February 17, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Florentin Căpitănescu, 17.02.2015, 19:51
DIPLOMACY – The Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, received the Ukrainian foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin in Bucharest on Tuesday. Talks focused on the strengthening of bilateral relations and the latest developments in Ukraine, after a ceasefire agreement was signed last week in Minsk. The Romanian head of state expressed his hope that the truce will be respected and will lead to stability in the region. The president has also reiterated Romania’s support for ensuring the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the former Soviet republic and for its carrying on its European accession efforts. In a separate meeting with the Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, the Ukrainian official proposed a joint meeting of the governments of the two neighbouring countries.
CORRUPTION PROBE – The head of the Prahova County Council, Mircea Cosma, and two MEPs, his son Vlad Cosma and Sebastian Ghiţă, are subject to investigations by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in a case involving the misappropriation of European funds. Mircea and Vlad Cosma are probed into, among other things, for supporting an organised crime group, while Sebastian Ghita, owner of a television station and having close relations with PM Victor Ponta, for misuse of authority and influence peddling. Also involved in the same case is the Prime Minister’s brother-in-law, Iulian Herţanu, suspected of having established an organised crime group. The losses are put at nearly 2 million euros.
JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania Tuesday replaced the detention pending trial decision with a house arrest ruling in the case of Deputy Elena Udrea, a former minister for development and tourism. She is accused, among others, of abuse of office, influence peddling, money laundering and submitting false wealth statements. Meanwhile, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate sent a new request to the Chamber of Deputies, for approval of the former minister’s arrest pending trial for bribery offences. Elena Udrea allegedly received over 1 million euros to help several companies that had contracts with the Romanian government.
GREEK BAILOUT – There is no Plan B in the Greek debt talks, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said in Brussels on Tuesday. The statement was made on the sidelines of a meeting of the EU finance ministers, one day after a new failure in negotiations between Athens and the eurozone, AFP reports. On the other hand, also on Tuesday, the Greek PM, Alexis Tsipras, announced that the Parliament in Athens will vote on Friday on a substantial social package. The measures, designed to help employees, the unemployed and small enterprises, will help restart the economy, Tsipras said. Without a new agreement with the international lenders, Greece, which cannot borrow funds from foreign markets because of the high interest rates, risks defaulting and exiting the eurozone, experts warn. Greece’s debt amounts to around 315 billion euro, nearly 175% of the GDP.
UKRAINE – The EU Tuesday called for the pull back of heavy guns in eastern Ukraine, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement signed last week. Meanwhile, the governmental forces and the pro-Russian secessionists accuse each other of breaking the truce, which took effect on Saturday night. According to international news agencies, fighting continues around the strategic Ukrainian town of Debaltseve, a railway hub connecting the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, both controlled by the separatists. On the other hand, the rebels denied the access of observers from the OSCE, particularly in Debaltseve. Since the conflict broke out 10 months ago, over 5,600 people, mostly civilians, have died in eastern Ukraine.
