October 26, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 26.10.2022, 13:55

Visit. Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciucă,
foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu and justice minister Cătălin Predoiu are on a
two-trip to Brussels today and tomorrow for talks with the speaker of the
European Parliament Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Commission Ursula
von der Leyen and NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. Ciucă will also be
received by his Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo and will attend the
signing of several agreements on nuclear cooperation. The Romanian prime
minister and his delegation will also meet representatives of the
Romanian-Belgian business community.

Court.
The Supreme Court in Romania ruled that a decision of the Constitutional Court
on the prescription of criminal offences be applied retroactively on the basis
of the favourability principle. According to judicial sources, the ruling will
affect thousands of ongoing criminal cases, which means those indicted in these
cases will no longer face convictions or stand trial. Some of the most famous
people who received final sentences but who were released from prison includes the
former speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, the Liberal Party member Bogdan
Olteanu. The former government minister Elena Udrea, who is currently serving
time in prison for corruption, may also benefit from the court’s ruling.

Schengen. Experts from the European Commission and EU member states are
today presenting the Working Party for Schengen Matters with the report and
conclusions of their fact-finding mission to Romania and Bulgaria. Government
sources say their report is positive. The Netherlands did not send any experts
to this mission saying the assessment did not cover sufficient areas, and
Bucharest proposed a separate additional mission. The Romanian interior
minister Lucian Bode agreed with his Dutch counterpart on a trip to The Hague
whose date is yet to be established. Last week, the European Parliament adopted
a non-legislative resolution supporting, with a wide majority, the accession of
Romania and Bulgaria to the free-movement Schengen area. Soon after, the Dutch
Parliament adopted a resolution requesting the Dutch government not to vote in
favour of the two countries’ entry into Schengen. The Romanian authorities note
that Romania fulfils the technical criteria and that the country is ready for
accession. The entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen may be included on the
agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council due to meet on 8th
and 9th of December, but unanimity is needed for the accession to be
adopted.

Food
waste. 127 kg of food waste per inhabitant were generated in the European Union
in 2020 according to the first EU-wide monitoring of food waste conducted by
Eurostat, the European statistical office. The survey also notes that 45% of
food waste was generated in the food supply chain, while household food waste
represented 55%. Almost 10% of food waste was generated by restaurants and food
services. According to the agriculture ministry, Romania wastes 2.5 million
tonnes of food every year, which accounts for at least 70 kg of food waste per
inhabitant. (CM)