December 30, 2017 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 30.12.2017, 19:22
BRANCUSI The people who made donations so that the Romanian state could buy Constantin Brancusi’s statue ‘Wisdom of the Earth’ are to get their money back, under an emergency ordinance issued by the government, which has already been published in the Official Gazette. The money, which is to be returned until December 31st 2018, will be assured from the state budget via the Culture Ministry’s budget. We recall the technocratic government led by Dacian Ciolos in 2016 launched a fund-raising campaign aimed at bringing the statue back to Romania. Six million euros needed to be raised until September 30th 2016. The government provided most part of the sum, five million, but the money raised through donations wasn’t enough. Built in 1907, ‘Wisdom of the Earth’ together with ‘the Kiss’ and ‘the Prayer’ are marking the most appreciated period in the career of the Romanian artist.
SECURITY Authorities in Europe and the USA have announced increased security measures for the New Year’s open-air festivities as many countries have in recent years seen terror attacks. 140 thousand police, gendarmes and army troops will be patrolling the streets of France, with a special focus on Champs-Elysees where alcohol consumption is banned on New Year’s Eve. Concrete barriers are to be placed to prevent cars from entering crowded areas. Additional surveillance cameras have been mounted in several cities across Germany. Police sources have said that armed policemen will be patrolling the streets of London, while concrete barriers are to be placed in the city center. Police in Brussels have informed on the increased security measures that are to be implemented in all the public places where people are expected to celebrate the New Year’s Eve while the NYPD has also taken increased security measures in Times Square. Authorities have also announced a ramped-up police presence in Romania’s crowded areas on the New Year’s Eve.
RESHUFFLE Liviu Dragnea, the head of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the main party of the leftist ruling coalition, has announced that next month he will discuss with their partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) about a possible government reshuffle. Dragnea has pointed out that personally, he is satisfied with the activity of the ministers and of PM Mihai Tudose. The Social Democratic leader has also said that he is against an extraordinary parliament session summoned to discuss amendments to the Criminal Codes, and he also opposes the issuing of an emergency decree on this matter. He believes that these bills must also be passed following debates, but emphasises the fact that by April 2018 the EU directive regarding the presumption of innocence and the right to fair trial must be included into the Romanian law. Other amendments to the Criminal Codes are generated by rulings of the Romanian Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights. The right-of-center opposition, civil society and the media are harshly criticising the government coalition’s plan to amend the justice laws, and accuse them of trying to subordinate magistrates and put an end to the battle against corruption. Last week, embassies of seven EU member states called on all parties involved in the reform process of the Romanian justice system to avoid any action that might compromise the independence of the judicial system.
TENNIS Several tennis players from Romania are participating in the Shenzhen tournament in China with 700 thousand dollars in prize money. During the competition, which is due to kick off on December 31st, Romania’s Simona Halep will be taking on Nicole Gibbs of the USA in their first match so far. Irina Begu from Romania will be up against Chinese Fangzhou Liu, also in their first game. Mihaela Buzarnescu, who had an excellent season in 2017 climbing up 500 positions in the WTA standings, will be up against a redoubtable opponent, Maria Sharapova. This will also be their first game so far. Monica Niculescu, also from the Romanian delegation will play Aryna Sabalenka of Byelorussia. Another Romanian challenger, Ana Bogdan, is up against Camila Giorgi of Italy. The two met in 2017 also in Shenzhen in a match that went to the Italian player. In the first qualification round on Saturday, Irina Bara of Romania conceded defeat to Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland. Halep is the odds-on favourite of the tournament, which she also won in 2015. The Romanian needs this title if she wants to remain number 1 in the world rankings.
