September 24-30

A review of the most important events of the past week.

Leyla Cheamil, 01.10.2017, 12:30

Bill to reform justice laws gets negative opinion from the Superior Council of Magistracy

The Superior Council of Magistracy in Bucharest has given a negative opinion on a bill to amend the justice laws. The magistrates who voted against it say the bill is superficial and has not taken into account the proposals made by courts and prosecutor offices. Those who voted for the bill say this is the only way the legislation can be improved. Speaking after the Council vote, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said some people do not want to reform the system, which, in his opinion, must be brought within the parameters of constitutionality. President Klaus Iohannis, however, said through a spokesman that the government and Parliament could not ignore the Councils opinion, despite it being only advisory. The Association of Magistrates in Romania says the negative opinion means the viewpoints sent to the Council from around the country could no longer be supported before the lawmaker. Controversial provisions of the new bill include the proposal that the president of the country should no longer be involved in the appointment of the heads of the National Anticorruption Directorate, the anti terrorism and organised crime body (DIICOT) and the Prosecutor Generals Office. Another provision that has sparked criticism was a plan to transfer the Judicial Inspectorate, the body that establishes infringements in the judicial process, from the control of the Superior Council of Magistracy, which is a professional body, to that of the Justice Ministry, which is a political body.

The National Anticorruption Directorate launches investigations into Social Democrat officials

Sevil Shhaideh, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, and Rovana Plumb, the Minister Delegate for European Funds, are under investigation in a corruption case. Prosecutors say that, following two government orders signed by Shhaideh as state secretary and Plumb as environment minister, sections of the River Danubes Belina Island and Pavel branch were illegally transferred from state property under the property of Teleorman County, the fiefdom of the current Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea. Despite calls on the two ministers to resign, the leadership of the Social Democratic Party has decided to give them full support.

President Klaus Iohannis said the ministers targeted by the investigation of the National Anticorruption Directorate should resign or be sacked: “At best, the ministers in question should have resigned on their own accord. The other acceptable option is for them to have been sacked. The fact that the Social Democratic Party is closing ranks around them is not a good sign. I dont know whether the two ministers are guilty or not, and it is not for me or the Social Democratic Party to establish this. This is something for the judges to say.

The opposition has also called for the resignation of the ministers involved in criminal investigations. The leader of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban emphasised that his partys MPs would vote yes to all requests made by prosecutors to allow the start of criminal investigations.

Romanian-Ukrainian talks in Kiev on the new Education law in the neighbouring country

Restricting the rights of some social categories does not reflect Ukraines European ambitions, says the Romanian Minister of Education, Liviu Pop, who has this week gone to Kiev upon the invitation of the Ukrainian side against the background of the promulgation of the new and controversial education law in the neighbouring country. The law stipulates that minorities can study in their mother tongue only in kindergartens and elementary schools. Romanian Education Minister Liviu Pop underlined in Kiev on Wednesday during the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Lilia Grinevich, the need for the rights of the Romanian minority to not be affected by the new education law in Ukraine. On this occasion he recalled that the Romanian tuition in Ukraine has a tradition more than 200 years old. Also on Wednesday, Ukraines embassy in Bucharest specified in a communiqué that the adoption of the new education law would not lead to the closing down of minority education institutions in this country. According to the same sources, Kiev will submit the law to the Council of Europe for assessment. The nearly half a million Romanians in Ukraine is the countrys second largest ethnic community after the Russian one.

Strengthening cooperation in Europe

EU countries must have access to at least three natural gas sources in order to be able to avoid any crisis, the European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, who is also in charge of energy and climate issues, has said in Bucharest. Together with Miguel Arias Canete, the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Sefcovic attended a meeting on the interconnection of natural gas networks entitled the Central and South Eastern Europe Gas Connectivity (CESEC). The European Commission Vice President has underlined that this is the best measure against energy shortage, which will lead to lower bills and improved environmental protection. In turn, the European Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete has announced the signing in Bucharest of a memorandum of understanding aimed at enlarging the cooperation area on the market for electricity, renewable sources and energy efficiency. In the opening of the event, Romanian Minister of Energy, Toma Petcu pointed out to regional cooperation, which would lead to an increased degree of stability for every country involved with the CESEC community. On the other hand, Minister Petcu announced that all the gas and electricity producers, suppliers and carriers are prepared for the winter season. Toma Petcu also added that Romania has the capacity to produce and provide electricity.