December 28, 2018 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 28.12.2018, 20:08
STATEMENT Romania’s Prime Minister
Viorica Dancila said in the last government meeting this year on Friday that
the government has the determination and ambition to complete Romania’s mandate
at the helm of the European Union as our country is to take over the EU
rotating presidency on January 1st 2019. During Romania’s mandate
we’ll have to respond the major challenges at European level such as Brexit,
the future of the European Union after Brexit, traditional policies, the Common
Agricultural Policy, the Cohesion Policy, issues related to migration and asylum-granting,
terrorism and other issues high on the European agenda, Prime Minister Dancila
has also said. Referring to Romania’s 2019 budget, the Prime Minister said that
it could be tackled in the first government session next month and submitted
for Parliament approval so that it might get passed by late January.
CSAT Romania’s
President Klaus Iohannis announced on Friday, fresh from the Supreme Defense
Council meeting, that he had extended the mandate of General Nicolae Ciucă as
chief of staff. The mandate of general Ciucă expires on December 31, and
Romania can’t be left without an Army chief, president Iohannis also said. He
said he rejected the proposals made by defense minister Gabriel Leş, on general
Ciuca’s successor, because they do not abide by the law. Minister Les believes
the president’s decision to extend General Ciuca’s mandate isn’t legally
grounded. According to Gabriel Les such a decision cannot be made without a
proposal from the Defence Minister and the green light from the Prime Minister.
LAW & ORDER Nearly 9,000 troops backed by 3,000 police cars,
have been added to the police units already deployed to ensure the good
functioning of the New Year’s Eve mini-holiday. According to a communique
issued by the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police over 125 large-scale
events, such as concerts, shows and other cultural-artistic activities are to
be staged on this occasion in over 115 towns and cities across Romania,
including capital Bucharest, where 300 thousand people are expected to attend New
Year’s events.
BORDER TRAFFIC The Romanian border was crossed by over one million people between
December 21 and 26, during the Christmas mini-holiday, registering a 10%
increase as compared to the same period of 2017, the Border Police has
announced. The most transited border was that in the west of the country, where
some 450,000 border crossings were reported. 260,000 other people chose to fly
to and from Romania during this time span. Also, 159,000 people crossed the
border from and into the Republic of Moldova, and 68,000 others from and into Bulgaria.
(translated by bill)
