Reactions — The completion of the Revolution file and the submission of the indictment to court have generated various reactions from Romanian politicians. President Klaus Iohannis hailed the completion of the investigation in this file and its submission to court, considering it a very important step towards establishing the truth in this case. The opposition National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union party also hailed the prosecutor general’s announcement. The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said that the completion and submission to court of the revolution file after 30 years could be a good thing if the result is the punishment of culprits. On the other side of the political spectrum, the Social Democratic Party in the ruling coalition showed indignation at the fact that prosecutor Augustin Lazar, whom they suspect of collaboration with the former political police, is the one to send to court this controversial file. The president of the juridical committee in the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat Nicusor Halici, believes the truth about the events of December 1989 should have been found out earlier.
Luxembourg — The Eastern Partnership is, according to Romania, one of the most important policies at EU level, said Monday the Romanian foreign minister Teodor Melescanu at the end of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. One of the topics tackled by the participants was the situation in Afghanistan, since the EU wants to get more involved in finding a political solution to it. The Eastern Partnership was launched in 2009 with the purpose of consolidating political association and economic integration of 6 partner states from Eastern Europe and South Caucasus — Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus – that have partnership agreements with the EU and Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine that have already concluded association agreements.
Motion — The Romanian Senate postponed for Wednesday the debate and vote on a simple motion filed by the opposition Liberal Party and Save Romania Union party against justice minister Tudorel Toader. The vote had been scheduled for Monday but, due to the absence of several senators, the quorum could not be reached. The document signatories say the tensions that emerged within the justice system could be defused if the current justice minister stepped down. They also say that the coming into force of the modifications to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes through an emergency ordinance is impacting Romanias legal system, running against the recommendations of the European institutions. On March 20th, the Chamber of Deputies rejected another simple motion against the justice minister.
Vandalism — The Romanian government has condemned the recent acts of vandalism perpetrated in the Jewish cemetery in Husi (eastern Romania), following which many funerary monuments were destroyed, and reiterated its firm commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and the incitement to anti-Semitism. In the context of Romania’s holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, promoting the efficient fight against racism, intolerance, Xenophobia, populism and anti-Semitism and discouraging the hate speech is one of the central topics on Romania’s agenda for consolidating cohesion across the EU. Last week President Iohannis condemned the anti-Semitic gestures and actions of the past days and called on the competent authorities to take appropriate action to combat such actions. (update and translation by L. Simion)