Radio România Internațional

Tag: protests

Changes to Criminal Laws Draw Fierce Criticism

Romania has had a day that president Klaus Iohannis himself has described as a “day of mourning, followed by a sleepless night marked by virulent spontaneous protests in all big cities across the country. “It is inadmissible and an act of contempt for the government to adopt, at night and without it being on the agenda for the day, an emergency ordinance in such a sensitive area as the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. This cannot be tolerated, said Iohannis after the government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats passed an emergency ordinance to amend the criminal codes late on Tuesday night, much to everyones consternation.

Most of the provisions are to come into effect 10 days after publication. One new change refers to the fact that abuse of office is no longer a criminal act if the losses caused as a result are below the equivalent of around 50,000 euros. Aiding an offender, including by passing legislation, such as emergency ordinances in the middle of the night, for example, has also been decriminalised. The act of aiding an offender is also not considered a crime if the act in question is committed by a member of the offenders family and second-degree relatives.

The passing of the changes to the Criminal Code sparked large protests in Bucharest and other big cities in the country. A total of 40,000 people spontaneously took to the streets on Tuesday night despite the biting cold in Bucharest, Cluj Napoca (north-east), Sibiu (centre), Timisoara (west) and Iasi (north-east). In Bucharest alone, more than 12,000 protesters surrounded the government headquarters. The Cabinet led by the Social Democrat Sorin Grindeanu were the first in the last 25 years to leave their office in a van escorted by gendarme forces for protection. What made the demonstrators particularly angry was the manner in which the government acted and which many have described as “thievish.

Last Sunday, almost 100,000 people took to the streets in Romania and abroad to protest against the governments intention to amend the criminal codes and grant collective pardons, which they say would help ease prison overcrowding.

On Monday, Justice Minister Florin Iordache held a debate on the subject and promised he would take into consideration the objections raised. The governments plans had also come under harsh criticism from the heads of the General Prosecutors Office, the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate Investing Organised Crime and Terrorism and from the Superior Council of Magistracy, all of whom said the rule of law was under attack and that the result of years of fighting corruption would be cancelled.

Compared with the famous Operation Clean Hands in Italy to purge the countrys political class, Romanias anti-corruption campaign has seen the indictment of one acting prime minister, former prime ministers, tens of ministers, parliamentarians, prefects, mayors and county council presidents from the ruling parties and the opposition, from across the political spectrum.

The local and international media say the entire government has mobilised to save their political leader, the head of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea. Serving a two-year suspended sentence handed out last year for trying to rig a 2012 referendum on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu, Liviu Dragnea is now on trial at the High Court of Cassation and Justice for incitement to abuse of office. According to prosecutors, he ordered the employment of two members of the Social Democratic Party at the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection in Teleorman, Dragneas home county. The two were allegedly paid with public funds for fictitious work, having in fact worked exclusively for the party. Prosecutors estimate the damage at some 24,000 euros. Imposing the threshold of almost 50,000 euros for abuse of office to be considered a crime in effect exonerates Dragnea, commentators say.

On the 11th of December, his Social Democratic Party scored a categorical win in the parliamentary elections without any mention of plans to hinder the fight against corruption.

(translated by: Cristina Mateescu)

1 February 2017
February 1, 2017

CRIMINAL CODES – The members of the Higher Council of the Magistracy in Romania, meeting this morning, unanimously decided to ask for the opinion of the Constitutional Court on the existence of a conflict between powers, in the case of the adoption by the government of an emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. The meeting of the Higher Council of the Magistracy was also attended by Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis. The president said the judiciary is independent in Romania and the magistrates are outraged by the way in which the government dealt with such a sensitive issue as the amendment of the criminal law, by issuing an emergency ordinance at midnight, without having received an opinion from the Higher Council of the Magistracy. Protests against the emergency ordinance were resumed in Bucharest this morning. Last night, after the adoption of the emergency ordinance, thousands of people took to the streets in Bucharest and other major cities across the country to protest against the move taken by the government. The interim president of the National Liberal Party, Raluca Turcan, says that if the leftist cabinet made up of the Social Democratic Party-the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats does not step down, the Liberals will introduce a censure motion in Parliament today. Their move is also backed by the Save Romania Union. The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, and First Vice-President Frans Timmermans have warned the government in Bucharest that the fight against corruption should continue and not be undermined. They draw attention to the fact that the irreversibility of the progress made in the fight against corruption is essential to allow the European Commission to take into consideration the gradual elimination of Romanias monitoring under the cooperation and verification mechanism.

AmCham – The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham) has expressed big disappointment about the legal grounds brought forth, the adoption procedure, the provisions and effects produced by the emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Codes in Romania. Adopting these emergency ordinances this way, the lack of transparency, in spite of the stands taken and recommendations made by the relevant institutions, mar the image of the cabinet which thus loses credibility and sends a strong signal of distrust and uncertainty both at domestic and international level, AmCham writes. According to the same source, the adopted emergency ordinances undermine the rule of law and infringe the fundamental principles of transparency, stability and predictability and thus Romania distances itself from European values and standards. Set up in 1993, AmCham is the most representative professional business association which is currently bringing together over 400 American, international and local companies. The overall value of their investments exceeds 20 billion dollars, generating some 250,000 jobs.

STATE BUDGET – Romanian MPs get together today to discuss and approve the timetable of the debates on the 2017 draft budget. The Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, estimates the procedure might be completed within eight days. The document, adopted on Tuesday evening by the government is based on a 5.2% economic growth rate and a budget deficit of up to 3% of the GDP. The government estimates the inflation rate will stand below 1.4% and the unemployment rate at 4.3%. According to the finance minister, Viorel Stefan, special attention will be paid in the ensuing period of time to investments, healthcare, education and infrastructure.

TAXES – New provisions recently introduced into the Fiscal Code by an emergency ordinance come into effect in Romania, on February 1. They eliminate 102 taxes and fees, the most well known being the radio and television licence fee and the tax on registering automobiles. Also in February, Romanians earning the minimum wage, almost 1.6 million citizens, will get increased salaries. Local public authority employees will get a 20% raise. A number of further measures come into effect on February 1, such as eliminating the ceiling for social and health contributions and taxation for real estate deals worth under 100,000 Euro.

