Radio România Internațional

Tag: Venice Commission

July 24, 2024 UPDATE

Diplomacy – Romania is a credible, involved and respected regional, European and international actor, a provider of security and stability, said the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, in the opening of the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, which takes place in Bucharest. He pleaded for the consolidation of the role and influence in the European Union and NATO and for the deepening of the strategic partnership with the US. About the partnership with the US, Iohannis said that it is an essential pillar of Romania’s foreign policy, that it has become more robust and acquired more substance. Regarding the relationship with the neighboring Republic of Moldova, Romania’s President showed that this represented a strategic priority, and bilateral cooperation reached “the highest level in history”. Also, Iohannis stated, Bucharest also promoted a constructive relationship with the Kyiv administration. Last but not least, the Romanian president stated that the accession to the Schengen Area also with the land borders, as well as the accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development remain priority objectives of the Romanian diplomacy.

Odobescu – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, reiterated, on Wednesday, that Romania remains a firm supporter of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine at the European level and emphasized that the two countries must continue the reforms necessary for European integration. She condemned the war waged by Russia in Ukraine and stated that the Republic of Moldova remains the state most affected by this war after Ukraine. ‘I reiterate that Romania firmly and steadfastly supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova within their internationally recognized borders’, Odobescu also said.

Venice Commission – Romania should complete the process initiated in view of taking into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the justice laws and of accelerating its efforts to ensure effective public consultations before the adoption of the legislation, the European Commission recommends in the annual report on the rule of law, published on Wednesday. Although some progress has been made in this area, the EC recommends Bucharest to continue its efforts to ensure adequate human resources for the justice system, taking into account European standards. Another recommendation is to take measures to ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of crimes in the judicial system, including acts of corruption. The EC recognizes, however, that Romania has made some progress in this regard. The Romanian Justice Minister, Alina Gorghiu, states that the report on the rule of law in Romania is the best so far. The main conclusion of the fifth edition of the Commission’s annual report on the rule of law in member countries is that they and the Union as a whole are much better prepared to detect, prevent and address emerging challenges, which contributes to the resilience of European democracies and supports mutual trust in the EU as well as the smooth functioning of the single market.

Alert – The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations issued, last night, a RO-ALERT message for the north of Tulcea county (south-east), informing the population about the possibility of objects falling from the sky on the territory near the border with Ukraine. The message was issued after the structures with the role of defense and border surveillance noticed several Russian drones, involved in attacks on the Ukrainian infrastructure, which were approaching the Romanian border. The Defense Ministry reported that, currently, its teams are continuing the search for possible remains of drones that have fallen on the national territory. The same source stated that two F-16 aircraft of the Romanian Air Force flew in the area to monitor the situation.

Meeting – The Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel on Wednesday expressed his conviction, in a joint press statement held together with the Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, that Romania’s place is in Schengen and that “controls must stop” at the border. Xavier Bettel mentioned, on the other hand, that he visited the Cincu military base (center), after a similar visit in September, to show the “support and solidarity” of the government towards the young people of Luxembourg. Minister Luminiţa Odobescu said, in turn, that Romania wants more substantial cooperation with the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, including in the field of the defense industry. She thanked for the presence of troops from Luxembourg on Romanian territory as part of strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense posture on the Eastern Flank and the Black Sea. (LS)

24 July 2024
Steps towards EU-29 enlargement

Candidates
since the summer of last year, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova obtained in
early November the recommendation from the European Commission regarding the
start of EU accession negotiations. The news was received with joy by the
pro-Western leaders of the two former Soviet countries, but there are still
steps to be taken before integration. The first of these is related to the
decision the European Council made in mid November. In order to adopt the
recommendation made by the Commission, all states must agree, and some, such as
Hungary, have already questioned the appropriateness of this approach.

Then,
if they manage to successfully get through December, in March 2024 the European
Commission will present a new report, analyzing the progress made by Ukraine
and the Republic of Moldova towards the targets they assumed. Now, in the case
of Ukraine, the Commission is recommending that negotiations begin once Kyiv
meets the remaining conditions on fighting corruption and strengthening
minority protection standards. In the case of the Republic of Moldova, these
conditions refer to the fight against corruption and the improvement of
financial regulations. Ukraine will be in the European Union. And we will
achieve this, in particular, by transforming our country – an internal
transformation that is certainly in the interest of our people. For Ukraine, the
EU means economic security and social stability, and for the EU Ukraine means a
strengthening of the entire community, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky.

The decision made by
the European Commission encourages us and empowers us to continue the things we
started: to make Moldova stronger, a state that ensures peace at home and
contributes to regional security and takes care of the well-being of its
citizens. It’s a lot of work. The path we have chosen to walk is full of
challenges. We are not afraid of our work, and our goal is for Moldova to be
ready to join the EU by 2030, said the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

How feasible 2030 is as
deadline for accession depends on each individual country, says university professor and former foreign
minister Adrian Cioroianu:

The calendar is
set as a guideline, obviously there is no obligation on the part of anyone for
2030 to be the end point, but we are talking about an encouragement. On the
other hand, it is the EU’s way of keeping these countries close, of giving them
a purpose. Look at the real political difficulties the Republic of Moldova is
facing, at every voting session we get nervous given the political landscape of
the country. Look at what is happening in Serbia, look at the difficulty of
settling this dispute and this trauma that Serbs still feel in their
relationship with Kosovo, etc. These countries must be given a purpose. The
beginning of the journey speaks rather of an intention and of a promise in a
mutual way. The EU recognizes that it needs these states, but these states must
also realize that they can model themselves according to European principles
and values. And of course we want in the end to be more alike than different,
even if even within the EU the differences persist, but let’s hope that similarities
outnumber differences.

