March 23, 2016 UPDATE

Belgium on maximum security alert, in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Brussels/ Romania observes a day of national mourning on Thursday, in memory of the victims

Florentin Căpitănescu, 23.03.2016, 12:25

MOURNING – Belgium observes three days of national mourning. One minute of silence was kept in downtown Brussels on Wednesday, in the wake of Tuesdays attacks which left over 30 people dead and some 270 injured. The IS Jihadist group claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks that have been firmly condemned by the international community. The perpetrators have reportedly been previously involved in the Paris attacks in November, which claimed 130 lives and which were coordinated by the French Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in Brussels on Friday. Experts and officials see the recent attacks as proof that the Jihadist networks in Belgium and other European countries are still able to organise large-scale operations, in spite of the pressure coming from security and police forces. The Dutch Justice Minister, Ard van der Steur, has announced an emergency meeting of the EU ministers will be held on Thursday in Brussels, at the request of Belgium. The anti-terrorist alert across that country remains at maximum levels, and the Brussels airport will still be closed on Thursday, while security around the EU institutions and Belgian nuclear power plants was stepped up.

SOLIDARITY – The Romanian Government decided that Thursday, March 24, be declared day of national mourning, in memory of the victims of the Brussels attacks. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced that four Romanian citizens were wounded in the Brussels attacks. A mobile unit of the Romanian Embassy in Belgium travelled to the hospitals in Brussels to provide consular assistance. Another diplomatic team was deployed to Brussels to give additional support to the Romanian citizens in that country. In Romania, the terrorist alert remains at the so-called level “Blue (Guarded), but security around diplomatic missions and airports has been strengthened.

DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihnea Motoc, pays an official visit to France until Thursday, at the invitation of his French counterpart Jean-Yves le Drian. According to the Romanian Ministry, the two officials will discuss the recent regional and international security developments and ways to boost bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation between the two countries within the EU and NATO, and will exchange information on key European security and defence policy aspects. The agenda of talks will also include the preparations for the Summit due in Warsaw this July. The Romanian Defence Minister will also make fact-finding visits to a number of military sites.

COOPERATION – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on Wednesday in Ankara that the EU is currently facing a series of challenges, in the context in which Turkey is an important partner. The Romanian President said that Turkey is hosting a very large number of refugees, plays a key role in solving the migrant crisis, both in terms of humanitarian assistance, the control of the migration flow and the fight against human trafficking networks. The statements were made fresh from the talks he had with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Regional security and bilateral economic cooperation were also high on the agenda of the talks. In an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, ahead of the meeting, President Iohannis reiterated Romanias support for Turkeys EU accession. He deplored again Russias interference in Ukraine and Syria and expressed hope that at the NATO summit due in Warsaw in July, measures will be taken to boost security in the Black Sea Area. The visit by Romanias president to Turkey comes to an end on Thursday.

CORRUPTION– Romania loses an annual 15% of its GDP because of corruption, reads a survey commissioned by the European Parliament. According to the report, the figure includes both direct losses, e.g. rigged public procurement bids, and indirect losses, in that other companies are no longer interested in such procedures and competition is therefore distorted. Apart from Romania, the black list of EU corruption also includes Bulgaria, Croatia and Latvia. The survey indicates that the price of corruption at EU level ranges between 179 billion to 990 billion euros per year. The document recommends the extension of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which Romania would like to see lifted as soon as possible, or the establishment of an EU-level online public procurement system that may reduce the annual losses caused by corruption by some 900 million euros. Another 200 million euros could be saved through the establishment of a European Public Prosecutors Office, the report also says.

DETENTION – The mayor of Bucharest‘s District 2, Neculai Ontanu, was taken into custody on Wednesday evening by the prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in a file in which he is accused of bribe taking. On Thursday, he will be taken to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, the prosecutors calling for 30-day preventive arrest, pending trial. According to the prosecutors, in 2006 and 2007, Ontanu reportedly received a plot of land in Bucharest, as bribe. This is Ontanus fourth term in office as district mayor, and is the interim president of the National Union for the Progress of Romania.

(Translated by Ana-Maria Popescu and Diana Vijeu)