November 27, 2017

Parliament continues debate on justice legislation bill; Romanian delegation heads to Budapest China- CEE economic summit

Bogdan Matei, 27.11.2017, 13:56

JUSTICE – The special parliamentary committee in charge of debating proposed changes to justice legislation continues on Monday proceedings, discussing, among other things, the article on responsibilities of magistrates. Starting last week, the committee has been meeting daily, so that the new proposals can be voted in plenary session before Christmas. The right wing opposition protested against this rushed schedule, as well as many of the proposed changes. One of them bars the Romanian president from refusing appointments of high officials by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, another one reintroduces psychological evaluations for magistrates, while another would bar judges and prosecutors from making defamatory statements against other institutions. The proposed changes also sparked anger throughout the country, bringing tens of thousands to the streets, in Bucharest and other cities.

SUMMIT – Deputy Prime Minister Paul Stanescu leads the Romanian delegation at the 6th summit meeting between China and CEE states in Budapest taking place Monday. The agenda in the 16+1 format includes economic, financial and trade relations between the Asian giant, represented by PM Li Keqiang and CEE countries. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, quoted by Radio Romania’s correspondent in Budapest, announced that the summit is attended by over a thousand business people, 330 Chinese companies, 340 from CEE, and 300 companies from Hungary alone. Romania has hosted in 2013 a 16+1 summit, launching a new mechanism of energy cooperation.

OSCE – The OSCE on Monday in Vienna hosts a new round of negotiations between the authorities in the Republic of Moldova and pro-Russian separatists in Transdnestr, a region it the east of Moldova. According to Radio Romania’s correspondents in Chisinau, the meeting will include mediators and observers from Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union. The agenda includes providing support for schools in the Romanian language, car registration in the separatist region, as well as re-establishing phone connections between the two banks of the Dnestr. Chisinau lost control of Transdnestr in 1992 after a conflict that left hundreds dead, a conflict that ended with the intervention of Russian troops on the side of separatists.

CELEBRATION – Radio Romania opened Sunday night the series of events dedicated to the centennial of the Great Union of 1918 with a classical music concert, featuring the Romanian Youth Orchestra. It was organized by the Ministry of Culture, bringing to the stage soprano Adela Zaharia, who this year won the competition organized by Placido Domingo, alongside tenor Stefan Pop, winner of that same competition in 2010, and violinist Stefan Tarara, winner of the George Enescu Competition. December 1st 1918 is the moment when the Romanian unitary state formed after the end of WWI, bringing together most provinces with a majority Romanian population. After the anti-communist revolution of 1989, this date became Romania’s national day.

MILITARY – Romania’s Higher Defense Council meets on Tuesday in Bucharest, a meeting chaired by President Klaus Iohannis. According to the Presidency, the meeting’s agenda includes the plan for deploying troops in missions abroad, as well as the stage of implementation of decisions made at the Warsaw Summit of the alliance. The council will also be discussing measures taken by Romania in applying international sanctions, as well as the schedule of the council for the year 2018, and other national security issues.