October 11, 2016 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 11.10.2016, 12:30
VISIT Romania’s technocratic Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos received the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas in Bucharest on Tuesday. On this occasion, Ciolos has underlined Romania’s commitment to carrying on the implementation of the European programmes in terms of research, development and innovation. The latest developments in Romania’s research and innovation sector have also been tackled as well as the main measures the executive has taken to support activity in this domain. Commissioner Moedas had earlier pleaded for a better promotion of the laser project in Magurele, southern Romania, the world’s biggest laser.
MOTION The Chamber of Deputies’ Tuesday session in which a simple motion targeting Justice Minister Raluca Pruna was to be tackled and voted upon has been suspended due to a lack of quorum. The motion entitled “A lie can also kill” calls for the resignation of Minister Pruna after she admitted of having lied to judges from the European Court of Human Rights that she had close to a one billion euro budget for seven penitentiaries in Romania. The information was based upon official documents, but the money mentioned does not exist, Raluca Pruna has said. Her statement came against an acute investment shortage for courts, the need for such investment and for ‘multi-annual budget planning’ the Justice Minister explained. The government does not have to sack the minister, even if the motion gets Parliament’s approval.
CELL The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest on Tuesday announced it had activated a Crisis Cell to deal with the case of the Romanian engineer kidnapped in Nigeria on Monday. According to Ministry sources, the case is being monitored by the Romanian embassy in Abuja, which is in permanent contact with competent federal authorities in Nigeria, with the employer and the family of the Romanian citizen. The Nigerian police and media say the Romanian has been kidnapped by gunmen in the southern Nigerian state of Delta, a region, which has lately seen a wave of attacks against oil and gas installations. Militants in this region fight for getting a bigger part of the oil revenues for the Delta state, which accounts for a large part of Nigeria’s crude production.
TOUR On Tuesday the Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu started a four-day tour of Asia. According to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the tour includes an official visit to Indonesia, aimed at boosting diplomatic bilateral dialogue and consolidating economic cooperation with this country. On Thursday and Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister will attend the 21st Ministerial Meeting of the European Union — Association of South-East Asian Nations (EU-ASEAN) in Thailand. On the sidelines of the meeting, Lazar Comanescu will hold a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from ASEAN countries.
