Radio România Internațional

Tag: prosecutors

  • February 15, 2025 UPDATE

    February 15, 2025 UPDATE

    MOTION The opposition SOS Romania has announced it will table a censure motion against the government led by Social-Democrat Marcel Ciolacu, a document also assumed by the opposition AUR MPs and signed by 125 MPs. The opposition USR MPs say they will announce whether they support or not the move. In turn, the ruling coalition has given assurances the motion stands no chances to get endorsed. No PSD MP will say yes to the censure motion against the Ciolacu government says the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat Daniel Suciu. He says the move initiated by the opposition would jeopardize the country’s stability. The PNL interim president, Catalin Predoiu, says that the Liberals will defend the government through their vote. Also on Monday, Education Minister, Daniel David, is expected to attend the ‘Government Hour’ hosted by the Chamber of Deputies, upon an AUR request. The AUR MPs are criticizing the measures proposed by the minister on the elimination of the compulsory studying of geography and history by high-school students. AUR has called for keeping the aforementioned subjects in the school programme so that they may contribute to the education of the new generations.

     

    DNA Romanian prosecutors have placed the head of the Joint Logistic Command of the Romanian Army, General Catalin Stefanita Zisu, under legal control on bail for abuse of office with aggravating consequences – according to sources withy the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, known in Romania as DNA. The bail in Zisu’s case stands at 200 thousand Euros, which he must make available in seven days. Retired colonel Lucian Amoraritei has also been charged on several counts, such as forgery, use of forgery and abuse of office. Businessman Ionel Olteanu is also involved with the case. According to prosecutors, between 2022-2023, the two army officers approved the settlements of the invoices issued, although they knew that part of the works at the Ghencea Military Cemetery in Bucharest had not been done. The prejudice they caused was estimated at roughly 12 million lei.

     

    TALKS The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed at the Security Conference in Munich on Saturday that talks are underway with the USA over raw materials exchanges for Washington’s support in countering the Russian invasion. The US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US wants access to Ukraine’s vast resources of rare earths and other critical minerals, underlining that the USA should get something in exchange for its military support. At the Security Conference in Munich, Romania is being represented by its Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, Minister Hurezeanu will be presenting Romania’s assessments of the present regional challenges, such as the deterioration of the security situation in the Black Sea area and the implications of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Romanian official is also going to underline the danger of the hybrid actions taken by the Russian Federation and the importance of countering suchlike activities. The head of the Bucharest diplomacy will be pleading for the continued solid support aimed at increasing the resilience of the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. During the same conference on Friday, the new vice-president of the United States, Republican JD Vance lashed out at the European leaders, whom he compared with the autocrats who headed the repressive regimes in Europe during the Cold War. He voiced concern over Europe, which he said is retreating from its fundamental values and gave several examples of repressive measures, including the cancellation of the presidential election in Romania late last year.

     

    RUGBY Romania’s national rugby side on Saturday conceded defeat to Portugal, 34-6, in their last match in Group B of Rugby Europe Championships 2025. Both sides have already qualified for World Cup 2027 in Australia after their wins this month in Rugby Europe Championships. The Romanians secured a 48-10 home win against Germany and an away win against Belgium, 31-14. Romania failed to qualify only in one |World Cup edition, namely in 2019, when it was disqualified due to an error of the Romanian rugby Federation, which included in its lineup an ineligible player.

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  • February 15, 2025

    February 15, 2025

    DNA Romanian prosecutors have placed the head of the Joint Logistic Command of the Romanian Army, General Catalin Stefanita Zisu, under legal control on bail for abuse of office with aggravating consequences – according to sources withy the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, known in Romania as DNA. The bail in Zisu’s case stands at 200 thousand Euros, which he must make available in seven days. Retired colonel Lucian Amoraritei has also been charged on several counts, such as forgery, use of forgery and abuse of office. Businessman Ionel Olteanu is also involved with the case. According to prosecutors, between 2022-2023, the two army officers approved the settlements of the invoices issued, although they knew that part of the works at the Ghencea Military Cemetery in Bucharest had not been done. The prejudice they caused was estimated at roughly 12 million lei.

     

    MSC The need for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in Ukraine invaded by the Russian troops is the message conveyed by the Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the 61st edition of the famous international security conference Munich Security Conference 2025 underway in Germany over February 14 and the 16. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, Minister Hurezeanu will be presenting Romania’s assessments of the present regional challenges, such as the deterioration of the security situation in the Black Sea area and the implications of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Romanian official is also going to underline the danger of the hybrid actions taken by the Russian Federation and the importance of countering suchlike activities. The head of the Bucharest diplomacy will be pleading for the continued solid support aimed at increasing the resilience of the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. During the same conference on Friday, the new vice-president of the United States, Republican JD Vance lashed out at the European leaders, whom he compared with the autocrats who headed the repressive regimes in Europe during the Cold War. He voiced concern over Europe, which he said is retreating from its fundamental values and gave several examples of repressive measures, including the cancellation of the presidential election in Romania late last year.

     

    RUGBY On its own turf today, Romania’s national rugby side is taking on Portugal in its last match in Group B of Rugby Europe Championship 2025. Both sides are already qualified for the World Cup 2027 in Australia after their wins this month in Rugby Europe Championship. The Romanians secured a 48-10 home win against Germany and an away victory, 31-14, against Belgium. Romania failed to qualify only in one World Cup edition, namely in 2019, when it was disqualified due to an error of the rugby federation in Bucharest, which included in its lineup an ineligible player.