NAVY – The Romanian frigate King Ferdinand heads manoeuvres in the east of the Black Sea, to be attended, as of today, by over 2,800 military marines from the NATO member countries. The multinational exercise Sea Shield is the first of 50 large scale navy exercises planned by NATO this year. Attending the exercise are 16 ships, one submarine and 10 Romanian and allied aircraft. Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, head of the Allied Maritime Command, will be attending the manoeuvres in Constanta, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. At the same time, it was announced in London that one of the most important Royal Navy ships will have its first operating mission in the Black Sea since the Cold War. Allied manoeuvres in the Black Sea take place almost three years since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, in March 2014.

TENNIS – Romanias best-placed tennis player, Simona Halep, WTA no. 4 has today defeated Croatias Ana Konjuh WTA no. 39, 6-4,7-6, in the second round of the St Petersburg tournament in Russia. Simona is the tournaments top-seed tennis player. In the next round she will meet the winner of the match between Daria Kasatkina, WTA no.27, and Natalia Vikhlyantseva WTA no. 115, both from Russia. The other representatives of Romania, Monica Niculescu WTA no. 35 and Irina Begu WTA no.28 got eliminated in the first round.( Translated by D. Vijeu)

1 February 2017
January 29, 2017

BUDGET The government in Bucharest is expected to adopt the state budget on 2017 after getting the go-ahead from the country’s Higher Defence Council (CSAT). Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has summoned a CSAT session for Tuesday to approve the budget for national security institutions, submitted by the executive. The head of the executive Sorin Grindeanu has given assurances that all the measures in the ruling programme of the majority PSD-ALDE coalition have been taken into account. The draft-budget has been drawn up in keeping with a 5.2% economic growth and a budget deficit of 2.96% of the GDP.

PROTESTS Romania’s capital Bucharest and other cities across the country will be seeing fresh protests against the ordinances aimed at amending the penal codes. We recall that similar events took place a week ago. The right-wing opposition, civil society and the main legal institutions have termed the documents as ill suited. On the other hand the Justice Ministry believes that collective amnesty and some amendments are needed in order to solve the issue of overcrowded penitentiaries, a fact also signaled by the European Court of Human Rights and by the Constitutional Court. The government has been accused of trying to eliminate sentences in the case of corrupt political leaders and influential administration figures. The protests are to be held a day before a public debate due to be staged by the Ministry of Justice on the aforementioned ordinances.

PHONE TALKS In a phone conversation with Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, German chancellor Angela Merkel has voiced her full support for the continuation of the anti-corruption fight in Romania. The German official has shown concern that some decisions could affect the progress Bucharest has so far made in fighting this scourge. In the firm message he conveyed to the German partner, Iohannis has mentioned his commitment to carrying on the anti-graft fight in Romania. He added that at regional level Bucharest remains a trustworthy partner, one of the most important pillars of stability. The two officials have mentioned the excellent strategic relations the two countries currently enjoy.

MEASURES US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have talked by phone about the situation in Syria and the anti-ISIS fight. On Saturday, the US president held phone conversations with several political leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande. With the German chancellor Trump addressed issues such as Russia, the Ukrainian crisis and NATO while during the talks with the French president, he reiterated the US’ commitment to NATO and he emphasized the importance of all NATO allies who are sharing the military expenses. In another development, thousands have protested on airports in the USA against the anti-migration measures signed by the president. For three months Washington will not be issuing visas to citizens from seven Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. On Friday Trump announced tougher laws targeting migration and asylum-granting for refugees in order to prevent the entry of radical Islamic terrorists on the US territory.

AWARDS Romanian film director Cristi Puiu on Saturday night became the recipient of the Central European Initiative Award 2017 for his production ‘Sieranevada’ at the 28th edition of the International Film Festival in Trieste. The award is given yearly to the directors who managed to depict European contemporary realities and the dialogue between cultures. Cristi Puiu has been selected for the irony with which he retells the realities of the present-day Romania. The plot unfolds three days upon the attack on Charlie Hebdo publication and 40 days after the death of the father of our hero Lary, a Romanian doctor in his forties who together with his young wife is going to attend a commemoration day with the family. However, the event doesn’t go as planned. Considered ‘the father of the new Romanian cinema’ Cristi Puiu has been an honorary guest of the Trieste Festival together with Russian director Vitaly Mansky. Another Romanian director, Adrian Silisteanu has won the short-reel contest in Trieste with his production ‘Written/Unwritten’.

29 January 2017
Pardon under public debate

The Romanian Government’s plan to pass the draft emergency orders that would grant collective pardon and would revise the Criminal Code has generated public outrage across Romania. The draft ordinances, promoted by the Ministry of Justice, have brought thousands of people to the streets of Bucharest and other cities across the country, who protested at the bills that the Grindeanu Government intended to pass last week.

Protesters believe that famous defendants and convicts, many of them influential politicians and public figures would thus get out of prison or might ask for their cases to be closed. President Klaus Iohannis himself has stood against these modifications and initiated the procedure for a referendum to be held on this issue. Under the Law on transparent decision-making in public administration, on Monday the Ministry of Justice will hold a public debate on these draft emergency orders.

A disinformation campaign has created unnecessary tensions, and these emergency orders would not hamper the fight against corruption, said the Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu on the public radio: “No act of corruption would be pardoned. Also, the offences committed by murderers or rapists would not be pardoned either. There is no amnesty provision that would entitle suspicions that these ordinances were drafted to serve certain interests, as it has been implied.”

On the other hand, the main opposition party in Romania, the National Liberal Party, has threatened with a motion of no-confidence if the Government passes the two drafts. Here is the interim president of the party Raluca Turcan: “The Government’s intention to give priority to these emergency orders on pardon and changes to the Criminal Code, instead of focusing on the state budget, proves that it is not interested in the real issues it raised during the election campaign, but only in serving the interest of the people around their group of decision-makers.”

