Radio România Internațional

Tag: National Anti-Corruption Strategy

  • Recovering losses caused by corruption

    Recovering losses caused by corruption

    The 2016-2020 National Anti-corruption Strategy, subject to public debate until the end of the month, addresses the executive, legislative and judiciary powers, local public administration, the business environment as well as civil society. The Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code will be amended, and a new Code of Conduct for members of Parliament will be drawn up. According to Justice Minister Raluca Pruna, recovering the losses incurred by the State further to corruption offences is one of the key coordinates of the Strategy:



    Raluca Pruna: “We must make sure that, first of all, there is a proper legislative framework to regulate confiscation of the proceeds of crime. Also in terms of legislation, for certain types of economic crime, such as tax evasion, where we are already working to amend the law, we need to make sure that if we fully recover the proceeds of crime and the damages are fully paid, prison sentences are no longer required, so as to avoid prison overcrowding and keeping the offenders in the custody of the state, which incurs further costs for society.”



    In order to recover the respective losses more easily, the authorities have set up the National Agency for the Management of Frozen Assets, as a separate division within the National Tax Administration Agency. The Justice Minister says the new agency is up and running:



    Raluca Pruna: “The Tax Agency is in charge of the property subject to asset freezing during the criminal proceedings. After the individual is sentenced, and the state is to recover the losses or damages, there is this special division, the National Agency for the Management of Frozen Assets, which will handle the recovery of damages after the final ruling is passed.”



    The anti-corruption strategy will continue to focus on prevention in the sectors vulnerable to corruption. Because of the limited progress of prevention between 2012 and 2015, the sectors identified in the previous strategy have been preserved and education and healthcare have been added to the list.



    The goal of the Justice Ministry is for the implementation of this document to help Romania reach the EU average figures in terms of the perceived scope of corruption and the domestic attitude towards corruption. Another target is to reduce substantially, by at least 50%, the number of cases of fraud and corruption in public procurement and of integrity incidents in the identified vulnerable sectors, as well as to implement corruption prevention measures in over 80% of the public institutions and companies.



    The strategy, which is to be adopted by the Government in August, works on the assumption of legislative and institutional stability of the anti-corruption environment that has generated the performances of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the National Integrity Agency.


  • July 19, 2016

    July 19, 2016

    The battle against corruption is not only the responsibility of the state institutions but of each and every Romanian. The statement has been made today by the Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, who launched a National Anti-Corruption Strategy, about which he says is not optional. In his opinion, this Strategy will prove that Romania does not longer need the EU’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism currently in place for Romania, as the Romanian society has recovered. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy is a strategic vision for the medium-term, offering the main lines of action with a view to promoting integrity and good governance at the level of public institutions.




    The wave of terrorist attacks inside the European Union lately proves once more the need to consolidate European security both inside the union and at its external borders, Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu said at a Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday in Brussels. Comanescu also mentioned the important contribution that Romania brings in this respect, including to securing the Schengen area. The Romanian official conveyed his condolences for the victims of the attack in Nice and thanked the French authorities for their support in identifying the Romanian citizens affected by the attacks. As for Turkey, Comanescu highlighted the importance of this country as a vital NATO member and a EU partner. At the same time, Minister Comanescu emphasised the need for the democratic institutions and the human rights and liberties to be observed in this country.




    The French Government, strongly criticised after the attack in Nice for its anti-terrorist policy, is getting ready for a fierce parliamentary debate scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday, regarding an extension of the state of emergency, France Presse reports. On July 14 as many as 84 people were killed and over 200 were injured, including four Romanian citizens. Two of them, mother and son, are in a serious but stabile condition while the father is still missing. A crisis cell has been set up at the Romanian Foreign Ministry, which is in permanent contact with the French authorities.




    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will approve any decision of the country’s Parliament as regards the death penalty. He has also said that a decision regarding the reintroduction of the death penalty, abolished in 2004, cannot be delayed and that the Government is to discuss the matter with the opposition parties. In its turn, the EU has warned that the reintroduction of the death penalty will block Ankara’s path towards accession. On the other hand, Washington has called on Ankara not to go too far in its attempt to bring to justice the people guilty of the failed coup. Almost eight thousand military and magistrates have been arrested and around nine thousand policemen, gendarmes and public servants have been dismissed following the recent coup in Turkey.