     

    WEATHER And now a couple of things about the weather, which remains cold with a code yellow of snowstorms in the country’s east and south-east. Meteorologists say that it is going to snow even in the country’s capital Bucharest. Temperatures are ranging between minus 3 and 9 degrees Celsius. Snowfalls are expected in most of the Romanian territory, where the weather is getting colder.

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  • Drugs, in the attention of the Supreme Defense Council

    Drugs, in the attention of the Supreme Defense Council

    For decades, Romania was said to be immune to the scourge of drugs, which were already wreaking havoc in Western Europe and North America for a long time. Until 1989, the police state created by the communist dictatorship was invulnerable to drug trafficking. Later, socio-economic theories emerged, according to which Romanians were too poor, when they escaped communism, to afford spending money on drugs. This illusion was gradually shattered and today, in the poorest neighborhoods of Bucharest, which residents themselves call ghettos, drugs are sold on the street, in broad daylight. The large festivals of techno music and related genres, such as Untodl (in Cluj, in the northwest) or Neversea (in Constanța, southeast), give the police, every time, the opportunity to announce how many consumers they catch and how many dealers they detain.



    A dismantled drug network in a prestigious high school in Bucharest had among its members the offspring of an employee with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of one with the Prosecutors Office. This week, a judge with the Criminal Section of the Court in Suceava has been arrested for 30 days, on charges of bribery, drug possession and disclosure of information not intended for the public, which she apparently gave traffickers. However, the strongest shock felt in society took place in August, when a young drug-driver, from a very rich family, killed two people in a car accident, in a Black Sea resort.



    Following these terrible events, Romania’s Supreme Defense Council, chaired by President Klaus Iohannis, decided, on Thursday, to set up an inter-institutional working group to effectively prevent and combat the risks generated by drug trafficking and consumption. It will be made up of state secretaries, representatives of the Romanian Intelligence Service, prosecutors and anti-drug specialists, all coordinated by the Government. This is, according to the media, the first time that drug trafficking and consumption are approached as major risks to individual and national security.



    The group will draw up a joint action plan, with clear objectives, measures and responsibilities, for the effective prevention and combating of the risks generated by drug traffic and consumption. Operational working groups will also be established at county level, given that this problem is present everywhere in Romania. The Government will analyze the legal framework related to drug trafficking and consumption and will formulate proposals regarding the revision of normative acts, in order to eliminate loopholes. Also on Thursday, the Government announced that the number of prosecutors with the Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) will be increased by another 25, tasked with combating drug trafficking in Bucharest, Ilfov county and other sensitive locations across the country. (EE)

  • Crevedia – investigations and solidarity

    Crevedia – investigations and solidarity

    Investigations are being carried out at all stations across Romania selling fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). And according to the countrys Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, the stations, where irregularities involving public safety risks have been discovered, will be closed down. What happened in Crevedia, a commune in southern Romania, must never repeat! A local LPG station, which was not supposed to be functional as it had its safety permit withdrawn three years ago, blew up and went on flames on Saturday night.


    The investigation carried out by the General Prosecutors Office, which took over the present file on aggravated criminal damage followed by destruction, is being hindered by the gas leaks on the companys premises, says the head of the aforementioned institution, Alexandru Florenta.


    Florenta says that searches are presently being conducted at the local city hall and one of the companys working centers in Bucharest, as well as at the houses of the two company managers.


    Alexandru Florenţa: “The two main directions we are focusing on at the moment in this investigation, are the activities carried out by the company through its station in Crevedia after a decision had been issued to close down the aforementioned center due to a series of irregularities discovered here. The second line in our inquiry is aimed at finding out how the aforementioned LPG station was allowed to function and how the institutions in charge carried out their investigations here.”


    The case in Crevedia has also got the attention of anti-corruption prosecutors, who are investigating the crime of abuse of office. In turn military prosecutors are conducting their own research into the rescue team intervention, in an attempt to explain the high number of injured among the rescuers. Seven houses in the area have been affected by the explosion, three being almost razed to the ground. County and central authorities have pledged support for their reconstruction while the damage caused by the explosions is still being assessed.


    At the same time, the Ministry of Labour is to come before the Government with a series of emergency assistance packages for those affected by the explosion. However, the most important is the medical and psychological assistance given to those wounded and traumatized by the event. Blood centers in Bucharest and 24 other counties have been open as early as Sunday for donations for the scores of wounded, mostly firefighters, gendarmes and policemen, some severely wounded by the second explosion. They are being treated in several hospitals around Bucharest, or have been sent to hospitals in Austria, Germany, Belgium, Norway and Italy. France, Israel and Bulgaria are also ready to offer medical support to Romania.


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  • July 5, 2023

    July 5, 2023

    VISIT Today, in the second day of his
    visit to Germany, Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is going to have
    talks with representatives of the business environment, followed by meetings
    with the Vice-president of the German Parliament, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, and
    with representatives of the main political groups in the Legislature. The head
    of the government in Bucharest will be also having talks with the
    representatives of the defence industry in Germany. On Monday, the first day of
    his visit, Marcel Ciolacu met Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who reiterated his
    country’s all-out support so that Romania may become a Schengen member this
    year. Ciolacu has also met with members of the Romanian communities in Germany,
    whom he briefed upon the projects of the government in Bucharest dedicated to
    the Diaspora, as well as a start-up programme.








