Radio România Internațional

Tag: Venice Commission

September 4, 2018 UPDATE

MEETING – The meeting of the Supreme Defence Council was suspended, and the Government must come up with a new budget adjustment proposal, after the Council members failed to reach an agreement on the current plan, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday. The head of state asked the Cabinet to come up with a plan to eliminate the “unaccountable cuts in the budgets of national security institutions. The President decided to convene the Supreme Defence Council after the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats criticised him for obstructing the first budget adjustment of this year, one concerning salaries, social assistance expenditure, the funding of activities to fight the African swine fever and Romanias contribution to the EU budget. Iohannis replied that the Government was free to adjust the public budget at any time, except for the part concerning the national security field. He also said that the Social Democratic Party is building an irresponsible budget, which cannot be implemented in practice.

HEARINGS – At the request of the Social Democratic Party in power, the Defence Committee of the Romanian Senate cancelled Tuesdays hearings concerning the violent clashes during the August 10th anti-government protest in Bucharest. Originally invited to take part were the Interior Minister Carmen Dan, the coordinator of the riot police intervention, Laurenţiu Cazan, and the Prefect of Bucharest Speranţa Cliseru. Hearings on the same topic were however held at the General Prosecutors Office, and they were attended by the Mayor of Bucharest, the Social Democrat Gabriela Firea. She said that investigations would reveal who is to blame for the violence in Victoriei Square, and added that attempts had been made to turn the Bucharest Prefect Speranta Cliseru into a scapegoat. On Saturday during a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party, Gabriela Firea requested the resignation of the Interior Minister Carmen Dan, who, Firea said, had blamed the Prefect for the intervention of the gendarmes. So far 770 criminal complaints have been filed, by people injured in that intervention.

VENICE COMMISSION – A Venice Commission delegation will be in Bucharest on September 13th and 14th, to prepare a report on the recent changes of the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure made by the Parliament of Romania, according to the web site of this Council of Europe institution. The delegation will have talks with President Klaus Iohannis, the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, and with officials of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the General Prosecutors Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and the Higher Council of Magistracy. The Venice Commission team will also have meetings with MPs, including the members of the special parliamentary committee in charge with modifying the justice laws, with judge and prosecutor associations, as well as with civil society representatives.

ANTI-CORRUPTION – A new proposal for the chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate will be announced on Thursday, the Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader says. On Tuesday the last 3 candidates for the office were interviewed by the Justice Minister, while 3 other candidates had their interviews scheduled on Monday. The Minister will select a candidate, who must be accepted by the Higher Council of Magistracy and approved by President Klaus Iohannis. The former chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed in July, under an order signed by President Iohannis in conformity with a ruling of the Constitutional Court. The dismissal had been requested by the Justice Minister, further to a report that had not been approved by the Higher Council of Magistracy.

SPORTS MINISTER – The Ambassador of Romania to Paris, Luca Niculescu, Tuesday congratulated the Romanian-born former French swimming champion Roxana Mărăcineanu on her appointment as Sports Minister in France. The Romanian Embassy in France also mentions, in a Facebook post, that Roxana Mărăcineanu was one of the 10 Romanians living in France whose merits were recognised in a gala called “100 for the Centenary, organised by the Embassy in Paris in June 2018. Roxana Mărăcineanu, born in Bucharest in 1975, replaced the former Olympic fencing champion Laura Flessel, who resigned as sports minister in France.

(translated by Ana-Maria Popescu)

4 September 2018
The justice laws in the focus of politicians’ attention

President Klaus
Iohannis has challenged the law on the status of judges and prosecutors at the
Constitutional Court, but has announced that he had to promulgate the law on
judicial organization. The two bills, alongside the one regarding the
organization and functioning of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, make up the
legislative package to which the left wing majority represented by the Social
Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats brought dramatic
changes, which have been criticized not only by the president of the country,
the opposition and magistrates’ associations, but also by the Venice
Commission.

Here is President Klaus Iohannis:

At
the moment, as regards the law on judicial organization, I have unfortunately
exhausted all constitutional ways to challenge it, and therefore I must
promulgate it. But this does not mean that the road is closed for good.

The country’s
president has criticized the lack of transparency with which the ruling
coalition amended the laws and has stated that the outcome is worrying. Failing
its own supporters after the dismissal of the head of the Anticorruption
Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi, when he let his spokesperson make the
announcement, Klaus Iohannis has tried to come back into the battle. Parliamentarians’
loyalty should lie with the Romanian people, the president has stressed:

We
must not turn into a negative example in Europe by drafting laws aimed at
protecting certain political leaders against prosecution. No politician can or should
trade the principles that shaped democratic Romania after the 1989 Revolution
for their own benefit. No political decision maker has been mandated by the
Romanian people to do that.

The president’s
warning was clearly targeted at the iron fist in the ruling coalition, the
president of the Social Democratic Party and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies
Liviu Dragnea, who’s been accused of maiming the justice system only to get
away unscathed from the cases of corruption he is involved in. In response to
that, representatives of the governing coalition have recalled that the justice
laws were amended in keeping with the rulings of the Constitutional Court and
say that discussing them again in parliament would make no sense.

The
opposition, however, supports the request made by the head of state, namely for
the Government to take into consideration the recommendations made by the
Venice Commission. In a preliminary report, the advisory body of the Council of
Europe warns that the changes brought to the justice laws in Romania might
undermine the independence of the judiciary and create negative effects with
regard to the fight against corruption.

20 July 2018
July 19, 2018 UPDATE

Promulgation. Romania’s
President Klaus Iohannis has announced he has promulgated the law on judicial organization, after having exhausted all challenge procedures. Still,
the head of state has called on the Romanian Parliament to reintroduce the law
into the parliamentary circuit as of next autumn. The law is raising many
question marks and includes unclear provisions, which lack coherence and
predictability, the president has stated. He has also stressed that the justice
laws, promoted and endorsed by the left-wing coalition formed by the Social
Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, would de facto
push Romania far from the European values. We recall that last week, the Venice
Commission, in its preliminary opinion, drew attention to the fact that,
because of the changes brought to the justice laws, the independence of the
Romanian prosecutors and judges becomes questionable.

Forecast. The National Prognosis Commission has revised Romania’s economic
growth rate for this year down to 5.5% from 6.1% in its previous spring
forecast. The inflation rate has been revised up to 3.5% from 3.2% in spring.

