April 22, 2015
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România Internațional, 22.04.2015, 12:00
Today starts the trial of the former Romanian minister of development, Elena Udrea, at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. On Tuesday she was called by prosecutors before the court being charged with bribe taking, abuse of office and the use of documents for unlawfully obtaining European funds. In the case, which is linked to the organization of a sports gala in Bucharest, another 7 people are involved, among whom the former economy minister, Ion Ariton, and the former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja. A close friend of the former president Traian Basescu and considered the most influential politician in his entourage, Elena Udrea is also being investigated in other corruption cases.
The law on funding political parties and election campaigns, which the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis had sent back to Parliament for reexamination was passed today by the Senate and will go next to the Chamber of Deputies. On Tuesday the Electoral Code Committee had approved the largest part of the requests made by the Romanian president, including those related to the way in which political parties can obtain loans from natural persons and legal entities. According to the law the documents and information which the Permanent Electoral Authority may ask during election campaigns can be exclusively related to the activity of the parties that involves revenues and expenses.
The multinational military exercise “Wind Spring” under way in the south east of Romania gives a message to all countries outside NATO, namely that the NATO states are working and will always act together, said general Adrian Bradshaw, the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. He insisted on the defensive nature of the operation and thanked Romania for its intention to increase the budget of national defense by 2% of the GDP. General Bradshaw visited together with the Romanian defense minister, Mircea Dusa, one of the military bases in the south east of Romania, where the Wind Spring drill is taking place until April 30th. Participating in the military exercise are more than 2,200 soldiers from the UK, the Republic of Moldova, Romania and the US. The exercise is part of the joint training activities taking place both in Romania and abroad as part of the “Atlantic Resolve” operation through which NATO and the US show their support for ensuring stability and regional security, given the current security situation in the area.
The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is today having consultations in Bucharest with the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry the visit of the Luxembourg official is an opportunity for diversifying and deepening bilateral relations as well as for intensifying cooperation as regards issues of interest on the European and international agenda, in the context in which Luxembourg will take over, as of July 1st, the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The talks focus on bilateral economic and cultural cooperation, on preparing the Riga summit, on relationships with the states in the eastern neighborhood and on the energy union.
The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, the world’s no. 3, is playing tonight against Garbine Muguruza of Spain, in the eighth finals of the Stuttgart tournament. Halep, the competition’s 2nd favorite, was signed up by organizers directly in the eighth finals while in the first match Muguruza defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic. We recall that given her busy European agenda, Simona Halep did not participate last weekend in the Fed Cup matches when Romania’s women’s team defeated the Canadian team in Montreal 3-2. Next year Romania will play in the competition’s quarterfinals, which it had not reached since 1992.