    FAIR The first holiday edition of the
    book fair Gaudeamus Radio Romania has today kicked off in Brasov, central
    Romania. The event is part of the Gaudeamus caravan, a nation-wise project that
    has been initiated and carried on by Radio Romania for more than 20 years. The present
    edition’s offer includes, the book fair itself, graphic and photo art, literary
    creation, all brought together into 40 exhibition stands. This edition is
    expected to end on Sunday, July 9th.








    DIICOT 24 suspects have been
    apprehended and two placed under investigation in a case involving the
    mistreatment of vulnerable people in three old-peoples’ homes in Romania. On
    Tuesday, DIICOT prosecutors kicked off over 30 searches in Bucharest and other
    6 counties in southern Romania. Authorities are presently taking care of one
    hundred of these vulnerable people. According to the investigators, the
    aforementioned people had been exploited for more than two years, being
    deprived on proper food, medical treatment and hygiene conditions. Prosecutors
    are now investigating cases of human trafficking, fraud, embezzlement of over
    one million euros as well as inhuman and degraded treatment.




    EDUCATION Romanian president
    Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday promulgated the new Education laws. A former high-school
    teacher, Iohannis, has been promoting a programme known as ‘Educated Romania’
    launched in 2016 and followed by a series of public debates. Solutions have
    been proposed for fighting school violence in the country’s pre-university
    education, to support the disadvantaged categories of students, curb school
    dropout and promote sports. Concerning university education, president Iohannis
    says the new legislative measures are going to bring the Romanian education up
    to international standards. The education laws have been promulgated after
    years of debates and at the end of a critical period in Romania’s education
    system, marked by the recent all-out strike of the teachers. In another
    development, upon the appeals session for the National Assessment exam counting
    towards the candidates’ high-school accession, 76.4% of the students have
    obtained passing results while 73% of the candidates have passed the
    baccalaureate exam.


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  • The Section for the Investigation of the magistrates is being dismantled

    The Section for the Investigation of the magistrates is being dismantled

    The story of one of the most controversial
    structures in the Romanian judiciary is coming to an end these days. The
    government in Bucharest on Monday endorsed a draft law on dismantling the
    special Section for the Investigation of the Judiciary, known in Romania as
    SIIJ. The head of the coalition government, Liberal Nicolae Ciucă, has recalled
    that this is an objective Romania has also assumed within the Cooperation and
    Verification Mechanism (CVM) through which Brussels has been monitoring the
    rule of law in Romania ever since the country’s entry into the European Union
    in 2007.




    Under the new amendments, other structures
    have been authorized to take over the SIIJ files and their resolutions are to
    be made public within 60 days since the law has come into effect, by the
    Prosecutor’s Office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the other
    the competent offices, which are carrying on work on the aforementioned files.




    High-ranking prosecutors and justices
    accused of various offences are to be investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office
    with the High Court of Cassation and Justice whereas the other prosecutors and
    judges by prosecutor’s offices of other courts.


    The jobs in the organizational chart of
    the SIIJ will remain in the organizational chart of the Prosecutor’s Office
    with the High Court of Cassation and Justice, part of the Penal and Crime Investigation
    Department. Starting with the date of the SIIJ dismantling, its prosecutors,
    including those in higher positions, will be returning to the prosecutor’s
    offices they belonged to. The aforementioned draft will be submitted for
    Parliament debates and approval.


    The largest part of the press in
    Bucharest, as well as legal experts, have constantly denounced the SIIJ as a
    means of putting pressure on the magistrates and hindering Romania’s anti-graft
    actions.




    The initiator of this project was believed
    to be the former Social Democratic strongman Liviu Dragnea who had dominated
    Romania’s political life for a couple of years before being arrested on corruption
    charges in 2019.


    The present head of European Public
    Prosecutor’s Office, EPPO, Laura Codruta Kovesi, who had previously headed
    Romania’s Anti-Corruption Directorate with unmatched effectiveness, confessed
    shortly before her dismissal by president Klaus Iohannis in June 2018,
    following a Constitutional Court ruling, that in those years, the biggest
    challenge for the Romanian judiciary was keeping its judges and prosecutors
    independent.




    There have been repeated tries at
    amending the anti-corruption legislation in order to limit the legislative
    instruments used by anti-corruption prosecutors or attempts at decriminalizing
    some actions. There were situations in which requests for lifting the immunity
    of corrupt politicians had been turned down, Kovesi went on to say.


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  • 32 years since the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship

    32 years since the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship

    On December 16, 1989, in Timișoara (west), the first protests against the communist regime broke out, which subsequently spread to all the cities of the country. In Bucharest, the revolt culminated, on December 22, with the fleeing of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, by helicopter, from the roof of the building of the Romanian Communist Party – PCR Central Committee. Later, they were caught and shot dead on Christmas Day, after a perfunctory trial. In December 1989, more than 1,100 people died in Romania and at least 3,000 were injured. The famous question asked 32 years ago – “21-22, who fired at us?”, is still unanswered. The prosecutors investigation has not yet been completed and the culprits have not been punished. It is not known why the number of people shot dead increased after December 22, when the regime had already been removed. Not all the military or civilian forces involved in the repression of the protesters were identified, and the ammunition used was not recovered. Although the Romanian Intelligence Service – SRI has drafted an extensive document on the events that took place at the time, the document is not in the Revolution file.



