May 31, 2016

President Iohannis says Moscow's statements are inaccurate

Newsroom, 31.05.2016, 00:00

Anti-missile shield – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, says the recent statements made by Moscow are inaccurate, and emphasises that the anti-missile platform in Deveselu does not target Russia. Such ungrounded threats reconfirm that Romanias approach, namely to strengthen NATO security in response to Moscows stance in the Black Sea region, is the right one, Iohannis said in Bucharest today, upon opening the Black Sea Security Programme. On Saturday, the Romanian Foreign Ministry expressed its surprise with the statements of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who said Romania might be in the sight of Russian rockets because it hosts elements of the American missile defence system. These statements, said the Foreign Ministry, may be read as a threat to regional security.

Corruption – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has today sent to the Justice Minister a request to prosecute four ministers accused of establishing an organised criminal group. They are Mihai Tanasescu, Sebastian Vladescu, Gheorghe Pogea, former finance ministers, and Dan Ioan Popescu, former Economy and Commerce Minister. According to prosecutors, there are indications and data that the four committed offences like abuse of office, aiding embezzlement and establishment of an organised criminal group. They are suspected of having colluded with several business people to promote an emergency ordinance under which the 2003 public budget debts of Rompetrol Rafinare, amounting to more than 600 million USD, were converted into bonds underwritten by the Finance Ministry.

Justice – The Romanian Justice Minister, Raluca Prună, says the rate of recovering damages in the criminal cases where a final sentence has been passed is only 8%. She also says that recovering the proceeds of crime remains a priority, although for the time being it is a chapter that she describes as “defective. Minister Prună explained that the Justice Ministry, the Ministry for Public Finances and the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF), with its specialised directorate, are working together to improve the damage recovery rate.

OLAF – Nearly one billion USD worth of EU funds were paid last year to fraudulent applicants, with the highest frequency of suspected fraud cases reported for Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, reads the 2015 report of the European Anti-Fraud Office released today and quoted by Reuters. Last year, 187 million euro were recovered through judicial proceedings and returned to Brussels, which is 10% less than in 2014. OLAF has the authority to investigate corruption cases, but it cannot take the perpetrators to court.

NATO – The NATO Parliamentary Assembly Monday called on the Allies, at the end of a three-day session in Tirana, to be prepared to respond to Russias potential threat against one of its members, France-Presse reports. The declaration, signed unanimously by the nearly 250 representatives of the 28 NATO member states, urges the Alliance to provide guarantees to its members, particularly those on the eastern flank, Romania included, that feel their security comes under threat. NATO strengthened its eastern flank further to Russias annexation of Crimea and to its support for the separatists in east Ukraine.

Diplomacy – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazar Comanescu, is taking part today, in Pravetz, near Sofia, in a meeting of the 12 foreign ministers of the South-East European Cooperation Process, at the end of the one-year Bulgarian presidency of the structure. According to the Bulgarian presidency, the participants will discuss the current challenges facing South-Eastern Europe and joint actions for the future development of the region. The meeting takes place one day ahead of the Summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process due on Wednesday in Sofia, where Romania will be represented by PM Dacian Ciolos. In 2016 the initiative, aimed at promoting dialogue and regional cooperation in various fields, celebrates 20 years since its launch at Bulgarias initiative.

Roland Garros – The Romanian player Simona Halep (seed no. 6) and the Australian Samantha Stosur (seeded 21) are to resume today their game in the eighth-finals of the Roland Garros Grand Slam, which was suspended on Sunday because of the weather. Originally rescheduled for Monday, the game, suspended at 5–3 for Halep, could not be resumed yesterday, because of the rain. In the mens doubles, Florin Mergea of Romania and the Indian Rohan Bopanna Sunday won the match against Brian Baker/Marcus Daniell (US/New Zealand), in the eighth-finals of the same tournament.