14 December, 2018

Opposition files no-confidence motion against the government./ Romania to face Russia in the semifinals of the European Womens Handball Championship.

Newsroom, 14.12.2018, 13:41

No-confidence vote. The opposition in Bucharest has filed a
no-confidence motion against the government formed by the Social Democratic
Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. 163 senators and deputies
from the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s
Movement Party have signed the motion, as well as unaffiliated MPs, but 233
votes are necessary to bring down the government led by Viorica Dancila.
Describing it as an organised crime group, the signatories say the government
is a threat to the rule of law and to Romania’s political and economic
stability at a time of international instability. The initiators of the no-confidence
vote say the motion is a national emergency and those who vote against it will
carry the burden of a historical responsibility. The move to call for a
no-confidence vote in the government ahead of Romania’s taking over the
presidency of the Council of the European Union is not sending a good signal
for the country, has said prime minister Viorica Dancila, adding that she
doesn’t fear for her cabinet. The motion will be debated and voted on next
week.

EU. The European
winter summit, which is also attended by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis,
continues in Brussels. Decisions are expected on the reform of the economic and
monetary union. On Thursday, on the first day of the summit, the EU leaders
discussed Brexit with the British prime minister Theresa May and rejected any
renegotiation of the agreement reached, even if it may not be passed by the
Parliament in London. Talks have also focused on the EU’s multi-annual budget,
and Romania, which takes over the EU rotating presidency from Austria, has been
urged to continue efforts to reach an agreement by next autumn.

Anniversary. Events are held today
in Timisoara, in the west, to mark the 29th anniversary of the
Romanian anti-communist revolution. The headquarters of the local philharmonic
orchestra is hosting a fine arts exhibition, a book presentation and the launch
of a competition to designate the most representative work of fine art of the
Romanian revolution. A so-called Freedom March is scheduled for Saturday, as
well as a talk on the first protest movements that led to the outbreak of the
anti-communist uprising. A traditional festive meeting of the local council
will take place on Sunday to commemorate the city’s martyrs. This will be
followed by educational activities for young people under the heading Remember
’89 and an anniversary concert. Monday will be a day of mourning in memory of
the dead. The events will culminate on the 20th of December with a
celebration of the day when Timisoara became the first city free of communism
in Romania. The anti-communist revolution broke out in Timisoara on the 16th
of December 1989 and spread to Bucharest on the 21st and other
cities across the country. More than 1,000 people were killed and some 3,000
wounded in the clashes that erupted in Romania, the only country in the former eastern
bloc where the change of regime was achieved through bloodshed and where the
ousted communist leaders were executed.

Investments. Direct foreign
investments grew by 9.74% in the first ten months of the year compared with the
similar period last year, according to a report by the National Bank of Romania
published today. Direct investments from non-residents amount to 4.56 billion
euros, compared with 4.15 billion in the 2017 period. On the other hand, the
number of companies with foreign capital decreased in the first ten months of
the year by 3.6% compared with the similar period last year to 4,718, according
to the National Trade Register Office.

Extradition. The Bucharest Court of
Appeal rejected on Friday a request from the Turkish authorities to extradite
the journalist Kamil Demirkaya from the Zaman
România publication on grounds that not all conditions were met for his
extradition. Following an extradition warrant issued by the Turkish
authorities, the Romanian prosecutors heard Demirkaya and decided not to detain
him and send the request to court. On 6th December, Demirkaya told
the Court of Appeal that he did not wish to be extradited to Turkey, because
its justice system is not working. He explained that officially, the Turkish
authorities accuse him of having an app on his phone that is also used by the
supporters of the preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey’s president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan blames for a coup against him. The Turkish journalist lives in
Bucharest with his wife and son.

Handball. Romania today face Olympic champions Russia in
Paris in the semifinals of the European Women’s Handball Championship. In the
other semifinal, the host country France are playing against the Netherlands.
Romania have also ensured their ticket to the World Championship in Japan next
year. The team’s star player and leader Cristina Neagu, who is the highest
scoring player in the history of the European championships, will not be
playing today, however, because of an injury in a match against Hungary on
Wednesday, which Romania lost. Romania are managed by the Spanish coach Ambros
Martin and Russia by the legendary Yevgeni Trefilov. Both have excellent records as
managers in women’s handball. Romania will be playing on the Paris Bercy
stadium, the same location of another tournament semifinal between the two
sides at the World Championship in 2007. Trefilov was also a manager then and
Russia defeated Romania 30-20.