    Also, the ones who were supposed to shed light on the December 1989 events did not request extremely important documents from the Ministry of National Defense archives. Romania has been repeatedly convicted at the European Court of Human Rights – ECHR for delaying the case. The first final sentences were ruled hardly in 2000, when Generals Mihai Chițac and Victor Stănculescu were sentenced to 15 years in prison, but they were later released on appeal. Imprisoned in 2008, Chitac died at home in 2010, and Stanculescu was released in 2014 and died two years later in a luxury asylum. Last month, the High Court of Cassation and Justice decided to remit to the Military Prosecutors Office the Revolution file in which the former President Ion Iliescu, the former Deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and General (r.) Iosif Rus, former head of the Military Aviation, are accused of crimes against humanity. According to the indictment, against the background of the souring relations between Romania and the USSR, after the “Prague 1968” moment, but also as a result of the deep and general dissatisfaction in the society, a dissident group coagulated and developed with the purpose of removing the former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, but the group was actually seeking to keep Romania in the sphere of influence of the USSR.



    Military prosecutors claim that the group around Ion Iliescu acted skillfully and efficiently in order to take over the political and military power in December 1989. Moreover, the group acted to intensify the psychosis regarding the alleged existence of terrorists. The entire Romanian military forces was supposedly made available to the Council of the National Salvation Front (CFSN) – a temporary body of state power, which later became a political party — the National Salvation Front – FSN, led by Ion Iliescu, a former member of the communist nomenclature. In May 1990, the first free elections were held and he was elected president with an incredible score: 85% of the vote. Subsequently, he had two more terms, between 1992-1996 and 2000-2004. In time, FSN transformed into the Party of Social Democracy in Romania – PDSR, then into the Social Democratic Party – PSD, the latter being in the governing coalition currently ruling Romania. (LS)

  • December 17, 2021 UPDATE

    December 17, 2021 UPDATE

    MOURNING A day of mourning was observed on
    Friday in memory of the people killed 32 years ago in Timişoara, the city that
    sparked the Romanian anti-communist revolution. Commemoration events included
    religious services, laying of flowers and special exhibitions. ON 17th
    December 1989 army and security forces opened fire against the people
    protesting against Romania’s communist regime in the city of Timişoara in the
    west of the country. More than 60 people were killed that evening, and several
    hundreds were wounded. 17th December is considered the darkest day
    in Timişoara’s contemporary history.








    SUMMIT EU leaders who met for the winter summit in Brussels called for a boost
    in vaccination levels amid concerns over the Omicron variant. Romania was
    represented at the meeting by its president, Klaus Iohannis. EU leaders also
    discussed the rise in energy costs and the tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
    According to the Romanian president’s office, the meeting of the European
    Council was followed by the Euro summit in extended format, where EU leaders
    adopted a declaration reiterating the EU’s commitment to provide vigorous,
    rapid and coordinated response for post-pandemic economic recovery.








    TRIAL Prosecutors
    have called for maximum penalties for all those indicted in the ‘Colectiv’ file.
    They have also referred to the small damages awarded by the court in comparison
    to the suffering of those wounded or the relatives of those who died in the
    blaze that destroyed the Colectiv night club six years ago. The Colectiv
    tragedy can repeat any time and society has been scarred by it, one of the
    prosecutors says. We recall that two years ago a court in Bucharest ruled that the
    former mayor of district 4 in Bucharest Cristian Popescu together with another
    employee of the city hall, the owners of the aforementioned club and a couple
    of employees of the fireworks company involved in the incident should serve prison
    sentences between 3 and 12 years.






    NATO The North Atlantic Alliance
    remains vigilant about Russia’s military buildup at the border with Ukraine,
    NATO’s deputy secretary general Romanian Mircea Geoana told Radio Romania on
    Friday. According to Geoana, NATO doesn’t know Moscow’s final intention, which
    might reiterate the situation in 2014, when it occupied the Ukrainian peninsula
    of Crimea. The NATO official has made an appeal for Russia’s resuming talks
    adding that at present there are no major security risks for the allies in the
    eastern flank.






    POLL 61% of
    Romanians hope 2022 will be better in terms of jobs, with 69% saying 2021 was
    harder than the first pandemic year in terms of personal and professional
    challenges, according to a survey conducted by BestJobs online recruitment
    platform. Six in ten respondents are considering changing their job for higher
    pay or are expecting a promotion or pay rise from their current job. 26% of
    Romanian employees say 2021 was better than 2020, with 25% saying this
    improvement was recorded on a private level, 17% on a professional and 15% on
    both. The BestJobs survey was conducted between 20th November and 10th
    December using a sample of 1,041 Internet users. BestJobs is one of the biggest
    online recruitment platforms in Romania.



    (bill)

  • The Week in Review (01 – 7.03.2020)

    The Week in Review (01 – 7.03.2020)

    The coronavirus in Romania



    New cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in Romania, tens of people are in institutionalized quarantine and around 12 thousand are in quarantine at their homes. The head of the Department for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat has pointed out that the decision to isolate an entire city is not made at local level but at national level, after a rigorous analysis of the situation. For the moment, such a decision is not necessary, not even in the case of the western city of Timisoara, where several cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported. The Romanian President has in turn made an appeal to calm, realism and balance, for social life not to be affected by mistrust and fake news. The Foreign and Interior Ministries have informed the diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited to Bucharest about the measures that apply both to the Romanian citizens and to the foreign citizens who come to Romania from areas affected by the coronavirus epidemic.



