March 27, 2018 UPDATE

The Romanian Parliament has marked, in a solemn session, 100 years since the Union of Bessarabia with Romania/ NATO has decided to expel seven diplomats from the Russian mission to the Alliance over the nerve agent attack in the UK

Newsroom, 27.03.2018, 19:17

CELEBRATION – The two chambers of the Romanian Parliament have gathered in solemn session to mark 100 years since the union of Bessarabia with Romania. In the presence of Romanian officials and other figures such as Princess Margaret, Custodian of the Crown, the Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and the President of the Moldovan Parliament Andrian Candu, the Romanian deputies and senators adopted a solemn declaration which pays homage to the authors of the historic act carried out 100 years ago. A province with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population within the Tsarist Empire, Bessarabia joined Romania at the end of WWI, on March 27, 1918. Years later, in June 1940, the Soviet Union re-annexed the province under an ultimatum, and the present-day Republic of Moldova was created on part of that territory. On Sunday, at a meeting organized in Moldova’s capital Chisinau, dozens of thousands of citizens of the two Romanian states called for the re-unification between Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

DEFENCE – Romanian Defence Minister Mihai Fifor met in Zagreb on Tuesday with his Croatian counterpart, Damir Krsticevic. The focal points on the agenda of talks were ways to boost bilateral cooperation in the field. The Romanian official said the two sides would start talks on technology transfer and would start cooperating at industrial level. Minister Fifor was accompanied by representatives of the Romanian defence industry.

ANTI-CORRUPTION – The Superior Council of Magistracy on Tuesday decided to send a letter to the European Commission, asking for clarifications on several requests for information made by the European body to the Romanian authorities regarding several corruption cases. Last week, Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă sent a similar letter to the EC President, Jean-Claude Juncker. Both letters were written after the publication by the national press of a EC document issued in October 2012, calling on the Romanian Justice Ministry to provide details from the files of well known politicians and business people. The Prime Minister underlined that the Justice Ministry confirmed that the commission made similar requests in the 2012 – 2018 period. Such pieces of information are not in line with the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), Dancila also added. We recall that by the CVM, the Commission has been monitoring the evolution of justice in Romania, since the countrys joining the community bloc, back in 2007.

INTEGRITY – The legal committee with the Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday rejected the request filed by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, to re-examine the draft law under which the interdictions imposed to MPs by the National Integrity Agency prior to 2013 cease to exist. In his request, the countrys president said the draft includes a clemency measure granted to MPs, which affects integrity standards and questions Romanias compliance with the commitments it has made as a EU member state. According to the draft, adopted in December 2017, the interdictions imposed on Deputies and Senators based on evaluation reports made by the National Integrity Agency and which took note of violations of the legal provisions regarding the conflict of interest in the 2007- 2013 period cease to exist. The Chamber of Deputies is the first notified chamber. The request for re-examination will now be submitted for debate in a plenary session and then to the Senate, which is decision-making body in this case.

RUSSIA – NATO has decided to expel seven diplomats of the Russian mission to the Alliance over the nerve agent attack in the UK, NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg announced on Tuesday. “This sends a clear message to Russia that there are costs and consequences for its unacceptable and dangerous pattern of behaviour, Stoltenberg said. Over 23 countries, including Romania and the US, decided, as of Monday, to expel some 120 Russian diplomats, in a coordinated western measure. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has notified the Russian Embassy in Bucharest that one of its diplomats would be declared persona non-grata and forced to leave the Romanian soil. Romanias decision might be “the expression of collective political insanity, says the Russian Embassy in Bucharest.

PROTESTS – Trade unionists from the Romanian health-care sector on Tuesday picketed the headquarters of the line ministry in Bucharest and on Thursday they will protest in front of the Labour Ministry. The are demanding, among other things, pay rises as of March 1, for the entire healthcare and welfare staff, the elimination of the 30% cap for bonuses and the recovery of income losses following the implementation of the latest salary regulations, as of January 1. For years, against the background of a severe under financing of the health-care sector in Romania, Romanian health specialists have left abroad in large numbers, in search for better-paid jobs. Since last year, the net incomes of the health-care personnel have grown significantly. However, they are still unhappy with their salaries and bonuses and have threatened with protests that might culminate in an all-out strike. The current minister Sorina Pintea, however, has stated that they have no reason to protest.(Translated by D. Vijeu and M. Ignatescu)