DECEMBER 1989 – 28 years since the December 1989 anti-Communist
\nRevolution, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has conveyed a message today,
\nsaying that in 1989, Romanians called for the fall of Communism, an urge that
\ncan still be heard today. This should be a warning to politicians, who have
\nproven lately they are not willing to leave the past and its bad habits behind.
\nUpholding the ideals of the anti-Communist Revolution means defending the rule
\nof law, freedom and democracy and respect for citizens, wrote the president on
\na social network, stressing that the investigation of the Revolution Case File
\nmust be completed and the crimes and abuses perpetrated in 1989 must be
\npunished. After four days of protests, which started in Timisoara on December
\n16th 1989, during which dozens of dead and wounded were reported,
\nthe army joined the population and revolutionaries developed the first
\ndemocratic platform. Started as a protest staged by citizens of Timisoara
\nagainst an abusive measure taken by local officials, the revolution spread
\nrapidly across the country, culminating on December 22nd with the
\npresidential couple’s attempt to flee. More than 1,000 people died and some
\n3,400 were wounded between the 16th and the 25th of
\nDecember 1989. Romania was the only country in the Eastern Bloc where the
\nregime was changed violently and its communist leaders were executed by firing
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JUSTICE
\nLAWS – The Romanian Senate, the decision making body in this matter, has today
\nadopted the bill modifying the Law on the organisation and functioning of the
\nSuperior Council of Magistracy. This was the last in the justice law package
\nthat the Senators had to rule on, after the adoption of the ones on judicial
\norganisation and the status of magistrates. The changes that the ruling
\ncoalition, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals
\nand Democrats, has brought to these laws have been vehemently criticized by the
\nright-wing opposition and a large part of civil society. Moreover, hundreds of
\nmagistrates have protested in Bucharest and in other cities across the country
\nagainst the way in which these changes have been brought, saying the process
\nhas lacked transparency. <\/p>\n
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BUDGET
\nBILL – The Romanian Parliament continues to debate today the 2018 state budget
\nbill, which establishes the amounts allocated to ministries and the main credit
\nauthorizing bodies. The budgets of some of the most important institutions have
\nbeen maintained as they were in the draft proposed by the government, as the
\namendments filed by the opposition were not voted by the majority. The budget
\nwas built on an estimated 5.5% economic growth rate, an average exchange rate
\nof 4.55 lei for one Euro and a monthly salary of 565 Euro, as well as an
\nestimated budget deficit standing at 2.97%
\nof the GDP. The priority fields in 2018 are health, education and
\ninfrastructure. The right-wing parliamentary opposition has criticized
\nGovernment’s measures, saying the structure of the budget is dangerous and will
\ntrigger an increase in the public debt.
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POLISH LAWS – The Polish president
\nAndrzej Duda has promulgated two controversial laws, which give the government
\nmore power over the judiciary, right after the European Commission decided to
\nactivate art.7 of the EU Treaty, saying that the laws represent a high risk of
\nviolation of the rule of law. Brussels’s decision may leave Poland without the
\nright to vote in the European Council. The first-vice-president of the European
\nCommission Frans Timmermans has stated that it was the only option and Poland has
\nthree months to implement the recommendations issued by the Commission, and
\nthen the EU leaders would have to decide on penalty measures. France and
\nGermany have announced they support the Commission’s decision, but Hungary has
\nannounced it might use its veto power to block what they termed an abusive
\nsanction against a democratically elected government.<\/p>\n
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CATALONIA – Five and a half million
\nCatalans are called to the polls today to elect the members of the regional
\nparliament. Currently, the region of Catalonia, one of the richest in Spain, is
\ngoverned by the central government in Madrid, after the regional executive
\nheaded by Carles Puigdemont held on October 1st an illegal referendum that
\nsubsequently led to a unilateral declaration of independence. Today’s favorites
\nare the Republican Left of Catalonia, whose leader, Oriol Junqueras, is in
\nprison, for having organized the referendum, and Ciudadanos, a liberal party
\nwhich supports Spain’s unity, whose main candidate is Ines Arrimadas. The
\ncandidate of the coalition Together for Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, who is
\ncurrently in Belgium, is wanted by the Spanish judiciary for rebellion and
\nembezzlement. If he gets to Spain, he will be arrested right away. <\/p>\n
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