Complying with the
recommendations of the Venice Commission is on Ukraine’s to-do list. Are the
authorities in Kyiv determined to follow these recommendations? Here is journalist
Marin Gherman, director of the Institute of Political Studies and Social
Capital in Chernivtsi, attempting an answer:

From my point of
view, there will be a series of attempts by Kyiv, especially concerning the
recommendations regarding the legislation in the field of national minorities,
not to respect them. We also have high-level statements regarding these
recommendations. Why? Because there is opposition in the Ukrainian
parliamentary environment to the idea of changing the legislation in the
field of national minorities, seeing this issue strictly through the war
glasses in Ukraine, and regarding the Russian minority. It is a painful
subject, it is the war with Russia, the full-scale invasion by Russia, and when
the question of the Ukrainian minorities is raised, most of them think of the
Russians, of Russification, of everything that means war. And it is very
difficult for the Ukrainian political elite to escape this vision.

Ukraine also needs a
service reform, says Marin Gherman, and there are also problems in the fight
against corruption. On the other hand, what will happen in Transnistria, as
Chisinau has no control over this separatist region? Does Chisinau undertake to
implement a community acquis throughout the territory of the Republic of
Moldova? Iulian Groza, executive director of the Institute
for European Policies and Reforms in Chisinau says yes:

Yes. And we have
a precedent – the Association Agreement with the EU. When it was concluded it
was agreed that it would be applied throughout the country. The most important
part of the agreement, dealing with trade, entered into force two years later
after the provisional entry. Today, thanks to access to the EU market, the
Transnistrian region is much more strongly anchored in the European space. And
today, in the context of the war and the upheavals in the region, precisely
this is an important counterbalancing element of Russia’s influence in the
Transnistrian region.

The
2023 enlargement package presented by the European Commission provides a
detailed assessment of the current state and the progress made not only by
Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, but also by the other aspirants to
accession: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia
, Serbia, Turkey and Georgia , the
latter obtaining, moreover, the status of a candidate country. (MI)

1 December 2023
Justice Laws: constitutional

Though disliked by many,
the Constitutional Court remains the implacable arbiter of Romanian political
life. In casual terms, its decisions, even if debated, are enforced. On
Wednesday, it was the turn of the opposition in the Romanian Parliament to
comply with its rule and swallow the bitter pill of referrals rejected by the
judges of the Court. Both the Save Romania Union (USR, center-right) and the Alliance for the
Union of Romanians (AUR, nationalist), as well as the Ombudsman had notified
the Court about elements of unconstitutionality regarding the three Justice
laws adopted in the Parliament dominated by the PSD-PNL-UDMR government
coalition.

However, the Court
decided that the Law on the status of judges and prosecutors, the Law on
judicial organization and the Law on the Superior Council of Magistracy are all
constitutional. The interim Speaker of the Senate, the Liberal Alina Gorghiu,
wrote on social media that the CCR’s decision was correct and natural, and
the laws will be submitted for promulgation. She believes that, in this way, normality
will be resumed. Alina Gorghiu has stressed that Romania’s goal is, at present,
the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, through which
Brussels has been monitoring the functioning of the rule of law in Romania
since its accession to the European Union in 2007. She has also said that Romania’s
accession to the Schengen free movement area also depends on removing this
mechanism.

The procedures regarding
the adoption of the three laws, Alina Gorghiu also claims, were carried out in
coordination with the European Commission, and correcting the justice legislation
was also an objective included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which
the Romanian Government and Brussels agreed upon together.

The Save Romania Union,
however, claims that the new laws will do a lot of harm. According to the
former Justice Minister Stelian Ion, these are extremely bad and harmful laws,
which take us back to the period before admission to the European Union, when
the authoritarian left-wing regime of Prime Minister Adrian Năstase had tried
to subordinate the magistrates and stop the anti-corruption fight.The decision of the
Constitutional Court to reject the notifications submitted by the USR, in the
absence of an opinion from the Venice Commission, proves that the CCR has become
a simple political tool, the former minister also said.

In turn, the AUR
spokesperson, Dan Tănasă, has said that not sanctioning the judges who do not
comply with the decisions of the CCR renders the decisions devoid of their
mandatory nature. The Ombudsman too believes that, in addition to the forms of
manifestation of the right of association, the new legislation in the field
foresees an expansion of the area of functions that can be taken by judges
and prosecutors, which exceeds the activity of doing justice. The opposition
calls on President Klaus Iohannis not to
promulgate the justice laws in their current form and to wait for the opinion
of the Venice Commission. (MI)

10 November 2022
July 6, 2021

Covid RO ▪ 51 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been registered in the last 24 hours, out of over 27,800 tests, the Strategic Communication Group reported. Also, 4 people lost their lives due to COVID-19 during the same period. Most newly confirmed cases were registered in Cluj – 6 and Bucharest – 4, while no new cases were registered in 21 counties. The entire territory of Romania is in the green scenario, the highest incidence per thousand inhabitants being reported in the counties of Prahova – 0.11, Ilfov and Dolj – 0.07. 392 infected people are still in hospital, of whom 61 in intensive care. At the same time, 19,677 people are in home quarantine and 37 in institutionalized quarantine, while 1,853 are in home isolation and 705, in institutionalized isolation. Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign in Romania, on December 27, 2020, almost 4.6 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Coronavirus world ▪ Concern is growing in several European countries over the spread of the new Indian ‘Delta’ variant of the SARS-COV-2 virus. Consequently appeals for immunization have intensified, immunization being mandatory for certain categories of employees. According to Radio Romania’s correspondents, in Spain the contamination incidence exceeded 640 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants in the 20-29 age group, but no serious cases were reported. In France, the Health Minister warned of a new rise in the number of newly detected cases. As everywhere in Europe, France is debating the idea of imposing compulsory vaccination on medical and healthcare staff from hospitals and senior citizen centers, where the vaccination level is below expectations. Worldwide, nearly 185 million cases of coronavirus infection have been reported and more than 4 million people have died, according to wordlmeters.info. Most contamination cases and deaths have been recorded in the United States, India and Brazil.