    Four people were injured by a teenage Afghan refugee who was apparently sympathetic to Islamic State and used an axe and knife to attack passengers on a train in southern Germany before he was shot dead by police. Islamic State claims the attacker is one of its members. Germany has so far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attacks seen in the southern French city of Nice last week. Over 1 million refugees entered Germany last year alone.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)





  • June 18, 2016 UPDATE

    June 18, 2016 UPDATE

    VISIT — German President Joachim Gauck on Monday is paying an official visit to Romania. He will hold talks with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, about economic cooperation possibilities between the two countries. On Tuesday, Gauck will visit Sibiu, a city founded by Saxon colonists in the 14th century and the birthplace of current president Klaus Iohannis, the mayor of this city for 14 years. In the local elections on June 5, the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania has won the mayorship of Sibiu, although German nationals account for only 1% of the city’s population.



    STRATEGY — The National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the next four years is under public debate on the website of the Romanian Justice Ministry. According to its initiators, the strategy is primarily aimed at fostering integrity, based on transparent decision-making and open governance. By 2020, the focus will be on ex-ante checks of sectors exposed to corruption. The new strategy is launched amidst an anti-corruption campaign that in the last year alone has resulted in the investigation and subsequent prosecution of an acting Prime Minister, Social-Democrat Victor Ponta, who subsequently stepped down, as well as in the arrest of a Constitutional Court judge, Toni Grebla, and the independent mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu. Additionally, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate demanded the greenlight for the detention and pre-trial arrest of an acting Finance Minister, Darius Valcov, arrested four of the capital city’s six district mayors, indicted 20 current or former MPs, 14 mayors, nine presidents of county councils and a prefect.



    FESTIVAL — The first edition of the Romanian Folk Festival in Ukraine will open on Sunday in the city of Ismail. Folk ensembles from all of Ukraine’s regions with Romanian-speaking population will perform on stage, as well as folk vocalists from the Republic of Moldova. Nearly half a million Romanian nationals live in Ukraine.



    DIASPORA — Minister Delegate for Romanians Worldwide Dan Stoenescu met with members of the Romanian community in Brussels. Talks focused on topics of mutual interest for the Romanian community in Belgium, as well as for Romanian-language education, promoting cultural values, consolidating the business sector and fostering intercultural dialogue. Stoenescu reasserted Romania’s interest for continuing the development of education programs for young Romanians in the Diaspora for organizing Romanian language, culture and civilization classes at the level of Romanian associations and parishes in Belgium. He urged Romanians to take an active role in Belgian society and continue to build with Brussels authorities a partnership based on European values and promoting multiculturalism. Some 60,000 Romanians currently live in Belgium.



    PENTECOST — Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania and across the world on Sunday are celebrating the Pentecost, marking 50 days from Easter and the foundation of the Christian Church. The feast day refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, who could thus spread the gospels in languages they could not speak before. On the same day, with St. Peter’s fervent proclamation, some 3,000 people converted to Christianity, making up the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of the later Church. Orthodox Christians are attending mass on this day, receiving blessed walnut tree branches, symbolizing the flames resting on the crowns of the apostles’ heads.



    EURO 2016 — Romania’s national football team is as of Saturday in Lyon, where on Sunday evening it will play Albania, in the last fixture in Group A at the European Football Championship in France. The host country will play Switzerland in the other group fixture. The games will decide which two teams will advance to the competition’s round of 16. With six points in two matches, France is the leader of the group, and has already mathematically qualified. Switzerland has four points, Romania one and Albania no points. Romania lost 1-2 to France in the opening match and drew 1-all against Switzerland. Both goals for Romania were scored by Bogdan Stancu from penalty kick. This is the first edition of the European Championship in the 24-team format. Apart from the best-placed 2 teams in each group, the best placed 4 teams in third position will also qualify to the next phase.



