November 16, 2016
Former Electoral Authority chief Ana Maria Patru, charged with influence peddling, money laundering
Newsroom, 16.11.2016, 00:00
HEARING – The president of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, Ana Maria Pătru, is to be heard by judges today, after the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested her arrest pending trial. She was detained last night under charges of influence peddling and money laundering. Pǎtru allegedly demanded and received over 200,000 euros in bribe in exchange for implementing IT procurement contracts with a particular company, and tried to conceal the source of the money by setting up a fictitious circuit. Ana Maria Pătru announced her resignation as head of the Permanent Electoral Authority.
CORRUPTION – The ex-MEP Adrian Severin is to find out today whether he must serve a harsher sentence instead of the three and a half year imprisonment ruling initially passed against him. Anti-corruption prosecutors requested penalties of 6 and a half years for bribe taking and 5 years for influence peddling. Adrian Severin is accused of having accepted the 100,000 euros per year promised by two journalists from The Sunday Times, who were running an undercover investigation, in exchange for submitting amendments in the specialised committees of the European Parliament. Two other MEPs, from Slovenia and Austria, also accepted to sell their services to The Sunday Times journalists. Unlike Adrian Severin, they resigned following this corruption scandal.
ECONOMY – In Romania, the hard-won macroeconomic balance must be preserved, the governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isărescu warned once again. The central bank official says that in spite of Romanias economic growth, encouraging demand and consumption has created jobs in other countries rather than in Romania, given that the demand has been primarily met by imports, which are going up at a much faster rate than exports. Financial-banking analysts estimate that Romania needs a 5% annual growth rate for a long period if it is to recover its development delays compared to Western Europe.
BOOK FAIR – Bucharest is hosting until Sunday the 23rd Gaudeamus International Book and Education Fair, the longest-lived and most dynamic book fair in Romania, organised by Radio Romania. The highlights of this years fair include events devoted to the Romanian film industry, attended by the directors Cristian Mungiu and Radu Jude, and some of the most recent international releases launched in their Romanian version. This years guest of honour is China. During its 96 editions in various Romanian cities in 20 years of existence, the fair has brought together more than 2,600,000 visitors and some 10,500 special events.
US PRESIDENT – The US President Barack Obama will give a speech in Athens today on his views on democracy. Yesterday, during a meeting with his Greek counterpart, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Obama pleaded for a strong, united and thriving Europe. Greece is the first destination in the last foreign trip made by Obama as President of the USA. In Europe, Obama will have meetings with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the President of France, Francois Hollande and the Prime Ministers of UK and Italy. He will then travel to Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Summit. The outgoing White House leader intends to reassure his European allies of the future of the trans-Atlantic relations, amid concerns triggered by the intentions of his successor, Donald Trump.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