    Warning from Brussels



    The European Commission has opened the Excessive Deficit Procedure for Romania and adopted a recommendation according to which Romania should put an end to this situation in 2022 at the latest. A report passed by the EC in February shows that Romania does not observe the deficit criterion defined in the treaty, of maximum 3% of the GDP. According to the EC winter forecasts, Romanias deficit reached 4% of the GDP in 2019 and it is expected to go up to 4.9% in 2020 and to 6.9% in 2021. The pension law is ‘the main cause of the forecasted rapid growth of the government deficit and of the risks posed to fiscal sustainability the report also shows. The interim finance minister Florin Citu claims Romania has a sustainable and credible plan to reduce the deficit, which was accepted by the EC entirely.



    Looking for a government



    This week has seen hearings in Parliaments special committees of the ministers proposed for the cabinet of the Liberal PM designate Florin Citu. The positive or negative reviews the ministers have obtained are consultative, with the investiture vote being expected to take place in the plenum of Parliament next week. The only modification in the new government is the finance minister, Lucian Ovidiu Heius, who replaced Florin Citu, now designated PM. Citu was nominated PM by President Iohannis after the Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional the re-designation as PM of the outgoing interim PM, the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban, who had previously been dismissed from the position through a no confidence motion.



    Files



    The manager of the Maramures County Emergency Hospital (in the northwest) and a former Social Democratic health minister Sorina Pintea has been placed into temporary custody for 30 days, on charges of continued bribe taking. According to anti-corruption prosecutors, she allegedly received bribe, through an intermediary, from the representatives of a company. The money, 10 thousand Euros and 120 thousand lei, accounted for 7% of the value of a contract concluded with the respective company for repair works to the respective hospital. In another file, the president and director general of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation (SRR) Georgica Severin has been heard by the Caraş-Severin Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (in the southwest). The prosecutors from Reşiţa announced they started the prosecution of 16 politicians and public persons who are accused of blackmail and having set up an organized crime group. These persons allegedly blackmailed the heads of several public institutions, who were thus dismissed and replaced by people loyal to the former Social Democratic (PSD) government. Prosecutors also heard other Social Democratic local politicians and the former secretary general of PSD, Codrin Stefanescu. According to a SRR communiqué, Georgica Severin has always responded promptly to all the requests of the states authorities and institutions and will continue to do so.



    Sports



    The Romanian mens handball champions Dinamo Bucharest defeated Sporting Lisbon of Portugal in the Champions League playoffs, thus qualifying to the round of 16. In the next round Dinamo will take on Paris Saint-Germain of France. In the womens competition, both the Romanian champions and the vice-champions, SCM Ramnicu Valcea and CSM Bucharest, respectively, qualified to the Champions League quarterfinals. In news from football, the Romanian national team has been drawn in Group 1 in League B, alongside Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland in the 2020-2021 Nations League. Romania is now part of the second division after having performed last year in the third tier. Romania failed to qualify to the 2020 European Championship directly, straight out of the preliminaries, although our team still holds chances of qualifying from the Nations League playoffs. On March 26 Romania will play Iceland away from home. If it wins, Romania will take on the winner of the match pitting Hungary against Bulgaria. The draw for the 2020 European Championship was held in Bucharest on November 30. Romanias capital city will host four matches in the competition, three in the group phase and one in the round of 16. (Translated by L. Simion & V. Palcu)

  • February 22, 2019 UPDATE

    February 22, 2019 UPDATE

    BUDGET The Constitutional Court of Romania has announced that on March 6th it will discuss the notification filed by President Klaus Iohannis against the 2019 state budget law. On Friday, the head of state notified the Constitutional Court over the state budget bill submitted for his promulgation. He described the bill as unrealistic and over-optimistic, and dismissed it as a national disgrace. There are unconstitutional elements in this law, the President said, such as failure to comply with commitments taken within the EU and violation of fundamental rights. Iohannis lashed out at the Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the ruling coalition in Romania, which he said is unable to govern the country and only rules to the benefit of its leader, Liviu Dragnea. Klaus Iohannis also said political parties are getting too much money, public education is under-funded, and Romania has been in turmoil, particularly since an ordinance was passed in late 2018 modifying the justice laws. According to the President, the entire ruling term of the Social Democrats has been an assault on the rule of law in Romania. In response, the Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu Tariceanu (ALDE, also in the ruling coalition) said the Presidents sending the budget bill to the Constitutional Court is unwarranted and ill-timed. He added the President is “harassing the Cabinet and trying to prevent its work.




    JUDICIARY In several cities in Romania, magistrates protested on Friday against the changes to the justice laws introduced by a government emergency decree, and called for independence of the judiciary. They also announced they would suspend their work for several days, and said only urgent cases would be tried. The changes operated by the left-of-centre Government concern, among other things, the appointment of senior prosecutors and the powers of the special division investigating offences committed by magistrates. The emergency decree has been criticised both in Brussels, by the European Commission, and in Romania, by magistrate associations, by the prosecutor division of the Higher Council of Magistrates, and by the right-wing Opposition.




