October 29, 2016 UPDATE

Bucharest to commemorate the victims of Colectiv fire on Sunday

Newsroom, 29.10.2016, 00:05

COMMEMORATION – A rally will be held in Bucharest on Sunday to commemorate the victims of the tragedy that took place on October 30 last year in “Colectiv night club in the capital city. Sixty-four people died and more than 100 were injured on that occasion. The Government has approved a 2-year extension of the funding for those who undergo treatment abroad. The club owners were sent to court under charges of manslaughter, bodily harm and of failing to ensure workplace safety and health standards, and the owners of the company that supplied the fireworks were also indicted. Abuse of office charges were also brought against some employees of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, who failed to take any measures although the club did not have a fire safety license. The General Prosecutors Office has also been investigating whether the Colectiv victims were treated appropriately in the hospitals in the country, following criminal complaints from the families of the patients who died from hospital acquired infections rather than burns. The Colectiv tragedy was followed by large scale street protests that triggered the resignation of the Social Democrat Victor Pontas Cabinet.

MOLDOVA – In the Republic of Moldova the first round of the presidential election is scheduled on Sunday. Citizens are electing their president through direct voting, after 16 years in which the head of state was designated by Parliament. According to analysts, the vote is crucial for the future geopolitical course of Moldova. The pro-Russian Socialist leader Igor Dodon is seen as the most likely to win in all opinion polls. His main challenger is the former reformist Education Minister Maia Sandu, who pleads for a reform of the state and European integration, and who has the support of other pro-Western candidates having pulled out of the race.

ROSIA MONTANA – The Romanian Culture Minister, Corina Şuteu, has announced that Roşia Montană in the centre of the country has been included in a UNESCO tentative list, which is the first step towards inclusion in the much shorter UNESCO Heritage List. Roşia Montană was the most active mining centre in the Western Carpathians, starting with the Bronze Age, to ancient times, the Middle Ages and down to modern times. Traditional mining, based on family initiatives and small miner associations, was ended by the nationalisation of 1948, and was followed by a form of large-scale industrial mining which came to an end in 2006. Several NGOs have requested international protection for this town in the Western Carpathians, hoping this will prevent the implementation of a controversial gold mining project in the area. Other Romanian sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List are the Danube Delta, the Sighisoara citadel, the Horezu Monastery, the painted churches in northern Moldavia, the wooden churches in Maramures, the Saxon settlements with fortified churches in Transylvania and the Dacian fortresses in Orastie Mountains.

CETA – The European Union and Canada will hold a summit meeting on Sunday to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the president of the European Council Donald Tusk announced last night. The signing ceremony will take place in Brussels. The deal became possible after it was approved by the Parliament of Wallonia, which had initially opposed it. On Saturday the Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders signed the agreement on behalf of his country. Bucharest, too, had opposed the free trade agreement with Canada until the latter accepted the gradual lifting in 2017 of travel visa requirements for Romanians. At present Romanians and Bulgarians are the only EU citizens who need visas in order to enter Canada.

DIPLOMACY – The Ukrainian minority in Romania and the Romanian minority in Ukraine contribute to the sustainable development of the relations between the two countries, said the Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu. He attended on Saturday, together with his Ukrainian counterpart, the Taras Shevchenko bust unveiling ceremony in Sighetul Marmaţiei, on the Romanian-Ukrainian border. Shevchenko is the national poet of Ukraine. The 2 officials reiterated the need to strengthen bilateral relations, as well as the support given by Romania to Ukraines EU accession efforts. Also on Saturday, Lazăr Comănescu visited the new consular office of Romania in Slatina, across the river Tisza, which will open on Monday, and had meetings with representatives of the Romanian community in Transcarpathia.