13 April, 2018

A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 13.04.2018, 13:36

Prosecution. Romanian president
Klaus Iohannis today sent the justice minister a formal request to allow the
prosecution of the former president Ion Iliescu, the former prime minister
Petre Roman and the former deputy prime minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu. The
prosecutor’s office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice has also been
notified about this request. The prosecution is connected to the Revolution
case, which investigates the events that led to the collapse of the communist
regime in December 1989. The three officials are accused of crimes against
humanity. According to prosecutors, the armed incidents that took place in the
aftermath of the 22nd of December across Romania point to a
pre-established plan aimed at taking over power and legitimising the new
leaders. Those targeted by the investigation say they are innocent. We recall
that because of the delays in the Revolution case, Romania has received a
conviction from the European Court of Human Rights. According to the Court, the
importance of this case for Romanian society should motivate the authorities to
prosecute swiftly.

Trade union talks. Fresh talks took place today at the
healthcare ministry between the representatives of the trade unions in the
field and minister Sorina Pintea after recent protests in hospitals. Trade
unions said they are unhappy after talks that focused on the regime of benefits
and how they should be divided within each hospital. Minister Pintea says talks
will continue in order to find a way to make sure the employees don’t lose
money. She also says the auxiliary staff may see their salaries drop. Trade
unions demand, among others, that equal benefits be guaranteed for all
hospitals. They say that limiting benefits to 30% leads to hundreds of
employees earning between 65 and 280 euros less. Last month, the Sanitas
federation threatened to start protests and even a general strike.

Diaspora. The minister for
Romanians abroad Natalia-Elena Intotero travels to Spain today. During her
visit, which is to last until Monday, she is due to meet central and local
officials, representatives of the associative environment and church officials.
The number of Romanian nationals officially residing in Spain has exceeded 1
million according to data published last year by the Spanish Permanent
Immigration Observatory. This points to a 2.4% increase compared with 2016.

Defence. Romanian defence
minister Mihai Fifor and the chief of staff general Nicolae Ciuca has had talks
with the commander of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, general John
W. Nicholson, at the NATO headquarters in Kabul, as part of a trip to
Afghanistan between the 10th and the 12th of April.
According to a defence ministry press release, minister Fifor said Romania
supports the efforts to stabilise the region and that taking part in the
Resolute Support Mission is a priority for Bucharest. Minister Fifor also said
Romania took over the role as academic coordinator as part of an education development
programme in the field of defence designed to consolidate the activity of
Afghan education institutions in the area of security and defence.

Visit. The director of the
Romanian Intelligence Service Eduard Hellvig has had a series of official talks
with the US intelligence community, according to a press release pubished on
Friday on the Service’s website. Hellvig had talks at the CIA on the
cooperation between the two partner services on the prevention and combating of
security risks and threats. The Romanian Intelligence Service also says that,
at the FBI headquarters, the FBI representatives reiterated the importance of
continuing the strategic partnership between the Romanian and the American
intelligence agencies. The Romanian official also met Homeland Security
officials and paid an official visit to the State Department, where talks
focused on the current global context, the strategic partnership between
Romania and the US and the threats and risks facing world security.

Corruption. The judges of the High Court of Cassation and
Justice are to discuss today the final deadline in the Gala Bute case in which
the former regional development and tourism minister Elena Udrea was sentenced
to 6 years in prison for bribe taking and abuse of office. She also had to pay
almost 3 million euros in damages. In the same case, the former president of
the Romanian Boxing Federation Rudel Obreja was sentenced to 5 years in prison,
while the former economy minister Ion Ariton was acquitted. According to the National Anticorruption
Directorate, Udrea coordinated a system through which persons in her entourage
received, with her knowledge, sums of money from representatives of business
companies to guarantee on-time payment of works financed by the ministry she was
running. Udrea is also accused of causing ministry employees to overstep their
duties during the acquisition of advertising services for the Bute Gala,
causing losses to the ministry’s budget. Elena Udrea is in Costa Rica at the
moment. She is under investigation in a number of other cases prosecuted by the
National Anticorruption Directorate.

Handball. The
Romanian women’s handball side SCM Craiova on Saturday face the Turkish side Kastamonuin a return match at home as part of the EHF Cup semifinals. Craiova won
the first leg 23-22. If they make it to the final, it would be a first
for the Romanian side, who are now at their second participation in the
European cups. In more news from women’s handball, the Romanian champions CSM
Bucharest are playing the French side Metz away on Sunday as part of the
Champions League quarterfinals. CSM won the first leg in Bucharest 34-21. We
recall they won the Champions League title in 2016.