January 21, 2015
A look at some of the main headlines in Romania today
România Internațional, 21.01.2015, 12:00
The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania is today expected to rule in an incompatibility case related to president Klaus Iohannis, after the National Integrity Agency appealed the ruling in favour of Iohannis issued by a local court. In April 2013, Klaus Iohannis was declared by the National Integrity Agency to be in a state of incompatibility as he was acting both as mayor of Sibiu and as a city representative in the General Shareholders’ Assembly of the companies responsible for Water and Sewerage and Markets. By law, a person who is declared to be in a state of incompatibility no longer has the right to hold public office for a period of three years after being released or sacked from office or the termination of his or her term in office.
Also today, the High Court of Cassation and Justice will rule in a case of strategic privatisations in which two former ministers, Codrut Seres and Zsolt Nagy have been convicted. In December 2014, prosecutors requested maximum sentences for the two. A former economy minister, Codrut Seres was convicted to six years in prison, while the former communications and IT minister Zsolt Nagy to five. They are accused of being part of a cross-border crime group and of treason by passing on classified information to private companies during the privatisation of a number of state companies.
The legal committee of the Chamber of Deputies is today debating a bill on the insolvency of natural persons amidst the crisis generated by the appreciation of the Swiss franc. The value of the Swiss currency grew as Switzerland’s Central Bank last week eliminated a cap on the Swiss franc which kept the exchange rate at 1.20 francs against the euro. Since then, the Swiss franc has appreciated considerably against the euro and the Romanian currency, leu. Over 75,000 Romanians have contracted loans in Swiss francs. As a result of the appreciation of the Swiss franc, the interest rates they must now pay are about 20% higher than last week. The problem is also being discussed today by the Chamber of Deputies’ budget committee with representatives of the National Bank and consumers.
The former Liberal interior minister Cristian David has been detained today by anticorruption prosecutors in a case related to bribe taking and money laundering. Also today, a former state secretary in the justice ministry, Ovidiu Putura, today a director in this ministry, has been detained by prosecutors for bribe giving and peddling in influence. The mayor of the western town of Recas Teodor Pavel, currently a member of the Social Democratic Party, and the head of Timis County Police Sorin Muntean and his deputy Florin Balbos, as well as two other police officers have been arrested for 30 days for abuse of office and bribe taking.
The new Parliament of the Republic of Moldova meets today for the first time to elect its speakers. On Tuesday, the three pro-European parties in Parliament, namely the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party, agreed to maintain the current government coalition, during talks mediated by western envoys. In the latest elections on the 30th of November, the three parties together secured more seats than the pro-Russian, socialist and communist opposition, but later disagreed over the distribution of key positions. The president of neighbouring Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has postponed his visit to Moldova planned for Thursday and said he would travel to Moldova after the formation of a new government. Last year, Moldova signed association and free trade agreements with the European Union, which it hopes to join in 2020.
The Romanian player Simona Halep, number 3 in the world and seeded third at the Australian Open, today faces the Australian player Jarmila Gajdosova, number 62 in the world, in the tournament’s second round. Also today, the second Romanian player to have qualified to the second round, Irina Begu, currently no. 42 in the world, defeated the Czech player Katerina Siniakova in straight sets and will face Carina Witthoeft of Germany in the third round. In the men’s singles, Romania’s Marius Copil, no. 194 in the world, will play against the defending champion and world no. 4 Stanislas Wawrinka. The only Romanian player in the men’s singles, Copil pulled off a surprising win against Pablo Andujar of Spain, no. 40 in the world. In the doubles, the Romanian-British pair Florin Mergea and Dominic Inglot qualified to the second round after defeating the Australian pair Matthew Ebden and Matt Reid. The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and Jean Julien Rojer are playing against the Lithuanian-Austrian pair Ricardas Berankis and Andreas Haider-Maurer in the first round.
