22 February, 2018

Justice minister Tudorel Toader to present report on the managerial activity of the National Anticorruption Directorate./ Romanian side FCSB to face Lazio Rome in Europa League last 32 match.

Newsroom, 22.02.2018, 13:36

EU. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will attend an informal
meeting of the European Council held on Friday in Brussels, the president’s
office has announced. Talks will tackle the multiannual financial framework
beyond 2020 and institutional aspects of the European Union. Klaus Iohannis is
expected to emphasise that during its presidency of the EU Council in the first
part of next year, Romania will seek a political agreement on a modern and
efficient EU budget beyond 2020. The talks in Brussels are also expected to
look at issues related to the composition of the European Parliament for the
2019-2024 parliamentary term. The Romanian president backs the Parliament’s
proposal for a new distribution of seats in the next term, which will increase
Romania’s seats to 33, one more than it currently has.

Anticorruption. The Romanian justice minister Tudorel
Toader will today present the conclusions of a report on the managerial
activity of the National Anticorruption Directorate. Last week, he cut short an
official visit to Japan after prime minister Viorica Dancila asked him to
return to Romania and clarify allegations about the National Anticorruption
Directorate circulating in the media. Earlier, the former Social Democrat MP
Vlad Cosma, who received a 5-year-sentence for corruption in a court of first
instance, accused anticorruption investigators of using him to fabricate
evidence against other Social Democratic politicians. The head of the
Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi firmly denied her investigators were using any
illegal means, while president Klaus Iohannis reiterated his trust in the
anticorruption body. On Wednesday evening, some 100 persons gathered in front
of the president’s office to protest against the Directorate head, accusing her
of a number of abuses, and against what they called the president’s
passiveness.

Transparency Internationa. Romania remains on the 25th position in the European
Union in a ranking made by Transparency International in its corruption
perceptions index. The only EU members to score lower than Romania are Hungary
and Bulgaria. Made public in Berlin on Wednesday, the ranking looks at the
public sector in 180 states as perceived by the business community and
independent experts.

Human rights. In its annual human rights report, Amnesty
International has criticised the attempt to decriminalise acts of corruption
and the conditions in Romanian prisons. Published on Thursday in London, the
report mentions that the attempt of the government coalition in Bucharest to
ease anti-corruption legislation last year sparked wide-scale street protests
in Romania and abroad. The Amnesty International report also notes that
European and international institutions criticised the overcrowding of prisons
and the detention conditions. Another observation made by Amnesty International
is that in 2017, the Rroma in Romania faced discriminatory practices from the
authorities.

Flu. The flu has killed 47 people in Romania this season
according to the latest toll published by the National Centre for the
Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases. 500 people have the flu
virus, mostly in Bucharest and the counties of Constanta, in the south-east,
Brasov, in the centre, and Iasi, in the north-east. The authorities advise
people to get vaccinated, and the health ministry says around 80,000 vaccine
doses are still available. So far 920,000 have received vaccination. The
healthcare minister Sorina Pintea says Romania is not faced with a flu
epidemic.

Air pollution. The Romanian
environment minister Gratiela Gavrilescu is today having talks in Bucharest with
the European Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Karmenu Vella. Romania has requested the support of the European
Commission as part of a mechanism designed to share expertise between national,
regional and local public authorities in charge of implementing EU
environmental law and policy within the EU member states. Last month, the
European Commission demanded Romania and eight other EU states to take measures
to reduce air pollution levels or face penalty procedures for exceeding the
level of harmful substances in the air.

European funds. The absorption rate of European funds is
unsatisfactory and Romania risks losing 800 million euros under the Regional
Operational Programme, prime minister Viorica Dancila said today at the General
Assembly of the Union of County Councils. She called on the local and central
authorities to share the problems they face in this respect so that solutions
can be quickly found. The government’s mission is for Romania to climb to the
top half of a ranking of the Union’s strongest economies by 2020, Dancila also
said. To achieve this goal, her cabinet is considering investing more in
infrastructure, increasing people’s incomes, reforming the administration and
reducing bureaucracy.

Europa League. The Romanian football vice-champions FCSB,
formerly Steaua Bucharest, today face the Italian side Lazio Rome in a return
match away as part of the Europa League last 32. A week ago, the Romanian side
pulled off a surprising win at home, 1-nil. This is the first time after five
years that FCSB have made it this far into the competition. Lazio Rome, who are
managed by the famous ex-player Simone Inzaghi, were the odds-on favourites to
win that match.