A roundup of domestic and international news
COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreaks are spreading in Romania, particularly in care centers and in hospitals. The number of schools resorting to exclusively online classes is also on the rise. According to the latest official report, 2,158 new cases and 33 new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. So far, 4,825 COVID-19 patients have died in Romania, and more than 127,500 people have tested positive. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Wednesday that he called on the county committees for emergency situations to show a much more serious involvement in the implementation of the legal measures adopted by the authorities, to carry out control and communication actions for citizens to comply with health protection measures in the context of the pandemic.
ELECTIONS Police and prosecutors carry on investigations in a criminal case initiated after on Sunday a Social Democrat running for a local councilor post was caught by representatives of Save Romania-PLUS Alliance with nearly 500 official reports from polling stations. The candidate backed by the Liberals and Save Romania-PLUS Alliance, MEP Clotilde Armand, said she would request the General Prosecutor's Office to take over the investigation. The acting Sector 1 mayor, the Social Democrat Dan Tudorache, said he also requested the Bureau to do a vote recount. According to centralized data, Clotilde Armand has won the election with 40.95%, while Dan Tudorache got 39.82% of the votes. In Bucharest, the independent candidate Nicuşor Dan, backed by the Liberals and Save Romania-PLUS Alliance, secured some 43% of the votes for General Mayor of Bucharest. At national level, partial results point to major changes in the administration of county capitals. The Liberals, in power, have won 15 county capitals, the Social Democrats in opposition 14, and Save Romania-PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians 4 each. As for county councils, the Social Democrats won 20, the Liberals 17, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians 4.
COURT The Constitutional Court of Romania has dismissed an objection raised by the President and Government against a bill authorizing Parliament to set the date of this year's parliamentary elections. The current bill is therefore deemed in line with the constitution, and president Iohannis is either to sign it into law, or to send it back to Parliament for a review. Meanwhile, in keeping with current legislation, the Liberal government decided on Friday that the parliamentary election will be held on December 6. Until its publication in the Official Journal, the bill tabled by the opposition parties, the Social Democrats, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and ALDE, is not in force. If this happens, which specialists say is no longer possible because there is not enough time, it will be for the first time in 30 years that the date of general elections in Romania is set by Parliament and not by the Government.
JUSTICE The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, met, on Wednesday, with the Minister of Justice Cătălin Predoiu and with the Prime Minister Ludovic Orban. According to the head of state, the talks focused on bills to correct the justice laws. Klaus Iohannis said that fair justice and equality before the law were the essential pillars of a genuine democracy. He said there had been a "counter-reform" in recent years that had "upset" the justice system. Iohannis mentioned some values of the judiciary that should be promoted: independence, professionalism, impartiality and meritocracy. In turn, the Minister of Justice, Cătălin Predoiu, announced a public debate, until March 31, 2021, on the proposals to amend the Justice Laws: the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors, the Law on Judicial Organization and the Law on the Superior Council of Magistracy. Predoiu said that among the proposed amendments are the dismantling of the Section for the Investigation of Crimes in the Judiciary, the professionalization of the magistrates' selection process, the elimination of non-competitive employment, the elimination of the early retirement scheme for magistrates, the strengthening of the principle of prosecutors' independence and the elimination of restrictions regarding the freedom of expression of magistrates. We recall that, in August, the head of state asked the Minister of Justice to correct the justice laws, which, in his opinion, had been 'trimmed by the Social Democratic Party'', the former ruling party.
COMMITMENT In 2020, the Romanian Government continued to affirm its commitment to restore the pace of justice reform after the drawbacks of 2017-2019 and this led to a significant reduction of tensions in the judicial system, according to the first report of the European Commission on the rule of law in the EU, presented in Brussels on Wednesday. The document recalls that, since Romania's joining the EU in 2007, justice and anti-corruption reforms have been monitored by the Commission through the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), an important framework for meeting the four established conditionalities. The report stresses that Romania has a comprehensive national strategic anti-corruption framework, based on the broad participation of local and national institutional players. According to the document, the ongoing amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure increase the uncertainty related to the efficiency of the anti-corruption legal framework, and therefore it is important to find political and legal solutions to respond to key decisions of the Constitutional Court.
CONFLICT The Romanian Foreign Ministry announces that Romanian embassies in Erevan and Baku are prepared to provide consular assistance to Romanian citizens in the conflict in the region. Romanian citizens are urged to be cautious and to seek information in official sources as regards possible changes in travel conditions in the 2 countries. The European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to refrain from any measures, especially military ones, that might infringe upon civilians' rights. Clashes between Azeri and Armenian troops over the Nagorno-Karabakh region continue, in spite of an appeal for cease-fire and negotiations coming from the UN Security Council. According to official data, 98 people, mostly Armenian separatist fighters and , and 17 civilians on both sides, have been killed in the past few days in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
TENNIS Simona Halep (no. 2 WTA) on Wednesday defeated another Romanian, Irina Begu (72 WTA) in the 2nd round of the Roland Garros tournament. Also on Wednesday, in the doubles, the Romanians Andreea Mitu and Patricia Tig defeated the pair Madison Brengle of the US and Yana Sizikova of Russia. The Romanian - Swedish pair Ana Bogdan/Rebecca Peterson was defeated by the Check Marie Bouzkova and the Dutch Arantxa Rus. The match between Sorana Carstea of Romania and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain against the pair Alison Riske (USA)/Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) was cancelled.
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