Danube Region. Romania and Austria are to host the Secretariat of the EU Strategy
for the Danube Region, whose re-establishment was decided at a meeting of the
Monitoring Committee of the Danube Transnational Programme and the member
states national coordinators of the EU Strategy, an event held in Split,
Croatia. Beginning in September this year, Bucharest and Vienna will open two offices
of this body. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is a high-visibility
political project and Romania’s first large-scale initiative after joining the
European Union. According to a press release published in Bucharest, Romania’s
presidency of the EU Council in the first part of next year is an opportunity
to promote this important framework for macro-regional cooperation on the
agenda of the Union and to ensure the necessary financial allocations for the
priorities proposed for the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the other
macro-regional strategies.

Prices. In Romania, the price of
natural gas for domestic consumers will increase by 6% as of August 1st,
the National Energy Regulatory Agency announced on Thursday. Also on Thursday,
the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovoci announced that the Government is
discussing a draft decision regarding the flattening of the price of natural
gas from the domestic production until June 2021. The minister has also stated
that he would like the same thing for the price of fuels.

Culture. The Romanian Government on
Thursday approved the funding of two big cultural projects, worth a total of 12
million Euros. The two projects are E-culture: Romania’s Digital Library and
Historical Monuments, Strategic Planning and Optimized Public Policies. Under
the E-culture project 550,000 cultural resources will be included in Romania’s
digital library, and an IT platform for the digital library and a catalogue
titled ‘culturalia.ro’ will be created . Also, some 200,000 cultural resources
will be included in the europeana.eu portal. The second project’s outcome will
be a cultural heritage code, as well as a national strategy concerning the
preservation of historical monuments. The projects will benefit from European
non-reimbursable funding.

Brexit. The European Commission has called on the EU countries to
accelerate preparations for the situation in which Great Britain leaves the
union without a clear agreement. The Commission has stated that the failure of
negotiations would seriously affect government affairs and travels. The
European Commission believes that preparations must be made at all levels, so
as to cover all potential consequences, in particular with regard to borders,
transport and data transfers.

Broadcasting. Radio Free Europe says it will resume news programs in
Bulgaria and Romania in December this year in a bid to consolidate the media
landscape in these countries. The station, which is funded by the United States
Congress, will carry multi-media reports and analyses in Romanian and Bulgarian
and will collaborate with the local media to expand existing projects that
promote public accountability and debunk fake news. The station’s Romanian
language service opened in 1950 and ended in 2008, when Romania had already
become a member of the European Union and NATO. Historians view as essential
the station’s contribution to the erosion and final collapse, in 1989, of the
communist dictatorship in Bucharest. The station still has a Romanian language
service in the Republic of Moldova. Radio Free Europe broadcasts to 26 million
people in 20 different countries with restrictions on media freedom and
where professional journalism is not fully developed.

Pop music. 18 singers from 15 different countries will be vying for the Grand
Trophy of the Golden Stag Festival to be held in Brasov, central Romania,
between the 29th of August and the 2nd of September. The initial line-up was
15, but organizers decided to expand it following great demand. Romania has
three representatives, Dora Gaitanovici, Ovidiu Anton and Raluca Blejusca,
while the Republic of Moldova is represented by Lidia Isac. The Golden Stag
Festival this year celebrates its 50th anniversary with a special edition and
65,000 Euros worth of prizes. The festival will come to an end with a Romania
Centenary show featuring traditional Romanian music and contemporary
reinterpretations of his genre.

Football. The Romanian football squad Viitorul Constanta on Thursday
qualified for the second round of Europa League’s preliminaries, after a 0-0
draw in the match against Racing FC Union Luxembourg. In the first match, away
from home, the Romanians had won 2-nil. The other teams representing Romania in
Europa League are the vice-champion FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest),
which will play in the second round against the Slovenian squad NK Rudar
Velenje and the cup winner CSU Craiova, which will play straight into the third
preliminary round. Romania’s champions CFR Cluj will take on the Swedish team
Malmo FF in the second preliminary round of the Champions League.

19 July 2018
July 14, 2018 UPDATE

France — The French ambassador to Romania, Mrs. Michele Ramis, said Saturday at the reception given on the occasion of France’s National Day that France needed a Europe that protects citizens, and Romania is a visible partner in this project. Mrs. Ramis recalled that 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership. The French official hailed the Romanian people’s European spirit and their resilience in front of nationalism and euro-skepticism. Michele Ramis talked about the success of the Romanian presidency, next year, in the direction of a Europe of convergence, protective and stronger in the world, based on common values. Attending the reception at the French embassy, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that at end of November he would open, in Paris, together with the French President Emmanuel Macron, the season France-Romania. President Iohannis expressed conviction that, in the spirit of their historic fraternity, Romania and France will contribute to the success of re-launching the project of a stronger Union. In another development, trade exchanges between France and Romania increased by 4.4% in 2017 as compared to 2016, reaching 7.8 billion Euros, showed the French Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Romania. There are almost 3 thousand French companies operating in Romania, with a total of direct investments of 4.2 billion Euros.

Venice Commission — The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, believes that the preliminary opinion of the Venice Commission related to the changes made to the justice laws is an extremely worrying signal regarding the independence of the judiciary and calls on Parliament not to ignore these recommendations. According to the Presidential Administration, the Venice Commission confirms the points of view expressed by civil society in Romania, by the Supreme Council of Magistracy, by judges and prosecutors as well as by the Romanian president, including through notifications related to the unconstitutional character of these modifications and the requests for re-examination of these laws. The Venice Commission recommends the Romanian authorities to reconsider the modifications to the justice laws mainly in relation to the appointment and dismissal of chief prosecutors of the main prosecutors’ offices. According to these modifications, the Romanian president can refuse the appointment made by the justice minister only once and providing solid arguments. The European experts also recommend the authorities to give up the scheme for the early retirement of magistrates which would entail a massive depopulation of courts and also to give up the idea of setting up a special section for investigating magistrates. The opposition National Liberal Party has called on the Constitutional Court to take note of the preliminary report on the justice laws. Social Democrat MP Eugen Nicolicea, the president of the legal commission in the Chamber of Deputies, claims the Venice Commission’s preliminary report runs counter to a previous report related to European standards regarding the independence of the judiciary.

Football – Belgium defeated England, Saturday, 2-0, in the third-place playoff of the World Football Championship hosted by Russia, thus obtaining the bronze. Belgium already played in a third-place playoff at the 1986 World Cup, when it was defeated by France. A world champion in 1966 England fought for bronze in 1990 but it was defeated by Italy. Sunday will see the final that will pit France against Croatia for which qualification to the final is a premier. France won the world title in 1998, when it organized the final tournament, and Croatia won the bronze.

