17 April 2019, UPDATE

A roundup of the latest news.

Newsroom, 17.04.2019, 19:45

Referendum. The two
chambers of the Parliament in Bucharest have green lighted the request of president
Klaus Iohannis to hold a referendum on 26th of May, at the same time
as the elections for the European Parliament. Parliament’s opinion in this
matter is advisory. The themes proposed by the head of state refer to banning
amnesty and pardoning for acts of corruption and also preventing the government
from passing emergency orders in the field of crimes and judicial organisation.
The president also wants to ask voters if institutions other than the Ombudsman
should be able to refer such decrees to the Constitutional Court. The
president’s move comes amidst a series of controversial changes in the judicial
system initiated by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party
and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats that have come under criticism at home
and abroad, by Romania’s European partners.

Cabinet
reshuffle. The executive committee of the ruling
Social Democratic Party has withdrawn its political support for the justice
minister Tudorel Toader, proposing his replacement with the deputy speaker of
the Chamber of Deputies Eugen Nicolicea. The decision comes after Toader
refused to issue some controversial decrees modifying the criminal codes. The
Social Democrats have also proposed Oana Florea for the position of minister
for European funds to replace Rovana Plumb and Liviu Brailoiu for taking over
the ministry for Romanians abroad to replace Natalia Intotero. Plumb and
Intotero are running for a seat in the European Parliament in May’s elections.

Criminal code. The Senate passed on Wednesday the bill amending the criminal code in
the version drafted by the special committee for the justice legislation. The
committee had approved the amendments on Tuesday, having eliminated a number of
provisions from the initial version that had been ruled unconstitutional by
Romania’s Constitutional Court. The bill still contains a number of provisions
criticised by the opposition, such as those referring to the statute of
limitations for convictions, the repeal of a provision on negligence in
employment and the introduction of a one-year deadline for denunciations.
Justice minister Tudorel Toader did not agree to pass the amendments to the
criminal code via emergency order. The president of the parliamentary
committee, the Social Democrat Florin Iordache, says the urgency is given by
the government’s failure to implement through legislation the provisions
declared constitutional by the court. Attending the debates held by the
commission, Toader said it was Parliament’s obligation to harmonise the
criminal codes with the rulings of the Constitutional Court, given that this is
a legislative bill. The opposition says the changes are an attempt to rid
senior politicians of criminal investigations. The Senate is the first chamber
to rule on this bill, with the Chamber of Deputies being the decision-making
body.

Presidency. The Romanian prime
minister Viorica Dancila on Wednesday presented a report on Romania’s first 100
days as holder of the presidency of the Council of the EU. She said the
government in Bucharest demonstrated efficiency, determination and a capacity
to find good solutions for European citizens in each and every one of these 100
days. 90 legislative dossiers, including some very difficult ones inherited
from previous presidencies, were finalised during this period and the Romanian
presidency managed over 1,000 events and meetings, Viorica Dancila also said.

Protest. The
confederation of authorised road carriers in Romania held a protest on
Wednesday outside the government building in Bucharest against an upcoming emergency
order regulating online platforms for passenger transport. Taxi drivers demand
that the change be made in Parliament and not by government order and that the
activity of these online platforms should be limited and comply with the same
rules as taxi companies in terms of authorisation, control and taxation. This
is the biggest in a series of protests staged by taxi drivers in the last
month.

Inflation.
Romania, Hungary and Holland last month saw the highest annual inflation rates
in the European Union, according to figures published on Wednesday by Eurostat,
the European statistical office. Romania had a 4.2% inflation rate, Hungary
3.8% and Holland 2.9%. Portugal and Greece had the lowest inflation rates. The
annual inflation rate dropped to 1.4% in the eurozone in March and remained at
1.6% in the European Union.