    AEROBIC GYMNASTICS — Romanian athlete Oana Corina Constantin on Saturday won the individual event at the World Aerobic Gymnastics Championships hosted by Incheon, South Korea. Romania also won silver in the team event. Lucian Savulescu, Lavinia Panaete and Dacian Barna were 4th ranked in the trio event.



    THEATRE FESTIVAL — The Sibiu International Theatre Festival is drawing to a close. Street performances, parades and concerts will be held until Sunday evening on the pedestrian boulevard and in medieval squares in the old city centre. Seven well-established stage directors and actors, including Tim Robbins, the winner of an Oscar award, were given a start on the Walk of Fame in Sibiu. Having reached its 23rd edition, the festival brought together 2,500 artists from 70 countries.

  • June 18, 2016

    June 18, 2016

    VISIT — German President Joachim Gauck on Monday is paying an official visit to Romania. He will hold talks with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, about economic cooperation possibilities between the two countries. On Tuesday, Gauck will visit Sibiu, a city founded by Saxon colonists in the 14th century and the birthplace of current president Klaus Iohannis, the mayor of this city for 14 years. In the local elections on June 5, the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania have won the mayorship of Sibiu, although German nationals account for only 1% of the city’s population.



    STRATEGY — The National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the next four years is under public debate on the website of the Romanian Justice Ministry. According to its initiators, the strategy is primarily aimed at fostering integrity, based on transparent decision-making and open governance. By 2020, the focus will be on ex-ante checks of sectors exposed to corruption. The new strategy is launched amidst an anti-corruption campaign that in the last year alone has resulted in the investigation and subsequent prosecution of an acting Prime Minister, Social-Democrat Victor Ponta, who subsequently stepped down, as well as in the arrest of a Constitutional Court judge, Toni Grebla, and the independent mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu. Additionally, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate demanded the greenlight for the detention and pre-trial arrest of an acting Finance Minister, Darius Valcov, arrested four of the capital city’s six district mayors, indicted 20 current or former MPs, 14 mayors, nine presidents of county councils and a prefect.



    FESTIVAL — The first edition of the Romanian Folk Festival in Ukraine will open on Sunday in the city of Ismail. Folk ensembles from all of Ukraine’s regions with Romanian-speaking population will perform on stage, as well as folk vocalists from the Republic of Moldova. Nearly half a million Romanian nationals live in Ukraine.



    DIASPORA — Minister Delegate for Romanians Worldwide Dan Stoenescu met with members of the Romanian community in Brussels. Talks focused on topics of mutual interest for the Romanian community in Belgium, as well as for Romanian-language education, promoting cultural values, consolidating the business sector and fostering intercultural dialogue. Stoenescu reasserted Romania’s interest for continuing the development of education programs for young Romanians in the Diaspora for organizing Romanian language, culture and civilization classes at the level of Romanian associations and parishes in Belgium. He urged Romanians to take an active role in Belgian society and continue to build with Brussels authorities a partnership based on European values and promoting multiculturalism. Some 60,000 Romanians currently live in Belgium.



    RUGYBY — The Romanian national rugby team is playing Argentina B in the deciding match for the World Ruby Nations Cup. In previous fixtures Romania defeated Namibia 20-8 and Uruguay 40-0. Romania is organizing the 10th edition of the World Rugby Nations Cup, a major rugby tournament.



    EURO 2016 — Romania’s national football team is today training in Lyon, where on Sunday evening it will play Albania, in the last fixture in Group A at the European Football Championship in France. The host country will play Switzerland in the other group fixture. The games will decide which two teams will advance to the competition’s round of 16. With six points in two matches, France is the leader of the group, and has already mathematically qualified. Switzerland has four points, Romania one and Albania no points. Romania lost 1-2 to France in the opening match and drew 1-all against Switzerland. Both goals for Romania were scored by Bogdan Stancu from penalty kick. This is the first edition of the European Championship in the 24-team format. Apart from the best-placed 2 teams in each group, the best placed 4 teams in third position will also qualify to the next phase.