7 September, 2018 UPDATE

European Parliament to discuss the violence at anti-government protest of August 10 in Bucharest and the situation of the judiciary and of the rule of law in Romania./ Dutch PM Mark Rutte to travel to Romania next Wednesday.

Newsroom, 07.09.2018, 18:57

Debate. The European Parliament is
to discuss in the first week of October the violence that flared up at the
anti-government protest of August 10th in Bucharest and the
situation of the judiciary and of the rule of law in Romania. This decision was
taken at the Conference of Presidents attended by the heads of the political
groups in the European Parliament, announced the Greens/the European Free
Alliance, who have requested this debate. The president of this parliamentary
group, Philippe Lamberts, has emphasised that this group
strongly believes in the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and
the fight against corruption and that the members of the European Parliament
must show that they defend the European values of democracy and the rule of
law. According to sources quoted by Agerpres news agency, it is possible that
the Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila may attend the debate in the
European Parliament.

Nomination. The Romanian deputy prime minister Viorel Stefan has
been nominated for the position of interim minister for research and
innovation, prime minister Viorica Dancila has announced. She says she has sent
this proposal to president Klaus Iohannis. On the 31st of August,
the former occupant of this post, Nicolae Burnete, resigned without providing
an explanation. The media speculated, however, that Burnete was unhappy with
the insufficient funds allocated to his ministry and that in any case, he may
have been the subject of a government reshuffle.

Visit. The Dutch prime minister Mark
Rutte will be travelling to Romania on Wednesday in the context of Romania’s
presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first part of next year,
the Dutch embassy in Bucharest says on its Facebook page. Mr Rutte is expected
to have talks with president Klaus Iohannis and prime minister Viorica Dancila
about bilateral cooperation in the political and economic areas and topical
issues on the European agenda.

Virus. Almost 830 hotbeds of
African swine fever have been confirmed in Romania since the outbreak of the
virus two months ago, according to the latest official figures. The disease has
spread to 11 counties in the north-west and south-east and almost 160,000 pigs
have been affected by the virus or culled. Some of the measures taken by the
authorities to contain the spread of the virus include allowing the hunting of
wild boars and jackals in the Danube Delta, in the south-east, which are
believed to be responsible for the spread of the disease. The virus appears to
have been brought into Romania by wild boars from the neighbouring Ukraine and
the first deadly cases involved wild boars before the virus was reported in
domestic pigs.

Appointment. The prosecutor Adina Florea, who has been proposed by the justice
minister Tudorel Toader for the position of chief prosecutor of the National
Anticorruption Directorate, will be heard by the Superior Council of Magistracy
on the 27th of September. The opinion of this body is mandatory but
not binding. Later, the proposal will reach president Klaus Iohannis. Adina
Florea is a prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Constanta. The position of
chief prosecutor of the main anticorruption body has been vacant following the
sacking of Laura Codruta Kovesi.

Serbia-Kosovo. The EU foreign policy
chief Federica Mogherini said after separate talks in
Brussels with the presidents of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and that of Kosovo, Hashim
Thaci, that difficulties remain in the relations between the two countries.
She said the next top-level meeting would be held before the UN General
Assembly, which usually takes place in the last week in September. The European
Union is mediating the talks, offering Serbia and Kosovo the prospect of
joining the bloc if they overcome their differences. With a majority Albanian
population, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008 and
has been recognised by 23 of the EU’s 28 member states, with the exception of
Romania, which neighbours Serbia, as well as Spain, Slovakia, Greece and
Cyprus.

Living standard.
Bucharest-Ilfov is the region with the highest standard of living in Romania.
Its GDP per capita is 139% of the EU average, according to the latest Eurostat
report on the quality of life in European cities. The Romanian capital city is
placed ahead of cities like Madrid, Berlin, Rome and Lisbon. Bucharest-Ilfov also
has one of the lowest long-term unemployment rates among EU regions. Despite
these figures, 60% of the inhabitants of Bucharest are unsatisfied with the
quality of public transport, more than half with medical services and the state
of roads and buildings, and three quarters with air quality in their city.