September 28, 2018

According to the Constitutional Court, Romania does not offer any form of official and juridical recognition of same sex couple relationships, UN General Assembly under way in New York

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Newsroom, 28.09.2018, 13:05

CCR — Same sex couple relationships are included in the ‘private life’ and ‘family life’ categories, argue the judges of Romania’s Constitutional Court in the reasoning behind their ruling, which admits the notification of a Romanian-American couple related to an article of the Civil Code regarding the non-recognition of same-sex marriages. According to the Constitutional Court, people of the same sex who form stable couples have the right to express their personality as part of their relationship and to benefit from a legal and juridical recognition of corresponding rights and obligations. The Constitutional Court also adds that Romania does not offer any form of official and juridical recognition of same sex couple relationships, a situation also found in only 5 other EU member states, namely Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia. The Constitutional Court made these clarifications in full campaign for the referendum of October 6 and 7 when Romanians are called to vote if they agree with redefining the concept of family in the Constitution as being based on the marriage between a man and a woman and not between spouses as it is stipulated at present. The revision bill is based on a citizens’ initiative and it was denounced as discriminatory by the associations defending human rights and sexual minority rights.

Inflation — The annual inflation rate in the Euro zone increased in September 2018 from 2% to 2.1%, shows a preliminary survey published on Friday by Eurostat. In September, the most significant price hikes in the Euro zone were reported in the energy field, where an annual increase of 9.5% was reported, being followed by price rises for foodstuffs, alcohol and cigarettes by 2.7% and for services by 1,3% annually. In August, Eurostat informed that Romania reported the highest annual inflation rate among EU states, for the 7th consecutive month, with an increase in consumption prices of 4.7%, after reporting an annual inflation rate of 4.3% in July. The National Bank of Romania revised downwards the inflation forecast for the end of 2018 from 3.6% to 3.5%.

Berlin — On an official visit to Germany, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The latter said that the visit did not represent a normalization of relations between the two countries but that it could be a first step towards this goal. Relations between Germany and Turkey have deteriorated against the backdrop of criticism over Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian regime, as Erdogan has recently acquired further powers following the modification of the Constitution. Erdogan was also criticized for the repression following the failed coup of 2016 which also affected German citizens whom Berlin considered political detainees. The Turkish president said he would discuss, among other things, the expansion of economic relations with Germany, which comes, according to analysts, against the backdrop of the financial crisis Turkey is currently facing.

New York — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday had bilateral meetings in New York on the sidelines of the UN summit. During the talks with Moldova’s PM Pavel Filip, the president reconfirmed Romania’s commitment to supporting Moldova’s European aspirations. In turn, Pavel Filip thanked the Romanian President for the support granted by Bucharest and gave assurances that the Moldovan authorities were determined to carry on the process of rapprochement to the EU. President Klaus Iohannis also had talks with the Georgian PM about the consolidation and diversification of trade relations. Klaus Iohannis pleaded at the UN summit for Romania to be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2020-2021. In his speech before the UN General Assembly Klaus Iohannis said Romania would be a responsible partner in promoting the common UN agenda. He added that Romania, as future president of the EU Council, would strengthen the UN’s partnership with the EU.

Washington — The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu hosted in New York, on the sidelines of the 73rd summit of the UN General Assembly the meeting entitled “Climate change and security’ with his counterparts from the African French-speaking countries. They tackled aspects related to the way in which climate change affects the living conditions of the populations in the Saharan and sub-Saharan area and poses risks in terms of internal and regional security. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)