24 June 2019, UPDATE

A roundup of some of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 24.06.2019, 19:43

EU. Romania’s holding the rotating
presidency of the Council of the European Union is, next to the country’s
accession to the Union 12 years ago, the confirmation of its commitment to the
European project, said prime minister Viorica Dancila on Monday at the Conference of Parliamentary
Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC). She
said Romania will continue to act towards the consolidation of the European
Union, strengthening European policies and promoting the crucial importance of
solidarity and union within the European Union. The minister for European
affairs George Ciamba says Romania’s presidency of the Council of the EU has
been rooted in reality and tailored to current challenges, while its term has
been full of challenges. The results show that Romania has acted in an
efficient and pragmatic manner, has managed to calibrate its objectives,
resources and efforts suitably, and has demonstrated courage and consistency,
respecting the limits of the traditional powers of the presidency of the
Council of the EU, the Romanian minister also said.

Parliament. The Romanian Parliament will meet in an extraordinary sitting on July 1st.
The decision was made on Monday by the standing bureaus of the Chamber of
Deputies and the Senate. The agenda of the meeting next week will include the
amendment of the election law and the establishment of a parliamentary
committee to investigate allegations from the public regarding electoral fraud
during the European elections on the 26th of May.

Report. Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis has warned the government about the alarm signal sounded by the Venice
Commission with respect to the successive changes to the justice laws by means
of emergency orders. The president says the aspects noted by the Commission reinforce
the conclusion that the government has abused the instrument of the emergency
order. In a report published on Monday, the Venice Commission recommends the
Romanian government to drastically reduce the use of emergency orders in the area
of the judiciary and to reconsider the need to create a special department to
investigate magistrates.

Republic of Moldova. The first
payment to the Republic of Moldova as part of a macro-financial assistance
agreement with the European Union may be made in September, has said the head
of the European Parliament delegation Heidi Hautala on a working visit to the
Moldovan capital Chisinau. She has voiced the support of the European
Parliament for the government in Chisinau and the efforts of the authorities to
carry out democratic reforms. Moldova’s prime minister Maia Sandu has
reiterated her cabinet’s intention to implement the necessary reforms and her
confidence that Brussels will soon resume its financing programmes. A European
Parliament delegation has travelled to the Republic of Moldova to evaluate the
political situation in this former Soviet state with a majority
Romanian-speaking population in the wake of a recent constitutional crisis and
to have talks with the new government. Last year, the European Union suspended
its macro-financial assistance to the Republic of Moldova worth 100 million
euros over this country’s anti-democratic slippage.

Govora competition. The winners of RRI’s competition
dedicated to the Govora spa, namely Hans Verner Lollike of Denmark and his wife
Inge-Lise, have ended their trip to Valcea County, in southern Romania. The two
winners, accompanied by RRI journalist Razvan Emilescu, stayed at Palace Hotel
in Baile Govora and visited the county’s major cultural and tourist
attractions, including the Govora spa and the Govora monastery, the Museum of
Art in Ramnicu Valcea, the Ocnele Mari salt mine, the Olt River valley, the
Cozia monastery, the pottery centres in Horezu and the Horezu monastery, which
is a UNESCO world heritage site, and Dintr-un lemn monastery. The two visitors were also taken on the Transalpina,
the highest altitude major road in Romania. They also made a trip to Targu Jiu to
see the outdoor works by the famous Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, and
another short trip to Bucharest to see the historic centre. At the end of their
stay, the two visitors gave an interview to RRI, which will soon be available
in our Traveller’s Guide programme.

European Games. Romania’ Laura Georgeta Coman won the
gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle competition at the European Games in Minsk. Coman
is defending European champion in this event and was Romania’s flag bearer at
the opening of the Games on Friday night. Romania has so far won three other
medals in Minsk, all bronze and all in the sambo competition, thanks to Daniela Poroineanu, Anda Mihaela Valvoi and
Alina-Petronela Paunescu.

Weather. A warning
for unstable and hot weather is in place in Romania until Tuesday night.
Torrential rain, lightning, storms and hail are expected. The amount of
precipitation is likely to reach 15-25 litres per square metre, and even 35-40
in some places. The weather will be very hot and humid, with highs of 34
degrees Celsius expected. The torrential rains that have fallen in recent days
have caused flooding on waterways, with fire fighters being deployed to assist the
people whose homes have been flooded.