June 4, 2018 UPDATE
PSD leader announces rally for Saturday, Simona Halep goes to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros
Newsroom, 04.06.2018, 19:37
Rally — The leader of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the governing coalition, and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, announced the organization, on Saturday, of a rally against what they call abuses and violation of the rule of law principles. The Social Democrats point the finger to the existence of an illegitimate underground structure, which they generically called the ‘parallel state’ and which influences the decisions of the judiciary. On the eve of the rally, on Friday June 8 the High Court of Cassation and Justice might give its verdict in a case in which Dragnea is accused of corruption crimes. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors asked the court for a sentence of 7 years and 5 months in prison for abuse of office and of 2 years and 6 months for intellectual forgery. They accuse Dragnea of having ordered the fictitious employment of two Social Democratic Party members at the Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection when he was president of the Teleorman county council. The two were paid from public money although they worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. In 2016, Dragnea received a definitive, suspended two-year sentence for attempted electoral fraud.
Bute Gala— The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest might give its verdict in the so-called Bute Gala case on Tuesday. In this case the former minister of regional development Elena Udrea was sentenced, in a court of first instance, to 6 years in prison for bribe taking and abuse of office. She also has to pay around 3 million Euros worth of damages. In the same case, the former president of the Romanian Boxing Federation, Rudel Obreja, was sentenced to 5 years in prison while the former economy minister Ion Ariton was acquitted. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors, Udrea coordinated a system through which people in her entourage received money from the representatives of certain companies, to guarantee them the payment, on time, of the works funded by the ministry she headed. Currently Elena Udrea is in Costa Rica where she has asked for political asylum.
Chisinau — More than 100 mayors from the Republic of Moldova who have this year signed symbolic declarations for the union with neighboring Romania have called on the Romanian government and parliament to receive delegations from the unionist mayoralties and to set up an institution meant to coordinate their relationship. The signatories say the Romanian authorities have shown openness towards the issue and believe they have the moral right to ask for support from the state which they want to unite with. They also added that they would help gather signatures for the modification of the Romanian Constitution with the purpose of national reunion. The unionist mayors have made the appeal after, on Sunday, the candidate of the pro-European group Andrei Nastase won the early local elections for the Chisinau city hall after defeating the pro-Russian Socialist Ion Ceban.
Motion — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Monday debated the simple motion tabled by the opposition Liberal Party against the Social Democrat minister of finance Eugen Teodorovici. Entitled ‘The fiscal mess of the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats will leave you without pension money’, the motion accuses the lack of predictability of the government measures in the fiscal domain as well as their intention to render Pension Pillar 2 optional. In reply, minister Teodorovici said that all the modifications adopted this year were aimed at simplifying procedures and diminishing administration costs. The simple motion will receive the final vote on Wednesday in the plenum meeting of the Chamber of Deputies.
Tennis — The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, world’s no. 1 and 1st seed in Roland Garros, the year’s 2nd Grand Slam tournament, on Monday defeated the Belgian player Elise Mertens (16 WTA) 6-2, 6-1, in the eight finals. In the quarterfinals, Halep will play against the German Angelique Kerber (12 WTA) who defeated the French Caroline Garcia (7 WTA), 6-2, 6-3. Also on Monday in the women’s doubles the pair Mihaela Buzărnescu/Irina Maria defeated 6-4, 6-3 the American pair Jennifer Brady/Vania King thus reaching the quarterfinals. Next the Romanian pair will be up against the pair Hao-Ching Chan (Taiwan)/Zhaoxuan Yang (China), 8th seeded, who defeated the pair Sorana Cîrstea (Romania)/Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain) in the eights finals 6-2, 6-4.
Football — Romania’s national football team will take on the Finish eleven, on Tuesday, on home ground, in the southern city of Ploiesti, in a friendly match. Romania’s team, who failed to qualify to the World Cup this month, in Russia, played, last week, in Austria another friendly match against Chile, the en titre champion of South America, which they won 3-2. These are the last preparation matches of the Romanian footballers ahead of the newly created Nations League, where, in autumn, they will play in Group 4 of League C of the Nations’ League against Serbia, Montenegro and Lithuania. The match in Ploiesti is the last one for goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont (40) who played 85 times for the national team. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)
