a definitive, suspended two-year sentence for attempted electoral fraud.



    Bute Gala— The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest might give its verdict in the so-called Bute Gala case on Tuesday. In this case the former minister of regional development Elena Udrea was sentenced, in a court of first instance, to 6 years in prison for bribe taking and abuse of office. She also has to pay around 3 million Euros worth of damages. In the same case, the former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja, was sentenced to 5 years in prison while the former economy minister Ion Ariton was acquitted. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors, Udrea coordinated a system through which people in her entourage received money from the representatives of certain companies, to guarantee them the payment, on time, of the works funded by the ministry she headed. Currently Elena Udrea is in Costa Rica where she has asked for political asylum.



    Chisinau — More than 100 mayors from the Republic of Moldova who have this year signed symbolic declarations for the union with neighboring Romania have called on the Romanian government and parliament to receive delegations from the unionist mayoralties and to set up an institution meant to coordinate their relationship. The signatories say the Romanian authorities have shown openness towards the issue and believe they have the moral right to ask for support from the state which they want to unite with. They also added that they would help gather signatures for the modification of the Romanian Constitution with the purpose of national reunion. The unionist mayors have made the appeal after, on Sunday, the candidate of the pro-European group Andrei Nastase won the early local elections for the Chisinau city hall after defeating the pro-Russian Socialist Ion Ceban.



    Motion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Monday debated the simple motion tabled by the opposition Liberal Party against the Social Democrat minister of finance Eugen Teodorovici. Entitled ‘The fiscal mess of the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats will leave you without pension money’, the motion accuses the lack of predictability of the government measures in the fiscal domain as well as their intention to render Pension Pillar 2 optional. In reply, minister Teodorovici said that all the modifications adopted this year were aimed at simplifying procedures and diminishing administration costs. The simple motion will receive the final vote on Wednesday in the plenum meeting of the Chamber of Deputies.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, world’s no. 1 and 1st seed in Roland Garros, the year’s 2nd Grand Slam tournament, on Monday defeated the Belgian player Elise Mertens (16 WTA) 6-2, 6-1, in the eight finals. In the quarterfinals, Halep will play against the German Angelique Kerber (12 WTA) who defeated the French Caroline Garcia (7 WTA), 6-2, 6-3. Also on Monday in the women’s doubles the pair Mihaela Buzărnescu/Irina Maria defeated 6-4, 6-3 the American pair Jennifer Brady/Vania King thus reaching the quarterfinals. Next the Romanian pair will be up against the pair Hao-Ching Chan (Taiwan)/Zhaoxuan Yang (China), 8th seeded, who defeated the pair Sorana Cîrstea (Romania)/Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain) in the eights finals 6-2, 6-4.



    Football — Romania’s national football team will take on the Finish eleven, on Tuesday, on home ground, in the southern city of Ploiesti, in a friendly match. Romania’s team, who failed to qualify to the World Cup this month, in Russia, played, last week, in Austria another friendly match against Chile, the en titre champion of South America, which they won 3-2. These are the last preparation matches of the Romanian footballers ahead of the newly created Nations League, where, in autumn, they will play in Group 4 of League C of the Nations’ League against Serbia, Montenegro and Lithuania. The match in Ploiesti is the last one for goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont (40) who played 85 times for the national team. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)