The Higher Council of Magistracy has advised against these draft orders, but it cannot issue any official ruling, as it is only an advisory body in this matter. In turn, Romania’s Chief Prosecutor Augustin Lazar has said that there is no emergency in passing them: “These emergency orders would do nothing but weaken the Romanian state’s institutional capacity to fight against corruption.”

Talks over the draft emergency orders regarding collective pardon and changes to the Criminal Code are being held against the background of Romania being one of the top three countries in terms of number of convictions issued by the European Court of Human Rights. According to the Court President Guido Raimondi, most of these convictions are related to prison conditions.

(Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)

27 January 2017
January 26, 2017 UPDATE

BUDGET BILL – The PM of Romania, Sorin Grindeanu, has announced that the 2017 budget bill will be finalised in Fridays Government meeting and sent to Parliament for debate on the same day. The head of government says all the measures included in the governing programme of the leftist ruling alliance have been taken into account in drafting the bill. The largest amounts will be channelled into transportation, agriculture, healthcare and SMEs. Less money than in 2016 will go to education, energy, regional development, home affairs, foreign affairs, the Presidential Administration, the two chambers of Parliament and the Foreign Intelligence Service. The draft public budgets rely on an estimated 5.2% economic growth rate and a budget deficit put at 2.96% of the GDP. President Klaus Iohannis criticised the cuts in the national security budget. The head of state Thursday sent a letter to the PM, describing the budget cuts as not only unjustified, but also completely ill-timed.

JUSTICE – The Romanian Justice Ministry announced on Thursday that on January 30 it would organise a public debate on the governments pardons bill and on the bill to amend the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure. On Wednesday, the Higher Council of Magistrates opposed the two bills. The Councils approval is not required for the bills to be endorsed. The Government intends to grant full pardon for all sentences of up to 5 years in prison, and for all fines ordered by courts. Pardons would not apply to repeat offenders and individuals sentenced under special laws. As for the draft amendment to the Criminal Code, it makes abuse of office an offence only in case it has resulted in damages of around 44,000 euros, and lowers the maximum sentence from 7 to 3 years in prison. The two bills have been harshly criticised by the Opposition in Parliament and by tens of thousands of people who took to the streets last weekend. President Klaus Iohannis joined in the protests. The Justice Minister, Florin Iordache, says the amendments are needed to solve the penitentiary overcrowding problem and to bring legislation in line with Constitutional Court rulings.

BREXIT – The British Government Thursday made public the draft law it would send to Parliament in order to trigger the Brexit process. The draft law will be presented and discussed in Commons on January 31 and February 1, and then subject to vote on February 8, the Government said. The bill will be sent to the Lords, the upper body of the legislative, before being sent to the Queen. PM Theresa May promised to trigger Art. 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and initiate the process of Britains leaving the EU by the end of March.

BORDER WALL – The President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto announced on Thursday that he cancelled the following weeks planned visit to the USA, where he was scheduled to have a meeting with his US counterpart, Donald Trump. The decision was made after Trump signed an order on the building of a wall on the Mexican border, to counter illegal migration into the USA, with Mexico to pay for the works after it has been completed. After the Mexican President announced his country would not pay for the Trump wall, the US President wrote that Nieto should cancel his visit to the US.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

26 January 2017
Thousands take to the streets in Romania

Thousands
of people again took to the streets on Sunday evening demanding the government
made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats (ALDE) to scrap their draft emergency orders that would grant
collective pardon and decriminalise some offences. According to the drafts, the
government intends to pardon convicts sentenced to less than five years for
committing certain crimes and cut sentences by half for all prisoners aged over
60. The pardon might be conditioned on the payment of damages set by Courts within
one year after the offender is released from prison. The draft emergency orders
also bring changes to the criminal codes. They stipulate that denouncers will
no longer be exempt from criminal responsibility unless they file their
denouncement within six months after the offence was committed. Moreover, the
act of abuse of power causing financial damage of less than 50,000 euros will
be decriminalised.

The Social Democratic
Justice Minister, Florin Iordache, says that these emergency orders are needed in
order to ease overcrowding in prisons, as there are by nine thousand inmates
more than the prisons’ capacity and in order to comply with Constitutional
Court’s decisions. Iordache reminded that Romania had already been sentenced at
the European Court of Human Rights for what it defined as the inhumane
conditions in Romanian prisons. The Justice Minister also said that 2,500
prisoners would be released if the law were passed.

The country’s prosecutor
general, the chief anti-corruption prosecutor, the Supreme Court, and the chief
of the directorate fighting organised crime, as well as magistrates’
associations and civil rights groups are firmly against the move and the
intention to legislate through decrees instead of going through parliament. The
latter have argued that there is a lack of transparency as to the legal
framework regarding offences such as corruption, abuse of power and integrity.

In the city of Cluj, in the
south-west, in Ploiesti, in the south, in Timisoara in the west and in the
north-eastern city of Iasi, the general state of mind is outrage:

I for one, as a young
member of the Romanian nation, find it abnormal that individuals who stole
from the state and who have received court sentences be freed.

I don’t have anything against
freeing people who have stolen a chicken and some canned food, because thy
didn’t have anything to eat, but not offenders who have robbed this country.

Around 30,000 people marched on the streets of the capital Bucharest
stopping in front of the government headquarters and the offices of the
coalition parties. Protesters chanted Bucharest is saying NO to pardoning!,
In prison, not in power!, and In a democracy, the place of the thieves is in
prison!. The protests were peaceful and no violence was reported.

The head of state, Klaus Iohannis, joined the protesters for about 15
minutes. Iohannis, himself an opponent of the government’s recent decisions,
said he came to the University square to voice his outrage at the corrupt
politicians who plan to undermine the rule of law:

Changing the legislation
and pardoning hundreds of convicted politicians, allowing them to continue
their wrongdoings, is inconceivable. Romanians have every right to be
outraged.

The head of the Social
Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, has said that by joining the protesters
President Iohannis has in fact broken the law in an attempt to gain some political
advantage for himself. Some commentators say Dragnea is right in this respect
and accuse Iohannis of having breached his neutrality as a mediator. Others,
however, argue that the programme that has won the Social Democratic Party a
landslide victory in the recent parliamentary elections had no mention of the
fact that its main concern will be to release thieves from prison.

