6 May, 2015
News and current affairs from Romania
Ştefan Stoica, 06.05.2015, 12:00
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis holds talks with major party leaders on a legal framework regarding personal data and privacy in electronic communications, a law that has been dubbed by the press the ‘Big Brother’ law. In January, multiple bills were sent back by Parliament, after the Constitutional Court found they contravened fundamental law. This is the fourth round of consultations that the head of state has with parliamentary parties, after talks on the defense budget, election law and legislative priorities.
The Constitutional Court in Bucharest today accepted a challenge filed by the Liberal opposition to the Senate’s ruling to reject the application filed by the Anti-Corruption Directorate to lift immunity for MP Dan Sova, former Social Democrat minister for transportation. The court ruled that the Senate’s decision is unconstitutional. Sova is under investigation for conspiracy to commit abuse of office, but on March 25th a majority of senators ruled for his arrest, a decision that was annulled by a lack of quorum. An emergency session of the Senate immediately followed the court ruling.
The bill for campaign and political party financing is pending a final vote in Parliament. A decisive vote is also expected for bills on local elections and creating new parties. These draft laws expect mayors to be elected in a single run, while political parties and elections that have over 3% of the popular vote can get reimbursed for election expenses within a given ceiling. A new proposed change in the law allows parties to be created by only 3 signatory prospective members.
Romanian PM Victor Ponta is back in Bucharest after the six day tour of Persian Gulf countries. In an interview with Radio Romania, he admitted that the development of relations with the countries in that region depends only on the way in which the authorities in Bucharest will promote their interests.
The supreme court in Bucharest postponed for May 15 the ruling in the case in which a government minister, Liviu Dragnea, is accused, along 74 other people, of election fraud in the 2012 referendum to depose President Traian Basescu. This case alleges that he used undue influence to attempt to tip the scales in favor of President Basescu’s dismissal as head of state. Dragnea claims innocence and a lack of hard evidence. We recall that even though 87% of voters were in favor of dismissing the president, the referendum got invalidated for a lack of quorum.
