December 20, 2016 UPDATE
Politics can no longer influence the justice system, says Romanian Justice Minister Raluca Pruna.
Newsroom, 20.12.2016, 12:15
JUSTICE — The Romanian justice system is now at a level where it can no longer be influenced by politics, Romanian Justice Minister Raluca Pruna said on Tuesday. Pruna voiced hope that the new Government and the newly-elected Parliament will continue the project of modifying the laws of the Judiciary debated with the Higher Council of Magistracy and the magistrates’ associations. Raluca Pruna on Tuesday presented the on-year activity report of the Justice Ministry.
PARLIAMENT — Senators and Deputies elected at the parliamentary ballot of December 11 on Tuesday met in separate sessions. Parliament has to validate their MP mandates, set up parliamentary groups and decide on the membership of Permanent Bureaus. President Klaus Iohannis has summoned parliamentary groups for consultations as follows: the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania on Wednesday, while the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the People’s Movement Party and the Group of national minorities on Thursday. This week, the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, currently holding 54% of the seats in Parliament, have signed a cooperation protocol and are expected to announce their nomination for the position of Prime Minister. Once appointed by the President, the Prime Minister has 10 days to set up his Cabinet and decide on his governing program, after which time he will receive Parliament’s vote of confidence.
ATTACK IN BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her outrage and grief in the wake of Monday night’s attack in the German capital city, promising perpetrators will be brought to justice. Angela Merkel added that the German people must be confident they can live freely in Germany. In turn, Interior Minister Thomas de Miziere has labelled the attack as an act of terrorism, saying that Christmas fairs will remain open and adequate security measures will be taken. 12 people were killed and another 48 wounded on Monday night after a lorry ploughed into the crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin. The attack has some resemblance to the one committed in Nice this summer, when a truck driven by a Tunisian national ploughed in the crowd of people on Promenade des Anglais, killing 86 people. The Islamic State claimed the attack at the time. In a letter to his German counterpart, Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos condemned the attack and conveyed condolences to the victims’ families. The Romanian Foreign Ministry in Bucharest announced that no Romanians are among the victims.
ASSASSINATION — Six people were detained after Russian Ambassador to Ankara Andrei Karlov was shot dead on Monday while holding a speech at a photo exhibition opening. The perpetrator was killed and identified as a former Turkish police officer. Aged 22, the killer said his gesture is an act of vengeance for Syria and the victims in Aleppo. The assassination has been condemned by the Turkish and Russian presidents, Recep Erdogan and Vladimir Putin respectively, who said the attack was an attempt at destabilizing relations between the two countries and blocking the peacemaking process in Syria. Russian experts will be involved in the investigation. In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Ankara authorities not to make any concessions to terrorists regarding the Syrian crisis.
FUNDING — The European Union, the European Bank for Investment and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will make available a financial aid package worth 92 million euros for the construction of a natural gas pipeline linking Romania to the Moldovan capital city Chisinau. The European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will each provide 41 million euros, while the remaining 10 million euros will be funded by the EU. The project will thus interconnect the natural gas supply systems of Romania and Moldova, linking Chisinau to the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline built in 2014 and aimed at helping Moldova diversify its energy resources. Over 90% of Moldova’s gas consumption relies on imports.
VICTORY DAY — Victory Day was marked on Tuesday in Timisoara, western Romania. On December 20, 1989, four days after protests broke out against the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, Timisoara became the first Romanian city free of communism. It was the day when the Romanian Democratic Front was set up, the first democratic political fraction in Romania that met popular demands. The anti-communist protest quickly spread to Bucharest and the whole country. Romania remains the only Eastern Bloc country where the communist regime was brought down through violence and the communist leaders were executed.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