Fitch Ratings — The Fitch Rating agency has confirmed the ratings for Bucharest’s long term credits in hard currency and local currency at BBB-stable, shows a communiqué of the rating agency. Fitch ratings has also confirmed the F3 rating for currency on short term. The confirmation of the ratings reflects Bucharest’s robust operational performance, the moderate level of debt in relation to its operational balance and current revenues. The rating also includes the solid taxation base, due to Bucharest’s welfare level, which is substantially higher than the national average. The negative side of it is that the rating reflects the dependence of operational revenues on economic cycles and the uncertainties related to contingent debt, shows the Fitch Ratings. Following the 2016 local elections, an ambitious and modern plan for investments was adopted, with the leftist government willing to further develop the city infrastructure, mainly the road infrastructure, Fitch Ratings reports.

Kidnapping — The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Saturday activated a crisis cell to deal with the situation of the Romanian citizen who, according to the international press, ws abducted in Libya. According to a foreign ministry communiqué, the crisis cell started the urgent verification to assess the situation. The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said that the top priority was to verify whether a Romanian citizen was indeed taken hostage, what his situation was and what group is involved in the kidnapping. The case is being managed by the Romanian Embassy to Libya relocated in Tunis. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry officials the maximum alert level was set up for Libya in 2015. According to international news agencies at least two people, among whom a Romanian engineer, were abducted Saturday by an armed group in an attack on an oilfield in the southwest of Libya.

Pollution — Between 2015-2016 Romania, Poland, Spain and Great Britain reported the biggest reduction of sulfur oxides emissions, a high reduction being operated in the energy sector, shows a report of the European Environment Agency. Nevertheless Romania still reports the 6th highest level of sulfur oxides emissions in the EU, after the levels reported by Poland, Great Britain, Spain, France and Germany. Also Romania reports the 11th highest level of NOx nitrogen oxides emissions, which is on a downward trend, oxides that contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain. (news translated and updated by L. Simion)

14 July 2018
July 13, 2018 UPDATE

VENICE COMMISSION — The Venice Commission on Friday presented its preliminary report on the modifications brought to the justice laws in Romania, following notifications filed by the Romanian President and the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Monitoring Committee. The report urges Bucharest authorities to reexamine the manner in which high-ranking prosecutors are appointed and dismissed, including by revising key provisions in the Constitution, in the sense of ensuring neutral procedures that should maintain the role of the country’s president and the Superior Council of Magistracy to counterbalance the influence of the Justice Ministry. Other recommendations are related to removing or clarifying provisions seen as ungrounded, lifting restrictions regarding the freedom of expression of judges and prosecutors. The Commission will publish a final report in October, when it will also present its opinion on the modifications brought to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes.

ANALYSIS — Romania’s Prosecutor’s Office on Friday announced it finalized its analysis on the modifications Parliament has brought to the Criminal Code, finding a total of 21 unconstitutional articles, and recommending a referral to the Constitutional Court. According to an official press release, the aforementioned articles include provisions which lack clarity, coherence and predictability or blatantly violate Constitutional stipulations. Some of them refer to influence peddling, abuse of office, extended confiscation, first-degree murder, false testimony or the setup of an organized crime group. The Prosecutor’s Office also states that a series of modifications have been brought to criminal legislation without taking under advisement the observations and recommendations formulated by the Superior Council of Magistracy and judges and prosecutors’ associations, also without consulting and cooperating with the related institutions in the system.

SUMMIT — Romania has fulfilled its set targets for the NATO summit in Brussels, the most important of which regards Romania hosting a three-star NATO command, whose future structure will be decided by autumn this year, Defense Minister Mihai Fifor announced on Friday. By hosting this NATO structure, Romania proves it is one of the most important players on the NATO eastern flank, Minister Fifor said.

US SUPPORT – Washington supports the territorial integrity and political sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia and reiterates its support for the democratically elected governments and people of those three countries, shows a US Congress resolution. The document shows the US’s commitment to supporting the three former Soviet republics on their way to European integration, and to obtain energy security and intensify commercial cooperation. The resolution also condemns the Russian aggression in the region, and calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition which are illegally deployed on the territory of these three states. The resolution asks the allies from the EU and the UN to continue to put pressure on Moscow for it to comply with its international commitments and calls on the US Department of State to have a full-fledged and active dialogue against Russia’s interference in the democratic processes of the three sovereign nations. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has recently reiterated the need for a complete withdrawal of foreign armed forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and NATO called for the pullout of Russian troops stationed in the three states, without their consent, in line with international commitments.

LOANS — The Parliament in Chisinau on Friday ratified a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank worth 80 million euros for the interconnection of Romania and Moldova’s electricity grids. Covering a period of 25 years, the money will be used to build the first link from Isaccea to Vulcanesti, which will provide an alternative energy source to the Republic of Moldova. Construction works are due to complete in 2022. Moldova will receive a second loan, also worth 80 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a third loan worth 70 million euros from the World Bank and a 40-million-euro grant from the European Commission.

REFERRAL — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has referred to the Constitutional Court the latest modifications Parliament has brought to the law on local public administration. The president claims the new law allows the possibility for the transfer of assets with unclear property documents into public domain, through a simple statutory declaration of the secretary of the administrative-territorial unit in question. The president also criticized the instatement of certain procedural exemptions under which the concession of assets from the private domain of local municipalities no longer requires a public tender.

PROSECUTION — Anticorruption prosecutors have indicted 90 people, including leaders of the National Health Insurance Authority, the Health Insurance Agency of Bucharest and public officials from the two institutions, but also private health providers, in a case of health insurance fraud. According to the National Anticorruption Directorate, some 4,5 million euros were embezzled by illegally refunding home-based medical care services by the Bucharest Health Insurance Agency.

TRUMP — Great Britain and the United States will try to further post-Brexit cooperation, British Prime Minister Theresa May told a press conference held on Friday jointly with US President Donald Trump. On a visit to London, the White House leader said relations between the two countries are very strong, just hours from harshly criticizing Prime Minister May’s Brexit strategy. The British Government on Thursday outlined its plans on future UK-EU relations after Brexit, which provides for the setup of an area of free trade with the 27 EU Member States. With simplified customs procedures, the accord would also prevent the creation of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The proposals have stirred harsh reactions from Euroskeptics, while Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Minister David Davis resigned, unhappy with London’s approach to negotiations.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

13 July 2018
June 23, 2018 UPDATE

PRESIDENCY – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis has announced he will run for another term as president of the country. Iohannis, aged 59, will complete his first term, which he won in November 2014, when he ran on the part of the Christian Liberal Alliance. Since 2000 until 2014 he was the mayor of the city of Sibiu, in the centre. The next presidential elections in Romania are due in the fall of 2019, and according to the Constitution, the maxim number of presidential terms a person may hold is two. The leader of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban has hailed the presidents decision and has announced that the Liberals will support the candidacy of Klaus Iohannis for a second term.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY – The Social Democratic Party, the main partner in the ruling coalition in Romania, will keep supporting its president Liviu Dragnea, in all the offices he is holding, both as leader of the party and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, after he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison for instigation to abuse of power. Liviu Dragnea has stated he will fulfill the objectives he has set, including the implementation of the governing program. The opposition has criticized the decision of the leadership of the Social Democratic Party. The president of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban has stated that the Liberals will try to convince as many MPs of the majority to endorse the no-confidence motion. On Monday, the motion filed by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party will be read in plenary parliamentary session and on Wednesday it will be debated and voted.

