24 January, 2018

Romania celebrates 159th anniversary of Union of Romanian Principalities./ World no. 1 Simona Halep of Romania reaches Australian Open semifinals.

Newsroom, 24.01.2018, 13:49

Anniversary. On the 24th of January, Romania
celebrates the 159th anniversary of the Union of the Romanian
Principalities. In 1859, the elective assemblies of Moldavia and Wallachia
elected Alexandru Ioan Cuza as their sole ruler, which was followed by the
wide-ranging modernisation of the new state. Celebratory events include
military and religious ceremonies, laying of flowers and street performances.
President Klaus Iohannis said Romania’s progress is inherently linked to the
existence of coherent and stable legislation that punishes abuse and
dishonesty. He also said decision makers have a duty to pay more attention to
people’s demands and spoke about the thousands of hundreds of people who took
to the streets in 2017 and 2018 to demand a more efficient government and an
independent justice system. Iohannis attended on Wednesday a conference entitled
The Union of the Romanian Principalities – the foundation of the Great Union
of 1918 held by the Romanian Academy. The Great Union of all Romanian
historical provinces took place 100 years ago, on the 1st of
December 1918.

Brussels. The European Commission is today discussing the
latest developments in Romania. During a plenary meeting in Strasbourg on the 7th
of February, the European Parliament will discuss the threats to the rule of
law posed by the reform of the judicial system in Romania. At the end of last
year, the parliamentary majority formed by the Social Democratic Party and the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats adopted a series of changes to the justice
laws that were met with criticism by magistrates’ associations and the
political opposition on grounds that they aim to place the judicial system
under political control. European states and institutions are also concerned
about how these changes may affect the independence of the judiciary and the
fight against corruption. Street protests were held over these changes last
year and have continued this year as well.

Davos. The World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, began on Tuesday. This year, it is focused on the theme Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World. The event
brings together world leaders and 3,000 representatives of the economic,
political, social, cultural and academic communities. US president Donald Trump
will speak at the conclusion of the forum on Friday and is expected to
criticise the other nations for signing free trade agreements and to voice his
scepticism regarding climate change.

Strasbourg. Senator
Titus Corlatean, the chairman of the Romanian Parliament’s delegation to the
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, has been elected vice-president of
the Assembly for a second term. He has also been appointed the Assembly’s
rapporteur for the emergency debate on the peace process in the Middle East to
be held on Thursday, when Corlatean will present a report and will submit a
draft resolution on this topic.

Australian Open.
World no. 1 Simona Halep on Wednesday defeated Karolina Pliskova to reach the
semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. Halep had a
slow start and was led 3-0 in the first set before winning 9 consecutive games.
The top seed in Melbourne, Halep has reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam
tournament for the 5th time and hopes to win her first Grand Slam
title this time. In the semis on Thursday, she faces former world no. 1 and
Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Madison Keys of the
US in the quarterfinals. In the other semifinal, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark
faces Elise Mertens of Belgium. In the women’s doubles, the Romanian pair Irina
Begu and Monica Niculescu lost in the semis to the Russian pair Ekaterina
Makarova and Elena Vesnina.