The Week in Review 10-16 September

A roundup of the weeks main stories

Roxana Vasile, 15.09.2018, 10:46

Simple motion against the interior minister

The scandal
triggered by the way in which the gendarmes reacted during the anti-government
protest of August 10th in Bucharest is far from dying out. Early
this week, the Chamber of Deputies rejected the simple motion filed by the
opposition National Liberal Party against the Interior Minister Carmen Dan. The
Liberals called for the minister’s resignation invoking the way in which the
intervention of the gendarmes was managed, describing it as excessive and
damaging Romania’s image abroad. Carmen
Dan has explained that the protest was approached as an event threatening
public order, and the intervention as legal. Nevertheless, the explanations
given by the minister are far from convicting the opposition. On the other
hand, the ruling Social Democratic Party has called on the state institutions
to urgently investigate the information carried by the media with regard to a
potential foreign funding of the street protests and planning of the violent
actions that occurred on that day. In the meantime, the Army Prosecutor’s
Office continues its investigations into the August 10 events. Some 770 people
affected on that day have filed criminal complaints.

Top level visits to Romania

This week has
been marked by a number of top level visits to Bucharest. Given the upcoming
Romanian presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019, the Dutch
Prime Minister Mark Rutte has held talks with prime-minister Viorica Dancila
and the country’s president Klaus Iohannis. The latter has stated that Romania
wishes to join the Schengen area as soon as possible. The relation with the
Netherlands, the head of state said, has a major economic component, but also a
social one, given that some 30,000 Romanians are living in that country. Klaus
Iohannis and Mark Rutte have also agreed that, although their countries stands
do not match on all matters, they are both interested in strengthening the EU.
Also visiting Bucharest was the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini.
On the occasion, prime-minister Dancila stated that, during its term as
president of the EU Council, Romania will pay special attention to the
negotiations concerning the future multi-annual financial framework 2021-2027.
As regards bilateral relations, a cooperation agreement was signed in the field
of labour inspection, benefiting Romanian workers in Slovakia, as well as a
cooperation program in education, which extends the already existing
cooperation framework. Also this week, the Romanian capital has hosted an
informal security meeting of the foreign ministers of Romania, Poland and
Turkey, Teodor Melescanu, Jacek Czaputowick and Mevlut Cavusoglu respectively.
It was the fifth trilateral meeting held in this format.

The spread of the African swine fever virus
continues

African swine
fever keeps spreading in Romania. According to the National Sanitary Authority,
more than 200 villages and towns in 12 counties have been affected, and the
number of outbreaks has reached 900. So far, 232,000 infected pigs have been
culled. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has announced that the government will
pass an emergency ordinance according to which all employees who have lost their
jobs because of the fever will get financial compensations for up to six
months. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil
Hogan, on a visit to Bucharest, has stated that 75% of the pigs bred in EU
households are from Romania. He has also stated that the European Commission
intends to provide the affected farmers with financial support. The Romanian
Intelligence Service has warned of the risk of another virus spreading across
the country, this time affecting goats and sheep.

A new school year in Romania

Some 3 million
pupils in Romania started school on Monday. The system is marked by both good
and bad things. There are many schools that have not been refurbished, many do
not have sanitary or fire safety authorizations and some textbooks include
mistakes. Even so, children were happy to meet their mates and teachers after a
long summer. In keeping with tradition, political figures attended the start of
the new school year. President Klaus Iohannis, for instance, attended the
opening ceremony at the Horea, Closca si Crisan National College in Alba Iulia,
central Romania, which next year will celebrate its 100th
anniversary. In Constanta, the Black Sea port city in south-eastern Romania, the
Defense Minister Mihai Fifor attended the festivities occasioned by the
reopening of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Military College, after a 20-year break.

Referendum for traditional family

A referendum on
redefining the concept of family in the Romanian Constitution is to be held on
October 7th, after the Senate has this week endorsed a bill on that
matter. According to the new draft Constitution, family is based on the
marriage between a man and a woman, not between spouses, as the Constitution
reads today. The decision to hold a referendum on this issue started from a
citizen’s initiative, which gathered three million signatures from all across
the country. Signed including by representatives of religious denominations in
Romania, the initiative is similar to those in Croatia and Slovenia a few years
ago. The ACCEPT Association, which defends the rights of sexual minorities, has
reacted, saying that the Senate’s vote is a violation of the right to respect
for one’s private and family life, which is an unalienable right of all people,
irrespective of their gender and sexual preferences.