February 24, 2019 UPDATE

Click here for a round-up of news from Romania

Leyla Cheamil, 24.02.2019, 19:00

SUMMIT – Cooperation between the EU and the League of Arab States is vital in the fight against terrorism, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said at the first EU-The League of Arab States Summit, underway in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Iohannis underlined that Romania is firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism and violent extremism. The Romanian president also said the evolutions in the region over the past few years included a series of crises which continue to impact everyones security, in spite of the efforts that are being made by local actors and by the international community. Klaus Iohannis said that economy is the engine to positive transformation and he added that trade exchanges and investments contribute to sustainable development, containing poverty and creating new jobs. The President of Romania has also reiterated that migration continues to be a major challenge. “We should approach the root causes of this scourge and closely cooperate with the origin and transit countries, Klaus Iohannis has also said.

MAGISTRATES– The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila has invited representatives of the magistrates associations and of the Superior Council of Magistracy to talks on Monday, on the recent changes to the justice laws. In a communiqué, the prime minister has expressed her cabinets availability to support all judicial institutions to perform a correct act of justice, towards ensuring full respect for the citizens rights. The announcement is made shortly after Fridays protests by the magistrates across the country, against the provisions of an emergency decree issued on Tuesday by the government. According to prosecutors and judges the new changes may lead to an institutional deadlock and impact the independence of the judiciary. We recall that several prosecutors offices in Bucharest and several other cities have decided to suspend their activity, for a week, as from Monday, in token of protest against the new changes to the justice laws

VENEZUELA – The EU on Sunday condemned the acts of violence by troops loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro which blocked convoys of humanitarian aid from crossing into Venezuela. Violence broke out on Saturday when four trucks attempted to cross the border from Columbia into Venezuela, backed by the crowd which demanded free access for the humanitarian convoy sent mainly by the US. According to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, the main causes of the current crisis are political and institutional, and consequently the solution could only be political. She called for restoring democracy to Venezuela by holding free, transparent and credible presidential elections. Several European states have recently announced they recognize the opposition leader in Venezuela, Juan Guaido, as interim president. In exchange, China and Russia recognize Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president of the country.

DIASPORA – Experts on Diaspora-related problems from 9 countries, including Greece, Italy, France and the UK, attended a debate in Craiova, southern Romania, between February 22 and 24. The event was organised by the Ministry for the Romanians Abroad, now that Romania is holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The participants presented examples of reinsertion and reintegration of citizens, after their return to their countries of origin, as well as awareness raising campaigns on human trafficking.

FLU – The National Public Health Institute on Sunday announced a new death caused by the flu virus, thus taking to 149 the total number of people who succumbed to the flu in Romania since the start of the season. The last person to die of flu is a man, 39, without pre-existing conditions, who hasnt gotten a flu shot. The latest data released by the National Public Health Institute show over 1.3 million people have been vaccinated against the flu so far.

TRAVEL – The Tourism Fair which started in Bucharest on Thursday came to a close on Sunday. Over 330 companies from 15 countries have presented their travel offers to visitors. A Romanian-Moldovan joint project titled “The Route of Ruler Stephen the Great, was also launched during the fair, in an effort to boost cooperation between the two countries and to contribute to developing the areas along this route, in terms of tourism. The new project is destined for Moldovan and Romanian citizens, as well as for foreigners who want to embark on an interesting cultural and historical itinerary. The route includes 24 historical and cultural attractions on Romanias territory and 10 others located in the Republic of Moldova. (Translated by D. Vijeu)