Radio România Internațional

Tag: rule

  • July 13, 2022 UPDATE

    July 13, 2022 UPDATE

    NATO The
    government of Romania approved Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession protocols,
    signed in Brussels on July 5. The accession of the 2 countries, which are firm
    supporters of the values of the Euro-Atlantic community and have substantial capacity
    to strengthen the Alliance, will be a valuable strategic benefit for NATO and
    implicitly for Romania, thanks to the security guarantees that it provides, reads
    a news release. The Chamber of Deputies Speaker Marcel Ciolacu announced a week
    ago that Parliament will complete the ratification process speedily, with a
    special Parliament sitting to be organised to this end. Ciolacu added that the illegal
    and unjustified war started by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has fundamentally
    altered security parameters.


    REPORT The European Commission recommends that Romania take measures
    to address the remaining concerns regarding the investigation and prosecution
    of offences in the judiciary and to make sure that the amendments to the
    justice laws consolidate the guarantees of judicial independence, including by
    means of reforms in the disciplinary rules for magistrates. These are some of
    the conclusions of a report on Romania’s compliance with the rule of law, made
    public on Wednesday. Brussels also calls on Bucharest to regulate lobby
    activities in Parliament and to address the operational challenges faced by the
    National Anti-Corruption Directorate, including in terms of recruiting new
    prosecutors. Another recommendation has to do with efficient public
    consultation before endorsing bills, enhanced transparency with respect to the
    funding of political parties, and the improvement of the norms and mechanisms
    to consolidate the editorial independence of public media. As far as the mass
    media are concerned, the European Commission warns that there is not enough
    transparency with respect to the broadcasting of content paid by political
    parties, with the exception of election campaigns, and journalists’ access to
    information remains difficult.


    COVID-19 Over 3,000 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported over
    the past 24 hours in Romania, 267 fewer than in the previous day, the health
    ministry announced on Wednesday. Overall, since the start of the pandemic,
    nearly 3 million coronavirus infections have been reported in Romania.


    REFUGEES According to the Romanian Border Police Inspectorate, 9,808 Ukrainian nationals
    crossed into Romania on Tuesday, a 10% drop compared to the previous day.
    Starting February 10, 2022, some 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens have entered
    Romania.


    WHISTLEBLOWERS The Constitutional Court of Romania Wednesday ruled against a notification
    submitted by USR party in opposition regarding the law on the protection of
    whistleblowers. USR claims the bill passed by the government considerably reduces
    the protection offered to people who report irregularities in public
    institutions and raises major obstacles in securing Recovery and Resilience
    (PNRR) funds. The notification mentions elements that come against the
    Constitution of Romania, including the violation of certain commitments Romania
    pledged to observe upon joining the EU and the lack of clarity and
    predictability of some provisions.


    JUDICIARY A cooperation agreement between the European Public
    Prosecutor’s Office and the General Prosecutor’s Office of the R. of Moldova
    was signed in Chişinăuon
    Wednesday by the heads of the 2 institutions, Laura Codruţa Kövesi and Dumitru Robu.
    The document is designed to facilitate the exchange of information and judicial
    cooperation in criminal matters. Dumitru Robu pointed out that a priority is to
    carry on investigations in corruption cases and financial offences against state
    assets. In turn, Laura Codruţa Kövesi said that the European Public Prosecutor’s
    Office would support the work of Moldova’s General
    Prosecutor’s Office as much as its powers would allow it. (AMP

  • July 20, 2021 UPDATE

    July 20, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 95 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in the last 24 hours out of 31,200 tests performed, the Strategic Communication Group reports. 3 related casualties have also been reported. 14 cases of infection were confirmed in the capital Bucharest, 7 in the county of Cluj and 6 in the counties of Iasi and Timis. 244 patients are hospitalised, 36 of them in intensive care. Authorities foresee a slightly growing number of infections in the forthcoming period. As regards the anti-Covid vaccination, more than 13,000 people got immunized in the past 24 hours, more than 65% of them with the first dose. 4,800 people opted for the Johnson&Johnson single-dose vaccine. 4.7 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated so far. In the capital city Bucharest, 47% of eligible residents over 12 years of age have received the vaccine. Romania will continue, both independently and at EU level, to donate or re-sell some vaccine doses. This week a new donation to the Republic of Moldova is scheduled, after batches sent previously to Serbia, Argentina and Vietnam.



