January 31, 2017 UPDATE

The Romanian government issues an emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Code

Newsroom, 31.01.2017, 20:10

JUSTICE – UPDATE:The Romanian government, gathered on Tuesday evening, issued an emergency ordinance amending the Criminal Code. The Prosecutor’s Office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice had previously said in a communique that the draft amendment to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code exceeds the limits set by the Constitutional Court. The General Prosecutor’s Office claims, among others, that establishing a ceiling for the prejudice made in the case of abuse of office would encourage public servants to commit such acts repeatedly and intentionally. The National Anti-corruption Directorate warns, in its turn, that the concealed decriminalisation of the abuse of office will benefit people who have already been accused or sent to court for such crimes.

TAXES – The new provisions introduced into the Fiscal Code come into effect on February 1 in Romania. They were put into law by an emergency ordinance. They eliminate 102 taxes and fees, the most well known being the radio and television licence fee and the tax on registering automobiles. Also in February, Romanians earning the minimum wage, almost 1.6 million citizens, will get increased salaries. Local public authority employees will get a 20% raise. A number of further measures come into effect on February 1, such as eliminating the ceiling for social and health contributions and taxation for real estate deals worth under 100,000 Euro.

CORRUPTION – The High Court of Cassation and Justice on Tuesday decided to acquit former Liberal MP Ludovic Orban of influence peddling in an effort to get undue benefits, in a case in which he is accused of having requested money from a businessman for the local elections held in the summer of 2016. The ruling is not final. The anti-corruption prosecutor has requested incarceration in Orbans case, saying he acted intentionally, using his political influence to get money in the electoral campaign. Also on Tuesday, magistrates with the High Court of Cassation and Justice postponed the first hearing in the case of the Social Democrat leader, Liviu Dragnea, who is accused of instigation to abuse of office. According to the prosecutors, Dragnea ordered that two members of his party get employed by the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection in his native county of Teleorman, in southern Romania. Last year, Dragnea got a two-year suspended prison sentence for attempting to rig the 2012 referendum for the impeachment of the then president, Traian Basescu.

VISIT – Dublin supports Romania and Bulgaria in their effort to join the Schengen area and hopes that solutions to that aim will be found, says the visiting Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Dara Murphy. He held talks with the Romanian minister delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall, about the Romanian community in Ireland, the Brexit-related challenges the EU is facing and migration. The Romanian community in Ireland is highly appreciated, said Dara Murphy. According to him, Ireland is home to some 50 thousand Romanians who have been very well integrated into society. Referring to the Brexit, Ana Birchall has said that irrespective of the result of negotiations, the Romanian state pays special attention to the situation of the Romanian citizens living in Great Britain. Referring to migration, the minister delegate has underlined the efforts that Romania is currently making to maintain security at the EUs external borders.

US AMBASSADOR – Romania, which has embraced democratic values and institutions, has become a model for the whole world, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, told a meeting with the media in Galati, south-eastern Romania on Tuesday. He expressed hope that any government will take measures to consolidate democratic institutions to have a successful fight against corruption. The ambassador also said that Romania has a strong economic growth rate, which would be great to go into investment and not into consumption. Hans Klemm also underlined Romanias significant contribution to national and NATOs security. He also said that the Romanian-American strategic partnership is based on a strong cooperation in the field of military security, law enforcement, the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against drug trafficking.

NAVY – The Romanian frigate King Ferdinand heads manoeuvres in the east of the Black Sea, to be attended, as of Wednesday, by over 2,800 seamen from NATO member countries. The exercise Sea Shield is the first of 50 large scale navy exercises planned by NATO this year. Attending the exercise are 16 ships, one submarine, and 10 Romanian and allied aircraft. Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, head of the Allied Maritime Command, will be attending the manoeuvres in Constanta, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. At the same time, it was announced in London that one of the most important Royal Navy ships will have its first operating mission in the Black Sea since the Cold War. Allied manoeuvres in the Black Sea take place almost three years since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula.

BORDER POLICE – Romanian border police officers who are currently on a mission in Greece, have rescued over 50 people, among whom 10 children, on an overcrowded small boat in the Aegean Sea. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian border police, the people who have been rescued are citizens from Iraq, Palestine, Algeria, Kuwait and Tunisia. The Romanian police officers are on a surveillance mission along the external border of the European Union, as part of the joint operation EPN Poseidon Sea, coordinated by the FRONTEX Agency.(Translated by C. Cotoiu and D. Vijeu)