Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian Constitution

  • The concept of family to be revised

    The concept of family to be revised

    The family is based on the freely consented marriage between a man and a woman, on their equal rights and on the parents’ right and duty to ensure their children’s upbringing. This is the provision included in the citizens’ initiative aimed at revising the Constitution and thus redefine the concept of family. The bill was endorsed on Tuesday by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, with an overwhelming majority: 232 votes in favour, 22 against and 13 abstentions. Therefore, the bill got the 2 thirds it needs in order to be adopted.



    This initiative, supported last year by 3 million citizen signatures, was submitted to Parliament by the Coalition for Family. The main revision refers to changing the word ‘spouses’ with the phrase ‘man and woman’. Holding a popular vote on this issue would create dissensions in society, say some MPs with the Save Romania Union, who are opposed to a referendum on the matter.



    Here is Dan Barna, an MP member of the Save Romania Union: “Is traditional family a major value of our society? Undoubtedly yes. Is tolerance and respecting minorities an important value for our society? Undoubtedly yes. So, let’s be honest and look into each others’ eyes! This referendum would force Romanian citizens to render one value more relevant, to the detriment of the other.”



    In another move, Senator Varujan Vosganian, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, says the initiative is not against somebody and is by no means an act of intolerance. Varujan Vosganian: “I have never thought that the idea of maternity blended with that of paternity could be a sign of intolerance. In fact, this is what humanity has been built on. This is what our traditional society has been built on. Saying that into a family one child should call one parent mother, and the other one father is not against any person and their orientations. Under the Constitution, anybody is free to live as they want, according to their own skills and affinities.”



    The opposition National Liberal Party has announced it will file its own amendments to the bill, while the Social Democrat Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has stated that a debate on this citizens’ initiative is very important. The Romanian people will decide through vote, the Prime Minister said. If the Senate says yes to the proposed amendments too, a referendum will be held within 30 days since endorsement.

  • November 25, 2016 UPDATE

    November 25, 2016 UPDATE




























    CONSTITUTION On November 25th Romanians
    celebrated 150 years since the adoption of the 1866 Constitution and 25
    years since the adoption of the 1991 Constitution. Throughout its history, the fundamental law has been revised several times. The first Constitution,
    adopted in 1866, stipulated for the first time the indivisible
    character of the Romanian state, which from then on was officially called
    Romania. The Constitution of 1923 was dubbed the country’s first democratic
    Constitution, but another one was adopted in 1948, when the communist
    regime took power and instated a totalitarian regime. The 1991 Constitution marked
    the country’s return to democracy. Romania is the first European country to
    have stipulated, in its Constitution, the right of national minorities to be
    represented in Parliament.






    UNITED NATIONS The United Nations’ International Day
    for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed on November 25 every
    year, is an occasion for governments, international organizations
    and NGOs to raise public awareness of violence against women. In Romania, three
    in ten women are victims of physical, verbal or psychological violence after
    the age of 15, according to a study published by the European Union Agency for
    Fundamental Rights based on data collected in 2014. 14 counties in Romania have
    no support services or shelters for women faced with domestic violence and, in
    small communities in particular, women don’t know what they can do when subject
    to aggression.






    STRIKE Lufthansa pilots have cancelled thousands of flights
    in an extended strike action. The airline has already grounded nearly 1,800
    flights since the strike began on Wednesday. It had originally been planned as
    a 24-hour walkout but it has been extended three times. Some 300,000 passengers
    have seen their travel plans disrupted. The strike has also affected flights to
    and from Bucharest. This is the pilots’ 14th strike in less than
    three years. They demand a 3.7% pay rise, but the company has only offered 2.5%.




    WARNING President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that
    Turkey might open its borders for refugees to stream into Europe as the European Parliament voted in favor of halting long-term membership talks with Ankara at a plenary
    session in Strasbourg on Thursday, amid concerns about the brutal crackdown on
    political dissidents since the failed coup in July. More than 110,000 people,
    including soldiers, academics, judges, journalists and Kurdish leaders, have
    been detained or dismissed over their alleged backing of the July 15 coup
    attempt. We recall that in March, Turkey made a landmark deal to stop
    illegal migration to Europe.






    HEALTH In Bucharest, the Prime Minister’s Control Team will
    make checks at the National Health Insurance Agency to find out what causes the many flaws in the health card system. The move has been triggered by repeated
    malfunctions in the system this year. The national health card
    system cost over 180 million euros and has been operational since last
    May. General practitioners and pharmacists, who are allowed to operate only
    based on health cards, have argued that the system gets blocked very often,
    causing huge problems and delays.




    FILM FESTIVAL The Horia Bernea
    Hall of the Romanian Peasant’s Museum in Bucharest is playing host to the
    Japanese Film Festival from Friday until Sunday, according to a communiqué
    issued by the Japanese Embassy in Bucharest. The five films screened at the
    festival are signed by the young but well-known Japanese directors Naoki Segi,
    Keisuke Toyoshima, Masaki Hamamoto, Keisuke Yoshida and Yukiko Mishima.








    HANDBALL On Saturday and Sunday, Romania’s national women’s handball
    team is taking part in the Carpati Trophy hosted by the city of Cluj-Napoca, in
    north-western Romania. Also participating in the competition are Hungary and
    the Netherlands. The Carpati Trophy is the last test ahead of the European
    Championship, to be held in Sweden between the 4th and the 18th
    of December. Romania is part of group D, alongside Norway, Russia and Croatia.







    FOOTBALL Thursday’s Europa League matches brought wins for the two Romanian
    teams playing in this competition. On home turf, Steaua defeated the Turkish
    side Osmanlispor 2-1, while Astra Giurgiu secured an away win against Austria
    Vienna, also 2-1, now having a good chance to advance to the Europa League
    round of last 32. In the other Group L fixture, FC Zurich drew at home against
    the Spanish side Villareal 1-all. Ahead of the last round, Osmanlispor are top
    the group table with 7 points, followed by FC Zurich, Villareal and Steaua,
    each with 6 points. On December 8 Steaua will travel to Spain for a game
    against Villareal, while Osmanlipsor take on FC Zurich in Ankara.