18 January, 2018 UPDATE

A roundup of todays news in Romania.

Newsroom, 18.01.2018, 19:43

Government. The Social
Democratic Party, the senior partner in the ruling coalition in Romania, will
next week start talks for the formation of the new cabinet. President Klaus
Iohannis has accepted the proposal of the Social Democratic Party and their
ruling partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for the Social Democrat
MEP Viorica Dancila to head the government. The Social Democrat leader Liviu
Dragnea said Parliament would meet in extraordinary session to swear in the new
cabinet on the 29th of January.

GRECO report. Romania has made very limited progress in implementing
the GRECO recommendations regarding the prevention and fight against the
corruption of MPs, judges and prosecutors, shows a report made public by GRECO
– the Group of States against Corruption, the Council of Europe’s
anti-corruption body. According to GRECO, Romania has only fully complied with
two of the 13 recommendations included in a 2016 evaluation report. 7
recommendations have not been implemented at all and another 4 only partly,
GRECO says. The legislative process is still a matter of concern for GRECO,
given the controversies and persistent accusations related to improper
consultations, the excessive use of the emergency decree procedure and the lack
of transparency in the decision-making process. The evaluation report also
shows that 2017 was marked by a series of controversial measures, some of which
are perceived as attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

Flu vaccination. The Romanian
healthcare minister Florian Bodog has instructed family doctors to continue to
monitor the situation of flu vaccination this month, particularly in the case
of people at risk. The president of the Romanian Microbiology Association
Alexandru Rafila says the current flu season may extend until spring. According
to the healthcare ministry, over 700,000 people have received flu vaccines so
far, with almost 300,000 free doses being still available.

Law.
President Klaus Iohannis has referred to the Constitutional Court a law on
ensuring transparency in the exercise of public office, the business
environment and the prevention and punishment of corruption. The new version of
the law, which was passed by Parliament in December, eliminates the
incompatibility of public office with the profession of trader as a natural
person. The offices included are those of deputy, senator, cabinet member,
prefect, sub-prefect, mayor, deputy mayor, and general mayor and deputy mayor
of Bucharest, and president and deputy president of a county council.

Corruption. Ionel Arsene, the
president of the Neamt County Council, in north-eastern Romania, was detained
by anti-corruption prosecutors on Thursday on charges of influence peddling.
According to the National Anticorruption Directorate, in 2013, when he was an
MP and president of the Neamt branch of the Social Democratic Party, Arsene
allegedly received 100,000 euros to use his influence with persons in the
leadership of the National Integrity Agency. A court will decide on Friday
whether he is to be held in temporary 30-day arrest.

Tennis. The Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep, world’s no. 1 and the first seed at the Australian
Open, on Thursday reached the tournament’s 3rd round, after
defeating the Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard in two sets. Also on Thursday,
another Romanian player, Ana Bogdan, eliminated Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan
in the 2nd round. In the 3rd round, Halep and Bogdan,
Romania’s only remaining players in the singles competition, will face Lauren
Davis and Madison Keys respectively. In the men’s doubles, the Romanian-Dutch
pair Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Roger defeated the all-Argentinean pair
Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni to reach the second round.

Weather. Power cuts were reported on Thursday
in Romania because of blizzard in over 13 villages in 13 counties, affecting
32,000 users. Schools were closed in several counties because of travel
disruptions. The Black Sea ports of Constanta North and South and Mangalia were
closed and cargo handling operations halted because of powerful winds. The
river port Constanta South Agigea was also closed and navigation on the
Danube-Black Sea Canal restricted.