March 10, 2016

For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.

România Internațional, 10.03.2016, 12:00

MEETING – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis is today meeting the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmud Abbas. Iohannis on Sunday started a tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories. In Jerusalem, the president had talks with his counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, with Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu and with Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein. Additionally, Klaus Iohannis visited the Wailing Wall and met with representatives of the Romanian-born Israeli community.

DEFENCE – The Romanian Intelligence Service has said that the Constitutional Court ruling will have a certain impact on national security, given the connection between preventing threats to national security and combating organized crime. Recently the Constitutional Court has ruled against the constitutional character of an article in the Criminal Procedure Code allowing the Romanian Intelligence Service and other secret service agencies to phone-tap people investigated by anti-corruption prosecutors. The Court claims that the Romanian Intelligence Service has no remit in criminal investigations. Romanian Intelligence chief Eduard Hellvig said that crimes such as acts of espionage and treason, terrorism, cross-border organized crime, counterproliferation, cyber crime, and, last but not least, acts of corruption, which are all serious threats to national security, will no longer be handled using technical equipment used by the Romanian Intelligence Service. Eduard Hellvig believes that the ruling will also affect a series of court cases, particularly those dealing with threats to national security. The countrys Superior Defence Council is to convene in an emergency meeting on Friday to address the effects of the Constitutional Court ruling on wiretapping.

MILITARY – Some 130 military from the Republic of Moldova and the United States are these days taking part in the 2016 Agile Hunter joint military exercise. Hosted by the Training Centre of the Moldova Motorized Infantry Brigade in Balti, the exercise is aimed at approaching hybrid warfare threats, as well as boosting cooperation with foreign partners. The drills will end on March 19, and are part of a training programme running for four years. Moldovan Defence Minister Anatol Salaru has recently said cooperation with NATO member states, including Romania, will contribute to expanding Moldovas military experience, given the high security risks in the region.

JHA – Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of EU Member States are today meeting in Brussels. The main point on the agenda is migration. The Justice and Home Affairs Council will look at progress reported with respect to the European Commissions December recommendation to modify the Schengen border code, which provides for setting up a European Border Watch. In another development, the Hungarian Government today declared a “state of crisis against the backdrop of increasing migration flows on its territory, as a reaction to the harsher rules introduced by others states confronted with large numbers of immigrants. On Wednesday, Macedonia closed down its border with Greece, after Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia announced new border restrictions. Thousands of immigrants are blocked on the Macedonian border and over 1,000 are in a camp on the Serbian border.

HANDBALL – The Romanian womens team on Wednesday defeated the defending European, world and Olympic champions Norway on home turf, 25-20, in a match counting towards preliminary Group 1 of the European Championship due in December. The return leg will be played on Sunday in Stavanger. Following this result, Romania, bronze medallist at the World Championships of 2015 and coached by Swedish Tomas Ryde, has largely secured its qualification, ranking first in the group tables after three matches. Norway is ranked 2nd, followed by Belarus and Lithuania. Romania will also take part in the pre-Olympic tournament in Aarhus, Denmark, scheduled for March 18-20, alongside the host country, Uruguay and Montenegro.

FILM – “Son of Saul, the recipient of this years Oscar award for best foreign language film and featuring Romanian actor Levente Molnar, is premiered on Friday in Romania. “Son of Saul is the debut film of filmmaker Laszlo Nemes and has scooped numerous international awards. The film tells the story of a Jewish prisoner in Hungary, forced to work for the Nazis at the Auschwitz gas chambers. While working in one of the furnaces, Saul discovers the body of a boy he suspects to be his own son, and embarks on an impossible journey, wanting to save the body from cremation and to give the boy a proper funeral. Levente Molnar, an actor with the State Theatre in Cluj Napoca, plays Sauls best friend in the film.

(Translated by V. Palcu)