July 17, 2018

President Iohannis to hold talks with PM Dancila on Wednesday

Newsroom, 17.07.2018, 13:14

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT — Romania’s Constitutional Court is today discussing the notification filed by the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, as regards the revision of the law on the organisation and functionning of the Higher Magistracy Council, as well as the notification signed by 90 deputies with the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union and unnafiliated MPs on the same matter. President Iohannis has argued that Parliament rejected without any motivation his request for the stipulations regarding the functioning of the Higher Magistracy Council to be reexamined, which he says affect the role of the head of state as the one who guarantees the independence of the judiciary and the functionning of the Judicial Inspection. Iohannis also mentions, invoking a Counstitutional Court decision in this respect, that Parliament must reexamine all signalled aspects.

MEETING — President Klaus Iohannis has required a meeting with the Social Democrat PM Viorica Dancila, to be held on Wednesday. The meeting will take place against a sensitive political background, with the media saying that the ruling coalition is negotiating the issuing of an emergency order regarding amnesty and pardoning. This continues to be a controversial issue that triggered large-scale proteststs 18 months ago. The previous meeting between Iohannis and Dancila was held two months ago, also at the president’s request, following the heated debates sparked by the possible relocation of Romania’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Iohannis asked PM Dancila to resign, at the end of April, saying she is unable to cope with the responsibilities incurred by her position.

BREXIT – UK junior defense minister Guto Bebb has resigned after voting against a government-backed amendment on the customs bill, BBC news reported on Monday. Bebb, who was minister for UK defense procurement, voted against the amendment that will stop Britain from collecting tariffs for the European Union after Brexit. The British government voted to support an amendment proposed Prime Minister Theresa May. The Brexit negotiations between London and the European Union started last year and are due to be completed by the end of March 2019.

CRITICISM – President Donald Trumps discourse at Monday’s news conference in Helsinki drew widespread criticism in the US, including from Trump’s own party, news agencies report. Several Republican senators and a former CIA chief were stunned by Trumps refusal to condemn Putin for what U.S. intelligence agencies have said is solid evidence of Russias sustained effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump, in a joint news conference with Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki, said that both the United States and Russia were to blame for what he also called the worst relationship between the two countries in their history and said that was about to change. President Putin said in turn the meeting was a good one and that the first steps towards mutual trust were being taken.

BUDGET REVISION – The Bucharest Government convenes today to discuss the first budget revision this year. According to the meeting’s agenda, a draft law initiated by the Defense Ministry, regarding the purchase of equipment aimed at securing Romania’s Black Sea area, will be analyzed. Minister Fifor has said that at the recent NATO Summit in Brussels it was emphasized the fact that Romania is part of a group of five countries that have allotted 2% of the GDP to defense. He has also said that most of this amount will be used for the equipping and modernization of the army.

WATER POLO – Romania’s water polo team was defeated by title holder Serbia, 11-5 in their first match in Group D of the European Championships in Barcelona, attended by the best 16 national teams in Europe. In the other match of the group, Russia beat Slovakia 12-6. Romania will be up against Slovakia on Wednesday. At the 2016 edition of the European Championships, Romania ranked 10th, while in 1993 and 2006 was 4th placed.