Justice ▪ Romanian politicians in power and opposition have reacted to the Venice Commission’s opinion according to which it is appropriate to disband the Special Section to investigate crimes committed by magistrates (SIIJ). The opinion of the Venice Commission is not surprising, as the setting up of a section to investigate the criminal offenses committed by magistrates had been criticized from the very beginning by all of the European institutions. Dealing with corruption cases should be the responsibility of the National Anticorruption Directorate, and the amendments brought to the law should be eliminated — the USR PLUS Alliance (in the ruling coalition) says. They hope that the draft law initiated by the Justice Minister, Stelian Ion, will be adopted by Parliament as soon as possible. The opinion of the Venice Commission confirms that the Liberals move regarding the elimination of super-immunity for magistrates was right, the president of the Senate’s legal commission, the Liberal Iulia Scântei, also said. The opposition Social Democratic Party PSD continues to be opposed to any change in the justice laws, in the absence of a large consensus among magistrates over the protection of judges against pressure and abuse of any kind. The Social Democrats want the magistrates’ position to be respected.

Football ▪ The Romanian football champions, CFR Cluj, is meeting, this evening, on home ground, the Bosnian team Borac Banja Luka, in the first leg of the Champions League first preliminary round. Also today, Italy and Spain play the first semifinal of the European Football Championship, which will be followed, on Wednesday, by the match pitting England against Denmark. Both semi-finals and the final will be played in London. Bucharest hosted four games from the final tournament, three in the groups stage and one in the Round of 16. After a mediocre run in the preliminaries, Romania failed to qualify for the EURO. In exchange, Romanias Under-23 team has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Romania is playing in Group B and will face Honduras on July 22, South Korea on July 25 and New Zealand on July 28. The Romanian footballers have qualified for the Olympics after having reached the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2019, hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th also in Tokyo. Before 1964, Romania had participated only in the European Championships of Paris in 1924 and of Helsinki in 1952.

Visit ▪ The Bulgarian Chief of the Defense, Admiral Emil Eftimov, is paying an official visit to Romania as of Tuesday until Thursday, at the invitation of his Romanian counterpart, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu. According to the Romania Defense Ministry, the talks of military officials will focus on increasing cooperation through joint participation in a series of regional initiatives and exercises in bilateral and multinational formats, as well as on strengthening, in the Black Sea region, the measures within the NATO Enhanced Presence. The program includes meetings at the headquarters of the South-East Multinational Brigade in Craiova (southwest), the South-East Multinational Division in Bucharest, the 8th Tactical Operative Missiles and 282nd Armored Brigades in Focsani (east) and the 74th PATRIOT Regiment in Mihai Bravu. The visit also includes meetings of Admiral Emil Eftimov with the Bulgarian military in the allied structures deployed in Romania. (LS)

6 July 2021
April 25, 2019 UPDATE

REFERENDUM – President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday signed the decree
on the organization of a referendum concurrently with the European Parliament
election on May 26. The two questions will be: Do you agree with forbidding
amnesty and pardons for corruption-related offences? Do you agree with
forbidding the Government to pass emergency decrees in the field of corruption
crimes, correlated with extending the right to challenge emergency decrees at
the Constitutional Court? In a press conference the president urged Romanians
to vote in the referendum, saying its result will count. Klaus Iohannis also
said the referendum is of major importance and could change Romania. The
President’s undertaking comes amidst numerous legislative changes in the
judiciary promoted by the ruling coalition, which have sparked controversy and
attracted criticism from Romania’s European partners.

CAMPAIGN – The campaign for the European
Parliament election is to kick off on Saturday and end on May 25. Bucharest
will send to Brussels 33 MEPs, one more than before if Britain is going to
leave the bloc. Former prime ministers, a president, several ministers, MEPs
and mayors are among the candidates. Romania’s number one ruling party the
Social-Democratic Party is favorite in the election race together with the main
opposition party the National Liberal Party. They are followed by the
opposition Save Romania-Plus alliance and ProRomania party as well as by the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, also part of the country’s ruling
coalition. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the People’s Movement
Party also stand chances to win seats in the European Parliament.

JUDICIARY – A delegation of the Venice
Commission on Thursday met in Bucharest with representatives of Parliament’s
special committee on the justice laws to discuss the emergency decrees in the
field. The president of the committee, Social-Democrat Robert Cazanciuc, said
at the end of the meeting that he explained to the commission the decrees were
passed to solve certain deadlocks. In turn, the Save Romania Union in
opposition said Commission representatives warned that passing emergency
decrees could bring new emergencies and the fact that the government is
circumventing Parliament debate is a very serious matter that should not be
tolerated. During his meeting with the Venice Commission on Wednesday,
President Iohannis said the law modifying the criminal codes passed by
Parliament is a detrimental way of passing legislation that creates instability
in the system. The European Commission has announced it would closely analyze
the modifications, insisting Romania must immediately resume its efforts to
reform the judiciary.

POPE FRANCIS -The Holy See has published a detailed schedule of Pope Francis’
visit to Romania. The Pontiff is due to arrive in Romania on May 31st
and to be meeting president Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila,
representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps. The Pope is expected
to meet Romanian patriarch Daniel and deliver a speech in front of the
Permanent Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Pope Francis and Patriarch
Daniel will be praying together in the People’s Salvation Cathedral. The Pope’s
first day in Romania will end with a mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in
Bucharest. On June 1st the Pope will celebrate a mass at Sumuleu
Ciuc, central Romania, and will next go to Iasi, in northern Romania for a
visit to the local cathedral and a speech at the Palace of Culture Family and
Youth. On June 2nd in Blaj, Pope Francis will deliver a mass and
beatify seven martyr bishops and meet the local Roma community. The Pontiff
will next go to Sibiu in central Romania and board a plane to Rome. Over 110
thousand people have enlisted to participate in the mass at Sumuleu Ciuc. The
list includes Roman-Catholic believers from all over the world.

