Radio România Internațional

Tag: prosecutors

  • August 29, 2017 UPDATE

    August 29, 2017 UPDATE

    LEGISLATION – Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors criticise most of the proposed changes to the laws regulating the judiciary announced recently by Minister Tudorel Toader, and say these changes are a form of pressure on their work. In turn, the Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar said on Tuesday that if endorsed, the bill would affect the independence of magistrates and the activity of judicial institutions. Heavily criticised by the Opposition and the mass media, the bill stipulates, among other things, that the president of the country is no longer to appoint the chiefs of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, that the judicial inspection corps will be subordinated to the Justice Ministry, and that the promotion of magistrates will require more years of service. On Sunday night several thousand Romanians protested in Bucharest and other major cities against the bill aimed at changing the laws regulating the judiciary. They demanded the resignation of Tudorel Toader, voiced support for the independence of the judicial power and announced new street protests for next Sunday.



    UNICEF – The Prime Minister of Romania, Mihai Tudose, had a meeting in Bucharest on Tuesday with the new representative of the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) in Romania, Pieter Bult. On this occasion, PM Tudose emphasised the importance of the partnership between Romania and UNICEF, while Bult presented the objectives and priorities of his term in office. The 2 officials agreed to work together to solve the measles epidemic problem. UNICEF is supporting the efforts of the Romanian authorities, by conducting measles information and awareness-raising campaigns and public health education programmes. Romania is currently facing the most severe measles epidemic in recent years, with 33 deaths reported so far, according to the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control.



    POLICE – The Romanian Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, Tuesday carried on the consultations with police officials regarding the improvement of the legislation regulating their work. The main topics included the proposed tightening of penalties for assault on a public official, changes in the regulations regarding penalties for misdemeanours, changes in the regulations regarding professions in the police force and the improvement of police protection equipment. The Interior Minister said she had already received 150 proposed changes to the police laws.



    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, said on Tuesday that the preparations for the Union Centennial, the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, Romanias bid for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council and the OECD candidacy are the highlights of the Romanian diplomatic agenda next year. The statement was made at the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, which is taking place in Bucharest until Friday. The event is an opportunity for the Foreign Ministry to assess its work and to set its priorities for the future, in the context of regional, European and global trends. The special guests this year are the Foreign Minister of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, the Foreign Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn and the Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó. On the other hand, as part of the Annual Meeting of the Romanian diplomacy, President Klaus Iohannis will receive on Wednesday the heads of Romanian diplomatic missions and consular offices.



    MISSILE – The United States and Japan have requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss North Koreas firing of a missile over Japan. Japan’s warning system kicked in, advising citizens on its northern Hokkaido Island to take precautions, as the missile headed towards land. The missile later broke into three pieces and landed in the sea. The Japanese military made no attempt to shoot down the unidentified missile, but condemned the launch in the strongest terms possible. The Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has asked for further sanctions against North Korea. China has called for restraint and for the resumption of peace talks, while the EU, South Korea, Australia and the United Kingdom firmly condemned Pyongyangs actions. The launch comes after several weeks of tensions and verbal clashes between the USA and North Korea.



    A-WEB – The President of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, Daniel Barbu, will take over the presidency of the Association of World Election Bodies for 2 years, in a ceremony held in Bucharest on August 31, as part of the 3rd General Assembly of the association, hosted by the Parliament Palace. A-WEB brings together election management bodies from over 100 countries around the world, Romania included.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Reactions to new justice legislation

    Reactions to new justice legislation

    A comprehensive judicial reform plan made public on Wednesday by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has sparked tough reactions, with President Klaus Iohannis going as far as describing it as “an attack against the rule of law.



    The initiative, which comes 6 months after the left-of-centre government tried to loosen the anticorruption laws, stipulates, among other things, the narrowing of the powers of the National Anticorruption Directorate, which under the new bill would no longer be entitled to investigate judges.



    The proposed changes concern a variety of areas, from the procedure to appoint chief prosecutors to the set-up of a special unit to prosecute offences committed by magistrates. The President was quick to react. “If this mix of measures gets passed by the Cabinet and endorsed by Parliament, Romanias efforts during these past 10 years will be wiped away, and the judiciary will be thrown back to a time when it was subordinated to politics, he said.



    At present, it is the President who appoints the chief prosecutors, based on nominations made by the Justice Minister and the approval of the Superior Council of Magistrates, the institution that safeguards the independence of the judiciary. Under the proposed bills, the President would be left out of this procedure. Furthermore, Toader wants the justice minister, who, as a cabinet member, represents the executive power, to be in charge of the judicial inspection corps. Analysts and magistrates alike see this as an interference of political factors in the judicial system, and the General Prosecutors Office says prosecutors have not been consulted on these alarming proposals.



    In turn, politicians reacted to the announcement. The main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, says that the changes in the justice laws are unconstitutional, insofar as they affect the separation of powers, and that they disregard both the will of the people, so strongly expressed in the streets early this year, and Romanias international commitments. In turn, the Save Romania Union firmly condemns the changes announced by Minister Tudorel Toader and plans a motion against him in Parliament.