VENICE COMMISSION – Representatives of the Romanian Presidential Administration, Parliament and Justice Ministry have attended in Venice the plenary session of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission. One of the main topics on the meetings agenda was the modifications brought to the justice laws in Romania. The Presidential Adviser Bogdan Dima has stated that the legislative package has lots of deficiencies and the content can and should be substantially improved. According to a communiqué issued by the Presidency, President Klaus Iohannis believes that the adoption of an interim opinion of the Venice Commission is extremely important for the entire justice system in Romania. The Chairman of the Parliamentary committee in charge with the justice laws, Florin Iordache, attended the proceedings as well, and has stated that the recommendations made by the Venice Commission are extremely important to Romania. He has also stated that the three justice laws are in line with the standards set by the Commission. The modifications brought to the justice laws by the coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats have been criticized by the right-wing opposition, magistrates associations and many civil society representatives.

TRANSDIESTR – The UN General Assembly has adopted the draft resolution proposed by Chisinau, alongside other 10 countries, including Romania, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from the Transdniester region of the Republic of Moldova, Romanias neighbor with a predominantly Romanian – speaking population. The project was approved with 64 votes for, 15 against and 83 abstentions. The Russian Federation delegation voted against and have stated that the document will undermine negotiations on the Transdniester issue. The Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip has hailed the document, just like the Romanian Foreign Ministry. There are some 1000 Russian soldiers from the former 14th Soviet Army deployed in Transdniester, who are guarding armament and ammunition warehouses, as well as 500 soldiers from the peace forces deployed in the security zone along Dniester. There are also troops subordinated to the separatist regime in Tiraspol, accounting for some 15,000 soldiers. Transdniester went out of Chisinaus authority in 1992, after an armed conflict.

ROMANIAN BLOUSE – The Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse is celebrated on June 24th. Ia, the Romanian traditional blouse, is an emblematic piece of the national traditional costume and also a symbol of Romanian culture. On January 21st, 2013, the online community “La Blouse Roumaine” proposed the midsummer day, when magical fairies, believed to bring fertility and prosperity are celebrated, to also celebrate the Romanian traditional blouse. In the meantime the event has become global, and it is now celebrated in more than 50 countries. Traditional exhibitions and fairs are open all across the country, but also abroad in Beijing, Berlin, Budapest, Chisinau, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Warsaw, Vienna and Washington.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu, number 29 in the WTA rankings, lost on Saturday the match against the Czech Petra Kvitova (no. 8 WTA), thus failing to qualify for the final of the Birmingham tournament, with 850,000 dollars in prize money. In the final, Kvitova will play against the Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova (no. 19 WTA), who defeated in the semifinals the Czech Barbora Strikova.

23 June 2018
June 23, 2018

PRESIDENTIAL TERM – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis has today announced he will run for another presidential term. Iohannis, aged 59, won his first term in November 2014, when he ran on the part of the Christian Liberal Alliance. Since 2000 until 2014 he was the mayor of the city of Sibiu, in central Romania. The next presidential elections in Romania are due in the fall of 2019, and, according to the Romanian Constitution, the maxim number of presidential terms a person may hold is two.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY – The Social Democratic Party, the main partner in the ruling coalition in Romania, will keep supporting its president Liviu Dragnea, in all the offices he is holding, both as leader of the party and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, after he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison for instigation to abuse of power. Liviu Dragnea has stated he will fulfill the objectives he has set, including the implementation of the governing program. The opposition has criticized the decision of the leadership of the Social Democratic Party. The president of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban has stated that the Liberals will try to convince as many MPs of the majority to endorse the no-confidence motion. On Monday, the motion filed by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party will be read in plenary parliamentary session and on Wednesday it will be debated and voted.

VENICE COMMISSION – Representatives of the Romanian Presidential Administration, Parliament and Justice Ministry have attended in Venice the plenary session of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, also known as the Venice Commission. One of the main topics on the meetings agenda was the modifications brought to the justice laws in Romania. The Presidential Adviser Bogdan Dima has stated that the legislative package has lots of deficiencies and the content can and should be substantially improved. According to a communiqué issued by the Presidency, President Klaus Iohannis believes that the adoption of an interim opinion of the Venice Commission is extremely important for the entire justice system in Romania. The Chairman of the Parliamentary committee in charge with the justice laws, Florin Iordache, attended the proceedings as well, and has stated that the recommendations made by the Venice Commission are extremely important to Romania. He has also stated that the three justice laws are in line with the standards set by the Commission. The modifications brought to the justice laws by the coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats have been criticized by the right-wing opposition, magistrates associations and many civil society representatives.

TRANSDIESTR – The UN General Assembly has adopted the draft resolution proposed by Chisinau, alongside other 10 countries, including Romania, which calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and ammunition from the Transdiestr region of the Republic of Moldova, Romanias neighbor with a predominantly Romanian – speaking population. The project was approved with 64 votes for, 15 against and 83 abstentions. The Russian Federation delegation voted against and have stated that the document will undermine negotiations on the Transdniestr issue. The Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip has hailed the document, just like the Romanian Foreign Ministry. There are some 1000 Russian soldiers from the former 14th Soviet Army deployed in Transdniestr, who are guarding armament and ammunition warehouses, as well as 500 soldiers from the peace forces deployed in the security zone along Dniestr. There are also troops subordinated to the separatist regime in Tiraspol, accounting for some 15,000 soldiers. Transdniestr went out of Chisinaus authority in 1992, after an armed conflict.

23 June 2018
Venice Commission delegation visits Romania

A delegation of
the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional
matters, was in Bucharest for two days. Its agenda was extremely busy. The
international experts met representatives of many important state institutions,
including the president Klaus Iohannis, the Justice Ministry, the High Court of
Cassation and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor’s General
office, the National Anticorruption Directorate, the Superior Council of
Magistracy and Parliament, as well as judges and prosecutors associations and
civil organisations.

The president of
the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council
of Europe had requested the opinion of the Venice Commission on three draft
laws on judicial organisation, on the Superior Council of
Magistracy and on the statute of judges and prosecutors. For two days, the
experts from the Venice Commission heard completely opposing views, which have
been dividing the power and the opposition in Romania, and implicitly, society
in general. Based on the data gathered, they will draft a preliminary report in
July and a final one in October.

