Referendum to be held along with elections for the European Parliament<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
On Thursday,
\npresident Klaus Iohannis announced the two topics for the referendum that he
\nwill call for on May 26th, on the very day when elections for the
\nEuropean Parliament are also scheduled: banning amnesty and pardon for those
\nindicted on corruption charges, and banning the passing by the Government of
\nemergency decrees in relation with judicial crimes, correlated with the right
\nof other constitutional authorities to directly notify the Constitutional Court
\nabout such decrees. Also, the head of state has called on the current
\nGovernment, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals
\nand Democrats to refrain from issuing any decree concerning the justice system
\nin Romania until the referendum. The best way to carry on the fight against
\ncorruption is zero tolerance for this scourge, said the president, who also
\nvoiced his dissatisfaction with the way in which the justice laws are handled
\nby the Social Democrats. In turn, government representatives have accused the
\nhead of state of having a hidden, electoral agenda. Calin Popescu Tariceanu,
\nthe leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the junior partner in the
\nruling coalition, has stated:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\npresident is concerned not so much about justice, as he is about making sure he
\nis reelected president, so he wants to use the referendum as a launching pad
\nfor him to jump into this political dance, because otherwise he would not be able
\nto participate in the European Parliament elections, and he wants to steal the start
\nin the presidential race.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The president of
\nthe opposition National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, has stated:<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\npresident is doing a very good thing by calling this referendum, to put an end,
\nonce and for all, to the attempts made by those who have robbed Romania in the
\npast 30 years to escape the law. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
International warnings to Romania<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Romanian
\njustice system is right in the eye of the storm, and this has become even more
\nclear this week, when 12 embassies in Bucharest of partner and allied
\ncountries, including those of France, the US and Germany, have voiced worries
\nabout the rule of law in this country and have called on the parties involved
\nin drafting emergency decrees on justice to refrain from making changes that
\nwould weaken the rule of law and the country’s capacity to fight against crime
\nand corruption. Also, the European Commission and the European Parliament have
\nwarned that the Bucharest authorities must resume the fair path of reform of
\nthe judiciary and to abstain from any measures that would affect the rule of
\nlaw in a bad way. In reply to this warning, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica
\nDancila has stated that by no means ambassadors can draw up the
\nprime-minister’s agenda. The Justice Minister Tudorel Toader too has commented
\non the European officials’ concern:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Just
\nlike you, I see how European officials are voicing concern, but such concern is
\nactually precaution, which however has an important electoral power. As the
\nminister of justice, I would like to formulate a simple and courteous request,
\nwhich I have actually repeated several times at national level, namely to know
\nourselves, to respect our competences, to respect our dignity and national specificity.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Problems facing the former head of the National Anticorruption
\nDirectorate and Romania’s Prosecutor General <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, the former head of
\nthe National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi is no longer
\nunder judicial supervision, in relation to a case in which she is accused of
\nbribe taking, abuse of office and false testimony. Under these circumstances,
\nshe can now travel to Brussels, where negotiations are under way between the European
\nParliament and the Council of the EU on appointing the first European chief
\nprosecutor, a post for which Ms. Kovesi is a candidate. The irrevocable
\ndecision to lift judicial supervision was made by the High Court of Cassation
\nand Justice, in the context in which the First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans,
\nhad stated that Laura Codruta Kovesi had to be allowed to defend her candidacy
\nand the European Parliament, through its president, Antonio Tajani, had called
\non the Romanian authorities to place no obstacles in the way of the candidacy
\nof the former head of the Anticorruption Directorate, who is actually the
\nEuropean Parliament’s favourite candidate. The Judge Department of the Superior
\nCouncil of Magistracy reacted promptly and said pressure was being put on the
\njudge designated to analyse the challenge filed by Ms. Kovesi. Here is what the
\nRomanian PM Viorica Dancila has stated about this issue:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We are asked not to
\nintervene when it comes to justice being made and this sounds fair to me. But
\nthe European officials are calling on us to stop criminal investigations. What I am telling
\nthem loud and clear is that the Romanian PM has not and will never try to
\ninfluence justice.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In another development, on Thursday,
\nthe National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives decided to
\nconduct another verification of the Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazar,
\nfollowing information carried by the media, according to which he was involved
\nin actions of political policing during the Communist regime. Also, when he was
\na member of the commission in charge of making proposals for release from the
\nhigh-security penitentiary in Aiud, one of the toughest such facility
\nestablished by communists, Augustin Lazar allegedly denied parole for an
\nanti-Communist dissident, Iulius Filip. The prosecutor general has denied the
\naccusations.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
15 years of NATO membership <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
During a solemn session devoted to
\nthe anniversary of 15 years of NATO membership, it was declared that Romania would
\ncontinue to be a trusted ally, a promoter of NATO values and a pillar of
\nstability and security in the Black Sea region. The Romanian Parliament adopted
\na declaration reaffirming their commitment to the values and goals of the
\nAlliance, but also concern over the diversification and intensification of the
\nsecurity threats faced by the allies.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of the week’s main stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":124454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40944],"tags":[42304],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-124644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-week-in-review","tag-the-week-in-review"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n