    TRADE The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is in a difficult situation at the moment, and swift action is needed for the entity not to fall apart, the EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said on Friday in Bucharest. In turn, the Romanian Minister for the Business Environment, Ştefan-Radu Oprea, said that promoting free trade under the WTO aegis remains a priority for the EU, and member states have voiced their willingness to start negotiations on e-commerce. He added that, with respect to trade relations between the EU and the USA, stakeholders are trying to maintain a positive bilateral agenda and to adopt as quickly as possible the negotiating directives on conformity assessment and the liberalisation of trade in industrial products. EU trade ministers convened on Friday in Bucharest to discuss the modernisation of the WTO and the trade relations between the European bloc and the US.




    CONGRESS Cluj Napoca (in north-western Romania) is hosting the congress of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the main political party representing the 1.5-million strong Hungarian community in Romania. Attending the event are over 900 delegates, who will elect the new party president. The incumbent leader, Hunor Kelemen, is the only candidate, and is running for a 3rd term in office. Before the congress, Hunor Kelemen told a press conference that in his opinion the main task ahead is for the party to define a general framework for the political decisions to be made in the future. The delegates will also discuss the new economic platform of the organisation and the list of candidates for the European Parliament elections. Another topic on the agenda is the collaboration between the Union, which supports the ruling coalition in Romania, and the other Romanian parties. Represented in Parliament without interruptions since 1990, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians has been a member of many coalition governments in Romania.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 24, 2018 UPDATE

    August 24, 2018 UPDATE

    Supreme Council of National Defense — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Friday that the government could have made a budget rectification in any domain without the approval of Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense, except for the national security domain. The president’s statement comes after the government had previously warned that the president’s refusal to urgently summon a meeting of the country’s Supreme Council of National Defense for the approval of the budget rectification bill might endanger not only the revenues of the most vulnerable categories, namely pensioners, mothers and children, but also the patients’ access to medical services. President Iohannis called for a Supreme Council of National Defense meeting on September 4, the agenda including an analysis of the proposals for rectification of the budget of the state institutions with attributions in the national security field for 2018. The presidential administration explained that not all of the Council members agreed with the approval of the rectification proposals and that the Council’s secretariat observed the working procedures of the Council, set up under the organization and functioning law and regulations.



    Investigation — Military prosecutors have ruled on a physical and chemical analysis of the irritating substances existing in the ammunition and recipients found at the Romanian Gendarmerie headquarters, in a case involving the gendarmes’ forceful intervention during the August 10 protest. In a communiqué of the General Prosecutor’s Office, more than 700 people assaulted by the gendarmes during the protest, submitted complaints until Friday. In another development, the leader of the Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, stated in a communiqué that there was no spiraling conflict fueled by the opposition through the National Liberal Party or the country’s president Klaus Iohannis, but that there was more of a spiral of lies and abuses engulfing the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea, the PM Viorica Dancila, the interior minister Carmen Dan and all the others who ordered the reprisal of August 10 protest and the wounding of the people who participated in that anti-government protest. Orban’s statement comes in retort to PM Dancila’s declarations according to which there is a spiraling conflict created by those who were not able to win the elections and are now trying to gain power through other means, undemocratic means.



    DNA — 6 prosecutors have signed up for the exam organized by the Justice Ministry to occupy the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Friday was the last day for candidacy submission. Between September 3 and 5 the selected candidates will have an interview with the justice minister Tudorel Toader. The results will be announced on September 6. The justice minister has previously rejected 4 candidacies. The position of chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate became vacant following the dismissal of Laura Codruta Kovesi through a decree issued by President Klaus Iohannis on July 9. Through the decree the president complied with a Constitutional Court decision. At first the president had rejected as ungrounded the proposal for dismissal forwarded by the justice minister, but he had to comply with the Constitutional Court’s decision which admitted the notification of minister Toader in that case. The activity of the DNA during Kovesi’s mandate was constantly appreciated in the EC’s reports on justice.



    NATO — British fighter planes of the Royal Air Force, Eurofighter Typhoon, deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania, in the southeast, on Thursday intercepted a Russian maritime patrol aircraft above the Black Sea, the UK Ministry of Defense announced on Friday, as quoted by Reuters. It is the second time this week when British planes which are part of the NATO air policing mission, were mobilized from Romania to intercept two Russian fighter planes near NATO’s air space above the Black Sea. Last week 6 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer bombers were intercepted above the Black Sea by British fighter planes deployed in Romania, which are meant to ensure the security of NATO’s air space.



    European Court — The Justice Ministry announced on Friday that 16 people submitted their candidacy for being selected as judge representing Romania at the European Court of Justice. The selected candidates will have an interview between September 11 and 12 with a selection committee presided over by the justice minister. After the hearings, the committee will select the candidate who obtained the greatest number of points and will also make another two proposals. The proposals will be forwarded to the government for approval and the government will send to the EU Council the name of Romania’s candidate for the position of judge with the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Romanian judge will be appointed following the common agreement of the governments of the member states.