The
president of the special parliamentary committee that oversaw the revision of
the justice laws, the Social Democrat Florin Iordache, believes the report will
not alter the substance of the laws in their amended form:

The
clarifications they received and the material we have provided and which solves
many of the untruths that have circulated will help the representatives of the
Venice Commission, both in their preliminary opinion and the final opinion expected
in autumn, to make the best observations and note that three justice laws are
in keeping with both the opinions expressed by the Commission and the rulings
of the Constitutional Court.

The
Liberals, in opposition, are, however, sceptical that the ruling coalition made
up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
will take into account the final report of the Venice Commission, given the
stage of the revision process. Liberal senator Alina Gorghiu:

The
revision is in its final stage and it will be quite difficult to work so fast
so as to be able to publish the report within a timeframe that allows the
country in question, Romania, to take it into account.

The
right-wing opposition, part of the media and a number of civic organisations
have said that, by amending the three laws in such haste, the government
coalition is trying to put an end to the fight against corruption and place
magistrates at its orders. The power, on the other hand, says the laws in
question had not been revised for a long time and that justice is not free from
abuses and violations of the rule of law. They also speak about the existence
of an illegitimate, subterranean structure they call the parallel state which
they say paralyses state institutions and influences magistrates’ decisions.

13 June 2018
June 12, 2018 UPDATE

VENICE COMMISSION – On Tuesday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis met with a delegation of the Venice Commission, which is in Romania for talks on the modifications brought to the justice laws. At the end of the meeting, the head of state said he was looking forward to the specialists opinion. Also on Tuesday, the delegation held talks with members of the Special Parliamentary Committee in charge with the laws. Previously, the experts had met with judges of the Constitutional Court and asked for clarifications about the letter sent by the Court to several European institutions concerning the pressures that the court is allegedly subject to. On Monday, the delegation talked to the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader and the Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar. We recall that president Iohannis and the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have requested the opinion of the Venice Commission regarding the changes brought to the justice laws. The request was made against accusations launched by the right-wing opposition, part of the press and civic organizations according to which the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats are trying to stop the fight against corruption and get control over the magistrates. In another move, the Venice Commission has also been notified by the Constitutional Court of Romania about what the court magistrates say are attacks against the institution, following the courts opinion, which says that there is a legal constitutional conflict between the justice minister and the president of the country. The latter has rejected as ungrounded the request made by the justice minister regarding the removal from office of the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi.

RULING – Judges with the High Court of Cassation and Justice have postponed for June 29th the verdict in the case involving the former head of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism Alina Bica, businessman Dorin Cocos and his son. Bica is accused of aggravated abuse of office while employed as a secretary of state and representing the Justice Ministry in the Central Commission for Compensation Settlement within the National Authority for Property Restitution. The former chief of the anti-mafia prosecutors office is in Costa Rica, together with Dorin Cocos ex-wife, Elena Udrea, herself a former minister and tried for corruption. For a very long time, Elena Udrea was dubbed the most influential member of the ex-President Traian Basescus circle. The 2 have requested political asylum in Costa Rica.

INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in Romania went up to 5.4% in May, the highest level registered in the past five years. The increase occurred against the background of prices going up for foodstuffs, by almost 4%, for non-food products by almost 8% and for services by almost 3%. The National Bank of Romania has recently revised upwards, to 3.6%, the inflation rate forecast for the end of the year, and to 3% the inflation rate for the end of 2019.

CONFERENCE– At a conference held on Tuesday under the title “We are inventing the future! Our bet on science!”, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis said that there is still a gap between Romania and Western Europe in economic and social terms and pointed out that Romanias modernisation in the future depends a great deal on its investment in innovation. Iohannis said that special attention needs to be paid to the development of major projects in strategic fields and that research is the key of any sustainable economic growth strategy. “Increased European funds absorption and private investment are a must for Romania to be able to develop its research infrastructure,” the head of state also said.

SUMMIT– The US President Donald Trump has stated he is very proud of the outcome of his historic meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The latter has in turn promised that the world will see a major change. Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have pledged to work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The American leader has given assurances that this process will start very soon and that the relationship with North Korea will be very different. According to Reuters, although the summit in Singapore marks only the beginning of a diplomatic process, it could fundamentally change the security landscape of Northeast Asia, just as former U.S. President Richard Nixons visit to Beijing in 1972 led to the transformation of China.

THEATRE – The 25th International Theatre Festival continues in Sibiu (central Romania). This is the largest performing arts event in Romania and one of the most important in Europe. Some 60 events were held on Tuesday, the 5th day of the festival, including 14 street performances, 5 dance shows and 8 theatre performances. Thousands of artists from over 70 countries are performing every day both in theatre halls and in unconventional venues.

HANDBALL– Romanias national womens handball team will play against Norway, Germany and the Czech Republic in group D of this years European Championships, according to the drawing of lots held on Tuesday in Paris. The final tour will take place between 29 November – 16 December. At the previous edition of the championships, two years ago, the Romanian squad came in 5th. On Wednesday, Romanias mens squad will play in Cluj, north-western Romania, against the Macedonian team, a decisive match in the qualifiers for the 2019 World Championship, to be hosted by Denmark and Germany. In the first game hosted by Skopje on Sunday, the Romanian handball players were defeated 24 – 32.

12 June 2018
June 11, 2018 UPDATE

MOLDOVA — The Joint Committee on European Integration of the Romanian and Moldovan parliaments has voiced support to speed up projects of energy interconnection, to develop cooperation in the field of constructions and upgrade transport infrastructure. In a release on Monday, in Chisinau, the Committee says it supports sustainable solutions able to increase effectiveness in terms of border traffic. The Committee also asked for a bilateral accord between the Romanian and Moldovan governments that should ease the access to jobs for citizens from both states. These topics are to be tackled at the joint meeting of the two country’s governments that is to be held at the end of June.

VENICE COMMISSION — Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader on Monday met with the Venice Commission delegation who is in Romania on a 2-day visit focusing on the changes to the justice laws. Talks focused on the revised laws and their current stage and on the revision of the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. The delegation’s agenda includes meetings with President Klaus Iohannis, with Parliament members, and officials from the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the National Anti-corruption Directorate, the Higher Council of Magistracy, judge and prosecutor associations and civil society organisations. Both President Iohannis, and the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have requested the opinion of this body, which comprises independent experts in constitutional law, with respect to the Romanian laws on the organisation of courts, the operation of the Higher Council of Magistracy and the status of judges and prosecutors. The requests came after the right-wing opposition, the media and civil society claimed that these laws are used by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in order to stop the fight against corruption and get control over magistrates.

