April 17, 2018 UPDATE

The former president of Romania Ion Iliescu has been notified by the Prosecutor Generals Office of the start of his prosecution in the 1989 Revolution Case, for crimes against humanity/ The IMF has revised upward the outlook for the Romanian economy

Florentin Căpitănescu, 17.04.2018, 19:29

REVOLUTION CASE – Army prosecutors have announced the extension of the interval for the criminal prosecution of the former president of the country Ion Iliescu to December 27-31, 1989, for which an endorsement of investigation is not necessary. Ion Iliescu has been summoned to the Prosecutor General’s Office to be informed about the start of his prosecution for crimes against humanity, in the 1989 Revolution Case. On April 13, the current president Klaus Iohannis endorsed the start of the criminal prosecution of Ion Iliescu, of the former Prime Minister Petre Roman and of the former deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voculescu in the Revolution Case. The three ex-officials are now being prosecuted and can be sent to court for crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between the 22 and the 31 of December 1989, when they were holding positions in the National Salvation Front Council, which back then was holding both the executive and the legislative power. According to prosecutors, the armed incidents that occurred after December 22, in several towns and cities across Romania, are indicative of the fact that everything occurred as the result of a pre-established plan, aimed at helping the new leaders take over power and gain legitimacy. The three former officials, though, say they are innocent. According to official statistics, in December 1989 more than 1,100 people were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded, mostly after the arrest of dictator Ceausescu and his wife.

DIPLOMACY – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday received the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sultan al Jaber. According to the Presidential Administration, on the occasion, the Romanian president had special words of appreciation for the stage of bilateral relations, which are very good at political level. Also, President Iohannis said efforts to give an impetus to the two way trade exchanges and to boost investments are further a priority in the relation with the United Arab Emirates, (UEA), which is Romanias largest economic partner in the Gulf area. In turn, Sultan al Jaber said there are potential investment projects, particularly in such domains as energy, transport, infrastructure, logistics, agriculture, tourism and real estate. Also on Tuesday, Sultan al Jaber had talks with his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Melescanu, on trade relations. The two officials also attended the proceedings of the first session of the Romania-UEA Joint Commission.

BUCHAREST FORMAT – Bucharest is hosting the first parliamentary summit of the Bucharest Format (B9), attended by representatives of nine European countries and high-ranking NATO officials. The summit is aimed at strengthening the role of national parliaments in the security and defence fields. The agenda of the event, which will last until Thursday, includes topics such as the future presence of NATO, the defence and deterrence posture, fighting terrorism, perceptions regarding the threats facing the participant countries and legislative consolidation in the defence field. The B9 summit is aimed at conveying a unitary and coherent message concerning the strengthening of NATO’s Eastern flank, ahead of the NATO summit to be hosted by Brussels in July.

IMF – The IMF has revised upward, from 4.4% la 5.1%, the outlook for the Romanian economy this year, according to the World Economic Outlook report, released on Tuesday. In 2019, the IMF expects Romanias economy will slow down significantly, down to 3.5% of the GDP. In terms of inflation this year, the forecast has been revised upward, from 3.3% to 4.7%. Also in 2018, the IMF estimated the current account deficit will stand at minus 3.7% and the unemployment rate at 4.6%.

SUMMIT – On May 4, the Bulgarian city of Ruse will play host to an informal meeting of the presidents of Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, the countries holding successively the rotating presidency of the EU Council as of January 1, 2018. According to the press office of the Bulgarian presidential administration, the three heads of state will debate topics of European interest, which are also among the priorities of the current Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council. The meeting in Ruse is an expression of the three countries’ political will to ensure a common stand with regard to the main topics on the EU agenda, such as the European prospects of the Western Balkans, the future of the cohesion policy and the interconnection of the energy networks in the region.

HANDBALL
– The Romanian women’s handball champions CSM Bucharest will meet the Hungarian
team Gyor ETO in the Champion League semi-finals, the so called Final Four. If it goes past the Hungarian team, CSM
Bucharest will face the winning team of the match between HC Vardar of
Macedonia and Rostov-Don of Russia. The semifinals and the final will be held
on May 12 and 13, in Budapest, where the Romanian team won the competition back
in 2016. (Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)