August 8, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 08.08.2024, 19:49
Start Up Nation. The Government approved, on Thursday, a new edition of the ‘Start Up Nation – Romania’ program, with a budget of almost 450 million euros, for a maximum of five years. The program has two components: one for access to training courses for young people under 30 years of age, and the second is intended for those between the ages of 30 and 35 who want to develop a business. Start Up Nation is dedicated to young entrepreneurs, as well as those who live in poor areas or belong to disadvantaged categories. Entrepreneurs from the Roma minority are also an important component. The project is coordinated by the Ministry of Economy, and the responsible minister, Radu Oprea, stated that this year more money is allocated for each participant compared to previous years. 80% are European funds and 20% from the state budget.
GRECO. The anti-corruption fight in Romania has not registered any progress regarding the members of parliament, since the last GRECO report, before which only eight of the 13 recommendations made had been implemented satisfactorily. This is the conclusion of the report published on Thursday, in which the anti-corruption body of the Council of Europe indicates that there are negative elements at work in Romania. GRECO’s recommendations referred to anti-corruption measures aimed at parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors. It is important that the transparency of the parliamentary process be improved and that the use of emergency procedures be reduced. Conflicts of interest and rules for interacting with lobbyists have yet to be introduced, the document states. Regarding judges and prosecutors, the report notes the positive efforts made to increase the role of the Supreme Council of Magistracy and the Judicial Inspectorate in responding to risks to the integrity of judges and prosecutors. The report also welcomes the fact that legislative measures have been taken to ensure greater independence of prosecutors. However, the report states, GRECO’s recommendations also concerned clarity and predictability regarding the liability of judges and prosecutors for judicial errors.
Investigation. Two doctors specializing in anesthesia and intensive care from the “St. Pantelimon” Emergency Clinical Hospital in Bucharest were detained under the charge of qualified murder, in a case concerning several suspicious deaths in April. A nurse, accused of continuous perjury, was placed under judicial control. The doctors are accused of having premeditated the death of a 54-year-old patient hospitalized in the intensive care unit by suddenly reducing the dose of noradrenaline, an essential drug in increasing or maintaining blood pressure. Research continues in the case of other patients who died during that period. Moreover, the investigation was started after the prosecutors were informed about the death of 17 people. The medical director of the Bucharest hospital resigned, and the manager announced that he would also resign. In the meantime, the anesthesiologists and intensive care doctors at the St. Pantelimon hospital started a spontaneous strike on Thursday, ensuring only emergencies, guard duty and treatment of patients in the intensive care ward. According to the management of the medical unit, the doctors “complain about the attitude and the climate in which they work”.
Untold. One of the most anticipated musical events of the year in Romania – the Untold Festival – started in the city of Cluj-Napoca on Thursday night, to last until Sunday. The four day program of the festival includes, in addition to concerts, numerous themed events and parties, and as a first, on the main stage, the musical pieces will be interpreted in sign language for people with hearing impairments. The authorities say they are ready to act to provide safety to the participants in the Untold Festival. Special attention is paid to the prevention of the sale and consumption of drugs.
Ship. “Romanian training vessel ’Mircea’ has been one of the most effective, smartest and well-trained ambassadors Romania has had in the past century”, the country’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said upon the ship’s entry into the military port of Constanta, south-eastern Romania on Thursday, at the end of a six-week training voyage around the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. 86 cadets of the ‘Mircea the Old’ Naval Academy and 8 cadets from partner academies in Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, Spain and Turkey were on board the ship during the voyage. ‘Mircea’ set sail from Constanta on June 26th and its trip included stopovers in Piraeus, Greece, Livorno, Italy, Toulon, France, Palermo, Italy and Bodrum, Turkey. ‘Mircea’ is a sailing ship built in Hamburg over 1938-1939, and since its firs sail, it has completed 45 training trips through the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. (MI)
