June 29, 2018 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 30.06.2018, 10:23
AGREEMENT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said on Friday in Brussels that Romania is successfully involved and well managing the inflow of refugees. According to Iohannis, Romania is not a destination country for migrants but a transit one and the number of refugees transiting it is reasonable and can be easily managed. After a series of tense debates on Thursday night in Brussels the EU leaders reached an agreement on migration. The Europeans have decided among other things to create platforms aimed at sending these migrants outside the EU in order to discourage further attempts to cross the Mediterranean. The participants have also agreed to extend with six months the sanctions against Russia, in response to its annexation of Crimea.
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA — The Central Electoral Authority in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population announced on Friday that mayoral elections will again be held in the capital city, Chishinau. The decision comes after the US Department of State has criticized the “non-transparent ruling” issued by Moldova’s Supreme Court of Justice which invalidated the result of the mayoral elections of June 3, in Chishinau. According to the local press, the US diplomacy has warned in a communiqué that the move is a threat to democracy. Earlier, the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, have, in their turn, condemned the decision made by the Moldovan Court. The recent elections for the city hall of Chishinau were won by the pro-European candidate Andrei Nastase, the leader of the Dignity and Truth Platform. Nastase and his second round contender, Socialist Ion Ceban, made appeals to mobilize people to come to the polls on the day of the elections, which were considered to be “electoral agitation”.
JUSTICE OVERHAUL — The Public Ministry has identified over 30 articles suspected of being unconstitutional, following an analysis of the changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure, Romania’s Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazăr, said on Friday. He said all these provisions had been brought to the attention of the relevant institutions to notify the Constitutional Court. He made these statements after on Thursday, 12 western embassies to Bucharest made an appeal to all sides involved in amending the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to avoid changes which might weaken the rule of law or Romania’s capacity to fight against crime and corruption.
DECISION The government in Bucharest has adopted a decision providing for the implementation of 8 strategic investment projects under private-public partnership. Among these projects there is the construction of two regional hospitals, a plant specialized in producing electric vehicles, a national blood and stem cells bank as well as a new tourist center in the Fagaras Mountains. In another development, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has announced that pensions in the public system and state aid for the handicapped are to be raised as of July 1st. So the pension reference point will increase by 10% and the minimum pension by 20%. Over 5 million Romanians are expected to benefit the measure.
WEATHER The National Meteorology Administration on Friday issued a code orange alert against heavy rain for 12 counties in the north and centre of Romania, valid until Saturday morning. A code yellow thunderstorm alert has been issued for most of the country as well, expected to last for brief periods of time. On Saturday, maximum temperatures are expected to reach 26-27 degrees Celsius. Almost three quarters of the country are under threat of flooding until July 1. One of the worst affected counties is Bacau, in the east.
TENNIS — The all Romanian pair Irina Begu/ Mihaela Buzărnescu on Friday qualified to the finals of the Eastbourne tournament in the UK, with some 850,000 dollars in prize money up for grabs. In the semifinals they defeated the pair Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine) / Ekaterina Makarova (Russia), 2-1. In the finals, scheduled for Saturday, Begu and Buzărnescu will play against Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) / Yifan Xu (China).
HOLIDAY Orthodox and Catholic believers from the world over, including from Romania, on Friday celebrated Saints Peter and Paul, the most important apostles of Jesus Christ. They both founded Christian communities — Peter in Palestine and Rome, Paul in Anatolia and Greece. Both apostles died as martyrs in Rome, during the anti-Christian persecutions of emperor Nero. Their earthly remains are being kept in two churches built to their memory — St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican and St. Paul in southern Rome. Over 450 thousand Romanians are today celebrating their name day.
(Translated by D. Bilt & D. Vijeu)
