April 9, 2014 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Bogdan Matei, 09.04.2014, 12:10

The Romanian Commission in charge of revising the Constitution on Wednesday resumed its activity, with the declared aim of finalising the draft until autumn, when the document should be submitted to the Romanian Parliament for debate. The draft will be re-examined, in keeping with the Venice Commission’s recommendations and the Constitutional Court’s observations. Amendments are expected from the parties, civil society and the academic circle. According to the Social Democratic Party, the major party in the ruling coalition, a referendum on the revision of the Constitution will most likely be held in the autumn of 2015.

The suspended president of Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mihail Vlasov, accused of influence peddling, was sent to court on Wednesday. Last month, he got caught when receiving 200,000 Euros from a businessman, to whom he promised to use his influence on the members of the Court of International Commercial Arbitration with the Chamber of Commerce.

Six F 16 US fighters are taking part in joint military drills with the Romanian Air Forces, that are due in central Romania between April the 10th and 17th. Over 200 Romanian troops, pilots and technical staff as well as some 250 US Air Forces military will be taking part in the exercise, whose main aim is to boost cooperation between the armies of several NATO member states, as well as to enhance training, the practice of techniques, tactics and procedures, jointly with the American partner. In another development, the USS Donald Cook warship will sail into the Black Sea as of Thursday, as part of the US military efforts to support their East-European allies, who have voiced concern over the Russian military build-up along the Ukrainian border, CNN reports. The destroyer, equipped with guided missiles, is scheduled to start a series of drills and visits in Black Sea ports.

The European Commission is set to create a “Support Group” for Ukraine, in an effort to coordinate the financial efforts made by the member states, international donors and the IMF, FP quotes European sources as saying. The group’s coordinator will be the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Stefan Fule. In March, the European Commission presented a plan meant provide substantial aid to Ukraine, worth over 11 billion Euros. It will consist in loans, donations and trade incentives. The Commission has granted Kiev customs duties deductions of over 500 million Euros, for a one-year period. In turn, the IMF announced it would grant Ukraine a financial aid package ranging from 14 to 18 billion dollars, but it is conditioned on the adoption by Ukraine of a series of measures, such as increasing natural gas prices and freezing the salaries of state sector employees. The activities of the Support Group could be extended to Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, two countries which are due to sign EU association agreements in the near future.

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on the Ukrainian authorities not to commit what he called “something irreparable”. He expressed hope that diplomatic efforts will produce positive results. Putin made the statement shortly after Ukrainian interior minister, Arsen Avakov, had promised to solve, very soon , the situation in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists continue to occupy administrative buildings and call for the region’s annexation to Russia. Avakov has warned that, if political negotiations fail, he will make use of force. Kiev and Washington accuse Russia of sending agents with the assigned mission of creating chaos in the region, to thus explain an ensuing military intervention, like that in Crimea. In another move, the world-famous Polish economist, Leszek Balcerowicz, has called on the West to take tough economic measures against Russia, in order NOT to validate Putin’s interventionist policy. In a conference given in Bucharest, Balcerowicz, the architect of Poland’s post-communist economic reforms, has warned that the West’s tolerating the policy pursued by the Kremlin will lead to the re-launch of the arms’ race at world level.

Romanian state secretary Bogdan Aurescu on Tuesday gave a lecture at the Centre for Transatlantic Relations in Washington, highlighting the profile of Romania, a NATO and EU member state, as well as a close ally and strategic partner of the US. Aurescu underlined, the participation of Romanian military in international missions, the importance of Romania’s contribution to the protection of the USA and of the whole allied territory in Europe, by means of the anti-missile facilities in Deveselu, southern Romania, and the military base in Mihail Kogalniceanu in the south-east, which serves as transit centre for the American forces to Afghanistan. Aurescu also hailed the United States’ enhanced commitment in its relationship with the authorities in Chisinau, with a view to supporting the European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state, with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population). The Romanian authorities have also firmly supported the objective.

The politicians who have been included on the list of candidates, submitted by MEP Corneliu Vadim Tudor on behalf of the populist and nationalist Greater Romania Party, that he founded, can run in the European parliamentary elections, according to the final ruling issued by the Court of Appeal in Bucharest on Wednesday. The court had accepted the contestation submitted by Tudor, in an earlier session of the Bucharest Tribunal, which had validated a decision by the Central Electoral Bureau, according to which the aforementioned party list did not meet all the legal requirements to enter the race. The Court also decided that the former Liberal Culture Minister Mircea Diaconu can run in the elections, although the Central Electoral had announced that Diaconu can’t hold any public position until 2015, after the National Integrity Agency discovered, two years ago, that he was in a situation of incompatibility.

A high school student stabbed at least 20 colleagues in a high school near Pittsburgh, in the east of the US on Wednesday. Local authorities say the attacker has been arrested. Media sources say some of the victims are in a very severe condition.

Romanian athlete Madalina Molie on Wednesday won the silver medal, in the snatch event, in the 69 kg category of the European Weightlifting Championships in Tel Aviv (Israel). Earlier, Romania’s delegation had won two gold medals, snatched by Florin Croitoru (the 56 kg category) and three silver medals, grabbed by Loredana Toma (the 58 kg category). Romania is represented by 9 athletes in Tel Aviv, 5 women and four men.