13 September 2017

European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker proposes holding a special EU summit one day after Brexit in the Romanian city of Sibiu.

Newsroom, 13.09.2017, 13:41

The president of
the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said during his State of the Union
address in the European Parliament that Romania and Bulgaria should be accepted
immediately into the Schengen area of free movement. He also proposed that a
special EU summit be held one day after Brexit, on 30th March 2019,
in Sibiu, central Romania, to discuss the future of the community bloc, at a
time when Romania will be holding the EU presidency in the first half of 2019.
Juncker also said that the products sold in Eastern Europe should not be lower
in quality than those marketed in the West. The European Commission president
also stood for the introduction of facilities to help all EU member states
adopt the euro. He also said a credible enlargement perspective must be
maintained for the countries in the Western Balkans and that Turkey has been
taking steps away from the Union. Juncker also tackled Brexit, terrorism,
illegal migration, economic growth and jobs.

The Chamber of the Deputies in
Bucharest has rejected a simple no-confidence motion filed by the National
Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, both in opposition, against justice
minister Tudorel Toader. The signatories say the amendments he has proposed to
the justice laws are an attempt to cancel the progress made in this area.
Minister Toader has responded that the amendments are necessary because the
laws in question date from 2004 and the Superior Council of Magistracy has
called for them to updated ever since 2015. Some of the changes, which have
come under criticism from both civil society and the media, refer to the fact
that the president is no longer to appoint the heads of the National
Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organised
Crime and Terrorism, the transfer of the Judicial Inspectorate to the ministry
of justice and increasing the length of service required to promote
magistrates. Earlier this year, a government attempt to ease criminal
legislation for acts of corruption generated some of the largest street protests
in post-communist Romania.

The most important annual meeting
of public broadcasters from around the world is under way in the mountain
resort of Sinaia, in southern Romania. Today’s talks look at the future of
radio broadcasting, the pride of serving communities and the role of the media
in defending cultural diversity. The over 150 participants agreed yesterday
that, regardless of financing methods and the development of technology, public
media institutions must continue to focus on three fundamental directions:
information, education and entertainment.

Day 12 of the George Enescu
Festival sees great conductor and artistic director of this festival in 1998
Lawrence Foster return to Bucharest for the premiere performance of Paul Hindemith’s opera Mathis der Maler.
Lawrence will be conducting the Romanian National Radio Orchestra and the Radio
Academic Choir. The festival, which comes to an end on the 24th of
September, brings together more than 3,000 musicians. First held in 1958, the
Enescu Festival was discontinued in 1971 by the communist regime and resumed
after the latter’s collapse, being now held every two years.

The only Romanian football side
still playing in the European competitions, namely FCSB (formerly known as
Steaua Bucharest), on Thursday face the Czech side Viktoria Plzen in Bucharest
in their first Europa League match. The two sides previously met at the start
of the current continental season, when the Romanian side drew 2-all at home
and won 4-1 away to qualify for the Champions League play-offs. Hapoel Beer
Sheva from Israel and Lugano from Switzerland are in the same group as FCSB.