July 19, 2016
A National Anti-Corruption Strategy has been launched by the Romanian Government.
Newsroom, 19.07.2016, 12:00
The battle against corruption is not only the responsibility of the state institutions but of each and every Romanian. The statement has been made today by the Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, who launched a National Anti-Corruption Strategy, about which he says is not optional. In his opinion, this Strategy will prove that Romania does not longer need the EU’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism currently in place for Romania, as the Romanian society has recovered. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy is a strategic vision for the medium-term, offering the main lines of action with a view to promoting integrity and good governance at the level of public institutions.
The wave of terrorist attacks inside the European Union lately proves once more the need to consolidate European security both inside the union and at its external borders, Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu said at a Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday in Brussels. Comanescu also mentioned the important contribution that Romania brings in this respect, including to securing the Schengen area. The Romanian official conveyed his condolences for the victims of the attack in Nice and thanked the French authorities for their support in identifying the Romanian citizens affected by the attacks. As for Turkey, Comanescu highlighted the importance of this country as a vital NATO member and a EU partner. At the same time, Minister Comanescu emphasised the need for the democratic institutions and the human rights and liberties to be observed in this country.
The French Government, strongly criticised after the attack in Nice for its anti-terrorist policy, is getting ready for a fierce parliamentary debate scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday, regarding an extension of the state of emergency, France Presse reports. On July 14 as many as 84 people were killed and over 200 were injured, including four Romanian citizens. Two of them, mother and son, are in a serious but stabile condition while the father is still missing. A crisis cell has been set up at the Romanian Foreign Ministry, which is in permanent contact with the French authorities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will approve any decision of the country’s Parliament as regards the death penalty. He has also said that a decision regarding the reintroduction of the death penalty, abolished in 2004, cannot be delayed and that the Government is to discuss the matter with the opposition parties. In its turn, the EU has warned that the reintroduction of the death penalty will block Ankara’s path towards accession. On the other hand, Washington has called on Ankara not to go too far in its attempt to bring to justice the people guilty of the failed coup. Almost eight thousand military and magistrates have been arrested and around nine thousand policemen, gendarmes and public servants have been dismissed following the recent coup in Turkey.
Four people were injured by a teenage Afghan refugee who was apparently sympathetic to Islamic State and used an axe and knife to attack passengers on a train in southern Germany before he was shot dead by police. Islamic State claims the attacker is one of its members. Germany has so far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attacks seen in the southern French city of Nice last week. Over 1 million refugees entered Germany last year alone.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