EUROBAROMETER – Less than 35% of Europeans
were aware in February that the European Parliament election would be held in
May, the Spring Eurobarometer shows. According to the study, most EU citizens
support their countries’ EU membership. 68% of respondents said they benefited
from EU membership overall, tantamount to the highest response rate in 1983.
61% of respondents said EU membership is a good thing. The survey reveals
citizens’ uncertainty is on the wane, also due to the amount of challenges the
EU has faced in recent years. On the other hand, half of EU citizens believe
things are headed in the wrong direction, either in the EU or in their home
country. Half of citizens also believe their voice doesn’t matter at EU level,
the study also shows.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

25 April 2019
April 24, 2019 UPDATE

Venice Commission — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday met in Bucharest with a Venice Commission delegation. He considers that the modification of the criminal and criminal procedure codes, passed by Parliament on Wednesday, represented bad lawmaking which deliberately creates instability within the justice system. The president highlighted that, despite the Constitutional Court identifying many irregularities in the two draft laws for the modification of the codes, Parliament and the Social Democrats once again ignored the Court’s decisions and the recommendations of the opposition and of the magistrates’ associations, reviewing the bills in the same superficial, non-transparent manner. Also on Wednesday the Venice Commission delegation met with the outgoing justice minister Tudorel Toader to discuss aspects related to the justice laws, with focus on the 5 emergency decrees initiated by the line ministry and passed in the last 7 months. Toader presented the legislative and institutional context that entailed changes and amendments to the 3 justice laws as well as the reasons underlying the adoption of some of the legislative norms included in the 5 decrees.

Resignation — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday signed the decrees on the resignation of justice minister Tudorel Toader, the minister of European funds Rovana Plumb and the minister for the Romanians abroad Natalia Intotero and on appointing interim ministers to replace them. The vice prime minister Ana Birchal will take over the justice portfolio, the finance minister Eugen Teodorovici will take over the ministry of European funds and the minister for the business, trade and entrepreneurship Ștefan-Radu Oprea will take over the ministry for the Romanians abroad. On Tuesday president Iohannis rejected the proposals made by the Social Democrats, the main party in the ruling coalition, for the three vacancies, claiming that the respective persons did not meet the job requirements.

Land Forces — On the occasion of the Land Forces Day and of the Easter celebrations the Romanian defence minister Gabriel Leş and the chief of staff of the Romanian Army general Nicolae Ciucă held talks on Wednesday, in a videoconference, with the Romanian soldiers deployed in the theatres of operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Poland. Minster Leş thanked the Romanian military for doing their duty and wished them happy celebrations. The Romanian military presented the security situation in their area of responsibility and the progress of their missions. According to a Defence Ministry communiqué in 2019 the Romanian Army contributes more than 690 soldiers to the NATO Resolute Support in Afghanistan, and another 250 are deployed in theatres of operations in other regions under NATO, EU, UN and OSCE command.

Tennis — The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecău/Jean-Julien Rojer will take on Thursday the pair Jamie Murray (UK)/Bruno Soares (Brazil/N.2) in the quarterfinals of the ATP tennis tournament of Barcelona, which has total prizes of more than 2.6 million Euros. On Tuesday Tecău/ Rojer defeated 2-0 the Spanish pair David Marrero/Fernando Verdasco. The pair Jamie Murray (UK)/Bruno Soares (Brazil) won, 2-1, the match against the pair Ivan Dodig (Croatia)/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France). (translation and update by L. Simion)

24 April 2019
November 7, 2018 UPDATE

Doha — The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila on Wednesday presided over an economic forum held in Doha, on the occasion of her official visit to Qatar. In this context, the PM presented the main projects and business opportunities that can be implemented by means of public-private partnerships as well as the intention of the Romanian authorities to cooperate more closely with businesspeople from Qatar. PM Dancila encouraged them to come and invest in Romania in key sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and healthcare. She highlighted Romania’s geostrategic position and economic growth reported in the past years.

Cooperation — The European company Airbus and the Romanian company IAR Ghimbav have signed a contract of exclusive cooperation for a period of 15 years for the production, in Romania, of the twin-engine multirole helicopter H215M. Airbus and IAR have been, for more than a decade, partners in the Airbus Helicopters Romania company, a successful center specializing in maintenance and repair work services for a wide range of civil and military helicopters from Romania and other countries. Export contracts account for 75% of the Airbus Helicopters Romania’s turnover. In 2016, Ghimbav saw the inauguration of the Airbus Helicopters Industries factory specialized in the production of H215M helicopters. IAR, a company with majority state-owned assets, is one of Romania’s leaders in the aeronautics field, being specialized in the production and maintenance of helicopters. Airbus is a world leader in aeronautics and services in the space domain.

CCR — Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) on Wednesday admitted, with a majority of votes, the government’s notification regarding the existence of a juridical conflict of a constitutional nature between Parliament and the High Court of Cassation and Justice regarding the setting up of panels of judges. Thus, the High Court of Cassation and Justice is bound to take the necessary measures, as soon as possible, to appoint all the 5 members of the panels by drawing of lots, not only 4 judges as has happened since 2014. The panels of 5 judges with the High Court judging criminal cases are dealing with important cases in which politicians such as the PSD leader L. Dragnea, the leader of ALDE C. P. Tariceanu and the former head of the government’s general secretariat, Toni Grebla, a former judge with the Constitutional Court are also involved. Following the decision of the CCR many cases handled by the High Court of Cassation and Justice might be re-judged from scratch.

Washington — The Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan will be the US on Thursday and Friday to participate in the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting. At this high level meeting, which is also going to be attended by the US Attorney General, the Romanian minister will present the home affairs priorities of Romania’s future presidency of the EU Council. The meeting is organized by the Austrian presidency of the EU Council in Washington DC, according to a preset timetable, namely in the first half of the year, the venue of the meeting is in the state holding the presidency of the EU Council, while in the second half of the year, the venue is in the US capital. The EU is represented in Washington by the interior and justice ministers of the Austrian presidency of the EU Council, by Romania’s delegation, a country that will take over the EU Council presidency on January 1, 2019 and by the EU Commissioners for migration, home affairs and security.

Ashgabat — The Romanian athlete Nicolae Onica on Wednesday won the bronze medal in the total event, the 96 kg category, at the World Weightlifting Championships held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. In the final classification he was outperformed by Iranian Sohran Moradi and Chinese Tao Tian. (new translated and updated by L. Simion)

7 November 2018
Political Consultations on the Justice Laws

On Wednesday, just one day after a European Parliament address in which he vowed that Romania respects the rule of law and that the fight against corruption will carry on, President Klaus Iohannis held consultations with the parliamentary parties on a topic that dominates the public agenda in Romania: the controversial changes that the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, backed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, has operated on the justice laws.