23 January 2017
January 22, 2017

FIRE INVESTIGATION – The Romanian authorities have initiated criminal investigations, involving charges of wanton destruction of property, in relation to the fire that Friday night destroyed one of the best known nightclubs in Bucharest, Bamboo. According to the Healthcare Ministry, 44 people received assistance for smoke inhalation injuries, hypothermia, and fractures, but none of the patients reported burns. Only one person is currently in a serious condition. The victims include foreign citizens, most of them from Israel. The causes of the fire that destroyed the building are yet unknown. The owners of the nightclub had not yet obtained the premises license and the fire safety permit for the nightclub. Several witnesses have been heard and fresh inspections have been initiated in all buildings that host activities involving large attendance. We remind you that in October 2015, a fire taking place during a rock concert at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest killed 64 people. The tragedy sparked large-scale protests to denounce corruption in the public administration.

PROTESTS – Fresh protests against the Romanian Governments plans to table a pardons and amnesty law are announced for later today in the capital city Bucharest and other cities in Romania. Rallies are also planned abroad, such as in front of the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the Romanian Embassy in Copenhagen and in Haugesund Square in Norway. On Wednesday night, thousands took to the streets in Bucharest and other Romanian cities, to protest the Governments intention to pass an emergency order granting collective pardon and amending the provisions of the Criminal Code. The protesters fear that the amendments are designed to help influential politicians or public administration officers get away with corruption. Similar accusations were made by the Opposition parties, civil society organisations and magistrate associations. In turn, the Government claims the changes are necessary in order to solve the problem of penitentiary overcrowding and to bring the relevant legislation in line with rulings passed by the Constitutional Court.

MOURNING – Hungary has announced a day of national mourning on Monday, to commemorate the victims of the crash that took place in Italy on Friday night and which killed 16 people and injured another 26. The coach was taking students and teachers from a Budapest high school back home from a ski holiday in France, and near Verona it crashed into a bridge pillar and burst into flames. The causes of the accident are still to be determined.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – The US President, Donald Trump, is to receive the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on Friday, the presidential spokesman Sean Spicer announced on Saturday. This is the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he has taken office. Sean Spicer also announced that the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, will be received by the new President of the USA on January 31. Meanwhile, millions took part on Saturday in anti-Trump protests organised by women organisations around the world. Trump is criticised, among other things, for his anti-immigration rhetoric and sexist statements. In Los Angeles, organisers estimate 750,000 people took part, including dozens of Hollywood stars. 400,000 people took to the streets in New York, 200,000 in Boston, 150,000 in Chicago, and rallies were also held in New Zealand, Japan, Australia and major European cities. The largest protest took place in Washington, where nearly a million people attended the anti-Trump rally, including, among others, the former Secretary of State John Kerry.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (78 WTA) has been outperformed today by Spains Garbine Muguruza Blanco (7 WTA), in two sets, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Also today, the Romanians Horia Tecău and Florin Mergea, playing with separate partners, were eliminated from the eighth-finals of the mens doubles competition in Melbourne. Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 11, were defeated in 2 sets by the Australians Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington. In turn, Florin Mergea and Britains Dominic Inglot, seeded 16, lost in 3 sets to the top seeds of the doubles event, the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 January 2017
Issues facing miners in the Jiu Valley

The employees of the Lupeni mine refuse
to go into the mines. Radio Romania’s correspondent in the Jiu Valley says the
roots of the protest lie in the unprecedented crisis the Hunedoara Energy
Complex has been going through. Not even basic stuff needed in the underground
can be purchased anymore, because of the difficult financial problems facing
the complex. Miners fear they might lose their jobs and would like to receive a
concrete program regarding either the
continuation of their mining activities or the closing down of the mines.

We have been lied to all the time, either about insolvency or
about getting awards, and this can no longer continue. We have been humiliated
to an incredible extent. If the activity can’t continue, we are going home. We
are neither the first nor the last to lose their jobs. Let’s establish once for
all what should be done, but we should be all aware of what’s going on.

The protesters
call for the resignation of the current management, whom they blame for
incompetence. They are particularly discontent with the conduct of the deputy
director Petru Nica, a
former trade union leader until the autumn of 2016, whom they accuse of trying
to intimidate the miners and of threatening them with lay offs if they do not
resume their activity. The protests staged by the trade unions come shortly
after the European Commission approved the allotment of approximately 100
million Euro by the Romanian state for the closing down of the Lupeni mine and of another loss making
coal mine in the Jiu Valley, Lonea.

More than half of the money will be spent on workers, who will receive
severance payment and will benefit from professional reconversion programs, as
well as on a number of activities needed in the underground, to rehabilitate
the region and to return the land to agriculture. This is only an episode in
the long agony of the Romanian mining industry. Enjoying a privileged status
during the communist dictatorship, for both pragmatic and ideological reasons,
the mining industry assures the vitality of the energy-consuming economy. A
polluting and loss making sector, the mining industry started to lose ground in
the mid 1990’s, when the first mines were closed down.

5 January 2017
November 13, 2016

REP. OF MOLDOVA — Pro-Russian Socialist Igor Dodon and pro-European reformer Maia Sandu face off in the presidential run-off in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state, with a predominantly Romanian speaking population. About three million voters are called to the polls to elect their president through direct voting, for the first time in 16 years, time in which the head of state was appointed by Parliament. According to the media in Chishinau, although the president’s prerogatives are limited in the former Soviet republic to foreign policy and national security, Moldovans hope their future president will also be able to solve the social and economic problems the country is facing. Pundits say the ballot has a political stake, as well as geopolitical implications. Dodon wants Moldova to relinquish accession and free trade agreements with Brussels and join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Union, whereas Sandu pleads for reforming the state and European integration. In the first round, Igor Dodon got 48% of the cast votes, whereas Maia Sandu got 39%. The turnout in the first round stood at some 49%, a record low in the history of the Republic of Moldova, since elections were held in that country.

FOREIGN POLICY — The EU foreign ministers are today meeting in Brussels for talks on the impact the results of the US presidential election might have on trans-Atlantic relations. The European leaders are concerned about the future of the relations with the US, after the US President elect, Donald Trump, has repeatedly said he places America on the first place. “It’s good for Europe to be pro-active and do not wait for President Trump’s reaction”, said Dutch foreign minister, Bert Koenders. The meeting in Brussels is held at the initiative of Germany and the Netherlands.

