April 27, 2017 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.04.2017, 19:58
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – Romanias Constitutional Court will analyze on May 4 the Ombudsmans notification regarding the law that bans people with criminal records from being members of the Government. It is the 4th time that the Romanian Constitutional Court postpones a decision in this respect, invoking the complexity of the case and claiming that the issue should be analyzed from a political perspective. The Law that forbids people with criminal sentences to be part of the government is the one that prevented the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea from claiming the office of prime minister after the parliamentary elections that the Social Democrats won in December 2016. In 2016 Dragnea received a 2-year suspended sentence for attempting to rig the referendum of 2012 on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu. The Ombudsman made the notification in early January.
COOPERATION -The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis underlined Georgias contribution to Euro-Atlantic security, including through its participation in NATO missions, during a meeting he had in Bucharest with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The Georgian official had previously met with his Romanian counterpart Sorin Grindeanu, and the two officials signed a political declaration of cooperation. Romania and Georgia cooperate in fields such as tourism, economy, agriculture, sea trade, culture, science and sports. In the first quarter of 2017, the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries stood at some 44.3 million dollars. PM Grindeanu assured his Georgian counterpart that Romania supports the European aspirations of his country. In turn, the Georgian PM thanked Romanian authorities for the support provided including for the elimination of visas for the Georgian citizens travelling to EU countries.
INFRINGEMENT – On Thursday, the European Commission decided to sue Romania at the European Court of Justice, under an infringement procedure, for failing to bring the national legislation regarding waste in line with the European directive in the field. According to a communiqué issued by the Commission, Romania should have transposed the European legislation by 2013 at the latest. The framework directive on waste is aimed at protecting the environment and human health by preventing or curbing the negative effects of waste production and management. Romania is one of the EU member states with the poorest performances as regards the management of solid waste. The European Commission has sued other European countries as well, including Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, France, Spain and Slovenia.
EU DEFENSE – The Romanian defense minister Gabriel Leş has reiterated Romanias commitment to actively contribute to strengthening the EUs Security and Defense. He made this statement at the meeting he had in Malta with the Chief Executive of the European Defense Agency, Jorge Domecq. In turn, the European official thanked Romania for its involvement in the Agencys programs. The talks were held on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the EU defense ministers.
GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Ana Birchall attended in Luxembourg on Thursday the General Affairs Council in the EU 27 format, the first without Great Britain. According to the Romania official, it was established that in the negotiations with the UK, the 27 countries should have a common voice, a unitary and coherent stand, in order to obtain a balanced agreement, under which all the four fundamental freedoms, including the free movement of people, are objectively and fairly observed. Held after the UK decided to leave the EU, the meeting in Luxembourg set the main guidelines that are to be endorsed by the heads of state and government that will attend the European Council on April 29th.
VACCINE CRISIS – The Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu on Thursday said that finding a solution to the vaccination crisis was essential for Romania. He said he was determined to take all necessary measures in this respect, following consultations with the main stakeholders in the field. He made the statements at the conference titled “The European Week of Immunization- Vaccination: a public health issue. Children beyond figures” organized in Bucharest.
SANCTIONS – The US will toughen sanctions against North Korea and will intensify diplomatic efforts meant to persuade the regime in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and ballistic program. President Donald Trumps strategy was announced after a special meeting at the White House with all the 100 American senators. In another development, France Press reports that the US is looking into the possibility of putting North Korea back on the list of countries that support terrorism. The list currently includes Iran, Syria and Sudan, as North Korea was eliminated from the list in 2008 during the term in office of president George W. Bush.
COLLISION – A Russian spy ship sank on Thursday after colliding with a freighter off the Turkish coast of the Black Sea. The vessel called Liman hit the Togo-flagged ship carrying livestock, which had left the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta heading for Jordan. The incident occurred 40 km off the Bosphorus Strait, and all 78 Russian crew aboard were safely evacuated. Fog and poor visibility was reported in the area at the time of the collision. Liman was launched in 1970, and, according to military sources, its role in the past years was to monitor the drills carried out by NATO in the Black Sea area.