Previously, the Venice Commission had released a report which found that some major elements introduced by the laws on the status of judges and prosecutors, on the organisation of courts and on the Higher Council of Magistracy, might undermine the independence of the Romanian magistrates and public confidence in the judicial system.

This is precisely why the President believes these laws have to be reconsidered, modernised and improved. He argues that the law-making cycle must be resumed and urges politicians to take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Klaus Iohannis: “As far as the political class is concerned, we clearly need a pact, an agreement between parliamentary parties in order to resume this legislation cycle and improve these laws. We have the final opinion of the Venice Commission, these recommendations made by the Commission must be taken very, very seriously.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, opposes the resumption of the law-making process. He says an emergency order has already been tabled by the Justice Minister, which brings the necessary corrections to the 3 laws.

Liviu Dragnea: “Order no. 92 has been sent to parliament and is already included in the parliamentary agenda. This order, which incorporates a large part of the recommendations of the Venice Commission, has been drafted by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, following the meetings he had in Strasbourg with Venice Commission experts.

The Social Democrats ally, ALDE leader Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, believes that a parliamentary pact on the justice laws could be useful, if based on the principle of protecting individual rights and freedoms.

The National Liberal Party, in opposition, shares the opinion of President Iohannis, says the Liberal president Ludovic Orban:

Ludovic Orban: “In resuming the debates, we must pay heed to the recommendations made by the Venice Commission, the rulings of the Constitutional Court concerning the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code. We should also take into account all the treaties that Romania has signed and the countrys international obligations.

Whereas Save Romania Union, also in Opposition, announces that it tabled a bill in Parliament that transposes the recommendations of the Venice Commission, the Peoples Movement party takes a radical view on the matter and wants the removal of this Cabinet, which has lost all credibility as far as the justice laws are concerned. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania says it is open to any talks on the justice laws, provided that the independence of the judiciary is not affected, while the other ethnic minorities represented in parliament plead for the creation of a special committee to harmonise the views of the Constitutional Court and of the Venice Commission.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

25 October 2018
October 24, 2018

CONSULTATIONS – Romanian parliamentary parties are today holding consultations initiated by President Klaus Iohannis, on the justice laws recently modified by the governing coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, but fiercely criticized by the opposition and civil society. All parties have confirmed their participation in the consultations, including the Social Democrats, who are in conflict with President Iohannis. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) has announced its willingness to continue reforms in the justice system, having citizens and their rights at the center. ALDE has said that it favors a prospective political pact in this respect, but that it first wants to see its content. The National Liberal Party, in the opposition, has announced that at the consultations with President Klaus Iohannis it will insist that the recent recommendations of the Venice Commission be introduced into the justice laws, the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, or Romania risks colliding with the EU. Another party in the opposition, the Save Romania Union, has said that the modifications to these laws sabotage and block the act of justice in Romania. We remind you that last week the Venice Commission said in a report that modifications to the justice laws and Criminal Codes are weakening the fight against corruption and organized crime.

WAGES — Representatives of the Romanian Government, of the trade unions and employers’ associations have decided that an increase in the minimum salary in necessary. The topic was also discussed in the Economic and Social Council. According to the Government, the increase would have a positive impact on long-term economic growth, would stimulate consumption and demand and its impact on inflation would be insignificant. Aslo discussed was the introduction of a dirrefentiated minimum wage of around 505 euros a month for the employees with university studies and for the ones with 15 years of senority.

DEFENSE — The Romanian Government has earmarked for defense, for the second consecutive year, 2% of the GDP and will keep doing so at least until 2026, Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor has said today in Bucharest. He also said that this amount allows for the solid modernization and development of the army. Minister Fifor has announced that on Thursday, October 25, on the Romanian Army Day, ceremonies will be held in memory of the Romanian heroes who died for the country. October 25th was also the birthday of Romania’s former sovereign, Michael I who died in 2017 aged 96.

LAW – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies is today debating and voting on the offshore bill, after the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats reached an agreement on it. In early August, President Klaus Iohannis did not sign the bill into law and sent it back to Parliament for a review. What is at stake is, first and foremost, the profit that Romania will make from natural gas extraction in the Black Sea.

JUSTICE – Romania’s Constitutional Court is today discussing the modifications to the Criminal Code and the Law on the prevention, discovering and sanctioning of corruption deeds. President Klaus Iohannis, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and People’s Movement Party have filed notifications. The head of state has called on the Constitutional Court to declare the law unconstitutional. The opposition says the proposed modifications encourage high level corruption while the High Court says that in the case of abuse of office, the number of people who can be incriminated has been restricted significantly.

CIVIL PARTNERSHIP — The Romanian Senators on the legal committee on Tuesday turned down a draft meant to regulate the civil partnership. The draft was aimed at granting legal protection to the couples which do not want to change their marital status, but are ready to officially acknowledge their relation. The senate was the first notified chamber. We recall that in early October a referendum was held in Romania to redefine family in the Romanian Constitution as being the consented marriage between a man and a woman, instead of the current wording, “between spouses”. However, the referendum was refuted because of a poor turnout , of only 21%. 91.5% of those who went to the polls stood for changing the Constitution, and only 6.5% stood against the change.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

24 October 2018
October 20, 2018 UPDATE

JUSTICE – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis intends to summon all political parties represented in Parliament for talks on the justice laws, following Fridays report of the Venice Commission on the changes brought to these laws in Romania. The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law, believes that the changes brought to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Proceeding and the justice laws will weaken the fight against corruption and organized crime. The Commission recommends large-scale public consultations, aimed at achieving a solid and coherent legislative change, supported by citizens and in compliance with the rulings of the Constitutional Court. Following the critical opinion of the Venice Commission, president Klaus Iohannis has stated that the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, himself a member of the Commission, has definitely compromised his credibility and should resign.

