June 19, 2018

President Iohannis meets EU ambassadors to Bucharest, discusses forthcoming EU presidency

Newsroom, 19.06.2018, 13:30

PRESIDENCY – President Klaus Iohannis has a meeting today with the EU ambassadors to Bucharest, to discuss the forthcoming Romanian presidency of the Union Council in the first half of 2019. According to a news release issued by the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis will state that a compromise solution for the multi-annual budget, must be balanced and meet both the new priorities of the Union, such as border protection, migration, the ERASMUS programme, innovation and defence, and keep a substantial level of funding for traditional policies such as cohesion and the common agricultural policy. The President will also express Bucharests determination to support the efforts to resume the full implementation of the Schengen system and will add that the consolidation of the visa-free area cannot be completed without full integration of Romania and Bulgaria.

PRIME MINISTER – PM Viorica Dăncilă presents the joint Parliament Chambers with a progress report on Romanias preparations to take over the EU Council presidency in January 2019. “The talks occasioned by this presentation will be a substantial support to the Governments drawing up and adopting a first working programme for the Presidency, Dǎncilǎ said. She believes the Council presidency will be an opportunity for Romania to prove its capacity to contribute to re-launching the European project, by means of a powerful political vision and relevant administrative capacity.

CODE – The changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure were endorsed on Monday by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making chamber of Parliament in this case, after having been passed by the Senate as well. 175 Deputies voted in favour and 78 against. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union in opposition announced they will refer the bill to the Constitutional Court.

JUDICIARY – The Constitutional Court of Romania today discusses President Klaus Iohannis notification concerning changes to the Referendum Law. One of the claims is that the document includes provisions concerning the initiation and procedural steps in revising the Constitution, which fall outside its competence. Also today, Constitutional Court judges discuss the notifications filed by the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union in opposition, as well as by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, concerning the bill on the statute of judges and prosecutors. The High Court argues that the phrasing in the new bill is too broad and imprecise making the law impossible to enforce.

US-ROMANIA – Romanias deputy PM for strategic partnerships, Ana Birchall, has had a meeting today with Wess Mitchell, Assistant US State Secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, as part of the 6th annual political meeting for Romania-US Strategic Dialogue. Ana Birchall emphasised Romanias interest in identifying and implementing new joint projects contributing to the development and strengthening of the Strategic Partnership with the US. She pointed out the huge potential in the fields of energy, IT and film industry. On the other hand, she requested the support of the American side for Romanias Visa Waiver application and thanked the US for its support to Romanias efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and development. On Monday, in an address given at the University of Bucharest, the American official said Romania made progress towards a strong judicial system and must not backtrack on it. The US official added that the US appreciates the resilience of Black Sea countries, but also warned against the danger posed by the influence of Russia and China in the region.

FOOTBALL – Romanian football champions CFR Cluj are finding out today their opponents in the second preliminary round of the Champions League, in a UEFA draw in the Swiss city of Nyon. The draw for the Europa League will take place tomorrow, with Romanian vice-champions FCSB (former Steaua Bucuresti) and Viitorul Constanta taking part. The Romanian Cup winners CSU Craiova will play straight into the third preliminary round.

WORLD CUP – Poland-Senegal and Columbia-Japan, in Group H, and Russia-Egypt in Group A, are the football World Cup games scheduled for today. On Monday in Group A, Sweden defeated South Korea 1-0, while in Group G Belgium outplayed Panama, 3-0 and England beat Tunisia 2-1. The Panamanian goalie Jaime Penedo, playing for Dinamo Bucharest, is the only footballer from the Romanian championship taking part in the Russia World Cup. The last final tournament Romania took part in was in 1998.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)