\n
<\/p>\n
JUDICIARY – Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader on Monday said
\na dialogue mechanism has been set up during talks held between the authorities
\nand magistrates over emergency decree 7. According to the Justice Minister, the
\nmechanism will result in a memorandum, so that each draft law proposed by the
\nGovernment, beyond decision-making transparency, should be submitted to the
\nSuperior Council of Magistracy at least five days in advance so it can be
\nanalyzed, debated and approved. The Romanian official said one of the
\nprovisions in the decree allowing judges to be appointed at the helm of
\nprosecutor’s offices will be repealed. The announcement followed a meeting
\nbetween Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and representatives of magistrates’
\nassociations and of the Superior Council of Magistracy at the Government
\nheadquarters in Bucharest. On Friday, magistrates in Bucharest and across the
\ncountry protested against the changes to the justice laws, calling for the
\nindependence of the judiciary. Also in protest, several prosecutor’s offices
\nhave suspended their activities this week. The anti-mafia prosecutor’s office
\nalso decided to suspend its activity until March 8, during which time only
\nemergency cases will be investigated. Citizens too protested on Sunday evening in
\nBucharest and other cities. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has given assurances
\nthat the Government is willing to support all institutions in the field in
\norder to ensure fair justice for all citizens.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
MOLDOVA – The Parliamentary election in Moldova on Sunday observed
\nthe legal and democratic standards, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest announced
\non Monday. In turn, the OSCE said the ballot did not report any major incidents
\nand was held in a professional and transparent manner. The pro-European
\nopposition however labeled the vote as one of the most undemocratic in the
\nhistory of the republic. Igor Dodon’s pro-Russia socialists have won the largest number
\nof seats in parliament, 35 out of 101. Second came the left-of-center
\nDemocratic Party, of the controversial oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, with 30,
\nfollowed by the pro-European rightist ACUM alliance, with 26. Also, 3
\nindependents and 7 representatives of the people’s party, headed by the
\npro-Russia mayor of Orhei, Ilan Sor, will be represented in Parliament. Sor is
\naccused of involvement in the stealing of one billion dollars from the
\ncountry’s banking system. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PRESIDENCY – Romania’s President Klaus
\nIohannis has called on the Government to repeal Decree no. 7 and implement the
\nrecommendations of the latest report issued by the European Commission under the
\nCooperation and Verification Mechanism and included in the reports of the
\nVenice Commission. According to a presidency release, the head of state said
\nthe new decree and the manner of its adoption pose a challenge to the
\nseparation of powers and violate the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court,
\nalso ignoring Romania’s obligations as an EU Member State. The President said
\nthat in any democracy, the judiciary cannot be subordinated to politics, and
\nany quick modification of regulations to the benefit of certain people or
\ngroups cannot be described as an emergency. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
BANKING – Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici on Monday
\nattended the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies for the debate of the
\neffects of Decree 114, which has sparked discontent among banks and several
\nbusinesses. Under the new decree, prices for natural gas and energy has been
\ncapped for the next three years, all bank assets will be taxed according to the
\nROBOR inter-bank rate, while the tax on gambling will also go up to 2% of the
\nturnover. Minister Teodorovici said the decree supports local public
\nauthorities via the Development Fund, the construction sector and a better
\ncapitalization of potential in tourism. The bill is under debate in the Senate.
\nIf the Senate does not cast its vote until March 1, it will be automatically
\nsubmitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
BRUSSELS – Candidates running for the position of Chief European
\nProsecutor will appear before the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and
\nHome Affairs (LIBE) and the Committee on Budgetary Control in the European
\nParliament. The Chief Prosecutor will head the European Prosecutor’s Office
\nwhich is expected to start its work in 2020. The three candidates are
\nJean-Francois Bohnert of France, Laura Codruta Kovesi of Romania and Andrei
\nRitter of Germany. This month Bucharest and other large cities in Romania have
\nseen manifestations in support of the former head of the National Anticorruption
\nDirectorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, who was subpoenaed by the special section investigating
\nmagistrates. She is accused of abuse of office, bribe taking and perjury.
\nKovesi has dismissed all accusations, saying the charges will affect her candidacy.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
COOPERATION – Romania supports the need for a strong partnership
\nbetween the EU and the Arab League to find common solutions to current
\ndevelopments, such as migration, radicalization and terrorism, as well as in
\norder to deal with medium- and long-term challenges, such as climate change,
\nsustainable development and the creation of new jobs, President Klaus Iohannis
\nsaid on the sidelines of the first EU-Arab League summit, held in Sharm El
\nSheikh, Egypt. On Monday, participants adopted a statement highlighting the
\nparties’ decision to consolidate cooperation with a view to capitalizing on
\nexisting potential to ensure regional stability, prosperity and welfare. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
EUROPOL – The 4th meeting of the Mixed
\nParliamentary Control Group of Europol met on Monday in Bucharest. Attending
\nwere delegations of all Member States. EUROPOL was founded in 1995 with a view
\nto preventing and combating terrorism and crime affecting several member
\nstates. EUROPOL director Catherine De Bolle said the agency’s strategy for the
\ncoming years include the use of new technologies so that information is not
\nsimply collected, but also shared, based on an operationalization of IT
\ncapacities at agency level. Catherine De Bolle appreciated cooperation with the
\nRomanian Police in combating cybercrime and drug trafficking. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
FLU EPIDEMIC – The National Institute for Public Health on Monday
\nannounced two more people died to the flu virus, raising the death toll to 151
\nthis season. Both victims suffered from previous diseases and had not taken the
\nanti-flu vaccine. According to the Institute, some 1.3 million people had taken
\nthe anti-flu shot.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[34536,34534,33610,29976,34411,28945,29799,34535],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-103360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-banking-sector","tag-decree-7","tag-election-in-moldova","tag-europol","tag-flu-epidemic","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-laura-codruta-kovesi","tag-magistrates-associations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n