27 March 2019, UPDATE

A selection of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 27.03.2019, 19:51

Consultations.
President Klaus Iohannis had talks on Wednesday in Bucharest with representatives
of judges and magistrates about the situation of the Romanian judiciary. On
Tuesday, he also had consultations with civil society on the subject of a
referendum on justice. After the meeting, one of the participating organisations
announced the referendum would be held on May 26, at the same time with the European
Parliament elections. The Association for Defence of Human Rights in Romania
– the Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) has
criticised the idea of holding a referendum on the same day as the European
elections, saying it should not be used to influence the outcome of elections
and as a means of boosting voter turnout. They say that although the
Constitutional Court has decided that a referendum can be held on the same day as
the elections for the European Parliament, an assessment should be made of each
individual case to establish if the proposed referendum serves to solve real
issues that are in the national interest.

No-confidence
motion. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, both in
opposition, on Wednesday tabled a simple motion in the Chamber of Deputies requesting
the justice minister Tudorel Toader to give up what they described as his
harmful legislative changes, to support the initiative of dismantling the
special department for the investigation of magistrates and to observe the
recommendations of international institutions. The initiators of the motion say
the justice minister should resign if he is not able to comply with these
requests. Also on Wednesday, the Liberal Party and the People’s Movement Party
submitted a simple no-confidence motion in the Chamber of Deputies against the
transport minister Razvan Cuc. The opposition says that, in one month since he
took office, two strategic areas for Romania’s economy, the rail and airways sectors,
are faced with an unprecedented crisis because of irresponsible decisions
regarding the management of these sectors. The opposition also speaks about a
series of legislative changes that have created chaos in public and taxi
transport in Romania.

European elections. The National
Liberal Party in opposition on Wednesday submitted to the Central Election Bureau
its list of candidates for the European elections to be held in Romania on the
26th of May. Top of the list is a former TV host, Rares Bogdan.
Other parties that submitted their lists of candidates on Wednesday are the
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Pro Romania Party led
by the former leftist prime minister Victor Ponta and who tops in fact the
party’s list, ahead of the acting European commissioner Corina Cretu and Iurie
Leanca, the former prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, a neighbouring
ex-Soviet state with a majority-Romanian speaking population. The former right-wing
president Traian Basescu is also a candidate on behalf of the People’s Movement
Party. The Social
Democratic Party and their junior partners in the ruling coalition the Alliance
of Liberals and Democrats submitted their lists on Tuesday, as did the Alliance
2020 of the Save Romania Union and PLUS. Acting minister Rovana Plumb is the
first choice on the Social Democrats’ list, while the MEP Norica Nicolai is
first on that of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The former prime minister
of Romania and European commissioner Dacian Ciolos is the first name on the
list of the Alliance 2020. Thursday is the last day for the submission of
candidates’ lists.

Visit.
The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila had talks in Washington with the speaker
of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. According to a Romanian
government communiqué, the Romanian prime minister noted the growing bilateral
cooperation in the area of security, including the implementation of an
ambitious equipment programme for the Romanian army. Prime minister Dancila
highlighted the attention given by the US Congress to strengthening solidarity
within NATO and the security of its eastern allies. Nancy Pelosi has given
assurances that there is strong support for NATO within the American legislature.
She underlined that consolidating relations between the Romanian and American legislatures
would contribute significantly to the consolidation of a trans-Atlantic
alliance based on common values and interests.

Protest. Representatives of the Trade Union Federation in Romanian
Transports and Public Service on Wednesday took part in Strasbourg in a protest
organised by the European Transport Workers’ Federation, which includes organisations
from 41 countries. The protest ended a campaign launched by the European
Federation one week ago that promotes fair transportation across Europe.
Transport workers protested against social dumping and pay exploitation and
demanded decent jobs, safe transportation accessible to all citizens and an end
to unfair competition in this field.

Sports.
Romania defeated the Faeroe Islands 4-1 on Tuesday at home, in a Group F qualifying
match for the 2020 European Championship. Last Saturday, Romania lost their
first group match 1-2, to Sweden. In other group fixtures on Tuesday, Spain won
against Malta and Norway drew against Sweden. Romania now rank 3rd
in the group, after Spain and Sweden. The two best-placed teams in the group
will qualify for the final tournament. In other sports news from women’s
volleyball, Romanian and European vice-champions CSM Alba Blaj on Tuesday lost
the second leg of the CEV Cup final against the Italian side Busto Arsizio,
after also been defeated in the first leg.