    Kiev — Nicolae Nasta, a secretary of state with the Romanian Defense Ministry, accompanied by a 15-strong detachment of the 15th Mechanized Brigade “Podu Inalt” from Iasi (in eastern Romania) on Friday participated in Kiev in the ceremonies held on the occasion of the anniversary of 27 years since Ukraine obtained independence and 100 years since the setting up of the Ukrainian state. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • August 17, 2018 UPDATE

    August 17, 2018 UPDATE

    RESERVES – Romania imported, in the first half of this year, 4.18 million tons of crude oil, by 860 thousand more than in the same period of last year, according to data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. According to the Energy Strategy project, posted on the Energy Ministry’s website, the domestic production of crude oil will decrease to almost 2 million tons in 2030. Romania’s crude oil reserves will be depleted in about 12 to 15 years, the report also says.




    IMPORTS – Romania’s imports stood at 40.2 billion euros in the first six months of the year. Official statistics show that 3.3 billion euros went on food imports, double the amount in the first six months of 2008, according to Mediafax news agency. According to recent data provided by the National Institute of Statistics, Romania’s exports of farm and food products in the first half of the year accounted for only 2.2 billion euros, bringing the deficit at more than 1 billion euros.




    MIGRANTS – Germany has reached an agreement with Greece to send back migrants to the Mediterranean country if they have already applied for asylum there. A week before, Germany and Spain made a similar deal on returning migrants. Germany was also in “very advanced” negotiations on a similar deal with the Italian government and she expected a deal to be struck. More than 1.6 million migrants have arrived in Germany since mid-2014.




    INFLATION – Romania maintained in July, for the sixth consecutive month, its position as the country with the highest annual inflation rate among the European Union member states, of 4.3 percent measured by Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP), Eurostat has reported. The figure is, however, smaller than the one June, when it stood at 4.7%. In its turn, the National Bank of Romania revised downwards, to 3.5%, the inflation forecast for this year.




    PROTESTS — In Romania, military prosecutors announced they would continue to receive over the weekend complaints from people injured in the gendarme intervention in the so-called Diaspora protests one week ago. So far, over 230 criminal complaints have been registered, and more than 100 people interviewed. Military prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation in rem for abusive behavior, abuse of office and negligence while on duty related to the gendarme intervention in the August 10th protests.




    MILITARY — Canada will send to Romania 135 military personnel and five F-18 Hornet fighters to take part in NATO air patrols, as announced by the Canadian Air Force, quoted by local sources. The Canadian mission to Romania will take place between September and December 2018, as part of Operation Reassurance, Canadas contribution to NATO activities in Central and Eastern Europe. The Canadian airmen and their fighters will be based at Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in southeast Romania. Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said that the assistance offered by his country to air patrols in Romania is an important contribution and proof of support to the North Atlantic Alliance.




    AWARDS — Ioana Uricaru, director of the film Lemonade, received the Heart of Sarajevo award in the Best Director category on Thursday night at the Sarajevo International Film Festival. The film Love 1. Dog, by Florin Serban, got the two Partners Awards granted by the Bosnian Filmmakers Association: the European Art Cinema Network Award, and the Cineeuropa award, for artistic quality, according to the event website. The award for best movie was granted to the movie Aga by Milko Lazarov. Lemonade, produced by Cristian Mungiu, is Ioana Uricarus feature length debut. Love 1. Dog is Florin Serbans third movie, after When I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, and BOX, and it opens his Love Trilogy, three movies about three ways of loving. Launched in 1995, the Sarajevo Festival became a major cultural event in the Balkan region.




    FOOTBALL– Romanian football champions CFR Cluj, and vice-champions FCSB, have qualified in the Europa League play-offs, playing at home. The footballers from Cluj crushed Armenian side Alashkert 5-0, after winning the first leg 2-0. FCSB qualified to the chagrin of Croatian side Hajduk Split, winning 2-1 in Bucharest by a last second goal, after holding the Croatians to a blank draw in the first leg. However, CSU Craiova, Romanias Cup holders, missed the qualification after tying 1-all at home against the Germans from RB Leipzig. In the first leg, Craiova had lost 3-1. In their next games, CFR Cluj plays against Dudelange of Luxembourg, while FCSB plays against Rapid Viena.

  • March 7, 2018

    March 7, 2018

    PUBLIC MINISTRY– Romanias Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazăr, has today presented the 2017 activity report of the Public Ministry. The major coordinates of the prosecutors activity is the big volume of cases they should solve, the special complexity of files and the large number of the people involved, the prosecutor general has said. According to the data released by Lazăr, prosecutors processed some 1,750,000 files, solved over 550 thousand of them and approximately 60,000 people have been brought to justice. 35% of them violated road legislation, the main two causes behind this being the poor road infrastructure and the drivers behaviour. He said a spike in the number of domestic violence cases has been reported lately as well as an increase in the number of minors taken to court, namely up to 4,000. Attending the meeting, President Klaus Iohannis has said that although the idea that prosecutors are the enemies of society is falsely inoculated, they are on the same side with the law enforcers. Attending the event were also representatives of the main judicial institutions.



    JUSTICE LAWS – The parliamentary group of the Liberal deputies, in opposition, call on the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, to request the opinion of the Venice Commission on the changes brought to the justice laws and to suspend talks in the special commission until the opinion is issued. In support of their request, the Liberals recall the recommendation of the latest report issued by the European Commission on the CVM, as well as the public stands recently taken by the EC officials. They also recall the fact that the magistrates professional associations have, in their turn, said an opinion should be requested from the Venice Commission. The draft justice laws are currently being re-examined, following a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court, according to which some changes are partially unconstitutional. Some changes to the justice laws have been vehemently criticised by civil society, the magistrates associations, as well as by the EU.



