December 14, 2017

Romania observes 3 days of national mourning to honor King Michael I, Romania's Parliament passes controversial amendments to justice laws

Newsroom, 14.12.2017, 14:10

National mourning — Starting today Romania will observe three days of national mourning to honor the memory of its former sovereign, King Michael I. King Michael’s coffin is now lying in state in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in Bucharest until Saturday, when the funeral is scheduled. The body of King Michael was brought to Romania on Wednesday, and the coffin was taken for a few hours to the Royal Peles Castle in Sinaia mountain resort, where Romanian and Moldovan officials paid their last respects to the King. Many people lined the route of the funeral procession between the airport and the mountain resort of Sinaia to bid farewell to the last King of Romania who ruled between 1940 and 1947. King Michael died on December 5 in Switzerland at the age of 96. He will be laid to rest at the royal necropolis in Curtea de Arges (in the south). The funerals will be attended by personalities from all over the world. According to the site romaniaregala.ro, attending the funerals, besides the Royal Family of Romania, will be representatives of the Royal Families from Great Britain, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Jordan, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Albania, France, Prussia and Portugal. Also attending the funerals will be representatives of the Imperial Families of Russia, Austria and Germany, the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Princely House de Ligne.

Brexit — The developments in the Brexit process and the issues caused by migration are the main topics on the agenda of the winter European Council which starts Thursday in Brussels. Romania is represented by President Klaus Iohannis. The EU leaders will look at the progress made in the negotiations with London in three specific domains, namely the rights of citizens, the dialogue with Ireland and the financial commitments of Great Britain to the EU budget. The participants will also adopt the guidelines that will facilitate the passing to the 2nd stage of Brexit negotiations, in the context in which the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier confirmed that enough progress was reported in the 1st stage. On the sidelines of the European Council, President Iohannis will participate in the Euro+ Summit, which will also be attended by EU countries that are not in the Euro zone. As regards security and defense, the summit will discuss the instrument of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). President Iohannis will reiterate Bucharest’s commitment to making PESCO operational and will show that the implementation of this instrument should lead to a more efficient development of military capabilities and to an increased cohesion among EU states. President Iohannis will also advocate the deepening and extension of EU-NATO cooperation, the presidential administration reports.

Controversial amendments — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has passed the amendments modifying the justice laws that refer to the organization of the judiciary and the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The bill on the organization of the judiciary provides, among other things, for the setting up of a section for investigating prosecutors and judges and for the possibility of solutions adopted by prosecutors being rejected by their superiors, if the latter consider them illegal or ungrounded. The second bill that was passed, related to the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy, states that the Judicial Inspection, which will remain a part of the institution, is the only body to be able to take disciplinary actions against a magistrate, eliminating from this procedure the justice minister and the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The two bills will be sent to the Senate, which is currently analyzing, in emergency procedure, the bill on the status of magistrates.

Budget — The joint budget and finance committees in the Romanian Parliament are today continuing debates on the budgets to be allotted in 2018 to the main public institutions, among which the justice, defense and interior ministries. The majority coalition wants to finalize debates and the joint committees’ report by Saturday, so as to be able to debate the draft budget law during Monday’s plenum session. The final vote on the budget and social security bills for 2018 is scheduled for December 21. The budget was based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, with supplementary revenues being distributed among the healthcare, education and investments ministries. The government has also allotted resources for the rise in the minimum salary and pensions. The opposition has contested the budget, claiming that revenues are overestimated. . The two bills will be sent to the Senate, which is currently analyzing, in emergency procedure, the bill on the status of magistrates.

Drills — Canadian pilots at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in the southeast of Romania are today participating alongside Romanian pilots in an Air Policing drill, which is part of the NATO Plan to strengthen the eastern flank of the Alliance. MiG-21 LanceR and CF-18 Hornet planes carrying missiles are prepared to intercept potential unidentified aircraft nearing Romania’s airspace. The drill is meant for the joint training of military, with a view to meeting NATO’s specific inter-operability requirements and boosting the level of cooperation with the allies. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)