May 24, 2016

The Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, is prosecuted for false testimony and encouraging the offender/ PM Dacian Ciolos is having talks with US vice-president, Joe Biden

Corina Cristea, 24.05.2016, 12:09

PROSECUTION- The Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu is prosecuted for false testimony and encouraging the offender, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has announced. His name appears in a file in which prosecutors are investigating illegal return of property. Tariceanu is the second most important official in the state, given the position he is currently holding, that of Senate Speaker. He is also co-president of the recently set up centre-rightist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, (ALDE). Between 2004 and 2008, when he was the leader of the National Liberal Party, he held the position of prime minister. We recall that scores of people have been sent to court by the anti-corruption prosecutors in the case of illegal return of land and forests on the outskirts of Bucharest.

VISIT – Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos is today having talks in Washington with US vice-president, Joe Biden. Dacian Ciolos is also due to meet other US officials, to whom he will present Romanias business development potential. The second day of the official visit paid by the Romanian prime minister to the US will end in Washington, after a meeting with members of the Romanian community living in the area.

EUROPEAN FUNDS – Romania reports delays in the process of accessing European funds in healthcare, which is a matter of concern for the European Commission, the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, has warned in Bucharest. In the field of healthcare, Romanias degree of absorption since the start of the year is ZERO, the European Commissioner underlined. Corina Cretu has also drawn attention that Bucharest might lose the 326 million Euros available to it to develop infrastructure and medical assistance services if the needs in the domain of healthcare are not identified by the end of the year.

GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL –State Secretary for European Affairs with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Cristian Badescu, is today attending a meeting of the General Affairs Council, held in Brussels. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the participants will hold talks on the integration of migrants and the fundamental values of the EU, at a time when the second dialogue on the rule of law is being held across the Union. They will also make preparations for the European Council meeting scheduled for June 28 and 29, laying emphasis on the relationship between the UK and the EU, the communiqué also reads.

INVESTIGATION – Experts continue the investigation into the circumstances of the car crash in which Dan Condrea, the owner of the Hexi Pharma biocide producer, died on Sunday evening. Condrea has died at a time when his company is at the centre of the biggest scandal in the Romanian healthcare system, after it was disclosed that his company supplied diluted disinfectants. Prosecutors from the General Prosecutors Office have demanded a DNA identification analysis as well as technical analysis of the car in order to cast light on the circumstances in which the accident occurred. The Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazar, has announced that the value of the prejudice in the Hexi Pharma case will be established today.

HUMANITARIAN SUMMIT – Romania will show solidarity with other countries in the context in which, according to the UN, the world is facing the most severe humanitarian crisis since World War II, says labour minister, Dragos Paslaru, who leads the Romanian delegation at the World Humanitarian Summit organised by the United Nations in Istanbul. Dragos Paslaru has made clear that the Romanian delegations mandate is to support all commitments proposed by the UN, relating to such issues as refugees, for instance, and even to come up with private initiatives, in such domains as emergency assistance and education, where Romania has already had a significant contribution. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has pleaded in Istanbul, for the governments, alongside the business circle and humanitarian organisations the world over to commit themselves to reducing by half the number of refugees by 2030. Official data show that, at global level, some 60 million people have been forcibly displaced and 125 million are in dire need of assistance.

FOOTBALL– Romanias national football team will meet Congo in a friendly match in Como, Italy, on Wednesday. The match, just like that against Ukraine, scheduled for Sunday in Turin, is part of a campaign held in preparation for the European Championship due in France, this summer. Romania and the host country will play the opening match, in Paris, on June 10. Also playing in Group A are Switzerland and Albania.

(Translated by Diana Vijeu)