    AIR FORCE DAY The Romanian Aviation and Air Force Day was marked, as every year, on 20 July, when St. Elijah, the protector of pilots, is celebrated. The Romanian Air Forces are a modern category of armed forces, with structures undergoing a process of consolidation of their operational capacity, President Klaus Iohannis said in a message on this occasion. The Air Forces have a major role in consolidating the countrys defence capability, being able to carry out complex missions of defending Romanias air space, to conduct long-distance air transport missions and rescue-evacuation missions at national and local level and to participate in. NATO missions, Iohannis also said. He emphasised that 20 July is also dedicated to civil aviation workers, who carry out difficult missions in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and who contribute to Romanias economic development and the progress of air sports. The Romanian Minister of Defence, Nicolae Ciuca, and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, participated in the military ceremony organised at the Air Heroes Monument in downtown Bucharest. During the ceremony, wreaths were laid in memory of the aviation heroes. The 74th PATRIOT Regiment, the tactical combat unit established on December 1, 2018, whose mission is to render operational the PATRIOT surface-to-air missile system, were handed the Battle Flag.



    JUSTICE Perceptions on the independence of the Romanian judicial system improved compared to previous years, but the shortage of human resources remains a concern, reads the European Commissions annual report on the rule of law in the Union, made public on Tuesday in Brussels. On the other hand, the document says the perception among experts and company executives is that corruption remains high in the public sector. According to the report, the endorsement of a new national anti-corruption strategy for 2021-2025 is a priority for the government, and the efficiency of investigations and penalties for medium and high-level corruption has improved. As regards media pluralism and freedom, the absence of specific guarantees for editorial independence and editorial standards continues to cause concern, while transparency regarding the stakeholders in media institutions is still incomplete.



    THEATRE The best stage shows in Romania in 2020 were awarded on Monday evening, at the UNITER Awards Gala. The show “Heart and other meat dishes, by Dan Coman, directed by Radu Afrim and produced by the Marin Sorescu National Theatre in Craiova was designated best play of the previous year. Carmen Lidia Vidu won the award for best direction, for Romanian Journal. 1989, produced by the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest. Razvan Vicoveanu, with the Regina Maria Theatre in Oradea, won the award for best lead actor, for the part of Ivan Alexandrovici Hlestakov. Emoke Cato was awarded for best actress. Actor Marcel Iures, stage designer Geta Medinschi, actress Ileana Ploscaru and theatre critic Ion Parhon received lifetime achievement awards.



    ROBOTICS Romanias team won the first place at the International Robotics Championship held in Chicago, the US, on July 16 and 17. In the final, the team made up of students from 13 of the best Romanian high schools defeated some of the best American teams and set a new world record in terms of points won. This is the first time after 1989 when a team from outside the US wins the first place at this competition.



    PANDEMIC Europe is the first region to reach 50 million confirmed coronavirus infection cases since the start of the pandemic. The substantially more contagious Delta variant is now the most widespread on the continent, generating a record-high increase in the number of daily new cases, with European countries reporting a combined one million new cases every 8 days. Nearly 1.3 million Europeans died of COVID-related complications. A spokesman for the French government announced the country is seeing the 4th wave of the epidemic, and a plan is being implementing to reduce new pressure on hospitals. The plan introduces a health permit required for access in cinemas and restaurants, and compulsory vaccination for healthcare staff. Israel announced the opening of borders to foreign tourists, originally scheduled for 1 August, will be postponed. At present foreigners are only allowed in the country based on a special permission from the authorities. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Lifting the CVM: an increasingly distant hope for Romania

    Lifting the CVM: an increasingly distant hope for Romania

    In a matter of weeks, the triumphalism of the current right-of-centre coalition government in Romania has been replaced by moderate pessimism at best.