COMMEMORATION — French President Francois Hollande has today opened the ceremonies marking one year since the Paris terror attacks of November 13, 2015, unveiling a commemorative sign at Stade de France, in northern Paris, where the first of the 130 victims was killed by Jihadists, FP reports. The Bataclan Concert Hall in Paris reopened on Saturday, one year after the attacks claimed by the Islamic State organisation. On November 13, 2015 Paris was in shock after gunmen opened fire randomly in the streets and blew themselves up. The largest number of victims, 90, were registered at Bataclan, and the rest of victims died in cafes, on sidewalks and restaurant terraces in Paris.

PROTESTS — Protests which started in thousands of towns and cities across the US, at the news of Republican Donald Trump’s winning the presidential election, continued on Saturday, for the fourth consecutive day. Representatives of the protesters say they are aware of the fact that what they say and their taking to the streets do not reverse the result of the presidential ballot, but they want to draw attention on their discontent about the future White House leader. They want to raise public awareness of the main issues raised during Trump’s electoral campaign which included defamatory remarks on women, up to threats of building a wall between the US and Mexico to keep migrants away.

ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN — The electoral campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for December 11, started in Romania on Friday. Some 6,500 people are running, on behalf of parties or as independent candidates, for the 466 seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. This election, the list system has been reinstated; the last time it was used was in the 2004 elections. The parties credited with chances of going past the required threshold to be represented in parliament are: PSD, PNL, USR, ALDE, UDMR and PMP.

BULGARIA — Bulgarian voters are called to the polls today to elect their president, in the presidential run-off. The vote might also entail the removal of Conservative PM, Boiko Borisov, in case of a victory by the Socialist candidate, Rumen Radev, considered to have close relations with Moscow, FP reports. Some 6.8 million voters will choose between Tsetska Tsacheva, the candidate of the conservative Gerb Party, in power, and pro-Russian general Rumen Radev, who had been the commander of the Bulgarian Air Forces until summer, when he accepted to become the Socialists’ presidential candidate. According to the latest polls, Radev is the frontrunner, especially after the big surprise of November 6, when he got 3 percentage points more than the candidate of the majority, criticised for a lack of charisma.

WEATHER — A wave of cold has taken most Romanian regions in its grip, except for the southeast where temperatures are close to normal for this time of the year. The sky is overcast and precipitations are reported across the whole territory. Rainwater exceeds 20-25 l/square meter in the west, south-west, centre, north and north-east, and even 50- 60 l/square meter in places. Snowfalls are reported in the mountains and in the north, where gusty wind is also reported. A code yellow alert against precipitations and gale-force wind is valid for almost the whole of Romania, as well as a code orange alert against blizzard valid for 14 counties in the centre and the north. Both codes are valid until Sunday evening. The highs of the day range between 0 and plus 10 degrees Celsius.

RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team on Saturday defeated the US, 23-10, in a test match played in Bucharest. The winner grabbed the “Pershing Cup”. This is a trophy initiated in 2014 and offered ever since by the Romanian Rugby Federation to the winner of the confrontations between Romania and the US, in remembrance of the match played during the Military “Olympics” of 1919, the “Inter-Allied Games”, organised by the commander in chief of the US Expeditionary Force in Europe, General John Joseph Pershing, to mark the end of WWI. The next preparatory game of the Romanian national rugby team is scheduled for Saturday, when Romania meets Canada in Bucharest.

FILM — Romanian films “Sieranevada” by Cristi Puiu and “Baccalaureate” by Cristian Mungiu have reaped a lot of awards at the “Listapad”, International Film Festival hosted by the Belarusian capital, Minsk, between November 4 and 11. They included: the film press award (Sieranevada), the “Yury Marukhin” memorial award for best cinematography (Barbu Balasoiu/ Sieranevada), the special jury award (Baccalaureate), the award for best actress in a supporting role (Lia Bugnar/ Baccalaureate) and the award for best actor in a leading role (Adrian Titieni/ Baccalaureate). (Translated by Diana Vijeu)

13 November 2016
November 12, 2016 UPDATE

ELECTION CAMPAIGN The campaign for the December 11th parliamentary elections in Romania started on Friday. Some 6,500 people, both party members and independent candidates, have registered for the race for one of the 466 seats in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The system used this year is the party-list proportional representation system, abandoned in 2004. The parties standing the biggest chances of being represented in the next Parliament are the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and the Peoples Movement Party.

MOLDOVA The second round of the presidential elections in the neighboring Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, is held on Sunday. Competing are the pro-Russia socialist Igor Dodon and the pro-West reformist Maia Sandu. Some 3 million citizens are expected to the polls to elect their president, for the first time after 16 years in which the president was designated by Parliament. Pundits say that the stake of the ballot is not just political, but also geo-political. Dodon wants his country to join the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Union, while Sandu stands for reform and European integration.

PROTESTS Demonstrations have been held for three nights in a row in big cities and university campuses in the US against the president – elect Donald Trump. Protesters say that, although they know they cannot change the result of the election, they want to draw attention to the fact that there are many reasons for people to be unhappy with the future president, whose campaign included lots of insulting remarks about women, as well as threats such as the one about building a wall between the US and Mexico to keep immigrants away. Initially, Trump said that protesters were professional rioters, incited by the media. Later he reconsidered his position, saying the protesters were people who loved their country and made an appeal to unity.

TALIBAN ATTACK NATO has announced that Bagram, the largest American base in Afghanistan, near capital Kabul, has been hit by an explosion, which killed 4 people. The attack has been claimed by Taliban insurgents. The Bagram airbase is a regular target for the Taliban. Six American soldiers were killed in December last year, when a Taliban riding a motorcycle blew himself up near the base. That was one of the bloodiest attacks against the foreign troops in Afghanistan in 2015.

