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May 10, 2018

May 10th marks three major events in the Romanian history: the beginning of the rule of Carol I, state independence and the coronation of the first king of Romania.

Roxana Vasile, 10.05.2018, 13:50

DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Ministry is confident that diplomatic efforts will continue towards a real progress and a final and sustainable solution to the Iranian file, reads a communiqué issued by the Ministry. Also, the document states that Romania will keep collaborating with the international community and the US, its main strategic partner, to properly manage the cases concerning nuclear programmes. Bucharests reaction comes after Washington decided to pull out from the nuclear agreement with Iran, against the background of a negative view of the US Administration regarding the policies promoted by Iran and the lack of real guarantees regarding regional policy and the development of its ballistic programme. The historic agreement was concluded in 2015, after 12 years of crisis and 21 months of negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the US, Russia, China France and Great Britain), plus Germany. The document provides for a limitation of the Iranian nuclear programme in exchange for lifting international sanctions. The EU has deeply regretted the USs decision to withdraw from the agreement.

ROYALTY DAY – May 10th marks three major events in the Romanian history: the beginning of the rule of Carol I, state independence and the coronation of the first king of Romania. The events dedicated to Royalty Day started with a marathon and a military ceremony at the statue of King Carol I, honoring the memory of the founder of the national dynasty and of the Romanian state. Guests from across the country and also from the neighboring Republic of Moldova are expected at the Elisabeta Palace this afternoon to attend the already famous Garden Party. The day will end with the opening of the exhibition titled May 10th, Royalty Day”, organized under the auspices of the Royal House of Romania. The last king of Romania, Michael I, died last year, on December 5th, aged 96. He died in Switzerland, but he was buried on December 16th in Curtea de Arges in Romania, which is also the final resting place for his wife Queen Anne and the other three sovereigns of Romania.

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional Court of Romania is today debating the notification filed by Romanias President Klaus Iohannis regarding the law that clears all interdictions applied to MPs in the 2007-2013 period for conflict of interests. The head of state believes that the law lacks clarity and predictability. He has drawn attention to the fact that by removing these interdictions, the stability of the legislative framework is affected with regard to integrity and the law runs counter to the commitments made by Romania under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. We recall that under this mechanism, the European Commission has been monitoring the Romanian judiciary ever since the countrys EU accession in 2007.

CORRUPTION – The High Court of Cassation and Justice might rule today on the Rovinari-Turceni case, in which the former prime-minister and Social Democratic leader Victor Ponta has been tried for forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering, committed while he was a lawyer. The National Anticorruption Directorate has called for a sentence of imprisonment, and the High Court has so far postponed five times a ruling. Also on trial in the same case is the former Transport Minister and Social Democratic Senator Dan Sova, for accessory to influence peddling, forgery, aggravated tax evasion and money laundering. Prosecutors say that Victor Ponta, through his private practice, got from another law firm, Sova and Associates, the amount of 39,000 Euros for an alleged cooperation, which has not happened in reality. The aim was apparently to award Victor Ponta for the contracts that Sova and Associates concluded with the state-owned energy companies, says the Anticorruption Directorate.

EUROVISION – The band The Humans is representing Romania at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Lisbon with a song titled Goodbye. This evening the band will perform in the second semi-final of the contest, alongside soloists and bands from another 17 countries. 19 countries were represented in the first semi-final held on Tuesday, of which 10 have qualified for the final. Besides Portugal, which is the host country, the so called Eurovision Big Five (Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain and Spain) have qualified straight into the big final due on Saturday. Last year, Portugal won with a song titled Amar pelos dois, performed by Salvador Sobral.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings, is today playing against the Czech Karolina Pliskova, no.6 in the WTA classification, in the quarter finals of the WTA tournament in Madrid, with 6.7 million Euro in prize money. The two players have met seven times before, and the Romanian has won six times. Karolinas only success was at the 2016 Fed Cup. Simona Halep has won the latest two editions of the tournament hosted by the Spanish capital.