25 January, 2016

Former Interior Minister prosecuted for corruption, New Moldovan PM visits Romania

Newsroom, 25.01.2016, 11:59

The Romanian Anti-Corruption Directorate has requested approval from the Senate for the prosecution of former Minister of the Interior, Gabriel Oprea, for abuse of office. He is suspected of illegally using the resources of the ministry when travelling on ministry business. He is also accused of illegally signing a protocol by which the same illegal benefits were granted to the general prosecutor with the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The ACD started the investigation after a motorcycle police escort to the minister lost his life on duty in his official column. The lack of reaction after the incident and the lack of justification for that assignment sparked public outrage.

Romanian Interior Minister, Petre Toba, takes part in Amsterdam today in the informal meeting of the Council for Justice and Internal Affairs, the first under the Dutch presidency of the EU. The ministers meet to discuss terrorism and cybercrime, as well as migration. They are also talking about the creation of a European Border Police and Coast Guard. The meeting is attended by the head of EUROPOL. The European Commission is considering, in the context of threats under discussion, suspending the Schengen Treaty, with border controls introduced for the next 2 years.

The new PM of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip, visits Romania tomorrow, invited by Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos. The two will be discussing joint projects and the reform agenda that Chisinau has committed to under the Association Agreement with the EU. This is the first official trip of the new Moldovan Prime Minister, while the situation in Chisinau is volatile. Over 20,000 protesters, pro-Russian political forces and representatives of civil society protested yesterday in the capital of Moldova, condemning endemic corruption. The leaders have issued an ultimatum, calling for early elections in April and the government stepping down. The new Moldovan cabinet was sworn in the night between Wednesday and Thursday.

The Romanian-Dutch pair made of Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer has today got through to the quarterfinals of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open. Top-seed Tecau and Rojer outclassed the all-Italian pair made of Marco Cecchinatio and Andreas Seppi. In the round of last 16, 4th-seed Romanian-Indian pair made of Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna have sustained a 6-4, 6-3 defeat in the fixture they played against Treat Huey of the Philippines and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.

Romania does not have, and will not have issues with the natural gas supply, in spite of increased consumption during very cold days, according to the state energy regulator. Average winter consumption for industry and households is about 50 million cubic meters a day. Romania has underground reserves worth an estimated one and a half billion cubic meters of natural gas, covering current needs, according the agency.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria submits today a report in Geneva on future peace negotiations for the war torn country. The UN has already postponed organizing these negotiations, initially scheduled for today, due to disagreements on the make up of the delegation representing the opposition to the al-Assad regime. The humanitarian disaster in Syria has prompted the US and Russia to support such a meeting. The Syrian conflict has left over 260,000 dead in 2011, and has displaced millions. According to the UN, 400,000 civilians are under attack by either government or opposition forces.

The east coast of the US is slowly recovering after the severe snowstorm Jonas. According to AFP, at least 23 people have lost their lives. Around 85 million people’s lives have been disrupted by this phenomenon, especially in big cities. The snow layer in New York reached almost 70 cm, and almost 60 in Washington, DC. Public transportation came to a standstill, schools were closed, and airports cancelled over 11,000 flights. Temperatures are expected to rise over the next few days.