    PRESIDENCY – Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, will receive in Bucharest on Thursday his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucici, who is currently on an official visit to Romania. According to the Presidential Administration, the two heads of state will approach bilateral cooperation issues, at political, economic and sectoral level. The two sides will also discuss ways in which Romania can support Serbia in its effort to join the EU, also in the run up to Bucharests taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019. The two presidents will also discuss issues related to the national ethnic minorities in the two countries, aspects of common interest regarding cooperation in the West Balkans and the main developments in the “Kosovo file.



    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies has today rejected the simple motion tabled by the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, against Education minister, Valentin Popa. The Liberals accuse him of showing a lack of professionalism in solving systemic problems. The National Liberal Party draws attention, among other things, to the delayed payment of salaries, the lack of money for investments, which might lead to mergers of schools or even to some of them being closed down. The education minister has rejected all accusations.



    ECONOMIC GROWTH – Romania registered, in the last quarter of 2017, the highest growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of all the 28 EU member states, namely 7%, as compared to the same period of 2016, the revised estimates issued by the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, show. The figures also show however that the growth rate of the Romanian economy in the last quarter of 2017 decreased from 8.5% in the previous quarter, to 7%. The highest growth rates across the EU in over October-December 2017 were reported alongside Romania, by Slovenia (6.2%), Estonia (5.3%) and the Czech Republic (5.2%). The National Statistics Institute reconfirmed Romanias 7% growth rate registered last year. Industry, followed by trade and agriculture had the most significant contribution to this growth rate.



    FLU SEASON – The number of flu-related deaths in Romania stands at 84, the National Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control has announced. According to the institution, the last four victims, aged between 59 and 93, had not been immunised and suffered from comorbidities. The Health minister Sorina Pintea, claims that the conditions are not met to declare the outbreak of an epidemics. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • February 13, 2018 UPDATE

    February 13, 2018 UPDATE

    FLU – The number of deaths caused by the flu virus in Romania has reached 27, the National Institute for Public Health announced on Tuesday. Over 800,000 people have received flu vaccines, and doctors urge more people to get vaccinated as the number of flu cases is on the rise. The Healthcare Minister Sorina Pintea says this is not a flu epidemics, and added that prevention measures are of the utmost importance, while hospitals and public health directorates must implement the required measures.




    JUDICIARY – Romanias Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that some provisions operating changes on the law regulating the Higher Council of Magistracy come against the Constitution. The ruling comes after the Supreme Court and the National Liberal Party in opposition notified the Constitutional Court against some of these changes, introduced through a bill endorsed in late 2017 by the Senate. One of the main provisions concerns the judicial inspection corps, which is to operate as a separate structure under the umbrella of the Higher Council of Magistracy. Backed by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, these changes are challenged by the right-wing Opposition, by part of Romanias civil society and by hundreds of magistrates, who argue that the judicial reform process is not transparent. In response, the Power claims the changes bring the laws on the judiciary in line with previous Constitutional Court rulings and with decisions made by the European Court of Human Rights.




    DEFENCE – Romania is considering the possibility of setting up a joint battalion with the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, the Defence Minister Mihai Fifor announced. In an interview to Radio Romania, Fifor said that, if created, this battalion will be similar to the ones that Romania has with 2 other neighbouring countries, Hungary and Ukraine. The Romanian Defence Minister has also denied allegations that Romania will deploy troops on Moldovas territory.




    ACCUSATIONS – The Judicial Inspection in Romania has taken note of the recent accusations against certain prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate in Prahova County, and said checks are underway. In a televised programme, a former Social Democratic MP, Vlad Cosma, who has been sentenced to 5 years in prison by a court of first instance, claimed on Monday that anti-corruption prosecutors allegedly asked him to plant evidence in a case involving the former Social Democratic PM Victor Ponta and businessman Sebastian Ghita, who fled the country. Cosma produced audio recordings, in response, the head of the Ploiesti Anti-Corruption Directorate Lucian Onea told a press conference that the institution he runs has never tampered with evidence or made illegal understandings with defendants. The Anti-Corruption Directorate argues that Cosmas allegations are aimed at compromising those prosecutors and police officers who interfered with the interests of certain politicians.




    TENNIS – Romanias Fed Cup team will play on April 21 and 22, at home, against Switzerland, in the World Group playoffs, according to Tuesdays draw in London. On Sunday, in the first round of World Group II, the Romanians defeated Canada in Cluj, north-western Romania. Also on Tuesday, the Romanian Sorana Cîrstea (38 WTA) defeated 6-2 / 6-3, Maria Sakkari of Greece (no 60 WTA), in the first round of the Doha tournament in Qatar, which has 3.1 million US dollars in total prize money. In the same round, another Romanian player, Irina-Camelia Begu, no 37 in the world, lost 6-4 / 6-2, to Australias Samantha Stosur. On Monday Mihaela Buzarnescu (43 WTA) outplayed Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine (no 40 WTA), 7-5, 6-4, and Monica Niculescu (no. 92) beat Russias Maria Sharapova (no. 41), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The worlds no. 2 player Simona Halep, who won the Doha tournament in 2014, takes on the Russian Ekaterina Makarova (36 WTA) on Wednesday.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Reactions to proposed changes in the judiciary

    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)