November 25, 2014 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.

Florentin Căpitănescu, 25.11.2014, 12:15

MEETING — The Supreme Defence Council on Tuesday convened for the last time in a meeting presided by Traian Basescu, whose second term as a president comes to an end on December 21. The Council members decided that the draft budget of defence institutions should be adopted after the Government has a clear-cut image of its resources. The Council approved Romania’s strategic guidelines for the development of energy infrastructure, against the backdrop of European reforms in the field. The president called on the Government to work up a strategy for the transit of natural gas from the Black Sea, which should cover the demand for Romania and the Republic of Moldova, with any surplus bound to be exported. As regards Romania’s participation in the NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan in 2015, the Defence Council sanctioned the deployment of an additional 450 military up to a maximum number of 650. Regarding the crisis in Ukraine, Council members agreed that it affected key domains for Romania, such as maritime and air security, the economy, but also Romania’s political relations with other states in the region and Russia.

APPEAL — The High Court of Cassation and Justice approved on Tuesday the appeal in the case of incompatibility of president elect Klaus Iohannis, setting the new hearing on January 14. Last autumn, Iohannis was found in a state of incompatibility as holding simultaneously the position of mayor of the city of Sibiu, and municipality representative on the boards of two private companies. At a later time, a local court dismissed the NIA report, which the agency appealed. Klaus Iohannis takes over the Romanian presidency from Traian Basescu on December 21st.

RESPONSIBILITY — Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said Tuesday in Parliament in Bucharest that he takes responsibility for the failures in the process of voting abroad in the presidential elections earlier this month. Ponta, who lost the elections, said that the law governing elections should be changed, and proposed the introduction of absentee voting and on-line voting. He also pleaded for conferring all responsibilities and leverage for organizing elections upon one single body, such as the Permanent Election Authority. The National Liberal Party believes that Victor Ponta and his government hold responsibility for the failure of the elections abroad, where thousands stood in line to vote for hours, and many were unable to do so. The debate in Parliament on this topic was initiated by the Liberals as well. Two foreign ministers have resigned as a result of the scandal, and the General Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the case.

INVESTIGATION — Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice on Tuesday announced that prosecutors have opened an investigation into the air crash last week, which killed eight members of the armed forces. The high court said that the investigators were expecting charges of manslaughter and labor, safety and health violations. Two more people were injured in the accident that occurred in Sibiu County. The ten were scheduled to take part in a joint exercise with American troops.

VISIT — The new Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Tuesday announced that he would pay his first official visit to Chisinau, on December 1, the National Day of Romania, also following the legislative elections in the Republic of Moldova. Bogdan Aurescu said the election marks a historic moment for Moldova, which should consolidate the irreversible course of Moldova towards European integration and democratic reforms. Should the election fail to uphold the current Government, the efforts of the last years would be wasted, as well as Romania’s support, the Romanian Minister also said. Aurescu also announced his second visit would be to Brussels, where he will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers summit of December 2, while on December 4 and 5 he will be in Basel, Switzerland, attending the meetingof OSCE Foreign Ministers.

SEARCHES — Anti-corruption prosecutors on Tuesday ran searches in Bucharest and Buzau, targeting public institutions and homes of officials. According to their office, the prosecutors were looking for evidence in an investigation into financial fraud involving European Union funding committed between 2010 and 2014. Prosecutors have called on support from the Romanian Intelligence Service and special intervention teams from the Gendarmes.

RULING – The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday forced Belgium to pay 10,000 Euros as moral compensation to a former Romanian convict. The Court recommended the Belgian state to take action to improve conditions in its detention facilities. The plaintiff, Marin Vasilescu, born in 1970, spent a year in a detention centre in Belgium. He complained that he was forced to sleep on a floor mattress for weeks, with no access to sanitation facilities, living in a containment area of less than 4 square meters. The Court ruled that these actions were in breach of Article 3 of the European Human Rights Convention, which forbids inhuman or degrading treatment of inmates.

POPE – Pope Francis on Tuesday addressed the European Parliament, warning of an aging Europe that feels less and less as an important actor in the world. He said that the grand ideas that inspired the continent in the past have been replaced with a bureaucracy. The Pope next visited the headquarters of the Council of Europe. Later this week he is due to go on a historic visit to Ankara and Istanbul, in Turkey. He is set to meet the Patriarch of the Christian Orthodox Church, as well as the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Pontiff continues the tradition of apostolic visits to Constantinople, against renewed interest in uniting the two main Christian churches, which split up in 1054.