TRADE – Romania’s exports totalled over 22 billion Euros in January — April 2018, while imports reached nearly 26 billion euros, according to data made public on Monday by the National Statistics Institute. The trade deficit reached 3.7 billion euros in the first 4 months of the year, as against 3.3 billion euros last year. According to the Institute, in the first 4 months most of the imports and exports were accounted for by vehicles and transport equipment and other manufactured products.

EXERCISE — A large-scale military exercise involving more than 800 Romanian and British troops is taking place until June 22 in the counties Braşov (in central Romania) and Prahova (in the south). The troops are training as part of Sarmis 18, which is coordinated by the Brasov-based 2nd Mountain Troops Brigade. Also taking part are members of Battalion 47 Communications and IT and 1st Battalion, The Rifles from the UK. The exercises are designed to simulate military interventions in case of hybrid threats.

SUMMIT — The North-Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and US President Donald Trump are in Singapore, where they are holding a historic meeting on Tuesday morning. The summit is the first one between a Kim dynasty member and a US president in office. The talks, whose outcome is uncertain, will focus on the achievement of a special agreement regarding, above all, a full, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in exchange for relaxing international economic and diplomatic sanctions. President Donald Trump has today voiced optimism about the eagerly awaited meeting, which was unimaginable just months ago, when Trump and the Pyongyang leader were exchanging harsh lines that made the world fear the worst.

THEATRE – In Sibiu (central Romania), the 25th International Theatre Festival continues. This is the largest performing arts event in Romania and one of the most important in Europe. On Monday, the 4th day of the festival, over 40 events were scheduled, including the opening of the performance exchange, a structure launched 22 years ago in Romania, which brings together companies and festival directors from around the world. Thousands of artists from over 70 countries are performing every day both in theatre halls and in unconventional venues.

FILM FESTIVAL — The Bucharest International Film Festival opened on Monday in Bucharest with the production The Leisure Seeker, directed by the Italian Paolo Virzi, featuring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland in the lead roles. This year’s edition of the festival includes new films, awarded at international festivals, which are not yet screened in cinemas. As many as 20 films are part of the competition. The festival has a new section, entitled “Focus on Israel”, with six productions to be presented for the first time in Romania, a special section for shorts and one dedicated to the Centennial.

TENNIS — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, returned to Bucharest on Monday, when she presented her first Grand Slam trophy, won in Roland Garros to the Romanian public. At a news conference held upon her arrival at the Henri Coanda Airport, Halep said she wanted to share the joy of winning her first Grand Slam title with her fans. A number of officials and sports personalities welcomed Halep at the airport, such as the Minister of Youth and Sports, Ioana Bran, the head of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, former Olympic sabre champion Mihai Covaliu and the head of the Romanian Tennis Federation, George Cosac.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

11 June 2018
June 11, 2018

VENICE COMMISSION – A Venice Commission delegation is in Romania on a 2-day visit focusing on the changes to the justice laws. The delegation will have meetings with President Klaus Iohannis, with Parliament members, and officials from the Justice Ministry, High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor Generals Office, the National Anti-corruption Directorate, the Higher Council of Magistracy, judge and prosecutor associations and civil society organisations. Both President Iohannis, and the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have requested the opinion of this body, which comprises independent experts in constitutional law, with respect to the Romanian laws on the organisation of courts, the operation of the Higher Council of Magistrates and the status of judges and prosecutors. The requests came after the right-wing opposition, the media and civil society claimed that these laws are used by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in order to stop the fight against corruption and get control over magistrates.

TRADE – Romanias exports totaled over 22 billion Euros in January – April 2018, while imports reached nearly 26 billion euros, according to data made public today by the National Statistics Institute. The trade deficit reached 3.7 billion euros in the first 4 months of the year, as against 3.3 billion euros last year. According to the Institute, in the first 4 months most of the imports and exports were accounted for by vehicles and transport equipment and other manufactured products.

EXERCISE – A large-scale military exercise involving more than 800 Romanian and British troops is taking place until June 22 in the counties Braşov (in central Romania) and Prahova (in the south). The troops are training as part of Sarmis 18, which is coordinated by the Brasov-based 2nd Mountain Troops Brigade. Also taking part are members of Battalion 47 Communications and IT and 1st Battalion, The Rifles from the UK. The exercises are designed to simulate military interventions in case of hybrid threats.

THEATRE – In Sibiu (central Romania), the 25th International Theatre Festival continues. This is the largest performing arts event in Romania and one of the most important in Europe. Today, on the 4th day of the festival, over 40 events will take place, including the opening of the performance exchange, a structure launched 22 years ago in Romania, which brings together companies and festival directors from around the world. Thousands of artists from over 70 countries are performing every day both in theatre halls and in unconventional venues.

SUMMIT – The North-Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and US President Donald Trump are in Singapore, where they will hold a historic meeting tomorrow morning. The summit is the first one between a Kim dynasty member and a US president in office. The talks, whose outcome is uncertain, will focus on the achievement of a special agreement regarding, above all, a full, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in exchange for relaxing international economic and diplomatic sanctions. President Donald Trump has today voiced optimism about the eagerly awaited meeting, which was unimaginable just months ago, when Trump and the Pyongyang leader were exchanging harsh lines that made the world fear the worst.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, returns to Bucharest today, when she is to present her first Grand Slam trophy, won in Roland Garros on Saturday, to the Romanian public. We remind you that Halep defeated the American Sloane Stephens in the final.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

11 June 2018
June 10, 2018 UPDATE

PROTEST – A fresh anti-government protest was organized in Bucharest on Sunday evening. Under the slogan “The Country is on fire! Light for democracy, the civic organizations which initiated the rally want to express their disagreement with the policies pursued by the ruling coalition in such domains as justice, the environment and the economy. The protest is staged just a day after the Social Democrats and Liberals-Democrats on Saturday organized the biggest rally since taking over power, a year and a half ago. The over 100,000 participants protested against what they called abuses and the infringement of the principles of the rule of law. They denounced the existence of an illegitimate and underground structure, which they generically deem as “the parallel state and which allegedly influences the state institutions and decision-making in the justice field. On Friday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice postponed issuing a verdict, for a third time, in a lawsuit in which the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, is accused of corruption offences. The anti-corruption prosecutors called on the court to issue a seven year and five month jail sentence for abuse of office on Dragneas name, in addition to two years and six months for forgery. In 2016, Dragnea got a final, suspended two year sentence, for attempted rigging.

JUSTICE – A delegation of the Venice Commission pays a two-day visit to Romania as of Monday, for consultations on the modifications brought to the justice laws. The delegation is due to have talks with President Klaus Iohannis, with other officials at the Romanian Parliament, the Justice Ministry, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor Generals Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the Superior Council of Magistracy, associations of judges and prosecutors and civil society organisations. Both President Iohannis and the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) have requested the opinion of this consultative body, made up of independent experts on constitutional law, on the laws on judicial organisation, the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the status of judges and prosecutors. The requests were made amidst accusations launched by the right-of-centre opposition, civic organisations and part of a press, according to whom by modifying these laws, the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania is allegedly trying to halt the fight against corruption and to subordinate magistrates.

