June 6, 2018 UPDATE
For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here
Newsroom, 06.06.2018, 19:37
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT — Romania’s Constitutional Court has notified the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission and the president of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts of what it called “the virulent attacks launched against the Court, through which representatives of public authorities and of some parliamentary parties have discredited and deligitimised the institution’s authority.” Romania’s Constitutional Court claims that the compulsory character of its rulings would thus be questioned and that the population and the country’s president would be urged not to respect and enforce the recent ruling by the court which took note of the existence of a legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the Justice Ministry and the President of Romania. Notified by the relevant minister, Tudorel Toader, the Court ruled that the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, should revoke the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, DNA, Laura Codruţa Kovesi. We recall that president Iohannis had rejected as ungrounded the proposal made by the Justice Minister to revoke the DNA chief prosecutor. On Tuesday, Klaus Iohannis said he would make a public statement on the revocation issue only after he receives the Constitutional Court’s motivation, likely to be issued on Thursday. He underlined that he would observe the rule of law and would take care that prosecutors remain independent, in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution. The decision by which Romania’s Constitutional Court imperatively calls on the head of state to revoke Kovesi has stirred criticism and fuelled speculations that, given its current membership, the court would allegedly be politically influenced when issuing its verdicts.
DECISION — The Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday adopted a draft law on the setup of the Development and Investment Sovereign Fund (FSDI). The fund is a funding mechanism identifying and capitalizing on investment opportunities with an impact on sustainable development and creating new jobs on the long-term. The bill was passed after the Commission for Economic Policy tabled several amendments, which include increasing the cash contribution to 2 billion euros and expanding the list of economic operators. The opposition said it would refer the bill to the Constitutional Court and accused the power of undermining national economy.
VISIT — Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila is on a two-day official visit to Lisbon, Portugal, where she met with her Portuguese counterpart, Antonio Costa. In a joint press statement, Viorica Dancila announced the setup of a think tank in the field of European funds so that Romania should reach a high absorption level, similar to Portugal’s. The two officials agreed to boost economic relations and discussed the signing of bilateral agreements in the fields of research and innovation and healthcare. Prime Minister Dancila thanked her Portuguese counterpart for the interest and good care the Portuguese Government displays towards the Romanian community in Portugal. The Romanian Prime Minister also attended the inauguration of the Romanian square Rotunda da Romenia in Estoril. Also on Wednesday, the two countries’ healthcare ministers signed two bilateral cooperation memoranda.
DEFENSE — Romania’s Defense Minister Mihai Fifor on Wednesday held talks with his counterparts from Greece and Serbia over the security developments in the Western Balkans and regional cooperation opportunities, with a focus on developing military capabilities in a multi-national format, including as part of initiatives carried out at EU level. The three ministers met in Nea Peramos Attica in Greece, on the sidelines of the Day of Distinguished Guests to the SALAMIS STORM 2018 multinational exercise, bringing together military from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Serbia. The exercise is aimed at training troops to cope with specific challenges in peace-keeping and crisis-solving operations.
EDUCATION — Education must be adapted to the labour market, in cooperation with the business environment, while students should also learn about European values, such as fairness, in order to access this labour market, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Tibor Navracsics said in Bucharest. The European Commissioner met with Romania’s Education and Culture Ministers and talked to Romanian citizens about education and the future of Europe. In Targu Mures, on Thursday, Commissioner Navracsics will attend a forum on education and a debate on cultural heritage. Also on Thursday the EU official will meet with the president of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor.
TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world no. 1 and seeded first at Roland Garros, on Wednesday qualified to the semi-finals of the French Open, after defeating Germany’s Angelique Kerber, 12 WTA, 2-1. The Romanian is yet to win her first major, after losing the 2014 and 2017 finals in Paris, and the Melbourne final this year. Halep will take on Garbine Muguruza of Spain, who ousted Russia’s Maria Sharapova. In the other all-US semi-final Sloane Stephens will take on Madison Keys.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