CORRUPTION Some 260,000 people protested in Seoul on Saturday against the political corruption scandal involving president Park Geun-hye, and called for the resignation of the South-Korean leader, Associated Press reports. Park has allegedly allowed her friend Choi Soon-sil to access government papers without an authorization. Choi Soon-sil is accused of having tried to obtain large sums of money from several South-Korean companies by extortion and is now under arrest, charged with fraud and abuse of power. She is suspected that she used her friendship with the South-Korean leader to that end. Park Geun-hye, the first woman president of South-Korea, has apologized for her relation with Choi, but dozens of thousands of people have protested in Seoul over the past few days, calling for her resignation.

FOOTBALL On Friday night in Bucharest, Romanias national football team lost the match against Poland 0-3. The national squad now stands less chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup hosted by Russia. With only 5 points, Romania ranks 4th in the preliminary group E, after Poland with 10 points, Montenegro with 7 points and Denmark with 6. In the same group, also on Friday, Armenia defeated Montenegro 3-2, and Denmark beat Kazakhstan 4-1. On Tuesday, the Romanian national squad will take on the Russian team in a friendly game hosted by Grozny. The next official game of the Romanian national football team is scheduled for March, on home turf, against Denmark.

12 November 2016
September 26, UPDATE

RESIGNATION – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, has accepted the resignation tendered by the Director of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service, Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, the Presidential Administration announced on Monday. According to the same source, general Silviu Predoiu will take over from Ungureanu, as interim director of the Service. Also on Monday, the Senate registered the request made by President Iohannis to declare vacant the position of Director of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service. Ungureanu, former prime minister and foreign minister, became head of the Foreign Intelligence Service in June 2015, after being nominated by the President and validated by Parliament. That was Ungureanus second term as Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, after the 2007-2012 tenure.

SUPREME DEFENCE COUNCIL – In Bucharest, the Supreme Defence Council is to convene on Tuesday. The agenda includes topics like the implementation of the decisions made in the NATO Summit, which affect Romania, the Presidents spokesman announced on Monday. Another topic on the agenda is the state of the healthcare system in Romania. The previous meeting of the Supreme Defence Council was held in late July, two weeks after the NATO Summit in Warsaw.

PROTESTS – Romanian justice minister, Raluca Pruna, said on Monday, fresh from the talks she had had with penitentiary workers, that its regrettable that laws are adopted in Romania before properly analysing if the financial and human resources can be assured to that end. Earlier, the management of the National Penitentiary Agency had announced the institution took note of the demands of trade unions in the penitentiary system, but warned that employees cannot resort to strikes or voluntary suspension of work, although they may organise other forms of protests permitted by law. Prison staff in Romania initiated open-ended protest actions around the country on Monday. They demand, among other things, an improvement in working standards, addressing salary imbalances and a reduction of the personnel shortage, currently put at nearly 8,000 people.

ROMANIAN MILITARY – The condition of the 4 Romanian troops wounded on Sunday during a mission in Afghanistan is improving, the Romanian Defence Ministry announced on Monday. According to the aforementioned source, the trauma produced by the sustained injuries didnt reach any vital organs. The military were part of the White Sharks Battalion, which ensures the protection of the military base in Kandahar and assists the Afghan security forces. They were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off during their patrol mission, and were taken to the army base hospital in Kandahar.

NATIONAL INTEGRITY AGENCY – Romanias National Integrity Agency, ANI, on Monday sent a letter to the Standing Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies, asking it to take note of the fact that three MP seats are vacant and the disciplinary procedure has been launched in the case of two other MPs. According to the Agency, MPs Victor Roman, Ion Moldovan and Florin Ionas Urcan have been declared incompatible by the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The rulings are final. The Agency also says two assessment reports in the case of MPs Florin Paslaru and Ion Calin, respectively, show they have infringed the legal regime of conflict of interest. Therefore, in their case, ANI requests the start of disciplinary procedure, in conformity to the Statute of MPs, which provides for decreasing their MP allowances by 10 %, for a maximum period of three months.

TAXATION – Romanian finance minister, Anca Dragu, has reiterated that no major tax increases will be made during the mandate of the current technocratic cabinet. She has added that all changes made so far were aimed at reducing red tape in the fiscal system. Anca Dragu has also said the institution will no grant any type of financial amnesty. Also, by the recently approved budget revision, the budget deficit is maintained at 2.8% of the GDP, the minister has also said. Anca Dragu participated in the so-called “Hour of the Government, in the Chamber of Deputies on Monday. The ministers presence had been requested by Liberal MPs, who called for clarifications with respect to the changes brought to the Fiscal Code and the prospective instatement of fiscal amnesty.

FEAST OF MUSIC– RadiRo Festival, the only large-scale European
event exclusively devoted to radio orchestras, continued on Monday with a
concert given by the National Radio Orchestra conducted by Cristian Macelaru.
The soloist was the highly acclaimed cello player Razvan Suma, who was
accompanied by the Academic Choir and the Radio Children’s Choir. They
performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana,
one of the best known works of the last century. The festival, organised by
Radio Romania, comes to an end on
Saturday, October 1, and the concerts will also be aired live in the European
Broadcasting Union network and the Asia-Pacific platform of public and private
radio broadcasters.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, WTA no.5, on Monday qualified to the eighth finals of the Wuhan Open in China, with 2.5 million dollars in prize money up for grabs. Halep secured qualification, after her opponent and co-national, Irina Begu (WTA no.24) abandoned the match in the second set. This is the fifth match played by the two Romanian players, with Halep winning the four previous matches. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

26 September 2016
September 26, 2016

DEFENCE – In Bucharest, the Supreme Defence Council is to convene on Tuesday. The agenda includes topics like the implementation of the decisions made in the NATO Summit, which affect Romania, the Presidents spokesman announced on Monday. Another topic on the agenda is the state of the healthcare system in Romania. The previous meeting of the Supreme Defence Council was held in late July, two weeks after the NATO Summit in Warsaw.

PROTEST – The management of the National Penitentiary Agency announced the institution took note of the demands of trade unions in the penitentiary system, but warned that employees cannot resort to strikes or voluntary suspension of work, although they may organise other forms of protest permitted by law. Prison staff in Romania initiated open-ended protest actions around the country on Monday. They demand, among other things, an improvement in working standards, addressing salary imbalances and a reduction of the personnel shortage, currently put at nearly 8,000 people. The unionists say they will no longer work extra hours, which in their opinion would lead to blocking prison activity. The Justice Minister, Raluca Prună, is to have talks today with employees of the National Penitentiary Agency.