ADMINISTRATIVE CODE – The Romanian Senate will debate on Monday the draft Administrative Code, after it has been debated and adopted by the relevant parliamentary committee. The Senate is the first notified chamber in this case. The document regulates the organisation and functioning of authorities and institutions in the public administration: the government, ministries, prefects offices, county councils, city halls, defines the status of those working in these institutions and sets the guidelines for decentralisation and local autonomy.

HALEP – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has congratulated the Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on her victory at the Roland Garros tennis tournament. In a message posted on a social network, the head of state has underlined that Haleps first Grand Slam trophy in her career comes at the end of a final in which she fought for every ball, without giving up any moment. In turn, PM Viorica Dăncilă has praised, in a message, the way in which Halep fought on court, saying her performance was a further confirmation that she deserved the trophy. Both the Romanian and international press has hailed Simona Haleps win in Paris. The no.1 WTA tennis player defeated the American Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Her success at Roland Garros comes 45 years since Romanian Ilie Năstase won the tournament hosted by the French capital city for the second time in a row and 40 years since her current manager, Virginia Ruzici, won the French Open.

SINGAPORE – The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has arrived in Singapore, ahead of a historic summit with the US President, Donald Trump. In turn, the White House leader comes from Quebec, where he attended the G7 summit. The Kim-Trump Summit scheduled for Tuesday morning will be a first meeting between the Kim dynasty heir and an acting US President. The discussions which are likely to produce uncertain, unclear results, will be aimed at reaching an agreement on North Koreas complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation, in exchange for an easing of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

CANOEING – Romanians Leonid Carp and Victor Mihalachi on Sunday won gold in the 500m double canoe race, at the European Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. On Saturday they grabbed a silver medal in the 1,000 m double canoe race. Romanian Mihaela Lulea also got silver in the 200m paracanoe race.

THEATRE FESTIVAL – The Sibiu International Theatre Festival, one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world continues in Sibiu, central Romania. Sundays highlights included 50 events organised not only in halls but also in unconventional places: theatre and dance shows, contemporary circus, concerts, exhibitions, theatre workshops and street parades. We recall that over 3,300 artists from 73 countries are participating in the 25th edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which runs until next Sunday.

10 June 2018
June 10, 2018

HALEP – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has congratulated the Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on her victory at the Roland Garros tennis tournament. In a message posted on a social network, the head of state has underlined that Haleps first Grand Slam trophy in her career comes at the end of a final in which she fought for every ball, without giving up any moment. In turn, PM Viorica Dăncilă has praised, in a message, the way in which Halep fought on court, saying her performance was a further confirmation that she deserved the trophy. Both the Romanian and international press has hailed Simona Haleps win in Paris. The no.1 WTA tennis player defeated the American Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Her success at Roland Garros comes 45 years since Romanian Ilie Năstase won the tournament hosted by the French capital city for the second time in a row and 40 years since her current manager, Virginia Ruzici, won the French Open.

JUSTICE – A delegation of the Venice Commission pays a two-day visit to Romania as of Monday, for consultations on the modifications brought to the justice laws. The delegation is due to have talks with President Klaus Iohannis, with other officials at the Romanian Parliament, the Justice Ministry, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor Generals Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the Superior Council of Magistracy, associations of judges and prosecutors and civil society organisations. Both President Iohannis and the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) have requested the opinion of this consultative body, made up of independent experts on constitutional law, on the laws on judicial organisation, the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy and the status of judges and prosecutors. The requests were made amidst accusations launched by the right-of-centre opposition, civic organisations and part of a press, according to whom by modifying these laws, the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania is allegedly trying to halt the fight against corruption and to subordinate magistrates.

RALLY – Over 100,000 Romanians coming from all across the country on Saturday took part in a rally in Victory Square in Bucharest, organised by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania. They protested against what the Social Democrats and their junior partners in the ruling coalition called abuses and the infringement of the principles of the rule of law. They denounced what they called the existence of a illegitimate and underground structure, which they generically deem as “the parallel state which influence the state institutions and decision-making in the justice field. The Liberals, in the parliamentary opposition, claim the rally was a deeply undemocratic action to intimidate magistrates, civil servants and the public sector employees who do not listen to political command or journalists who are critical of the Social Democratic Party.

ADMINISTRATIVE CODE – The Romanian Senate will debate on Monday the draft Administrative Code, after it has been debated and adopted by the relevant parliamentary committee. The Senate is the first notified chamber in this case. The document regulates the organisation and functioning of authorities and institutions in the public administration: the government, ministries, prefects offices, county councils, city halls, defines the status of those working in these institutions and sets the guidelines for decentralisation and local autonomy.

SINGAPORE – The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has arrived in Singapore, ahead of a historic summit with the US President, Donald Trump. In turn, the White House leader comes from Quebec, where he attended the G7 summit. The Kim-Trump Summit scheduled for Tuesday morning will be a first meeting between the Kim dynasty heir and an acting US President. The discussions which are likely to produce uncertain, unclear results, will be aimed at reaching an agreement on North Koreas complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation, in exchange for an easing of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

THEATRE FESTIVAL – The Sibiu International Theatre Festival, one of the largest festivals of its kind in the world continues in Sibiu, central Romania. Sundays highlights include 50 events organised not only in halls but also in unconventional places: theatre and dance shows, contemporary circus, concerts, exhibitions, theatre workshops and street parades. We recall that over 3,300 artists from 73 countries are participating in the 25th edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which runs until next Sunday.

10 June 2018
June 9, 2018 UPDATE 2

GRAND SLAM TITLE – World No. 1 Simona Halep of Romania on Saturday won the French Open, her first Grand Slam title. After being defeated in three previous Grand Slam finals Halep finally triumphed against US Open champion Sloane Stephens, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 after a nearly two-hour battle on Court Philippe-Chatrier. This is Simona’s third participation in the French Open. She lost the final twice, against Russian Maria Sharapova in 2014 and against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in 2017.Simona Halep is the first Romanian woman in 40 years to win Roland Garros, after Virginia Ruzici in 1978, and marks 10 years since she won the Junior title in Roland Garros in 2008.

