February 25 – March 1

A roundup of the week's main stories

România Internațional, 02.03.2019, 11:55

Protests
by magistrates in Romania

Unprecedented protests by magistrates,
prosecutors and judges in Romania have been staged after the adoption by the
government of a new emergency ordinance changing the justice laws. The activity
of several prosecutors’ offices has been suspended this week in token of
protest. The Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism,
DIICOT, has decided for the first time to suspend its activity over February 26
-March 8, with only emergency cases being solved during this time span. Judges
from the Bucharest Tribunal have suspended their activity, too, until March 7,
in token of protest, all ongoing cases, with the exception of emergencies,
being postponed. The magistrates also demand that Ordinance no.7 be repealed
and ask for measures to suspend the activity of the Section for the Investigation
of Criminal Offences in the judiciary until the EU Court of Justice issues a
ruling on the challenges against this special section. Meanwhile, the justice
minister, Tudorel Toader, has announced he has
drafted a new emergency ordinance, which repeals several provisions of
Ordinance no. 7, which has stirred a wave of protests. The changes are meant to
abrogate the article which stipulates that judges, alongside prosecutors, may
become top level prosecutors.

The
former head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate in Romania, favourite
to become the European Union’s Public Prosecutor

The formerhead of the Anti-Corruption Directorate in Romania, Laura Codruţa Kovesi,
has got the largest number of votes following hearings in the European
Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), in
the race to become chief prosecutor of the future European Public Prosecutor’s
Office. Earlier she had got the best result in the European Parliament’s
Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT). Ranking on the second and third
positions were French Jean-François
Bohnert and German Andres Ritter. Laura Codruţa Koveşi says the vote in
the European Parliament is more than a personal victory to her:

This vote is not only for me, but for the
Romanian justice system as a whole. This vote is for all the citizens in
Romania who over the past few years have supported the fight against corruption
and the rule of law. It is a vote for all the prosecutors and judges in Europe
who work under pressure. I had no support from the Government of Romania, I
have neither asked for it nor expected it.

In Bucharest, the
right-of-centre parliamentary opposition has hailed the remarkable achievements
by the former DNA chief prosecutor and criticised the ruling coalition made up
of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats,
saying it has betrayed Romania and has orchestrated a denigration campaign to
tarnish the image of the Romanian candidate. The negative vote cast by the MEPs
of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and
the reactions of the left-of-centre power in Bucharest are edifying. The Social-Democratic senator Claudiu Manda has said
the Social-Democratic MEPs voted against appointing Laura Codruţa Kovesi at the
helm of the European Union’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, claiming she has
committed abuses during her tenure at the DNA. The future chief prosecutor of
the European Prosecutor’s Office will be appointed following negotiations
between the European Parliament and the EU Council.

European
Commission recommendations for Romania

The Romanian economy
is facing higher risks, the European Commission warns, in the half-yearly
report on each member state. The EC mentions in the document released on
Wednesday, among other things, that the emergency ordinance no.114 issued by
the Government, as well as a law adopted by Parliament which retroactively caps
interest rates for mortgage loans might severely impact the normal functioning
of the financial sector. The European
Commission report shows the measures stipulated by the emergency ordinance no.
114 weaken the second pillar of pensions based on defined contributions, which
is privately administered. Experts say the measures have a negative impact on
the Romanians’ future pensions and will hamper the development of the capital
market and future investment, will increase uncertainty and make Romanian
economy less attractive for both domestic and foreign investors. The high risks
run by the Romanian economy are stemming from the increase in the current
account deficit and higher costs with the labour force, following the increase
in the minimum wage in economy and in the salaries of public sector employees.
The European Commission draws attention to the weak performance in the field of
education and research. The EC underlines, in its analysis, the need to promote
investment, to pursue responsible budgetary fiscal policies and to implement
well designed reforms.

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis,
attended the Bucharest Format (B9) Summit in Slovakia

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has
pleaded in Kosice, Slovakia, for a more consistent NATO presence to the Black
Sea, during the Bucharest Format (B9)
Summit, which is made up of EU and NATO member states on the eastern flank of
the Alliance. The B9 leaders agreed, in the final declaration, that the
European Union and NATO are stronger together. The focal points of the talks,
attended by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, too, included
security evolutions in the eastern neighbourhood and in the Black Sea region.
Klaus Iohannis has expressed concern with the evolution in the Black Sea
region, in the context in which Russia further threatens regional stability. He
underlined that the evolutions in the Black Sea region show that the allied
countries should do more, for a robust land, air and sea defence. President
Iohannis says NATO’s eastern partners, such as Ukraine and Georgia, should be
supported more, to enhance their capacity to defend themselves from any type of
threats, be they military, cyber or purely propagandistic threats. Launched at
the initiative of the heads of state of Romania and Poland, B9 Format Summits
were first held in November 2015 in Bucharest and then in Warsaw, in June 2018.