AFGHANISTAN – The condition of the 4 Romanian troops wounded on Sunday during a mission in Afghanistan is improving, the authorities in Bucharest have announced. The military were part of the White Sharks Battalion, which ensures the protection of the military base in Kandahar and assists the Afghan security forces. They were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off during their patrol mission, and were taken to the army base hospital in Kandahar.

RADIRO – RadiRo Festival, the only large-scale European event exclusively devoted to radio orchestras, continues today with a concert given by the National Radio Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru. The soloist will be the highly acclaimed cello player Răzvan Suma, who will be accompanied by the Academic Choir and the Radio Childrens Choir. They will perform Carl Orffs Carmina Burana, one of the best known works of the last century. The festival, organised by Radio Romania, comes to an end on Saturday, October 1, and the concerts will also be aired live in the European Broadcasting Union network and the Asia-Pacific platform of public and private radio broadcasters.

MOLDOVA – The European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, will have meetings in Chişinău today with representatives of the authorities and the opposition. The main goal of the talks is to review the status of implementing specific reforms supported by the European Union. Special emphasis will be laid on the overview of the state of the country ahead of the elections, with a view to ensuring that the country meets its commitments to the OSCE and the Council of Europe during the presidential elections due on October 30.

SYRIA – The American Ambassador to the UN has launched a harsh attack at Russia, which supports the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. According to the US official “What Russia is sponsoring and doing is not counter-terrorism. It is barbarism. Russias actions were also condemned by the ambassadors of France and Great Britain, who emphasised that such actions should not go unpunished. Russia claims these attacks target terrorism and the people killed were terrorists or supporting terrorism. The Ambassador of Russia to the UN has warned that, because there are hundreds of armed groups in the region, peace is virtually impossible at this point in Syria. Clashes continued on Sunday in Aleppo, the countrys second-largest city, where government forces launched heavy attacks on Friday against the rebel-held areas. These were targeted by intensive bombing by Syrian and Russian aircraft.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

26 September 2016
September 25, 2016

MIGRATION – Romania is the second-largest contributor, after Germany, to FRONTEX missions, the Interior Minister Ioan-Dragoş Tudorache said at an international summit on “Migration along the Balkan Route held on Saturday in Vienna. In 2016, 365 Romanian border police took part in such missions. Until the end of the year, 14 border police troops will be part of a joint mission to support the Bulgarian authorities, in which EU countries have increased the resources deployed on Bulgarias land borders with Turkey and Serbia. On the sidelines of the meeting in Vienna, Minister Ioan-Dragoş Tudorache discussed with his Serbian counterpart Nebojsa Stefanovic aspects related to the cooperation on the common border with respect to migrant groups and to the need to implement the EU – Serbia readmission agreement. Bucharest reiterated its interest in organising joint Romanian-Serb border patrols as soon as possible. Attending the meeting in Vienna were EU member states and Western Balkan countries affected by the migration crisis over the past year, namely Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Hungary. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel pleaded for stepping up efforts to curb illegal migration.

PROTESTS – In Romania, penitentiary workers around the country will initiate protests on Monday, the head of a relevant trade union has announced. The demands include the improvement of working conditions, the employment of an adequate number of staff, addressing salary imbalances and the resignation of the Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna, accused of underperformance. The unionists claim the system needs another 8,000 employees.

RADIRO – The agenda of the International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, includes on Sunday a concert by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, which performs every year in Oslo during the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony. The orchestra, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, accompanies the pianist Vadym Kholodenko. RadiRo will come to an end on Saturday, October 1, and the concerts are broadcast live in the European Broadcasting Union and the Asia-Pacific platform of public and private radio broadcasters as well. Currently in its third edition, RadiRo is the only large-scale European event exclusively devoted to radio orchestras, and it is organised by Radio Romania.

BOSNIA – Bosnian Serbs vote today, in a referendum, on a proposal to keep January 9 as the national holiday, in spite of a ruling by Bosnias Supreme Court. The Court had ruled that the holiday discriminates between Bosnian Muslims and Catholics, which is why it ought to be changed. The BBC mentions that on January 9, 1992 the Serbs decided to create their own state within Bosnia – Republika Srpska – fuelling an ethnic conflict that left nearly 100,000 people dead.

SYRIA – The UN Security Council convenes today to discuss the military campaign of the Syrian government against the rebel-controlled Aleppo. The UK, France and the US called on Russia to persuade their Syrian allies to give up random bombings. The British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, hinted that last weeks deadly attack on a humanitarian convoy might have been a deliberate action of Russian aircraft, the BBC reports. Russias Foreign Minister, Serghei Lavrov, said that resuming a peace deal in Syria cannot be conditional only on unilateral concessions by his country, but requires a collective effort of all parties.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu (55 WTA), was defeated in three sets by Spains Lara Arruabarrena (90 WTA), in the final of the tournament in Seoul on Sunday. In the semi-finals of the competition, Lara Arruabarrena had beat another Romanian player, Patricia Ţig.

25 September 2016
September 19 – 25

The Romanian prime minister attends UN General Assembly
session

Romania fully acknowledges the joint responsibility for
managing the large refugee flow, said prime minister Dacian Ciolos at the UN
Summit for Refugees and Migrants. This was the first such summit held by the
United Nations, as part of its annual General Assembly meeting. In his address,
the Romanian prime minister pointed out that Bucharest would step up efforts to
meet global challenges like poverty, climate change, terrorism and conflicts, in
the spirit of international solidarity and joint responsibility. Dacian Ciolos
also spoke about Romania’s active contribution to the peacekeeping efforts,
saying that Romanian police and military troops are currently taking part in
peacekeeping operations. He also said his country was in favour of further
supporting the reconciliation process in the Middle East and explained that
Romania would continue to provide substantial political, diplomatic, financial
and human resources to maintaining regional and global stability.