RALLY – Extensive security measures were taken on Saturday in Romania’s capital city Bucharest, where a number of rallies were staged. Also, counter-terrorist teams were dispatched on the central streets. The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats staged a rally with more than 100 thousand participants, against what the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea calls the abuse and violation of the rule of law. Dragnea says an illegitimate structure has been set up, able to influence the decisions of the justice system. On Friday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice postponed, for the third time, its ruling in a case in which Dragnea is accused of corruption. Prosecutors are asking for a prison sentence of 7 years and 5 months for abuse of office and a prison sentence of 2 years and 6 months for forgery. In 2016 Liviu Dragnea received a suspended jail sentence of 2 years for attempted electoral fraud.

MARCHES – Several hundred people participated on Saturday in Bucharest in a rally staged by sexual minorities, in support of civil rights equal for all citizens. The rally ended the Bucharest Pride festival week, previously known as Gay Fest, an annual event dedicated to the LGBT community in Romania. Attending were the British Ambassador to Bucharest, Paul Brummell and the German Ambassador, Cord Meier-Klodt. Previously, around 150 people took part in another rally, staged by Noua Dreapta (The New Right), a non-parliamentary group, in support of the values of traditional family and against the idea of same sex marriage. Participants asked for same sex marriage not to be allowed under the Constitution. Also on Saturday the supporters of Romania’s unification with the neighbouring Republic of Moldova staged rallies in the capital city. All these events unfolded without incidents.

ASSISTANCE – The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest makes available on its web page and the Facebook page of its consular department “The Guide for the 2018 FIFA World Cup”, for the people who want to travel to the Russian Federation for the matches that will start next week. The Guide presents the rules to be observed while travelling to Russia. The Foreign Ministry has announced that Romanians can also resort to the alert service via SMS and the “Travel safely” application, which offerss information, advice, and the possibility to ask for assistance while in a foreign country.

VENICE COMMISSION – A delegation of the Venice Commission will travel to Romania for two days of consultations regarding the amendments to the justice laws. The delegation will have meetings with President Klaus Iohannis, and with representatives of Parliament, Justice Ministry, the High Court of Cassations and Justice, the Constitutional Court, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the Higher Council of Magistracy, associations of prosecutors and judges and civil society. Both President Iohannis and the monitoring committee of the Council of Europes Parliamentary Assembly have asked for the opinion of the Venice Commission, made up of independent experts in constitutional law, with regard to the laws on the judicial organization, the functioning of the Higher Council of Magistracy and the status of judges and prosecutors. The need for consultations emerged against the background of accusations leveled by the right-of-center opposition, the media and civic organizations against the ruling coalition, whom they accuse of trying to put an end to the anti-corruption battle and subordinate magistrates.

CEREMONY – General Nicolae Ciuca, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, on Saturday attended the ceremony occasioned by the anniversary of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the invitation of Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart William Peach, according to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry. This is recognition of the good cooperation between the two armies and an opportunity to promote at military level the interests of the Romanian Army in the relation with the British Army, one of its most important allies, the communiqué also reads.

FINANCES – Romanians working abroad are among Romania’s most important investors, Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu has said. Isarescu has taken into account the value and destination of the money they send to the country. The Central Bank has said that the money of the Romanians working abroad is more and more used in starting a business. Around 3.5 million Romanians are working abroad, with countries such as Spain, Germany and Britain as their main destination.

HANDBALL — Romania’s national handball team will be up against Macedonia on Sunday evening, away from home, in the play-offs for the 2019 Men’s World Championship held in Denmark and Germany. Macedonia and Romania will close the first round of play-offs with their match on the Boris Trajkovski Arena in Skopje. Romania has not been at a World Championship since 2011 in Sweden. Romania enjoyed a good start to qualifiers for EHF EURO 2018 but their engine stuttered towards the end of the qualification. The return game with Macedonia will be held on Wednesday, June 13 in Cluj-Napoca, northwestern Romania. (Translated by Elena Enache)

9 June 2018
May 20, 2018

Regional policy – The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu will pay a 2 — day visit to Romania as of Monday to discuss sustainable urban development. On Monday Commissioner Cretu will participate alongside PM Viorica Dancila and the minister for European funds Rovana Plumb in a conference devoted to urban investments hosted by Bacau, in the east. Commissioner Cretu will also visit the astronomic observatory in Bacau that benefited from European funds. On Tuesday Corina Cretu and minister Plumb will participate in a dialogue with the citizens at the Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau. In a communiqué issued ahead of her visit to Romania, Commissioner Cretu said that more than one billion Euros would be invested in urban development in Romania.

Chisinau — Sunday will see the first round of the early elections for the city halls of Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, and Balti, the second largest city of Moldova, in the north. The seats became vacant after the mayors elected in June 2015, pro-European Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca in Chisinau and pro-Russian populist Renato Usatii from Balti stepped down following criminal prosecution in cases that both labeled as investigations on political command. The early elections are considered a test ahead of the parliamentary elections to be held in autumn. Analysts quoted by Radio Romania’s correspondents to Chisinau say that the vote also has a geopolitical importance, as the situation between the pro-European and the pro-Russian supporters will be clarified. One third of Moldova’s population lives in Chisinau, producing half of the country’s GDP.

Cannes — The Japanese film director Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Palme d’Or trophy of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival for his movie Shoplifters. The film has been described as an Oliver Twist of modern times, a story about misfits and crooks. On Saturday American Spike Lee received the Grand Prize for BlacKkKlansman, a pamphlet movie in which the director from Brooklyn denounces racism and far right extremism. The Jury’s prize went to Lebanese Nadine Labaki for the movie Capharnaum, which tells the story of Zain, a 12-year old street child who is fighting with his parents who refuse to send him to school and beat him. The best actress award went to Samal Esljamova, from Kazakhstan for the role of Ayka, while the best actor award was won by Italian Marcello Fonte for his role in Dogman.

Tennis — World’s no. 1 player, Romanian Simona Halep will take on today the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (4 WTA) in the final of the Rome tournament, which has total prizes worth 2.7 million Euros. Last year the final was won by the Ukrainian player. On Saturday, in the semifinals, Halep defeated the Russian Maria Sharapova while Elina Svitolina eliminated Estonian Anett Kontaveit. The winner of the Rome tournament will receive 507 thousand Euros and 900 WTA points. The defeated player will receive about 253 thousand Euros and 585 WTA points.

Justice — Several hundred Romanian magistrates on Saturday protested before the Palace of Justice in Bucharest against the modification of the criminal codes, of the justice laws and against the authorities’ refusal to take into consideration GRECO’s critical report and to wait for the specialist opinion of the Venice Commission. The magistrates adopted a resolution in which they call on the Romanian President, the speakers of the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies to urgently consult the Venice Commission in relation to certain aspects regarding the modification of Romania’s criminal codes. They also call for the immediate suspension of debates in the special parliamentary committee until the Venice Commission gives its opinion. The magistrates also called on the justice minister to abstain from actions meant to intimidate the prosecutors and which affect the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

20 May 2018