April 19, 2018 UPDATE
President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday received the president of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, 1st parliamentary summit of the Bucharest Format (B9) comes to an end
Newsroom, 19.04.2018, 20:19
Meeting — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday received in Bucharest the president of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Paolo Gentiloni. President Iohannis said bilateral relations were very good, given that both the Romanian community in Italy, numbering around 1.3 million people, and the Italian community in Romania are not only accepted but well integrated. President Iohannis also underlined the similarities between the two countries’ stands regarding political relations, trade exchanges and the European agenda. In turn, the Italian official mentioned the excellent trade relations between the two countries and evoked the two sides’ cooperation within the EU and NATO.
Bucharest Format – Representatives of nine European countries part of NATO’s eastern flank, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary and high-ranking NATO officials met on Wednesday and Thursday in Romania’s capital city for the first parliamentary summit of the Bucharest Format (B9). The meeting was aimed at consolidating the role of national Parliaments in security and defence issues, in defensive actions and military deterrents in the region as well as in fighting terrorism. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said the Parliaments of the countries part of the B9 Format have an essential role in the equitable share of responsibilities inside NATO. According to Iohannis, the allied presence in the eastern flank must be unitary, coherent and efficient. The Romanian official recalled that Romania remains a committed and responsible partner inside the Alliance. The participants have also referred to Russia’s unpredictable and aggressive actions, which constitute a threat to the region as well as to the entire Euro Atlantic community.
Protests – The Romanian healthcare trade unions on Thursday announced the protests timetable to be held in the coming period against the background of discontent with the employees’ salaries. A rally is scheduled for April 26 in Bucharest, than a token strike is to be held on May 7, with a 2-hour suspension of work, and all-out strike is scheduled for May 11.
Motion — The Save Romania Union announced Thursday that they would table a simple motion against the education minister, Valentin Popa, alongside the National Liberal Party. According to Save Romanian Union the big universities of Romania, in spite of their performances, have been deprived of great number of student places, which represents an attack against the country’s development. As of Thursday the students of the Bucharest University and the West University in Timisoara, in the west, have started a work-to-rule strike. Recently the education ministry has published the preliminary distribution of places for 1st year students in public universities for the 2018-2019 academic year covered from the state budget.
Justice laws — The special committee for the justice laws in Romania’s Parliament on Thursday announced that the proposals on the modification of the Criminal, Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure Codes would be debated as of May 2nd. Talks are aimed at harmonizing the three codes with the decisions of the Constitutional Court, of the European Court of Human Rights and the line European Directive. Apart from the new provisions announced, in March, the Romanian Parliament adopted a series of changes to the justice laws, proposed by the same special committee, related to the status of magistrates, judiciary organization and the functioning of the Supreme Council of Magistracy. Some of the changes generated the largest-scale protests in post-Communist Romania.
Tunis — The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu on Thursday met with his Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui on the first day of his visit to Tunisia. Minister Meleşcanu underscored the wish of the Romanian authorities to develop relations with Tunisia, which is a traditional partner of Romania. The two officials signed a number of documents among which the Declaration on the Joint Romania- Tunisia Committee which covers such domains as the economy, defense, justice, education and tourism. Minister Meleşcanu also said that Romania was fully supporting the consolidation of Tunisia’s partnership with the EU in the run up to the organization of the EU-Tunisia Association Council on May 15. Previously, Minister Meleşcanu met in Tripoli with Ahmed Maatig, the vice-president of the Presidential Council and deputy prime minister of Libya’s Government of National Accord.
Berlin — The German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reiterated during a meeting in Berlin their wish to forward a common proposal related to the EU reforms by June. Chancellor Merkel said that, although the two sides have divergent opinions in relation to the reform of the community bloc, compromises could be made, though. In turn, president Macron said that both Germany and France had the will to present a common vision and added that an agreement over political objectives was essential in this respect. In relation to the reform of the Euro zone, president Macron insists on a more uniform sharing of risks among the states using the single currency mainly through the setting up of a budget of the Euro zone, of a European Monetary Fund, of a position of finance minister and a parliament of the Euro zone, proposals regarded with reticence by Germany. (news updated and translated by Lacramioara Simion)
