31 December 2017, UPDATE

President Klaus Iohannis calls for unity in his New Years address.

Newsroom, 31.12.2017, 17:42

New Year’s address. In his New
Year’s message on Sunday, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis called for unity.
He said that in 2018, when Romania celebrates the 100th anniversary
of the Great Union of 1918 that saw all provinces
with majority Romanian populations comeunder Bucharest’s authority, Romanians
will together have the strength to overcome the challenges of the future. He
also said that in 2017 the Romanian society fully demonstrated its maturity and
attachment to the democratic values. The lessons of the past give us
confidence that together, in unity and solidarity, we have the power to build a
better Romania for us and for future generations, president Klaus Iohannis
also said in his New Year’s address.

The Custodian of the Crown of
Romania, Princess Margareta, also conveyed her New Year’s wishes to Romanians
in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and all corners of the globe. Her father,
King Michael, Romania’s last sovereign, passed away on the 5th of
December at the age of 96 and was buried on the 16th of December in
the royal necropolis at Curtea de Arges. He reigned between 1940 and 1947, when
he was forced to abdicate and go into exile by the puppet communist regime
installed by the occupying Soviet troops.

Flag. A Romanian flag measuring 100 metres in length was spread out on Sunday across the railway bridge over the river Prut connecting Romania and the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Residents from both banks of the river thus hope to raise the awareness of the authorities in Bucharest and Chisinau and persuade them to reopen the road and railway bridges over the river Prut and set up a border crossing point. The organiser of the event is the Unionist Platform, an association of non-governmental organisations and the flag’s 100 m length symbolises the 100th anniversary of the Great Union of 1918. We recall that the Republic of Moldova was established on some of the Romanian eastern territories annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 following an ultimatum.

Protests. Fresh anti-government protests have been scheduled on Monday
night in Bucharest. The initiators are non-governmental organisations who
accuse the government and the parliamentary majority of trying to control the
judiciary by amending the legislation in the field. In their opinion, Romania
is seriously deviating at this point from the standards of the rule of law and
democracy. On Wednesday, talks on this subject between prime minister Mihai
Tudose and the representatives of civic organisations ended without a
breakthrough. The civic activists had requested the prime minister to notify
the Venice Commission about the new justice laws and the changes to the
criminal codes, to postpone their application through emergency order and to
sack the justice minister Tudorel Toader. In a joint letter, the Bucharest
embassies of France, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and
Sweden called on all parties involved in the justice reform process to avoid
any action that may weaken the independence of the judiciary and the fight
against corruption. In response, the foreign ministry said strengthening the
rule of law and the fight against corruption form part of the government’s
priorities.

Condolences. The
patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Daniel sent a message of condolence
to the Patriarch of the Coptic Church in Egypt Tawadros II in the wake of a
terrorist attack near a church in Cairo in which at least 9 people were killed.
Patriarch Daniel expressed his solidarity with the Orthodox Coptic Church and
his wish that peace replaces violence and religion fosters understanding among
people. The Christian Coptic community in Egypt, which accounts for around 10%
of Egypt’s majority Muslim population of 100 million, has been the target of
several bloody attacks in the past year, most of which have been claimed by the
Islamic State terrorist organisation.

Corruption. The former mayor of the Black
Sea port of Constanta Radu Mazare is believed to be in Madagascar, where he has
reportedly requested political asylum. The police say Mazare was not forbidden
to leave the country, despite facing a number of judicial restrictions imposed by
the court. In the past year alone, he has been indicted in four new corruption
cases, including for abuse of office. Mazare is known to have spent his
holidays in Madagascar on many occasions, where he also has some investments,
such as a small water sports resort on the shore of the Indian Ocean. Mazare
served as Constanta mayor for four terms, from 2000 until 2015, when he
resigned after he was arrested for the first time.

Handball. On the first day of
January, the Romanian men’s handball side start training for the Carpati Trophy
which begins on the 5th of January. Portugal, Tunisia and Bahrain
are also taking part. Romania, who are managed by the Spanish coach Xavi Pascual, are also preparing for
the first round of the 2019 World Championships preliminary games to be held
between the 11th and the 13th of January in Bolzano,
Italy, and where they will face Ukraine and the Faeroe Islands, as well as the
host country. Only the winners of the six preliminary groups qualify for the
World Championships play-offs in June 2018. The Romanian men’s handball side
ranked third at the Yellow Cup tournament in Winterthur, Switzerland, after
beating Serbia on Saturday night in the third-place match. Russia won the
title, defeating Switzerland in the final.

Tennis. Several
Romanian tennis players are taking party in the Shenzhen
tournament in China, worth almost 630,000 dollars in prize money and which
began on the 31st of December. In the singles, Irina Begu defeated
the Chinese player Fangzhou
Liu in the opening round, while Monica Niculescu was eliminated by Arina
Sabalenka of Belarus.In the doubles, Irina Begu and Simona Halep have reached
the quarterfinals after defeating the all Chinese pair Xinyun Han and Chen
Liang. Simona Halep, who is world no. 1, will play her opening singles match
against the American player Nicole Gibbs. Mihaela Buzărnescu, who had a great season in 2017 to go up almost 500
places in the world rankings, will face Maria Sharapova, while Ana Bogdan plays
against Camila Giorgi. Simona Halep is seeded first at this tournament, which
she won in 2015. She must win the title to secure her no. 1 world ranking.