November 25, 2015 UPDATE

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

Newsroom, 25.11.2015, 12:15

DECISION – The Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, said in the government meeting on Wednesday that he wants to make sure that the chiefs of the Bucharest-Ilfov Inspectorate for Emergency Situations who had been suspended would be dismissed and would no longer be able to get back in the system. The leaders of the Bucharest-Ilfov Inspectorate were suspended nearly a month after the Colectiv nightclub tragedy. Investigations revealed that the relevant authorities had not conducted inspections at the nightclub, although the heavily attended event had been announced publicly. We remind you that a rock concert ended tragically when the soundproofing material on a support pillar caught fire, spreading quickly over the entire ceiling. Hundreds of people, 5 times more than the club was allowed to host, were caught under the burning pieces falling from the ceiling.

MAYOR – Razvan Ioan Sava is the new interim mayor of Bucharest, after getting 34 votes in favour in 11 against. Proposed by the Liberals in the city council, Sava wants a modern administration that should support the citizens of Bucharest. Stefanel Dan Marin was sacked followed a vote of the General Council on Tuesday. Marin was also accused of failing to fund the RADET heating utility and to solve the difficulties facing the public transport utility.

ATTACK – The Islamic State on Wednesday claimed responsibility over the jihadist attack on Tuesday in Tunis, which killed 13 people. The suicide bomber who blew up a presidential guard bus has been identified as Abu Abdallah Tounsi. The attacker wearing an explosive belt climbed onto the bus and blew himself up. Some 10 kilos of Semtex were used in the blast.

TURKEY – Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday said Turkey had no intention of escalating tensions with neighbouring and friendly Russia, after Turkish air forces shot down a Russian fighter jet on the Turkish-Syrian border. According to the Turkish official, Ankara maintains all communication channels with Russia open. While Turkey claims the Russian jet had violated Turkeys airspace, Russian president Vladimir Putin says it was an act of backstabbing by terrorist supporters. The US and NATO have expressed solidarity with Turkey, calling on both sides to refrain from escalating the conflict.

CORRUPTION – The National Anti-Corruption Directorate in Bucharest on Wednesday ordered the prosecution of the Social Democratic Senator Dan Sova in a new case, in which he is suspected of being accessory to abuse of office. According to investigators, in 2006-2008 Şova apparently caused the Govora Thermal Power Complex to incur losses of over 1 million euros. On Tuesday, the Senates Judicial Committee approved Dan Sovas arrest and pre-trial detention in a separate case, concerning the period 2011-2014. Şova, a former minister for transportation in Victor Pontas Cabinet, reportedly claimed and received 100,000 euros in bribes to ensure the same Govora power plant signed a contract with a particular law firm.

EU BUDGET – The European Parliament on Wednesday passed the EU budget for 2016. Next years budget is set at 155 billion euros in commitments and 144 billion in payments. SMEs, students programmes and the Horizon 2020 research projects will get the most funding. As regards refugees and the migration issue, the Parliament will make sure all available resources in the current EU financial framework would be supplemented. The EU thus hopes to cope with the current refugee crisis, which needs to be tackled both in Member States and in countries close to conflict areas.

SALARY RISE – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has signed into law a bill that raises the salaries of public healthcare personnel by 25% as of October 1, and the wages of other public sector employees by 10% as of December 1. PM Dacian Ciolos says these increases must be accompanied by an investment programme.

CAPTURE – 21 people, of whom 18 Afghans and 3 Moldovan citizens, were captured by a Taliban group on Tuesday, after the emergency landing of a helicopter in the north of Afghanistan, the Republic of Moldovas government announced on Wednesday. According to the same source, two Afghans and a Moldovan have been killed. The interim PM, Gheorghe Brega, said the Moldovan authorities requested support from the US and Romanian embassies in Afghanistan, in order to have the hostages released. The helicopter, owned by a private Moldovan company, was on a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan, under the UN aegis.

SHUTDOWN – Scores of cinema and theatre halls, restaurants and bars in Bucharest have been shut after last week the head of state Klaus Iohannis signed a law banning public activities from buildings with high vulnerability in case of earthquakes. Around 670 buildings, according to the Bucharest City Hall, have a heavily damaged structure, especially after the 7.2 earthquake of 1977, which killed nearly 1,600 people. The law was promulgated 3 weeks after the tragedy in Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, in which 60 people died so far and which sparked heated debates concerning public building safety.

CITIZENSHIP – Foreign nationals whove had a major contribution to promoting Romanian culture, science and civilization as well as those who contribute to promoting Romanias image through sports achievements may obtain the Romanian citizenship upon filing a special request. The Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case, adopted a bill on Wednesday, simplifying procedures for granting the Romanian citizenship to certain categories of people. The document also allows people whove lost the Romanian citizenship due through no fault of their own to regain it.

(translated by V. Palcu)