January 29, 2017 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 29.01.2017, 12:30
PROTESTS Fresh protests were staged on Sunday in Romania’s capital city Bucharest, as well as in other major cities across the country and even abroad in the countries with Romanian communities against the ordinances on amnesty granting and amending the country’s criminal codes. The right-wing opposition, civil society and the main legal institutions have termed these laws as ill suited. On the other hand the Justice Ministry believes that collective amnesty and some amendments could be a solution to the overcrowded penitentiaries, a fact signaled by the European Court of Human Rights and by the Constitutional Court. The government has been accused of trying to place corrupt political leaders and influential administration officials above the law. The Ministry of Justice in Bucharest on Monday is expected to host public debates on the draft laws on amnesty granting and amending criminal laws.
BUDGET The government in Bucharest is expected to adopt the state budget on 2017 after getting the go-ahead from the country’s Higher Defence Council (CSAT). Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has summoned a CSAT session for Tuesday to approve the budget for national security institutions, submitted by the executive. The head of the executive Sorin Grindeanu has given assurances that all the measures in the ruling programme of the majority PSD-ALDE coalition have been taken into account. The draft-budget has been drawn up in keeping with a 5.2% economic growth and a budget deficit of 2.96% of the GDP.
PHONE TALKS In a phone conversation with Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, German chancellor Angela Merkel has voiced full support for the continuation of the anti-corruption fight in Romania. The German official has shown concern that some decisions could affect the progress Bucharest has so far made in fighting this scourge. In the firm message he conveyed to the German partner, Iohannis has mentioned his commitment to carrying on the anti-graft fight in Romania. He added that at regional level Bucharest remains a trustworthy partner, one of the most important pillars of stability. The two officials have mentioned the excellent strategic relations the two countries currently enjoy.
MEASURES US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have talked by phone about the situation in Syria and the anti-ISIS fight. On Saturday, the US president held phone conversations with several political leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande. With the German chancellor, Trump addressed issues such as Russia, the Ukrainian crisis and NATO while during the talks with the French president, he reiterated the US’ commitment to NATO and he emphasized the importance of all NATO allies who are sharing the burden of military expenses. In another development, thousands have protested on airports in the USA against the anti-migration measures signed by the president. A judge in New York has partly blocked president Trump’s anti-migration ban preventing the government from deporting some arrivals. The president’s order blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
AWARDS Romanian film director Cristi Puiu on Saturday night became the recipient of the Central European Initiative Award 2017 for his production ‘Sieranevada’ at the 28th edition of the International Film Festival in Trieste. The award is given yearly to the directors who managed to depict European contemporary realities and the dialogue between cultures. Cristi Puiu has been selected for the irony with which he retells the realities of the present-day Romania. The plot unfolds three days upon the attack on Charlie Hebdo publication and 40 days after the death of the father of our hero Lary, a Romanian doctor in his forties who together with his young wife is going to attend a commemoration day with the family. However, the event doesn’t go as planned. Considered ‘the father of the new Romanian cinema’ Cristi Puiu has been an honorary guest of the Trieste Festival together with Russian director Vitaly Mansky. Another Romanian director, Adrian Silisteanu has won the short-reel contest in Trieste with his production ‘Written/Unwritten’.
