7 July, 2019

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

Newsroom, 07.07.2019, 14:06

Justice Day. Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis said in a message on Justice Day on Sunday that recent years
have been marked by repeated attempts to subordinate the judiciary to politics through
sudden changes to the laws on the organisation of the judiciary, the status of
magistrates and the criminal legislation, but that this attack has been met
with a prompt reaction from citizens and magistrates. Justice minister Ana
Birchall has also conveyed a message saying citizens’ respect and trust must be
earned back. She also said that the future of the Romanian judiciary can only
be in Europe and the Transatlantic family, and this means assimilating the
values, principles and standards these partnerships imply. Established 25 years
ago, Justice Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday in July.

Diaspora. By the end of August,
3,000 pupils, students and teachers from the ethnic Romanian communities in the
neighbouring countries and around the world have a change to enhance their
knowledge of Romanian culture and civilisation in a series of special camps.
The programme is organised by the ministry for Romanians abroad and the
ministry for youth and sports and takes place at four locations: Sulina, in
Tulcea county, in the Danube Delta, in the south-east; Oglinzi, in Neamt
county, in the north-east; in Sacelu, in Gorj county; and Caprioara, in
Hunedoara county, both in the south-west. The participants come from the
historical ethnic Romanian communities in the Republic of Moldova (with a
majority Romanian-speaking population), including Transnistria, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Albania, North Macedonia
and Hungary, as well as from the diaspora, from Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal,
the UK, France, Germany, Canada, the US, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Romanian minister for Romanians abroad Natalia Intotero says the goal of
these camps is to increase awareness with respect to belonging to the Romanian
identity, enhance knowledge of Romanian language, facilitate interaction and
dialogue and promote Romania’s image.

Music. Constanta, in the south-east, has played host
to the Neversea music festival, the biggest held on a beach in Europe. The
festival boasts more than 150 well-known musicians and some 200,000 spectators
from Romania and abroad. The line-up features names such as Afrojack, G-Eazy,
Jessie J, DJ Snake, Sean Paul, Lost Frequencies, Kadebostany, Salvatore
Ganacci, Dub FX, ATB, Mahmut Orhan and Will Sparks. The festival’s budget this
year stands at some 9 million euros. The main stage is 25 m high and contains
over 400 last-generation LED screens. 22 electrical generators are used
consuming the amount needed by a town with 40,000 inhabitants in Romania.

Football. FC Viitorul Constanta have won for the
first time the Romanian football Supercup after defeating the defending
champions CFR Cluj 1-nil on Saturday evening. FC Viitorul have also won the
championship title and the Romanian Cup. This month, both sides will play qualifying
matches for European cups. CFR Cluj will be facing FC Astana from Kazakhstan in
the Championship League, while FC Viitorul Constanta will meet the Belgian side
FC Anvers managed by the former Romanian international player Ladislau Boloni
in the Europa League. FCSB will face the Moldovan side Milsami Orhei and CSU Craiova the Azeri side FK
Sabail, also in the Europa League.

Tennis. Romania’s Simona Halep on
Monday faces the American 15-year old Cori Gauff in the quarterfinals at
Wimbledon. A former world no. 1 and currently seeded 7th, Halep is
the only Romanian player still in competition in the women’s singles. In the women’s
doubles, the all-Romanian pair Monica Niculescu and Irina Begu have reached the
quarterfinals where they will face the pair seeded third, Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic and Hsieh Su-wei
of Taiwan. In the men’s doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and
Jean-Julien Rojer have also reached the quarterfinals and will meet the
Argentine pair Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos.