12 February 2020, UPDATE

12 february 2020, update A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Assessment. A European Commission expert team continued in Bucharest its evaluation of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The experts had fresh talks with the acting justice minister Catalin Predoiu about a timetable for the amendment of the justice laws and the harmonisation of the criminal codes with the rulings of the Constitutional Court. On the previous day, Predoiu presented the European Commission experts with the bill on the dismantling of the special department for investigating magistrates and the stage of discussions on this topic. In its latest report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the European Commission had criticised the creation and the activity of this department, describing it as an instrument of political pressure. In October 2019, the European Commission proposed maintaining the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, saying that Romania had taken steps back in the fight against corruption and the independence of the judiciary.


Infringement. The European Commission on Wednesday sent a letter to Romania urging it to properly implement the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which prevents timber companies from placing on the EU market products obtained from illegal logging. This letter is in effect tantamount to a formal opening of the infringement procedure. "The national authorities have been unable to effectively check the operators and apply appropriate sanctions. Inconsistencies in the national legislation do not allow Romanian authorities to check large amounts of illegally harvested timber", the letter also reads. The European Commission gives Bucharest one month to take the necessary measures. Romania's acting environment minister Costel Alexe said Brussels waited three years for Romania to take measures and criticized the previous governments. He is having an official meeting with the European environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius on Friday, presenting him with the solutions envisaged. Also on Wednesday, the European Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Romania for not implementing the European Anti-Money Laundering Directive and for not adopting a national air pollution control programme. Other EU states also received similar notices, all being given two months to address the situation.


NATO. NATO defence ministers are having talks in Brussels mainly about the Alliance's modernization and adjustment to the regional and international security challenges. The agenda of the two days of meetings, where Romania is represented by its defence minister Nicolae Ciuca, includes the allied operations, with focus on the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Romanian defence ministry, other topics include the cooperation between NATO and the European Union to ensure European and transatlantic security and reconfirm the unity of the Alliance. In the opening of the talks, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg called on the Taliban to demonstrate their commitment to solving the conflict in Afghanistan and the cessation of violence, one day after a deadly attack in Kabul.  


Cooperation. Romania's president Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday met in Bucharest the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia,  Adel Bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir. Iohannis hailed the good ties existing between the two countries, against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The need was also emphasised to develop these ties, both in the economic area and in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, IT, renewable energy, tourism, defence and security. The Saudi minister hailed Romania's position on important international issues such as the Middle East peace process, Syria and Yemen, underlining the similarity of the positions held by the two states vis-à-vis these issues.


Ruling. The Constitutional Court of Romania ruled on Wednesday that there is no legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the government and Parliament with respect to the budget and social security bills. A complaint in this regard had been filed by the speakers of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies after the Liberal government sought to pass these bills through the government responsibility procedure. Also on Wednesday, the Constitutional Court judges rejected a complaint from the Ombudsman referring to the provisions of an emergency order on the administrative code. The Court did, admit, however, an objection raised by the Social Democratic Party about the government's assuming responsibility for a bill amending a controversial order relating to fiscal and budgetary measures. As a result, state employees will continue to be able to receive and a pension and a salary at the same time.


Flu. Two more men have died because of the seasonal flu in Romania, raising the death toll to 31 people. The latest victims, aged 46 and 68, had not been vaccinated against the flu. A flu epidemic was officially declared in Romania last Thursday. Classes in schools have been suspended in some cases. Experts say the rising trend will be maintained in the next few weeks, given the low vaccination rate among the population.


Eurovision. Roxen will represent Romania at the 2020 Eurovision singing contest in Rotterdam. Several songs have been written for her, and the five best will be publicly presented on February 21st, to then get into the national selection stage on March 1st. Roxen rose to fame last summer thanks to the song "You Don't Love Me", which was played in France, Mexico, the US, Russia, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Turkey, Kazkhstan and Estonia. At the Eurovision, Roxen will compete on May 12th, in the first semi-final. The final of the Rotterdam contest will be held on May 16th. The best Eurovision  results obtained by Romania were third place in 2005 and 2010.



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Publicat: 2020-02-12 20:15:00
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