MEASURES – The Romanian Government is considering freezing salaries in the public sector in 2019. A letter sent this week by the Finance Ministry to Brussels reads that this is one of the measures envisaged for next year, for Romania to observe the deficit target of 2.58% of the GDP and subsequently to correct the deviation from the medium term objectives by reducing the structured balance which will exceed 3% of the GDP this year. According to the document posted on the European Commissions website, the Romanian Government intends to maintain the value of holiday tickets to approximately 300 Euro, and also the number of employees in the public sector.

VISIT – Kuwait is the last leg of the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancilas Near East tour. She has visited the cultural center Abdullah Al Salem, one of the largest cultural compounds in the world, the Scientific Center and the Grand Mosque in the capital. On the occasion, the Romanian PM highlighted the possibility of developing bilateral ties in research and innovation. Also, she appreciated the openness of the Kuwait authorities towards religious minorities and the efforts made to integrate them. Viorica Dancila also stressed the fact that the Muslim community in Romania had lived in peace alongside Christian and other ethnic groups. Previously, in the United Arab Emirates, Ms. Dancila had meeting with business people and officials, whom she encouraged to come and invest in Romania.

INTERCEPTION – The Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor stated on Saturday, in relation to the Russian place intercepted near the Romanian air space, that there was no reason of concern. Such events are not isolated, and they test the reaction speed of the NATO forces, the minister also said. He also stressed the fact that Romania, as a member of NATO, was ready to fulfill its mission at any time. On Thursday, a Russian military aircraft, flying near the Romanian air space, was intercepted by Canadian fighters, in collaboration with the Romanian Air Forces. As soon as the Russian plane was detected by the Command and Control Center of the Romanian Air Forces, Canadian Hornet fighters were sent on mission. They watched the Russian plane from a short distance, until the latter left the area.

US – The Romanian Secretary of State for bilateral and strategic relations in the Euro-Atlantic space, George Ciamba, has had meetings in Washington with US officials. During these meetings he stressed that the Romanian presidency of the EU Council will focus on strengthening the partnership between the EU and the US, according to a communiqué issued on Saturday. Romania will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year. In the US, George Ciamba held talks with Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. During the talks, the Romanian official stressed that Romania will continue to be a committed ally to the US.

PROCESSION – On Sunday in Bucharest, thousands of Roman and Greek Catholic believers and priests will take parte in a procession with relic and icon of Pope John Paul II. The relic consists in several drops of the Popes blood, a gift to the Saint Joseph Cathedral in Bucharest from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the former personal secretary of the Pope, currently Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow. Born on May 18th, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in October 1978 and died on April 2nd, 2005, at the Vatican. Pope Francis declared him a saint in April 2014, so John Paul II was included in the calendar of the Catholic Church, and his liturgical commemoration was set for October 22nd of each year. In 1999, Pope John Paul II came to Romania, on the first visit to a predominantly orthodox country by a head of the Catholic Church.

FESTIVAL – Bucharest is hosting the 28th National Theater Festival. For 11 days, theater lovers have the opportunity to participate in some 100 artistic events: shows, performances, exhibitions, book launches and meetings with special guests. The director of the festival, Marina Constantinescu, has stated that the money collected during the festival will be donated to the Daruieste viata (Give Life) Association, for the building of the first hospital of pediatric oncology and radiotherapy in Romania. Bucharest is also playing host to the event titled Cannes Films in Bucharest, an opportunity for film goers to watch films awarded at the prestigious festival, but also films signed by Romanian directors.

INVICTUS – The Romanians who are participating in Sydney in the Invictus Games, the international adaptive multi-sport event, in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part, will start on Sunday the team competitions, said on Radio Romania Colonel Augustin Pegulescu, himself an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. The Romanian team is made up of 15 wounded soldiers, most of them participating for the second time in the Invictus Games. More than 500 soldiers from across the world have come to Sydeny to take part in the games, created by Prince Harry four years ago.

20 October 2018
October 20, 2018

JUSTICE – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis intends to summon all political parties represented in Parliament for talks on the justice laws, following yesterdays report of the Venice Commission on the changes brought to these laws in Romania. The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law, believes that the changes brought to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Proceeding and the justice laws will weaken the fight against corruption and organized crime. The Commission recommends large-scale public consultations, aimed at achieving a solid and coherent legislative change, supported by citizens and in compliance with the rulings of the Constitutional Court. Following the critical opinion of the Venice Commission, president Klaus Iohannis has stated that the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, himself a member of the Commission, has definitely compromised his credibility and should resign.

INTERCEPTION – Russian military aircraft, flying near the Romanian air space, was intercepted by Canadian fighters, in collaboration with the Romanian Air Forces. According to information made public today, the Russian jet was a SU 27-Flanker and was flying above the Black Sea. As soon as the Russian plane was detected by the Command and Control Center of the Romanian Air Forces, Canadian Hornet fighters were sent on mission. They watched the Russian plane from a short distance, until the latter left the area.

PROCESSION – On Sunday in Bucharest, thousands of Roman and Greek Catholic believers and priests will take parte in a procession with relic and icon of Pope John Paul II. The relic consists in several drops of the Popes blood, a gift to the Saint Joseph Cathedral in Bucharest from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the former personal secretary of the Pope, currently Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow. Born on May 18th, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in October 1978 and died on April 2nd, 2005, at the Vatican. Pope Francis declared him a saint in April 2014, so John Paul II was included in the calendar of the Catholic Church, and his liturgical commemoration was set for October 22nd of each year. In 1999, Pope John Paul II came to Romania, on the first visit to a predominantly orthodox country by a head of the Catholic Church.

FESTIVAL – Bucharest is hosting the 28th National Theater Festival. For 11 days, theater lovers will have the opportunity to participate in some 100 artistic events: shows, performances, exhibitions, book launches and meetings with special guest. The director of the festival, Marina Constantinescu, has stated that the money collected during the festival will be donated to the Daruieste viata (Give Life) Association, for the building of the first hospital of pediatric oncology and radiotherapy in Romania. Bucharest is also playing host to the event titled Cannes Films in Bucharest, an opportunity for film goers to watch films awarded at the prestigious festival, but also films signed by Romanian directors.

