December 21, 2018
Romanias Supreme Court has continued to suspend the serving of prison sentences received by several high-level officials under corruption charges.
Newsroom, 21.12.2018, 14:06
REVOLUTION – Today Romania commemorates 29 years since the anti-communist Revolution extended from Timisoara to Bucharest and the whole country. On December 20th, 1989, after several days of repression by the Communist authorities, the people of Timisoara took to the streets in great numbers. The army withdrew to the barracks and from the balcony of the Opera House in Timisoara the people declared Timisoara the first city of Romania free of Communism. On December 21st, the anti-Communist revolution extended to Bucharest and culminated on December 22nd with dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu fleeing Bucharest. Over 1,000 people died and some 3,000 others were wounded in the shootings in Romania, the only Eastern Bloc country where the communist regime was toppled violently and where the communist leaders were executed. 29 years on, the prosecutors’ investigation into those events has not been finalized and the culprits are still at large. Initially classified, the revolution file was reopened in 2017 after the judges decided that the previous investigations had been very superficial. Military prosecutors announced the extension of criminal procedures, in rem, in relation to crimes against humanity. Military prosecutors have indicted former president Ion Iliescu in the “Revolution” case.
ICE HOTEL — On December 23 the only ice hotel in Romania will be opened at Balea Lac in the Southern Carpathians. The official inauguration of the entire compound, to also include an ice church and several igloos will take place next February. The ice hotel, built entirely of ice blocks, is located at an altitude of 2034 meters. This year, the theme that has inspired the hotel’s decoration is Frozen Love, promoting love and passion for nature, fresh air and trekking in the winter season. A perfume inspired from this theme will also be launched. Bookings for tourists who want to experiment sleeping at minus 2 degrees Celsius were made months in advance, especially by Britons. The Ice Hotel has been built every year, starting 2005.
JUDICIARY – Romania’s Supreme Court has continued to suspend the serving of prison sentences received by several high-level officials under corruption charges. Among them are the former chief of the anti-terrorism and anti-mafia directorate Alina Bica, who requested asylum in Costa Rica, the former head of the tax authority, Serban Pop, and former Social Democratic ministers and MPs Dan Şova and Constantin Niţă. They have been released, until final rulings are passed on their appeals. The argument put forth for the suspension of their sentences was that the membership of the 5-judge panels passing the rulings had not been correct. The supreme court held drawing of lots sessions for the 5-judge panels 3 times this year, when the Law on the organisation of courts was modified, further to a Constitutional Court decision, at the request of the Government and following an objection by the Social Democratic Party president Liviu Dragnea, who is tried for corruption at the Bucharest Court of Appeals.
MOLDOVA — The European Commission has called on the Republic of Moldova to take immediate and concrete action against corruption, money laundering and illegal migration, or face the risk of seeing the accord allowing Moldovan citizens to travel visa free to EU countries, suspended, according to a EC report presented recently in Brussels. Radio Chisinau has reported that the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration has taken note of the evaluation and recommendations of the European Commission, pointing out that the report also mirrors the positive evolutions in this country. The Republic of Moldova was the first state of the Eastern Partnership to receive a liberalized visa regime with the EU on April 28, 2014.
GOVERNMENT — The Bucharest Government made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) is today holding a new meeting. Although not included on the agenda, the Cabinet might also discuss the emergency decree on the fiscal measures announced recently by the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovoci and contested by the head of state Klaus Iohannis, the right-of-center opposition, the banking sector and the energy and communication companies. Teodorovici announced so called taxes on greed leveled on banks, depending on the evolution of interbank loans, as well as a package of measures for energy companies — a contribution equal to 3% of turnover, capping natural gas prices, and price controls for electricity prices. The fiscal and budget measures for 2019 presented by Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici sent the market plummeting to minus 7%.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