The government issues report on
Romania’s economy

Right before leaving for the US, prime minister Dacian
Ciolos presented Parliament with a report on Romania’s economy. The economic
growth rate estimated for this year is 4.8%, as compared to an earlier forecast
of 4.2%. In short time it has been in power, Romania’s technocratic government
has tried to ensure an investment-friendly economic environment and an
efficient and transparent way of managing public funds. The 5.2% growth rate of
the first half of the year has translated into more jobs, a lower unemployment
rate and higher salaries, Dacian Ciolos also said. He announced that a state
aid scheme to support small and medium enterprises would be implemented by the
end of the year. The Government is also working on a reform of the social
security system and on tax facilities for those who invest in professional
training. In other economic news, the French carmaker Renault will move some
production of its Dacia Logan MCV model from its plant in Mioveni, southern
Romania, to the one in Tangiers, Morocco. This will free up capacity to build
more Duster cars, which are in high demand in Europe.

Romanians protest
against corruption in their country

Thousands of people protested on Thursday and Friday in
Bucharest and several other major cities across Romania against the Senate’s
decision to halt a manslaughter investigation targeting the former Interior
Minister Gabriel Oprea, after a police officer escorting him died in a motorcycle
accident. During the rally in Bucharest, protesters demanded justice and said
no one should be above the law. Early this week, the Senate voted against
lifting Gabriel Oprea’s parliamentary immunity. However, against the backdrop
of controversies over the result of the vote, on Friday, the former minister
announced he would step down from the position of Senator. Earlier, Romania’s
President, Klaus Iohannis, said that decisions like the one made by the Senate
in Oprea’s case proved that a parliamentary reform, with the renewal of the
current political class, was necessary.

Klaus Iohannis: In my opinion, we will not be able to
change things until we have untainted, dedicated people into Parliament. I do
not wish to be misunderstood. I have nothing against anybody, but in politics
whoever has a problem needs to understand that they cannot move on until that
matter is clarified.

Three babies die in measles epidemics

Parents’ refusal to have their children vaccinated
against measles and the irresponsible campaigns against child immunization have
had their consequences: according to official data released by the Healthcare
Ministry in Romania this week, 3 infants died and nearly 700 got sick in the
first 8 months of the year, as compared to only 7 confirmed cases and no deaths
last year. In other words, Romania is facing a measles epidemic. Consequently,
the Ministry announced it would continue to raise people’s awareness of the
benefits of vaccination.

Laurentiu Colintineanu: The various campaigns that have been
conducted are indeed a problem we cannot ignore and the Healthcare Ministry
intends to run an awareness raising campaign on the benefits of vaccination in
the very near future, in the next few weeks more precisely, because children’s
safety and health are a priority.

The most affected areas are the west and the central
part of Romania, but measles cases have been reported in over half of the
counties.

Timisoara is awarded title of European
capital of culture in 2021

Timisoara has been designated European Capital of
Culture in 2021 by an international jury. Upon learning the news, the mayor of
this western Romanian city, Nicolae Robu, described this a great teamwork
victory.

Nicolae Robu:
This is very, very exciting news for me. I’m also very happy, as I am sure all
my fellow citizens of Timisoara are. I would like to thank the local community
for the efforts they have made, the skills they put into the service of this
project and their unflinching support, because this is the victory of a team,
of a great team, namely community of Timisoara as a whole.

In separate cultural news, the only international
symphonic music festival devoted to radio orchestras, RadiRo started on Friday
in Bucharest. Hosted by Radio Romania, the 9-day long festival includes
performances by highly respected radio orchestras, conductors and soloists.

24 September 2016
Immunity and justice

On September 5th
Romanian senators and deputies returned to work after the summer holiday for a
last and brief session of the current Parliament ahead of the legislative
elections due on December 11th. It is not only senators and deputies
that got back to work, but also the most fearful enemies of political
corruption in Romania: the anti-corruption prosecutors and civil rights
militants. Thousands of people protested on Thursday in front of the Parliament
headquarters in Bucharest and several other Romanian cities against the
Senate’s decision to reject the request of the National Anti-Corruption
Directorate (DNA) to start the prosecution of senator Gabriel Oprea. This is a
political vote that obstructs justice, the DNA chief, Laura Codruta Kovesi
said about the senators’ vote.

A former deputy prime minister and interior minister in Victor
Ponta’s cabinet, Oprea is accused of manslaughter over the death of a
policeman, Bogdan Gigina. The latter died last year in a motorcycle accident
while he was providing official police escort for Oprea. According to the DNA,
Oprea was not entitled to official police escort at the time, given that he was
believed to be making a personal trip.

Legal experts and pundits alike say that the investigators’
accusations are rather unsubstantial, and argue that Oprea, who is being
investigated in several other more serious criminal cases, does not necessarily
face a conviction in the dead policeman case. Here’s what protesters told Radio
Romania:

We want justice, not immunity. Unfortunately, we are governed by
MPs who have immunity and who do nothing but steal from us and leave us dirt
poor. How much longer are we to tolerate this? Laws are being broken and they
apply differently to different people. This is what I told my child who asked
me why we have come here to protest. By blocking a criminal investigation,
Parliament have showed us just how much they despise justice and family. We are
not accusing anyone. It’s not for us to apply labels, we are simply saying they
should let the prosecutors go to the judges and let justice run its course.

Thursday’s large-scale
protests were similar to those in November 2015 when the coalition government
headed by the Social-Democrat Victor Ponta resigned under the pressure of
anti-corruption rallies staged across the country. Less than three months ahead
of the parliamentary elections, the Romanian political class seems to have got
the message. President Klaus Iohannis has warned that a reassessment of the
parliamentary and also presidential immunity system is needed. The National
Liberal Party has requested that the Senate’s vote on Oprea’s immunity be
resumed and the Social Democratic Party has agreed. In a message on the social
media Oprea himself said he would ask for the DNA’s request to be approved by
the Senate. He also said he would ask his colleagues to approve the lifting of
his parliamentary immunity so that he could prove he was not hiding from
justice and that he considered himself innocent. It is uncertain, however, if
parliamentary procedures allow for the vote to be resumed.

23 September 2016