Radio România Internațional

Tag: Public Ministry

  • June 19, 2018 UPDATE

    June 19, 2018 UPDATE


    JUSTICE LAWS – The Public Ministry has voiced concern over the way in which the Romanian Parliament endorsed a number of amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. According to the Public Ministry, the observations and proposals made by the Higher Council of the Magistracy and magistrates professional associations were not taken into consideration. The changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure were endorsed on Monday by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making chamber of parliament on this matter, after the Senate had passed it as well. 175 Deputies voted in favour and 78 against.



    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court of Romania rejected as ungrounded the notifications filed by the opposition National Liberal Party and the High Court of Cassation and Justice concerning changes to the law on the status of judges and prosecutors. In its notification, the High Court had stated that the phrasing was general and imprecise, leading in turn to the impossibility of applying the law. The Constitutional Court also rejected president Klaus Iohannis notification concerning changes to the referendum law. One of the claims was that the document included provisions concerning the initiation and procedural steps in revising the Constitution, which fall outside its competence.



    PRESIDENCY– President Klaus Iohannis had a meeting on Tuesday with the EU ambassadors to Bucharest, to discuss the forthcoming Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2019. According to a news release issued by the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis stated that a compromise solution for the multi-annual budget must be balanced and meet the new priorities of the Union, such as border protection, migration, the ERASMUS programme, innovation and defense, and keep a substantial level of funding for traditional policies such as cohesion and the common agricultural policy. The President also stressed Bucharests determination to support the efforts to resume the full implementation of the Schengen system, adding that the consolidation of the visa-free area cannot be completed without the full integration of Romania and Bulgaria.



    US-ROMANIA– Romanias deputy PM for strategic partnerships Ana Birchall had a meeting on Tuesday with the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell, as part of the 6th annual political meeting for Romania-US Strategic Dialogue. Ana Birchall emphasized Romanias interest in identifying and implementing new joint projects contributing to the development and strengthening of the Strategic Partnership with the US. She pointed out the huge potential in the fields of energy, IT and film industry. On the other hand, she requested the support of the American side for Romanias Visa Waiver application and thanked the US for its support to Romanias efforts to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. On Monday, in an address at the University of Bucharest, the American official said Romania made progress towards a strong judicial system and must not backtrack on it. The US official added that the US appreciated the resilience of the Black Sea countries, but also warned against the danger posed by the influence of Russia and China in the region.



    TALKS – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu held talks in Brussels on Tuesday with the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Gunther Oettinger and with the Commissioner for Research Carlos Moedas. During the meeting with Oettinger, Negrescu said that the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the first half of 2019, will make efforts to conclude in the best of conditions several European files. Also, the Romanian official assured Commissioner Moedas that Romania will pay special attention to research and innovation.



    CHINA – At a meeting in Beijing with the North-Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced hope that North Korea and the US would implement the conclusions of last weeks summit in Singapore. International agencies report that the Pyongyang regime wants Chinas support to have international economic sanctions eased, in exchange for promises of denuclearization. The visit is Kims third to China since March.



    FOOTBALL – Romanian football champions CFR Cluj on Tuesday found out their potential opponents in the second preliminary round of the Champions League, following the UEFA draw in Nyon, Switzerland. CFR Cluj will play against the winner of the match between the Swedish squad Malmo FF and the winner of the competitions qualifiers. On Wednesday, vice champion FCSB (former Steaua Bucharest) and Viitorul Constanta will find out their opponents in the Europa League. The Romanian cup winners CSU Craiova will play straight into the third preliminary round.




  • 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)