August 25, 2023

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.08.2023, 13:55

LAWS The Romanian
government will assume responsibility before Parliament for a law package concerning
the reform of the state apparatus, the measures aimed at attaining fiscal
balance and avoiding tax evasion. Wasting public money along with fiscal and
tax evasion is preventing the country’s development, Romania’s Prime Minister
Marcel Ciolacu has said. The Romanian official will go to Brussels next week
for a new round of talks with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von
der Leyen, over changing the budget deficit target, and according to some
government sources, talks will also be focusing on the fiscal measures package.
The opposition has announced its intention to table censure motions against the
PSD-PNL Executive.

JUSTICE The
drug-addicted driver who killed two in a seaside resort in south-eastern
Romania will not be able to avoid prison, says the former Justice Minister and
present senator, Robert Cazanciuc. In a post on a social network, Cazanciuc explains
that the so-called Anastasia Law, which he proposed in Parliament, has already
been in force for one month and it stipulates prison sentences for all who,
while driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, kill people in road
accidents. The Social-Democratic senator says that additional prevention
measures are needed, such as the interdiction to drive for a long period of
time in the case of killer drivers or even the cancellation of driving licenses
for those caught under the influence, irrespective of having committed a road
accident or not. We recall that four high officials from the local police have
stepped down after the accident. Although the aforementioned driver had been
stopped by road police shortly before the accident, they eventually left him
alone without testing him for banned substances. A government committee is
presently investigating the incident in an attempt to discover the faulty
procedures the police applied in the aforementioned case.

TALKS Romanian
Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu, on Thursday talked on the phone with the
Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Mariya Gabriel, who is also the head of the
Bulgarian diplomacy. According to a communiqué by the Foreign Ministry in
Bucharest, the two ministers have reiterated the common objective of
coordination with a view to completing ‘a.s.a.p’ the two countries’ accession
process to Europe’s border-free area, Schengen. Odobescu has highlighted the
interest of the Romanian side, also confirmed by her Bulgarian counterpart, in
stepping up sectoral bilateral contacts with a view to developing joint projects,
particularly in the field of infrastructure.

FOOTBALL Romania’s
football champions, Farul Constanta, on Thursday night secured a 2-1 home win
against Finnish side HJK Helsinki in the play-offs of Europa Conference League.
In the same stage of the competition, the winners of Romania’s Cup, Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe, ended in a two-all draw their game against Norwegian side Bodoe/Glimt.
The decisive matches for qualifying in the groups of Europe’s third football
competition are to take place on August 31st.

(bill)