24 January, 2018 UPDATE

Romania celebrates 159th anniversary of Union of Romanian Principalities./ European Commission calls on Romania to rethink changes to justice laws.

Newsroom, 24.01.2018, 18:33

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 included 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.

Judicial reform. The European Commission on Wednesday said
it was concerned about the recent developments in Romania and called on
Parliament in Bucharest to rethink its changes to the justice laws. The independence of Romania’s judicial system and its
capacity to fight corruption effectively are essential cornerstones of a strong
Romania in the European Union, reads a joint statement of European Commission
president Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice-President Frans Timmermans. The
Commission will look closely at the final amendments to the justice laws to
determine their impact on efforts to safeguard the independence of the
judiciary and combat corruption, the statement also says. In 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 European
Union must unite with a strong common foreign policy, said German chancellor Angela
Merkel on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The forum began on Tuesday and its
theme this year is Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured
World. The event brings together world leaders and 3,000 participants,
including economists, politicians, scientists, business people and
academics. US president Donald Trump will
deliver the closing address at the forum on Friday.

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.

Football. The
Romanian football squad will play in League C Group 4 in the UEFA Nations
League alongside Serbia, Montenegro and Lithuania, after a draw held on
Wednesday in Lousanne, Switzerland. Matches will be played at home and away in
September, October and November 2018. The group winners will promote to the higher
league for the next Nations League season, while the last-placed teams will
relegate to the lower league. The Nations League is a new structure divided
into four leagues based on the teams’ UEFA rankings. The draw for EURO 2020
preliminary matches will be held on the 2nd of December. Teams will
be divided into six pots based on their performance in the Nations League
groups.