May 6, 2015 UPDATE
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România Internațional, 06.05.2015, 12:15
The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, is participating Thursday in Gdansk, Poland, in the events marking 70 years since the end of WWII and 45 years since the end of the Soviet domination over Eastern Europe. According to the Polish authorities the ceremonies will be attended by the presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine as well as by the PM of Slovakia. France will be represented by its defence minister while Germany by its former president Horst Koehler. Other officials expected in Gdansk are the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk. Russian officials labeled the ceremonies in Gdansk as a counter-event to the May 9th military parade in the Red Square, in Moscow. The parade will not be attended by more western leaders in sign of protest against Russia’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The leaders of the Romanian political parties on Wednesday signed, at a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis, a draft law meant to amend and complete the law on the processing of personal data and the protection of private life in the e-communications sector, the presidential administration announced. According to the same source, the initiative is not related to the cyber security law or the law on data retention – the so-called Big Brother laws- that were declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court. The draft law agreed upon on Wednesday is meant to offer further guarantees for the protection of personal data and of the right to private life and to bring clarifications aimed at doing away with the risk of abuse. Therefore access to personal data is allowed within a clear framework established by the court or following prior approval by a judge. The Romanian president expressed hope that the draft law would be passed by Parliament, underlining that a democratic society should be defined by security, observance of the law and freedom.
The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed the draft law on local elections which provides, among other things, for the election of mayors in one single round, for the election of the county council president by the county councilors and for maintaining the electoral threshold for political parties at 5%. The draft law, already passed by the Senate, also stipulates that an EU citizen can run for mayor in the future local elections. So far EU citizens could only run for local and county councilor. Also on Wednesday the Romanian MPs passed the draft law on the amending and completing the political parties law.
The Romanian PM made a 6-day tour of the Gulf countries. In an interview to Radio Romania he admitted that the development of economic relations with the Gulf countries depends on how the Romanian authorities will promote their interests.
Britons are called to the polls on Thursday to elect their representatives in Parliament. Surveys shows that neither the Labour Party nor the Conservative Party will get a majority in Parliament which means that intense negotiations will take place regarding the formation of a stable government. According to analysts immigration was the only theme that animated the election campaign.
The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (37th in the WTA rankings) on Wednesday qualified in the quarterfinals of the Madrid tennis Open which has prizes up for grabs worth more than 4 million euros and which is considered one of the most important tournaments ahead of Roland Garros, the year’s second Grand Slam. Irina Begu defeated in the eighth finals the Czech Barbora Strycova 6-4, 6-4. Following her qualification in the quarterfinals she obtained 100 thousand euros and 215 WTA points. In the quarterfinals Begu will take on Petra Kvitova, also from the Czech Republic, who is world’s no. 4. The two players have never played against each other before.