    Just a month ago, the Liberal PM Florin Cîțu was boasting that, many years after it had been created, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism monitoring the Romanian judiciary could become history. The European Commission, Cîțu said at the time, supports its lifting towards the end of the year.



    Accusing his political opponents, the Social Democrats, of sideslips that had required keeping this safeguard measure in place, the new Cabinet felt their coming to power was a guarantee that things were moving in the right direction.



    “After 13 years in which Romania was subject to exceptional monitoring by the European Commission, with major steps back in 2018 and 2019, I trust our stepped up efforts in the coming period will lead to a normal and predictable functioning of the rule of law in Romania, deputy PM Dan Barna was saying in his turn, adding that the removal of the CVM was one of the key goals of the new government.



    A major blow came on the first day of this week from France: a report by the Committee on European Affairs of the French Senate regarding the rule of law in the EU indicates that lifting the CVM is premature as long as the objectives set by it have not been met.



    In Romanias case, these objectives include guaranteeing a more transparent and efficient judicial process, especially by strengthening and empowering the Higher Council of Magistrates; setting up an Integrity Agency able to make binding decisions leading to penalties; carrying on professional and impartial investigations into high-level corruption accusations, and additional measures to fight corruption, particularly in local administration.



    The French Senates committee also mentions that in its latest CVM report, the European Commission was warning that the reforms in Romania ground to a halt in 2017 and that the first months of 2019 were worrying in this respect. Subsequently, the Commission welcomed Bucharests willingness to revise its approach, but, the report also reads, progress cannot be achieved through political commitments alone.



    Finally, Paris believes the EU should be a role model in promoting and observing the rule of law, which it would like included among the priorities of the French presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

    The rule of law and the laws on the judiciary

    Several amendments to the laws on the judiciary, dating back to 2018 and 2019, continue to raise concern with respect to their impact on judicial independence, says the chapter on Romania in the first report on the rule of law in the EU made public by the European Commission.



    The document assesses 4 key areas: national justice systems, anticorruption legislation, mass media pluralism and freedom, as well as other institutional aspects related to checks and balances systems.



    Last April, a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the special law on corruption were passed by Parliament in an emergency procedure, but sparked wide-spread criticism and they were eventually ruled as unconstitutional in July. The task to bring the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in line with all decisions of the Constitutional Court remains pending. The legal uncertainty and the risks to the sustainability of the fight against corruption therefore remain, reads the report.



    The document also says Romania has a comprehensive national anti-corruption strategic framework based on the large participation of national and local institutional actors, providing for the voluntary involvement of a very large part of the public administration, including local government, and State-owned enterprises, as well as law enforcement, the prosecution service, the courts, and civil society.



    Although the Constitution provides that the adoption of government emergency orders is only possible in exceptional and motivated cases of urgency, successive governments have used GEOs to legislate in many areas, raising concerns regarding the quality of legislation, legal certainty and respect for the separation of powers, the report also says, mentioning that Romanian civil society is active in defending the rule of law.



    Also, the level of implementation of the national anti-corruption strategy has increased and preventive actions are being followed up both at national and at local level. At present, the document says, the Ministry of Justice is evaluating the strategy in view of designing the next one.



    On the very day the EC report was released in Brussels, in Bucharest the Justice Ministry initiated a public debate on proposed changes to the laws on the judiciary. The announcement was made by minister Cătălin Predoiu, who said these amendments ensure the implementation of European recommendations:



    Cătălin Predoiu: “[The amendments concern] strengthening the role of the Higher Council of Magistrates in the organisation of exams and competitions through the National Magistracy Institute, ensuring that magistrate selection is based on professional criteria and eliminating any possibility of entry into profession without an exam, scrapping early retirement schemes, strengthening the independence of prosecutors, reintroducing compulsory competitions for access to High Court judge posts, and the dismantling of the special section investigating offences in the judiciary.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)