    In Brussels, the former Justice Minister Norica Nicolai, currently an MEP in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, believes however that this is a good step forward and hopes the bill to be endorsed quickly and to take effect in 2018, so as to have the European Commission suspend the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. On the other hand, another MEP, Monica Macovei, herself an ex-justice minister, argues that Minister Tudorel Toaders bill brings “changes that are fatal to the judiciary and the country.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Hospital Disinfectants Case still under Scrutiny

    The Hospital Disinfectants Case still under Scrutiny

    Hexi Pharma, the company where the scandal concerning the use of diluted disinfectants started, has withdrawn its insolvency request, filed with the Bucharest Tribunal. Accused of diluting the sanitizers it provided to many hospitals across the country, the company is now being prosecuted by the General Prosecutor’s Office, for indirect participation in committing the crime of foiling disease prevention.



    Last week, company representatives filed an insolvency request, saying the company could no longer deal with its many commercial and fiscal debts, because of the existing unfavorable economic situation. The company said it had 23 million lei in debts to the state budget and to various providers, and also unpaid invoices to two foreign companies, amounting to some 20 million Euros.



    However, the company changed its mind and on Tuesday judges were informed that the company had withdrawn its insolvency request. The decision was made after the judges, who accepted a request filed by prosecutors, took several precautionary measures concerning Hexi Pharma. Under this decision, Hexi Pharma is not allowed to start any liquidation procedure, to enter a merger, to divide or reduce its equity, to produce and sell biocides. Also, the company is banned from alienating any of its assets, to make payments and transfers, except for those for salaries and utilities. As regards the investigation into the diluted disinfectants case, it is running fast, the Romanian General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar has said.



    Augustin Lazar: “Within a reasonable timeframe we will be able to conduct an effective investigation and to clarify all this. In such a case, which the prosecutor knows is a serious one from the very date of notification, things run fast, as you can see yourselves. This is a matter of large-scale prosecution.”



    In the investigation into the case concerning Hexi Pharma, prosecutors are even conducting physical and chemical tests on the incriminated products. Augustin Lazar has stated that the case benefits from all the necessary resources, including from the Public Ministry and the Judiciary Police, and the aim is to identify and hold the guilty ones accountable. In the meantime, the activity of the Hexi Pharma company has been also checked by the National Fiscal Administration Agency, which is not looking into the company’s ties with foreign companies.


  • April 27, 2016

    April 27, 2016

    As of today until May 1st, candidacies for the local election on June 5th in Romania can be contested. The time until which political parties, election alliances, citizens’ organisations belonging to various national minorities and independents can submit their candidacies ended on Tuesday. The election campaign begins on May 6th and is due to end on June 4th. This is the third time since the fall of the communist regime when a technocratic government has organized elections, after those staged by Theodor Stolojan in 1991 — 1992 and Mugur Isarescu in 1999-2000.




    Freedom House Romania has launched a report on recovering prejudices and seizing misappropriated goods in legal cases. This NGOs says that only a third of the prejudices is covered by insurances and the report it has issued quotes a provisional evaluation of the National Fiscal Administration Agency (ANAF) according to which all the 20 thousand enforceable titles registered in Romania are accounting for more than 1.5 billion euros. According to the report, in November last year, a special department was set up inside the ANAF to enforce legal decisions and forced execution in various court cases.




    Chinese capital Beijing is today seeing the second edition of a conference entitled Media 2020 staged jointly by Radio Romania and the Chinese National Radio station. The conference represents a unique debate platform for the 300 representatives of major audio-visual companies from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, America and Australia attending. High on the agenda are talks on implementing the UHDTV systems and the way in which the new technologies can help radio stations that cannot rely on images, to improve the transmissions of events around the world. The way in which the digitalization of radio stations, journalism and social networking is seen in Asia and Europe, or the promotion of culture via festivals also represent issues of topical interest for the participants in the Media 2020 conference. The conference will end with a recital entitled ‘Enescu’s Violin’ given by violinist Gabriel Croitoru accompanied by pianist Horia Mihail, at the Concert Hall of the Chinese public radio.




    Salah Abdelslam, a suspect in the Paris attacks who also had connection with the Brussels attackers has been handed over to the French authorities by Belgian prosecutors. According to them, Abdeslam was caught last month and extradited on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by France. He is the only survivor of the commandos that killed 130 people in Paris in November last year. 32 other people died in the attacks carried out in Brussels in March. Both attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State.




