June 12, 2015

A look at some of the main stories in Romania today

Newsroom, 12.06.2015, 12:00

The Parliament in Bucharest has today voted against a no-confidence motion introduced by the Liberal opposition against the coalition government led by the Social Democrat leader Victor Ponta. Only 194 MPs voted in favour of the motion, well short of the 278 votes required for it to pass. The motion accused the government of excess of power and infringing on the voting rights of Romanian citizens at home and abroad during last years presidential elections.

The prime minister of the Republic of Moldova Chiril Gaburici has resigned today amid accusations that he forged his baccalaureate diploma. He said he was resigning to allow the public to stay focused on the problems of the country and not his graduation papers. A young businessman, Gaburici took office in February, being supported by a minority coalition of Liberals and Liberal Democrats and communist MPs, traditionally pro-Russian. His pro-western government has been criticised as inefficient and corrupt, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets last Sunday to demand the resignation of the coalition leaders. Gaburicis resignation comes two days before local elections in Moldova. Commentators say the biggest trophy in these elections is winning the mayor seat in Chisinau, Moldovas capital. The main contenders for this office are the incumbent Liberal mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, a supporter of closer ties with neighbouring Romania and the West, and the former communist prime minister Zinaida Greceanîi, who runs on behalf of the pro-Russian socialists.

Romanias president Klaus Iohannis today had talks in Bucharest with the president of the European Court of Human Rights Dean Spielmann. They tackled the Courts reform process to improve the way it addresses the considerable increase in the number of applications. The Courts president thanked Romania for its excellent collaboration with the Court. In the last ten years, the Romanian state has had to pay over 45 million euros in damages in over 1,000 Court rulings stating that the Romanian judiciary violated at least one of the rights laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights and other protocols. In 2014, Romania had the third highest number of Court judgments against it, after Russia and Turkey.

The perception of generalised corruption has improved in Romania in the last two years, according to a survey carried out by EY, one of the biggest professional services companies in the world. The survey indicates that only 4 out 10 employees of big Romanian companies see corruption as a generalised phenomenon, compared to 63% in Eastern Europe. 58% of respondents says their companies have taken anti-corruption policies and half of them see anti-corruption training as useful. The results of the survey show that companies have become more aware of the need to carry out anti-corruption and conformity programmes and monitor conflicts of interest. EYs Fraud Survey was conducted at global level based on a sample of 3,800 employees of large business companies.

The biggest performing arts event in Romania, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival gets under way today in central Romania. The festival features over 400 different events and brings together around 2,500 performers from 70 countries. For ten days, Sibiu will be hosting theatre, dance, music and circus performances. Les 7 doigts de la main, the innovative Canadian performance troupe, the show Cinderella, staged by the National Theatre of the French Community in Belgium and the show Carmen, a production of the Stabile Theatre in Turin, are but some of the attractions of the festival.

83 male and 64 female athletes from Romania are competing in 22 different events at the first edition of the European Games hosted by the Azeri capital Baku which will deliver 253 sets of medals. Athletes from 50 countries are taking part. 12 of the sports featured will use the European Games results as part of their qualifying process for the Rio Olympics next year. The second edition of the European Games in 4 years time was to be hosted by The Netherlands, but the Dutch authorities this week said they would no longer host the competition.

Romania face Northern Ireland on Saturday as part of the qualifying games for the European Football Championship next year. Romania and Northern Ireland are both part of qualifying Group F, which also features Hungary, Greece and the Faeroe Islands. After four wins and a draw in five games, Romania top the group with 13 points followed by Northern Ireland with 12 points. The last time Romania qualified for a European Championship final tournament was in 2008.