Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian Justice Ministry

  • August 6, 2018 UPDATE

    August 6, 2018 UPDATE


    PROCEDURE – The Romanian Justice Ministry on Monday started again the procedure for the selection of the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, which will last until September 6. Candidates can apply until August 24. A similar procedure, carried out in July, produced no result, as all four candidacies were rejected by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. The chief-prosecutor position became vacant last month, when president Klaus Iohannis dismissed Laura Codruta Kovesi, in order to comply with a Constitutional Court ruling. The interim chief-prosecutor has been Anca Jurma, a former adviser to Ms. Kovesi.



    REACTION – The anti-Semitic graffiti that was painted on the Elie Wiesel Memorial House in Sighetu Marmatiei, in northern Romania, has been erased. The vandalization of the house where the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was born has been condemned by the Romanian Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Bucharest. The Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Ana Birchall has reacted too, writing on a social network that Antisemitism, discrimination and violence are manifestations of intolerance, which Romania has committed to combating, including when it held the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The Romanian police started an investigation into the matter.



    LABOUR – More than 55% of Romanians would like to work abroad, according to the most recent study conducted internationally by one of the most important Romanian online recruitment companies and the worlds biggest business consultant. Most of Romanians who want to work abroad are under 30 and have a university degree. The top ten countries where they would like to work are Germany, the UK, France, Switzerland, the US, Canada, Austria, Spain, Belgium and Italy. At the same time, Romania is among the top five countries preferred by respondents from Israel, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Norway, Greece or Qatar. Among the reasons why they would like to work abroad, Romanians have mentioned political instability in Romania, as well as the need for a better standard of living, access to better government and social services and better job opportunities.



    MOLDOVA – As of Monday, the Russian Federation has a new ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet republic with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population. The new ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, is a career diplomat and former head of department with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has thus replaced Farit Mukhametshin, who was called back home for exceeding the age limit for public office. The Russian publication “Kommmersant” reads that the change occurred after an unprecedented deterioration of the relations between Moldova and the Russian Federation. In March this year, three diplomats with the Russian Embassy in Chisinau were declared persona non grata, as a token of solidarity with Great Britain, in the Skripal case. In May last year, Chisinau had expelled another five diplomats, accused of espionage.



    FILM FESTIVAL – The village of Sfantu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta, south-eastern Romania, is hosting the 15th “Anonimul” International Independent Film Festival. Three Faces, the most recent film by the Iranian director Jafar Panahi, which won the award for best script at this years edition of the Cannes Film festival, opened the event, followed by Radu Judes “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians”, which is Romanias proposal for next years Academy Awards. 6 Romanian and foreign feature films and 26 short-reels have been selected for the official competition. Films awarded at international competitions this year will also be screened during the festival, followed by Q&A sessions with the production teams, public debates with film producers, critics and special guests. The Kazak director Emir Baigazin will this year be awarded the Anonimul Trophy for his contribution to the beauty of universal cinema.



    TENNIS – 6 Romanian female tennis players are taking part in the singles competition of the tournament in Montreal, with 2.8 million dollars in prize money. Simona Halep, worlds number one player, is first seed at the tournament, which she won before in 2016. She will play straight into the second round. Irina Begu, ranking 55th in the WTA classification will play on Tuesday against the Australian Ashleigh Barty. Sorana Cirstea will play against another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, Mihaela Buzarnescu against the Chinese Qiang Wang, and Ana Bogdan will take on Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

  • January 18, 2017 UPDATE

    January 18, 2017 UPDATE

    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) on Wednesday announced that it took note of the statements made recently by the pro-Russian President of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, during his visit to Russia. MAE sees Dodon’s statements as “inadequate and inconsistent with the political reality and the special relationship that Romania and the Republic of Moldova share”. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, “continuing the modernization and reform process as well as keeping up with the aspirations of all Moldovan citizens, require responsible actions and attitude.” On the other hand, according to MAE, “the EU accession of the former Soviet republic continues to be a top priority of Romania’s foreign policy”. Igor Dodon said, among other things, that “half of the current territory of Romania is Moldovan”.




    BILL – The Romanian Justice Ministry on Wednesday put up for public debate a draft emergency ordinance that establishes what categories of convicts will benefit from pardon. The document provides full pardon for inmates with prison sentences of up to five years, except for people convicted for violent crimes and corruption. Also, people over 60, pregnant women, mothers with children under five, and people with incurable diseases in terminal stages will have half of their sentences removed, regardless of the crimes they committed. According to the document, inmates who have committed a series of crimes included in the Criminal Code would not benefit from a full pardon. These include crimes against state security, murder, serious bodily injury, blows causing death, forgery, bribery, influence peddling, drug and human trafficking, prostitution, slavery, child trafficking and pornography, and fraud committed through electronic payment and information system, to name just a few. The Ministry of Justice says that these provisions are meant to solve the problem of overcrowded prisons in Romania. President Klaus Iohannis, and the heads of the prosecutors’ offices are against the bill.




    FOREIGN POLICY — The fundamental pillars of Romania’s foreign policy continue to be the consolidation of the Partnership with the United States and the consolidation of the EU and NATO, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday at a meeting with the foreign ambassadors accredited to Bucharest. He added that Bucharest should further be a pillar of stability and predictability in the region. The Romanian President also said that Romania should increase defence expenditure of up to 2% of the GDP, according to the commitments it had made. In another move, Klaus Iohannis reiterated Romania’s support for the Republic of Moldova’s European path. He stood for a Brexit that should defend the interests of the Romanians living in Britain. Other priorities of the Romanian foreign policy will be the fight against terrorism and illegal migration.




    IMF — A delegation of the International Monetary Fund, led by the head of the mission for Romania, Reza Baqir, on Wednesday started a one-week visit to Romania, to establish contact with the new government in Bucharest. The members of the mission are due to meet high representatives of the Finance Ministry and of the National Bank of Romania, the prime minister and other ministries who hold economy-related portfolios. The agenda of the talks will also cover issues related to the construction of the state budget for 2017. Currently, Romania doesn’t have a financing agreement underway with the IMF.





    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea qualified on Wednesday to the third round of Australian Open, the first Glrand Slem of the year, after defeating Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. Cirstea will next play against American Alison Riske on Friday. On Thursday, the first day of the women’s doubles, Begu and Lara Arruabarrena (Spain) will be up against the team made up of Louisa Chirico (US) and Elise Mertens (Belgium) while the team Raluca Olaru of Romania and Olga Savciuk of Ukraine will play against Naomi Osaka of Japan and Monica Puig of Porto Rico. In the men’s doubles, Romanians Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea, playing in different teams, qualified on Wednesday to the second round.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)