Newflash, June 26
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Florentin Căpitănescu, 26.06.2013, 19:52
Wednesday was a day of national mourning in Romania, in memory of the 18 Romanians who died in Sunday’s road accident in Montenegro. The authorities in the former Yougoslav republic have also called for a day of national mourning in token of respect for the victims. The wounded, initially hospitalized in Podogorica on Tuesday were taken by two Romanian military aircraft to hospitals in Bucharest. The third plane carried the deceased to Romania. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that the government was preparing measures to support the latter’s families.
Romania’s Parliament on Wednesday postponed the debate and vote of the amendments to the MP statute, in keeping with the rulings of the Constitutional Court. Following the presidency’s intimation, the Court has rejected as unconstitutional the articles on the immunity of MPs, who cannot be searched, detained or arrested without the Prosecutor’s office providing “concrete and thorough reasons”. The Court believes that those articles violate the principle of the separation of state powers and the independence of the judiciary.
Austrian energy company OMV has announced that the consortium developing Azerbaijans Shah Deniz-2 natural-gas and oil field has rejected using the proposed multibillion-dollar Nabucco West pipeline. The project, which is backed by the EU, was designed to link Turkey’s gas network to Austria via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean has recently said that in the case of an unfavourable decision, Bucharest should be looking for alternative options, such as exploiting gas and shale gas deposits in the Black Sea. The shorter and cheaper Trans-Adriatic Pipeline will be used to carry gas extracted in Turkey to Italy via Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea. Both pipelines have been designed to reduce the EU’s dependency on Russian gas imports.
One hundred and thirty athletes from 13 countries will be competing in the 50th edition of the Tour of Romania cycling tour, running from June 30th through July 6th, the organisers of the event announced on Wednesday. Officials say the full route will cover some 1,050 kilometres and will take bikers on altitudes ranging from low plains to alpine roads. Seven bikers will be representing Romania at the start of the race.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Wednesday paid a visit to Baku as part of his Asian tour, which includes official visits to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China. In Baku the Romanian official met with head of state Ilham Aliyev and his counterpart Yagub Eyybov. Ponta had previously said his Asian tour revolves around an economic interest in the area, given that Romania wants to attract foreign investments from non-EU countries.
The Constitutional Court of Romania on Wednesday ruled against a notification filed by the opposition regarding the amendment of the referendum law. The minimum voter turnout required to validate a referendum is decreased from 50% to 30% of the overall amount of citizens on electoral lists. The Constitutional Court has further ruled that the law will not apply to any referendums held within a year of its enactment.