INVICTUS – The Romanians who are participating in Sydney in the Invictus Games, the international adaptive multi-sport event, in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part, will start tomorrow the team competitions, said on Radio Romania Colonel Augustin Pegulescu, himself an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. The Romanian team is made up of 15 wounded soldiers, most of them participating for the second time in the Invictus Games. More than 500 soldiers from across the world have come to Sydeny to take part in the games, created by Prince Harry four years ago.

HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball champions CSM Bucharest are this evening playing, away from home, against the Norwegian squad Vipers Kristiansand, in the Champions Leagues Group D. In the first two matches, the Romanian team defeated Ferencvaros of Hungary on home turf, and was defeated by Bietighem of Germany. On Thursday, CSM Bucharest got a new head coach, the Serb Dragan Djukic. He replaced the Swedish Magnus Johansson. Djukic, aged 56, has trained clubs such as Pick Szeged of Hungary, Vardar Skopje of Macedonia and Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel, as well as the national teams of Montenegro, Israel, Great Britain, Switzerland, Macedonia and Jordan.

20 October 2018
October 19, 2018 UPDATE

Brussels – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis participated on Thursday and Friday in Brussels in the 12th summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), whose theme was “Global partners for global challenges”. In his speech, president Iohannis said that Romania would continue to actively and responsibly promote the strengthening of cooperation between Europe and Asia including during Romania’s presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. In another development, president Iohannis said that for Romania, the shipping routes on the Danube and the Black Sea represented essential transport corridors and encouraged their inclusion into larger intra-regional transport networks and in the Europe-Asia networks. The main topic of debates was connectivity at all levels: political, economic, cultural, digital, institutional and inter-human. The Asia-Europe Meeting ASEM was set up in 1996 as a forum for dialogue and cooperation between the two continents. The ASEM summit is held every two years, alternately in Asia and Europe.

Venice Commission — The Venice Commission on Friday recommended to the Romanian authorities to completely modify the amendments brought to the criminal and criminal procedure codes by means of a comprehensive consultative process. The Commission claims that the Romanian authorities should come up with coherent and solid legislative proposals in the field of justice that should have the support of the Romanian society and that should observe the European standards and the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Romania. The Venice Commission adopted, with certain amendments, the preliminary report communicated in July in relation to the three justice laws regarding the status of judges and prosecutors, the organization of the judiciary and of the Superior Council of Magistracy. These laws will affect the efficiency and the independence of the act of justice, and will have negative effects on the anti-corruption fight, the Venice Commission says. Friday’s debates were also attended by the president of the special parliamentary committee for the justice laws in Romania’s parliament, Florin Iordache, a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party. After the critical opinion issued by the Venice Commission, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stated that the justice minister Tudorel Toader definitively compromised his credibility and consequently should present his resignation. In turn, minister Toader claimed that the President’s request is inadmissible arguing that it was not the justice minister the one who promoted the modifications brought to the criminal and criminal procedure codes.

CESAER — The European Commissioner for Regional Development Corina Cretu said Friday in Bucharest that innovation and research had to have a central role in the future EU fiscal period of 2021-2027. She made this statement at the 31st edition of the CESAER General Assembly- the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research — the most important European association that represents universities of science and technology. The event hosted by the University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest is being attended by representatives of more than 50 universities, and personalities from the research and higher technical education fields. The CESAER General Assembly is held for the first time in Romania to celebrate 200 years since the setting up of the University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest. The meeting is also occasioned by the anniversary of 100 years since the creation of the Romanian unitary state and by Romania’s future presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.

Sports — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep who will finish the year 2018 on the first place of the WTA classification was designated on Friday the best WTA player of the year, the WTA officials announced Friday. Halep has had the best season of her career in 2018 winning her first Grand Slam title in Roland Garros. Halep also won the tournaments of Shenzen and Montreal and played in the finals of the Australian Open, of the Rome and Cincinnati tournaments. Halep, 27, ends the year with a record of 46 wins and 11 defeats and will top the WTA ranking at the end of the season for the 2nd consecutive year.

Reshuffle — The leftist Social Democratic Party — PSD, the main party in Romania’s ruling coalition, announced Friday that the internal report on the activity of the party’s ministers was completed. On Wednesday the president of PSD Liviu Dragnea had said that the current makeup of the executive could not be maintained. He added that the details of the future reshuffle would be decided upon at the future meeting of the party’s executive committee. Last month the education minister Valentin Popa announced his resignation, and his position was taken over by the minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb. This is the 2nd resignation from the cabinet led by Viorica Dancila after the research minister Nicolae Burnete resigned in August. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)

19 October 2018
September 16, 2018 UPDATE

SUMMIT – The Romanian capital city Bucharest is hosting on Monday and Tuesday the 3rd Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, an informal president-level platform that brings together the 12 EU member states located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Sea, namely Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. According to the presidential administration, the main goal of the initiative is the economic development of these countries, by enhancing interconnectivity, particularly from north to south, in 3 major areas: transport, energy, and digital. On the sidelines of the Summit, the first Business Forum of this platform will be held. President Klaus Iohannis will open the Forum on Monday, and later on he will take part in a plenary meeting alongside his counterparts from Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Poland – Andrzej Duda, Austria – Alexander van der Bellen, and the European Commissioner for Regional Development Corina Creţu. The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will attend the Three Seas Initiative Summit for the first time. The first two summits were held in Dubrovnik in 2016 and in Warsaw in 2017.

SWINE FEVER – A first African swine fever outbreak was confirmed on Sunday in Dambovita County, in the south of Romania. Thirteen counties are currently affected by the epidemic, most of them in the south-east and south. The number of outbreaks reaches 900, with the virus identified in over 200 localities. Hundreds of thousands of animals have been culled. Bucharest has requested financial support from the European Commission for the farmers affected by the African swine fever epidemic.

