February 3, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 03.02.2020, 13:55
MOTION The censure motion against the Liberal government in Bucharest tabled by the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) is being presented in Parliament today. The move was triggered by the Orban Cabinets decision to take responsibility for a bill reintroducing the 2-round voting system for the election of mayors, half a year ahead of local elections. The text of the motion entitled The Orban/Liberal Government — the privatisation of Romania’s democracy’ reads that the Government must go not only because attempting to change the voting system right before the election comes against European standards, but also because these changes were operated unilaterally, without parliamentary consultation and debate. The Liberals, however, argue that the new system of voting will increase the candidates representation and legitimacy. Prime Minister Orban says he is ready for any result and that his objectives are to ensure a stable governance and win the future local and parliament election.
BREXIT The EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has today set out the European Commission’s draft negotiating mandate for the trade talks in Brussels. In a speech earlier today, Mr Barnier said the EU was ready to offer a “highly ambitious trade deal as the central pillar of this partnership”, which included zero tariffs and zero quotas, the BBC reports. But, he said, this was dependent on the UK agreeing to “specific and effective guarantees to ensure a level playing field” to ensure competition “is and remains open and fair”. Michel Barnier said all goods coming into the EU will need to comply with its rules on health or other standards and as a result, goods entering the union “will be subject to regulatory checks”.
VIRUS Ten days after the Chinese city of Wuhan was shot down, Beijing reports a death toll of 361, of whom 57 people died on Sunday alone. The virus infected over 17 thousand people in China and over 170 abroad. The first casualty outside China has been reported in the Philippines. With the exception of Hong Kong and Macao, the virus has killed more people than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (known as SARS), which killed 349 people over 2002-2003. Romania has taken additional measures to monitor and prevent the virus from spreading. The announcement came at the end of a crisis meeting summoned by Interior Minister Marcel Vela. The Government has drafted an emergency decree aimed at boosting the country’s response capacity in the case of a coronavirus outbreak in Europe. The Government will buy special protection and isolation gear and will increase the number of medical staff on international airports. The Henri Coanda International Airport in Otopeni has already implemented special processing procedures for arrivals from China. Additional medical staff will be assigned to border crossings. Marcel Vela.
FILM Romanian director Radu Ciorniciucs film Acasa, My Home reaped the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival in the USA. According to the organizers, the prize went to Mircea Topoleanu and Radu Ciorniciuc for their fluid and tenacious camerawork. The film was one of the 12 titles selected out of 14 thousand productions from the world over vying for a prize in the famous independent film festival. Ciorniciucs film introduces viewers to the biggest urban delta in Europe, the Vacaresti Nature Park in Romanias capital Bucharest, through the eyes of a gypsy family living in the middle of the wetlands.
MEETING Romanias Prime Minister Ludovic Orban attended the “Friends of Cohesion” meeting in Portugal, an event that brought together heads of state and government and ministers from its members as well as commissioners in charge of budget issues and cohesion policy. In his address during the meeting, the Romanian official highlighted the importance of adopting an ambitious budget capable of offering the union the necessary resources for meeting the objectives on its strategic agenda. The budget must also be realistic in terms of ensuring a balance between the growth objectives it has to meet and the response to Europes new challenges. Orban also reiterated Romanias support for reaching as soon as possible a political agreement on the future European budget, which must allow for the commencement of the next EU-funded programmes and projects in due time. The participants have signed a joint statement pledging to leave unaltered the EU funds destined to Europes less developed regions.
HANDBALL We end the news with women’s handball, as both teams performing in Sunday’s Champions League matches grabbed wins. In Group 1, CSM Bucharest won 32-27 against Metz of France at home. Cristina Neagu scored a total of 14 goals. CSM is ranked 5th in the group tables with 5 points, the same as Vipers Kristiansand of Norway, which it will take on next Saturday. In Group 2, SCM Ramnicu Valcea won 23-17 against Savehof of Sweden and is ranked 4th with 4 points. On Saturday, the Romanian champions will take on ETO Gyor of Hungary, the team currently in top position. We recall the top 4 teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals. In the EHF Cup, Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud won 26-20 against MKS Lublin of Poland, and is now 2nd-placed in Group C with 6 points. Ranking first is Odense of Denmark with 8 points. In Group B, Magura Cisnadie reported a new defeat, losing 29-31 to Podravka Koprivnica of Croatia at home, and is now bottom of the tables with zero points.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
