The Week in Review 22-28 April

A roundup of the week's main stories

Leyla Cheamil, 27.04.2019, 13:23

Interim ministers at the Justice,
European Funds and Romanians Abroad ministries

Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday approved the new proposals for interim
ministers made by PM Viorica Dancila. Deputy prime minister Ana Birchall is the
new interim Justice Minister, Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici is interim
Minister for European Funds while the Minister for Business Environment, Commerce and
Entrepreneurship, Stefan-Radu Oprea, is interim head of the Ministry for the
Romanians Abroad. PM Dancila will decide, after Easter, if she keeps these
interim ministers or she goes for a government reshuffle. The Social Democrat
leader Liviu Dragnea gave assurances that the current coalition made up of the
Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE)
is stable and has by 30 votes more than the number needed for a government
reshuffle. From the opposition, the Liberals say this new change of ministers
proves a lack of responsibility in the act of governing, given that some were
rejected by the head of state for not complying with the office requirements.
We remind you that the three portfolios became vacant after the resignation of
ministers Tudorel Toader, Rovana Plumb and Natalia Intotero.

Deputies have passed the
amendments to the criminal legislation approved earlier by the Senate

The
Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday passed the changes to the criminal code and
the code of criminal procedure in exactly the same version as that adopted by
the Senate. A series of articles were thus adopted that were criticised by the
opposition but were declared constitutional by the Constitutional Court. These
include the reduction of the statute of limitations, the introduction of a
one-year deadline for denunciations with respect to bribe taking and peddling
in influence, the complete decriminalisation of negligence in employment and
the reduction by half of punishments for embezzlement and abuse of office. The
speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and president of the Social Democratic Party
Liviu Dragnea says the legislation passed is constitutional, while the
opposition sees it as an attack on the rule of law and on democracy. President
Klaus Iohannis has said that Parliament has once again re-discussed and adopted
the two amended bills in a hasty, superficial and non-transparent manner. He
approached the subject in Bucharest with the representatives of the Venice
Commission, saying that the adoption of measures that have an impact on the
judicial system without holding public consultations and taking into account
the opinion of the judicial system makes this vital area for democracy
extremely vulnerable. The president has also said that Romania is now in the
situation that the Government passes laws and the parliament is just informed
on it. The European Commission says it will look closely into the amendments
passed and has recalled that its position on the situation of the rule of law
is very clear and that Bucharest must urgently resume the reform process.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis
has announced the two questions for the referendum on justice due on May 26

Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on
Thursday announced the two questions for the referendum on justice due on May
26. The questions are: Do you agree with banning amnesty and pardon of
corruption offenses? and Do you agree with banning the Government’s emergency
decrees in the field of corruption offenses, correlated with the extension of
the right to appeal emergency orders directly at the Constitutional Court?The Romanian Parliament, convened in
joint session, approved President Klaus Iohannis’s request to hold a referendum
on May 26, at the same time with the European Parliament elections. The
President’s move comes against the background of numerous legislative changes
in the field of the judiciary, promoted by the ruling
coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), changes contested at home and criticised
by Romania’s European partners. In March, the head of state held consultations with
representatives of judges, magistrates and civil society.

European elections in
May

April 27 marks the beginning of the
campaign for the European elections in Romania. The upcoming European
Parliament election, to be held between May 23 and 26, are crucial for the
future of the EU and its members. At present there are 751 MEPs elected by
citizens in 28 Member States. If Britain leaves before May 23, Great Britain
will not take part in the vote and the number of MEPs will drop to 705. Romania
is expected to have 33 MEPs in the new Parliament, one more compared to the
2014-2019 legislature. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has published the
Handbook of the Romanian Voter Abroad in the run-up to the European Parliament
elections. The document seeks to provide accurate information to Romanians
abroad over the ways they can cast their vote in the election. The handbook
includes information regarding people with the right to vote, the documents
based on which they can vote abroad and the voting procedure. The handbook also
includes information on the prerogatives of the Foreign Ministry and of the
Permanent Electoral Authority in the context of the European elections.

Romanians
return to the country for Easter

Just like every year around the Easter
holiday, the Romanians living abroad return home to celebrate with their
friends and relatives. All Romanian checkpoints will remain crowded in the days
to come, and the Romanian Border Police announces that the number of staff on
duty will be increased and that all border crossing units will work at
full capacity.