July 4, 2019
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 04.07.2019, 13:56
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional Court of Romania has ruled that there is a legal conflict between Parliament and the High Court of Cassation and Justice with regard to the High Courts panels of judges specialized in corruption cases. The cases that did not get final rulings until January 1st, 2019, will be retried by 5-judge panels. Several high-ranking officials would be affected by this decision. The notification was made by Florin Iordache, who is Speaker-Delegate of the Chamber of Deputies, objecting to the panels of three judges set by the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The President of the Court, Cristina Tarcea, had called for a suspension of debates pending a decision of the EU Court of Justice. She stressed the fact that specializing this type of panels in cases of corruption only would break the principle of random assignment of the files. Her request, however, was denied.
4TH OF JULY – On the USs Independence Day, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has sent a message of congratulations, along with wishes of peace and prosperity for all the American citizens. Romania has confirmed its status of trustworthy partner to the US and also that of a reliable ally in ensuring regional and global peace and security. Romanias contribution to the NATO Resolute Support operation in Afghanistan, the fifth largest, is well recognized, the document also reads. Also, the Romanian government appreciates and salutes the role of the Romanian community in the US, as an element of rapprochement, cohesion and solid inter-human, social and cultural bond. A military parade will be held in Washington, followed by a speech by president Trump. July 4th marks the day when, in 1776, 13 British colonies proclaimed their independence from the British Crown and founded the United States of America.
CRIMINAL CODE – The Constitutional Court of Romania is debating today the notifications filed by the opposition Save Romania Union and National Liberal Party, as well as the countrys president Klaus Iohannis, regarding the changes brought in Parliament to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The judges of the Constitutional Court have decided several times to postpone a ruling on this matter. According to the opposition, all these changes run counter not only to the rule of law, by weakening Romanias criminal policies and favouring criminals, but also the Constitution. In turn, the head of state claims that by amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, both the provisions of the Constitution and the principle of bicameralism have been violated. The controversial articles include the decriminalization of abuse of office, the reduction of prescription terms and of parole terms. The two bills were adopted in late April by the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making forum on this matter.
NEVERSEA – As of today, the city of Constanta, on the Romanian Black Sea Coast, is hosting the Neversea Festival, the largest music festival in Europe held on a beach. 150 famous artists will perform for four days on the Modern beach, before an audience of some 200,000 people. The list of guests includes Afrojack, G-Eazy, Jessy J, DJ Snake, Sean Paul, Lost Frequencies, Kadebostany, Salvatore Ganacci and Dub FX. Special security measures have been put in place to ensure the smooth running of the event. This years the festivals budget amounts to some 9 million Euros.
EMPLYMENT – The rate of employment in the EU among those aged 20 to 34 who managed to reach the tertiary education level stood last year at 85.5% according to data published on Thursday by Eurostat. With 89%, Romania ranks above the EU average. Among the member states, the highest level of employment were reported in Malta, the Netherlands and Germany. The rate of employment for men stood at 87% last year and for women, 84%. In Romania, the rate is 90.7% for men and 87.5% for women. Tertiary education is the level of education provided by universities, technical universities, technology institutes and other institutions that issue academic diplomas or high professional competence certificates.
WIMBLEDON – Romanian tennis player Monica, no. 11 WTA, today plays against the Belgian Elise Mertens, in the second round of the Wimbledon tournament. On Friday, in the third round, another Romanian, Simona Halep, worlds no.7, meets Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, which used to be number one, just like Halep. The Romanian got to the second round by defeating another Romanian, Mihaela Buzarnescu. Niculescu and Halep are the only representatives of Romania in the singles.
