3rd March 2019, UPDATE

A look at some of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 03.03.2019, 18:58

Earthquake. Romania commemorates 42 years on Monday since a devastating earthquake on 4th March 1977, the worst to hit this country, which lies at the intersection of two tectonic plates. The National Institute of Research and Development for Earth Physics is to hold a series of events to raise awareness of the risk of a new major earthquake in Romania. The earthquake of 1977, which measured 7.2 degrees on the Richter scale, killed 1,570 people, mostly in Bucharest, and caused material damage estimated at the time at more than 2 billion dollars. Some 230,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. Experts say hundreds of buildings are at risk of collapsing in Bucharest in the event of a similar earthquake.

Meeting. Foreign minister Teodor Melescanu has attended the 46th
Council of Foreign Ministers of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation held on the 1st and 2nd
of March in Abu Dhabi. According to a foreign ministry press release, the
Romanian minister’s participation in this event forms part of efforts to
consolidate Bucharest’s ties with the Arab and Muslim states from a bilateral
and multilateral perspective. The Council tackled issues of major interest such
as combating terrorism and extremism, managing migration, the complex problems
related to the displacement of various Muslim communities or groups and the
eradication of poverty. Melescanu’s participation was an opportunity for
bilateral talks with delegations from the Republic of Maldives, the Union of
the Comoros, Brunei Darussalam, Sierra Leone, the Republic of Suriname and the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. On the sidelines of the event, Melescanu also had
talks with representatives of Palestine, Mauritania, Niger, Libya, Burkina
Faso, Tunisia, Albania, the Sultanate of Oman, Ivory Coast, Yemen and
Kazakhstan.

Order. Prime
minister Viorica Dancila has been summoned in Parliament on Monday at the
request of the Liberal opposition to give explanations about a controversial
emergency order that levies new taxes in the banking, telecommunications and
energy sectors. The Senate passed the order tacitly, meaning without debates
and without being voted on, given that the deadline expired on the 1st
of March. The order will next be discussed and voted on in the Chamber of
Deputies, which is the decision-making body in this case. The European
Commission’s six-month report published on Thursday noted that the provisions
of the emergency order in question weaken significantly the so-called Pillar
II of privately managed pensions. The EU report says the measures have
negative effects on future pensions and the capital market, as well as the
future investments, by increasing uncertainty and making Romania’s economy less
attractive for both local and foreign investors.

European elections. The European Parliament has published new
projections about its composition after the upcoming European elections in May,
based on polls conducted in each EU member state. The next EU Parliament will
have fewer MEPs, 705 compared with 751 today, as a result of Brexit. The
projections put the European People’s Party down with 181 seats, the Socialists
and Democrats with 135, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats with 75, and the
Greens with 49. The latest figures point to slightly fewer seats for
anti-European and euro-sceptic parties. Of the 73 seats vacated by the UK, 27
will be redistributed among 14 countries considered slightly under-represented
in the current parliament. Romania will receive one extra seat to reach 33. According
to the European Parliament projection, Romania’s
33 seats would be distributed as follows: the People’s Party group and the
Socialists and Democrats group 13 each, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
3, the European Reformists and Conservatives 1, and other groups 3. The
projection also looks at the voting intentions in Romania. Thus, the Social
Democratic Party, the number one in the ruling coalition, is credited with
9.9%, followed by the National Liberal Party, in opposition, with 24.4%, the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the junior partner in the ruling coalition,
with 9.1% and the Save Romania Union, in opposition, with 9%.

Protests. Many
Romanians took to the streets again on Sunday evening in the capital Bucharest
to protest against an emergency order modifying the justice laws. Many wore a
white armband to show their solidarity with the magistrates who have protested
all week against the order. The actors of the National Theatre also staged a
protest on Sunday evening in solidarity with the protesters. Around 8,000 people took to the streets last Sunday in Bucharest and
several other thousands around the country. Magistrates have also criticised
the order and prosecutors and judges from around 80 prosecutor’s offices and
courts from around the country have protested by stopping working or staging
demonstrations outside courts.

Rugby. Romania lost 21:18 to Spain on Sunday in Madrid in their third
match as part of the 2019 Rugby Europe International Championship. So far in
this competition, Romania have lost to Georgia 9:18 and have won against
Germany 38:10. After Spain, Romania will face Russia at home on the 9th
of March and Belgium away on the 17th of March. The Rugby Europe
International Championship is the second tier continental competition after the
famous Six Nations tournament. Romania rank 18th in world standings,
their lowest position in the last six years.

Tennis. Three Romanian tennis players are on the women’s singles main
draw at Indian Wells, in the US, a Premier Mandatory tennis tournament that
begins on Monday. They are world no. 2 Simona Halep, world no. 31 Mihaela
Buzarnescu and world no. 67 Irina Begu. Halep won the title here in 2015. Romania
also has a player in the men’s singles, namely Marius Copil.