  • November 6, 2015 UPDATE 2

    November 6, 2015 UPDATE 2

    Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday that fresh consultation for the appointment of a candidate for the prime minister position was set for next week. On Thursday and Friday the head of state met with representatives of parliamentary parties and, for the first time in Romanian politics, with civil society members. President Iohannis, who on Thursday appointed the Education Minister Sorin Câmpeanu as interim PM, said a solution could be presented towards the end of next week. Consultations are held following the resignation of the Social Democrat PM Victor Ponta, against the background of large-scale street protests in the past few days. Last week’s deadly fire at a nightclub in Bucharest, which killed 32 people and left more than 100 severely injured, fuelled public anger at the political elite. Tens of thousands of people protested every evening in Bucharest and other Romanian cities against corrupt politicians, asking for a reform of the political class.




    As many as 65 people injured in a fire at Bucharest’s nightclub “Colectiv” last Friday continue to be in critical condition. The fire killed 32 people. Romania’s interim prime minister Sorin Campeanu announced that his cabinet will approve next week the payment of the medical treatment for patients who will be transferred to hospitals abroad, in countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Israel, Germany and France. According to Health Minister Nicolae Banicioiu skin transplant was performed on several patients and some of them underwent surgical procedures needed to help them breathe. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate has announced it initiated criminal proceedings against the former mayor of Bucharest District 4, Cristian Popescu-Piedone, for abuse of office and forgery. He is accused of having issued permits for the club’s functioning in spite of the fact that his owners did not get the approval of the Department for Emergency Situations first. The club’s three owners were taken into temporary custody on suspicion of manslaughter and involuntary bodily harm.




    Thousands of British holidaymakers are stranded in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, following London’s decision to suspend all flights to and from the Egyptian resort. The measure was taken over concerns voiced by the British Premier David Cameron and US President Barack Obama that it was possible a bomb on board had brought down the Russian plane which crashed last week, 23 minutes after takeoff from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The crash on Saturday killed all 224 people on board.




    Nicolae Timofti, the President of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a mostly Romanian speaking population, appointed Mihai Gribincea as the country’s Ambassador to the neighbouring Romania. Gribincea will replace the current Moldovan Ambassador, Iurie Renita, whose mandate has expired. Before being appointed in this new position, Mihai Gribincea was Moldova’s Ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and head of Chisinau’s mission with NATO. According to the Chisinau media, Mihai Gribincea is a staunch supporter of the Euro-Atlantic values.


  • October 27, 2015 UPDATE

    October 27, 2015 UPDATE

    Members of the European Parliament on Tuesday voted through new rules that will scrap mobile roaming charges in the 28 EU countries as of June 15, 2017. Users will instead pay the same rate for calls, texts and data that they pay back home. Before that happens though, roaming charges will be capped at 0.05 euros per minute for outgoing calls, 0.02 euros for texts, and 0.05 euros for each megabyte of data as of April 30, 2016. A cap for incoming calls will be confirmed at a later date. Andrus Ansip, European Commission vice-president in charge of the digital single market, hailed the MEPs decision to scrap roaming charges, calling it an “historic achievement.”




    Romanian president Klaus Iohannis green lighted on Tuesday the prosecutors’ request to start criminal proceedings against three former officials involved in the miners’ riots in June 1990. They are former prime minister Petre Roman, former deputy prime minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and former defence minister, Victor Atanasie Stanculescu, all of them charged with crimes against humanity. Last Wednesday, prosecutors also indicted the former head of state Ion Iliescu and the former chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Virgil Magureanu. Prosecutors hope to bring justice in this case, the most serious event to have ever occurred in Romania after the anti-communist revolution of December 1989.




    Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Victor Ponta met on Tuesday at the Cotroceni Palace to discuss ways to handle the wave of refugees in the Western Balkans, Romania’s official stand as to the migrant crisis and the stage of preparations for receiving the migrants. According to a release by the Presidency, the two officials also discussed about strengthening cooperation among the states in the region.




    The main opposition party in Romania, the National Liberal Party, tabled on Tuesday a simple motion with the Senate against the deputy prime minister and interior minister, Gabriel Oprea, one week after the tragic accident that killed a policeman that was part of his official motorcade. The document entitled “Gabriel Oprea dismissed for contempt, arrogance, abuse and disdain in exercising his public function” is signed by 49 Liberal and non-affiliated deputies. They ask for the resignation of the interior minister because of the way in which the Interior Ministry has managed the situation. On Monday the Romanian President called on Gabriel Oprea to resign following the flawed manner in which the ministry communicated on the issue. Oprea said he would not resign.





    Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Tuesday received the Ambassador of the Republic of India to Romania, Riva Ganguly Das, on a presentation visit. The two officials discussed about the Romanian-Indian ties, which have been consolidated over the past few years at a political and diplomatic level as well as at an economic level. Minister Aurescu and Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das also tackled aspects of the excellent bilateral cooperation within the United Nations.




    Romanian Simona Halep, no. 2 in the world, was defeated by Maria Sharapova, seed no. 4, at the WTA Finals in Singapore. The Russian withstood a Halep fightback to win 6-4 6-4 and move top of the Red Group. In her debut game on Sunday, Halep outperformed Italian Flavia Pennetta in two sets 6-0, 6-3, while Sharapova obtained a three-set win against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.