REFERENDUM – The Constitutional Court of Romania is discussing on Monday a bill designed to redefine family, in the Constitution, as based on the marriage of a man and a woman. The bill was passed in the Senate on Tuesday, and requires validation through a referendum. It is based on a citizen initiative signed by 3 million people. The initiators, which are Christian organisations and associations, want the Constitution to narrow down the definition of family to the marriage between a man and a woman, so as to prevent the possibility of legalising same-sex marriage. ACCEPT Association, which promotes the rights of sexual minorities, says that Tuesdays vote in the Senate has turned homophobia into a principle safeguarded by the state, and that constitutional protection for many types of families in Romania will be sacrificed. Except for Save Romania Union, all parliamentary parties have supported the initiative.

JUDICIARY – Romanian magistrates Sunday protested in Bucharest against the latest changes to the criminal codes and the justice laws. The magistrates are also discontent with the extension of judicial inspection mandates through a government emergency order and with the authorities disregard of the Venice Commission recommendations. Promoted by the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the legislative changes are criticised by the right-of-centre Opposition, the mass media and civil society, which accuse Power of trying to hinder the fight against corruption and to overpower the judiciary. Just days ago, representatives of the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, were in Bucharest to draft a report on the changes operated by Parliament on the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

ATTACK – The US Embassy is updated on the situation of the 2 American basketball players, aged 24 and 25 respectively, and playing for a team in Braila, south-eastern Romania, and is closely monitoring the incident in which they were injured, the American diplomatic mission announced. The two were stabbed on Saturday night during a conflict that broke out in a bar in the city centre. One of them is in a serious condition, with a punctured lung, and has been transferred to Bucharest. The 2 had been transferred to the club in Braila just one month before. The Romanian handball player Marian Cozma, who was playing for Veszprem, was killed in a bar in the same city, on February 8, 2009, by attackers who stabbed him to death.

TENNIS – Romanias mens tennis team was defeated by Poland, 3-2, on Sunday in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania, in the Davis Cups 3rd round, Group II, Europe-Africa zone, after Kamil Majchrzak outplayed Adrian Ungur in the decisive match. Also on Sunday, Hubert Hurkacz beat Marius Copil, while the Romanians Florin Mergea and Horia Tecău won the doubles match against Lukasz Kubot/Marcin Matkowski. After Saturdays matches, the score was 1-1. Thanks to this performance, Poland moves up into Group I, Europe/Africa zone of Davis Cup, of which Romania fell out at the end of last year.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

16 September 2018
The justice laws in the attention of the Venice Commission

In order to prepare an opinion regarding the recent modifications brought by Romania’s Parliament to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes, a Venice Commission delegation came to Romania for 2 days, to meet with Romanian officials and representatives of the justice system. The opinion was requested by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly which is interested in the impact of the aforementioned modifications.

These modifications were strongly contested, in the street, by the civil society, the rightwing opposition, the Romanian President and a large part of the magistrates. After talks with the representatives of the Venice Commission, the president of the parliamentary committee for justice laws, Social Democratic MP Florin Iordache, said that the modification of the Codes had to be operated to comply with the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Directives. In another development, he gave assurances that he would urgently answer all questions related to unclear things or observations made by the Venice Commission, a body whose preliminary report includes, according to Florin Iordache, certain inadvertences.

The opposition representatives said that the Venice Commission expressed certain concerns related to whether these legislative changes were made based on an impact study that should have highlighted the effects generated by the newly reformed criminal policy in Romania. They also referred to the consequences these changes might have on the cases currently dealt with by courts and also on those cases in which a definitive sentence was ruled.

President Klaus Iohannis has drawn attention to the fact that the changes to the codes unbalance the judiciary, one of the targeted aims of these changes being to favor certain politicians prosecuted for various crimes. According to President Iohannis the changes proposed by the current parliamentary majority risk compromising the effort of the past years meant to consolidate the judicial system. Klaus Iohannis also said that the involvement and support of the European experts are meant to help Romania have a more efficient and modern legislation. The report of the Venice Commission will be passed next month in this boy’s plenary session.

In a preliminary opinion on the Romanian justice laws made public in July, the Venice Commission asked the Romanian authorities to rethink the manner of appointing and dismissing the chief prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism and of the General Prosecutor’s Office, in the sense of maintaining the role of Romania’s President and of the Superior Council of Magistracy in this process.

14 September 2018
September 13, 2018

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT — European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, currently on a visit to Romania, has meetings with representatives of the local and regional authorities and attends high-level conferences. Commissioner Cretu had several meetings in Sibiu, on Wednesday, and today she is visiting the miner town of Petrosani, for a European conference focusing on the present and future of coal mining in the context of the transition to renewable energies. The area is one of the five pilot-regions selected by the European Commission in order to be supported in making this transition.

PARTNERSHIP – The development, consolidation and expansion of the Strategic partnership with the US is one of Romania’s priority objectives, PM Viorica Dancila has said today. Marking seven years since the adoption, in Washington, on September 13, 2011, of the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, PM Dancila hailed the excellent bilateral ties. In her opinion, the Strategic Partnership with the US is a guarantee for Romania’s security and a decisive element for social and economic progress.

SANCTIONS — Poland said it will oppose any sanctions imposed by the bloc on fellow member Hungary, accused of floating EU rules on democracy, Reuters reports. “Every country has its sovereign right to make internal reforms it deems appropriate,” Poland’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. With over two thirds of the vote, the European Parliament on Wednesday decided to call on the European Commission to trigger sanctions against Hungary under Article 7, which include temporary loss of voting rights in the European Council.

AGRICULTURE — The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, is paying a two-day visit to Romania, starting today, the European Commission Representation in Romania has announced. Commissioner Hogan met in Bucharest with PM Viorica Dancila who asked the European Commission for its full technical and financial support in order to decrease the negative impact that the African swine fever has on Romania. The European official will also have talks with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Petre Daea and with farmer associations representatives and will have a dialogue with the citizens of Cluj, entitled “A modern budget for a stronger Union.”

VENICE COMMISSION — A Venice Commission delegation is currently in Bucharest to make an assessment of the modifications to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code by Romania’s Parliament. The assessment was required by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly. The delegation members will meet with President Klaus Iohannis, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, representatives of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, General Prosecutor’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Directorate, and the Higher Council of Magistracy as well as with parliament members, associations of judges and prosecutors and civil society representatives.

13 September 2018