January 5, 2018

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Newsroom, 05.01.2018, 13:35

MAGISTRACY — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis earlier today criticized the procedure whereby the justice laws were adopted, expressing hope the laws will be improved and that Constitutional Court judges will analyze them proficiently and objectively. The statement was made on the sidelines of the meeting of the Superior Council of Magistracy. We recall the recent modifications to the justice laws have been challenged both in Parliament by opposition parties as well as in the street by civil society, as well as by some magistrates. The three laws referring to the statute of magistrates, judicial organization and the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy have been referred to the Constitutional Court by the National Liberal Party and the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The opposition believes the laws go against the Constitution and generate confusion. The most controversial points refer to the material accountability of magistrates, the setup of a special unit within the Prosecutor General’s Office charged with investigating justice-related crimes and the statute of the Judicial Inspection Corps. The meeting will occasion the election of the president and vice-president of the Council and a review of the institution’s activity in 2017.

HEARING — Romanian Health Minister Florian Bodog was deposed on Thursday by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism as witness in the case where a reputed urosurgeon, Mihai Lucan, is accused of embezzlement. Cluj Mayor Emil Boc was subpoenaed in the same case. Both Florian Bodog and Emil Boc have denied any involvement in the case.

FRONTEX — Romania contributed three maritime patrol ships to FRONTEX operations aimed at supporting Greek authorities to monitor and control the EU’s external borders throughout 2017. Consisting of six crews totaling 150 border police officers, the Romanian border police vessels carried out patrol, surveillance and rescue operations in the Aegean Sea, both individually and in cooperation with the crews of the other ships deployed by EU Member States to Greece. During the operations the crews completed hundreds of missions and took part in over 20 rescue operations at sea, helping save some 1,800 people, mostly women and children, who were subsequently safely transported to shore. The last crew, made up of 26 officers of the Romanian Border Police, onboard the MAI 1104 patrol ship, returned to the port of Constanta on Thursday.

VISIT — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today announced that at the end of next week he would visit several countries from Eastern Europe, including Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This will be the first visit of a Japanese Prime Minister to this region, Kyodo news agency reports. “I will expand the borders of Japanese diplomacy, while at the same time asserting our close coordination in connection to North Korea and other pressing issues facing the international community”,. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

SOCIAL-DEMOCRATIC PARTY — The Executive Committee of the Social-Democratic Party, the main ruling coalition party in Romania, will most likely convene on Monday, sources within the party have told the press. Ranking high on the agenda is appointing a new Minister of Waters and Forests, after this Wednesday Doina Pana stepped down due to health reasons. According to the aforementioned sources, the Committee might also discuss a new Government reshuffle. The meeting will be held amidst speculations over the strained relations between Social-Democrat Leader Liviu Dragnea and Prime Minister Mihai Tudose.

TOURISM — The number of bookings with Romania’s tourist accommodation units has gone up by 6.2% in the first 11 months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016, totaling 25 million, reads a recent survey published today by the National Statistics Institute. Arrivals in Romania reached 11 million, up by 10.4%. Romanians accounted for nearly 80% of total accommodations, as compared to foreign tourists representing 20%. With a 73% share, most tourists came from Europe, while 85% of these were citizens of EU Member states.

STUDENTS — Romania’s top-performing students who graduated with high scores in universities abroad were rewarded on Thursday as part of the Gala of Romanian Students Abroad. In the “Europa University” section the first prize went to Claudia Mitrofan, a student at Cambridge University in Great Britain. Maria Bostenaru of Karlshrue University in Germany won the award for best post-grad student, while Raluca Andreea Manea, a student at Caroline University in Prague, grabbed the award for best Erasmus student. Diana Beatrix Velicu of “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest was designated the best student in a higher education unit in Romania.

UN — The UN’s Security Council will tonight meet to discuss the developments in Iran. The meeting has already been criticized by Russia, who considers the situation in Iran is of no concern to the UN. US Ambassador Nikki Haley earlier last week said she would call for a top-level meeting as a sign of support for the Iranian protesters. Over 20 people were killed in Mashhad since the start of anti-regime protests which have swept the entire country. Hundreds were arrested in Tehran and in other cities.

MEETING — French President Emmanuel Macron is today meeting his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Paris. Talks will focus on Syria, the developments in Europe and human rights in Turkey. This is Erdogan’s most important visit to an EU country after the failed coup of July 2016. The scope of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown has prompted harsh criticism in Europe, particularly in Berlin, thus suspending negotiations over Turkey’s bid to join the community bloc. Over 140,000 people were sacked and suspended, 55,000 arrested, including university teachers, journalists and pro-Kurdish militants. In early September, 2017, German Chancellor Angela Merkel argued in favor of scrapping accession talks, while the French President, Emmanuel Macron, said the EU must avoid any break in relations with Turkey as an “essential” partner on migration and terror issues.

HANDBALL — The Romanian men’s handball side on Friday is facing Bahrain in Calarasi, in the south, in the semi-finals of the Carpati Trophy. Tunisia is facing Portugal in the other semi-final. On Saturday, the losing teams will play the third-place play-off, while the winners will play for the trophy. The Romanian players, who are coached by the Spanish manager Xavier Pascual, are also training for the first round of the 2019 World Championship preliminary matches to take place over January 11-13 in Bolzano, Italy, where they face Ukraine and the Faeroe Islands, as well as the host country. Only the winners of the six preliminary groups qualify for the World Championship play-offs in June this year.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the world’s no. 1 player, today qualified to the finals of the WTA tournament in Shenzhen, China, totaling over 600 thousand dollars in prize money, after defeating another Romanian, Irina Begu, 6-1, 6-4. This is the second time Halep reaches the final, after in 2015 she won the trophy. In the final Halep will play the defending champion, Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, who defeated Maria Sharapova of Russia in the other semi-final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Later today Halep and Begu will team up to face Ana Blinkova of Russia and Nicola Geuer of Germany in the women’s doubles semi-finals. (Translated by V. Palcu)