March 28, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.03.2019, 19:48

REFERENDUM – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on
Thursday announced he would call a referendum on May 26, coinciding with the
European Parliament election. The topic will be observing the rule of law and
the independence of the judiciary, which the President believes has been under
constant attacks from the Social-Democratic Party in power. During this week
the President talked to representatives of associations of judges and magistrates
as well as civil society. Some of them have criticized the organization of a
referendum on the same day as the European Parliament ballot, saying the
referendum might influence the result of the election. Others have voiced the
unequivocal support for the President’s decision.

DANUBE – The Romanian transport minister
Razvan Cuc and the European commissioner for transport Violeta Bulc have had
talks in Bucharest about ways to turn the Danube river into a more attractive
European corridor. Razvan Cuc has said his ministry will launch a tender to
purchase a modern system to allow own dredging works, not just by third
companies, and that increasing the river depth would lead to an increase in the
shipment of goods via the river. The European commissioner for transport Violeta Bulc has said the Danube has great potential for the transport
of goods and has underlined that in some EU member states inland waterways are
used extensively. She also emphasised that in the absence of efficient roads
and railways, Romania should develop further its Black Sea port of Constanta,
in the south-east.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
ELECTION -
Political parties and alliances and independent candidates in Romania had until
Thursday to submit their candidacies for the European Parliament elections on
the 26th of May. The candidate lists were submitted to the Central
Election Bureau, accompanied by 200,000 support signatures in the case of
political parties and 100,000 signatures for independent candidates. The
Central Election Bureau is to decide by the 6th of April whether to
accept or reject the candidacies, decisions that can be appealed until the 12th
of April. The order of the candidates on the ballot will then be established
based on a drawing of lots. The election campaign begins on the 27th
of April and ends on the morning of the 25th of May.

EUROPEAN PROSECUTOR – The second round of negotiations
between the representatives of the Council of the European Union and of the
European Parliament to appoint a chief European prosecutor ended without a
breakthrough, Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels quotes European sources
as saying. There are two candidates for this position: the former head of
Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi, who has the
backing of the European Parliament, and the French candidate Jean-François
Bohnert, who is supported by the Council. Further talks will be held on the 4th
or 10th of April. The appointment of the future European chief
prosecutor must earn the approval of both the Council of the European Union and
the European Parliament for a single 7-year term. The European Prosecutor’s
Office is supposed to take up its functions at the end of 2020. This will be an
independent office responsible for the investigation, prosecution and
indictment of fraud against the EU budget.

UNEMPLOYMENT – The
unemployment rate went up to 4.1% in the last quarter of 2018, up by 0.2%
compared with the previous quarter. According to the National Institute of
Statistics, the highest unemployment level of more than 16%, was reported among
young people aged between 15 and 24. The occupancy rate among the 15-64 age
bracket stood at 64.5% in the period looked at, lower compared with the
previous quarter. The employment rate was higher among men and the urban
population. According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romania’s active
population stood at almost 9 million people, of whom 8.5 million were in
employment and 368,000 out of work.

ROMANIA-FRANCE
SEASON
– The Romania-France Season, which opens on the 18th of April with
Spotlight, an international festival of lights, will feature exhibitions,
theatre and film festivals and concerts held in more than 30 towns and cities
across Romania. The French ambassador to Bucharest Michèle Ramis
says the event, which has been held in more than 100 towns and cities in
France, has enjoyed immense success, with the French public rediscovering
Romania and its artists. The Season ends on the 16th of April in
Paris and on the 18th of April will move to Romania until the 14th
of July.

(translated by C. Mateescu &
V. Palcu)