16 April 2019, UPDATE

A look at some of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 16.04.2019, 19:50

Notre-Dame fire. The
fire at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris caused an unprecedented wave of
solidarity. Major companies from France and across the world, wealthy families
and the European Central Bank have announced donations of more than 750 million
euros for the reconstruction of the building, which is a UNESCO world heritage
site and attracts millions of tourists every year. President Emmanuel Macron
said a national fund-raising campaign would be launched. Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis and prime minister Viorica Dancila have sent messages of solidarity
with France, alongside other world and European leaders. The inquiry into the
cause of the fire continues, but it will be long and complex, according to the Paris
public prosecutor Remy Heitz. He said an investigation for involuntary
destruction by fire has been opened. The French authorities say the risk of
fire has been eliminated, but it is unknown whether the building is still
structurally sound. The spire of the famous Paris cathedral with a height of 93
metres has collapsed. The blaze has affected the 12th century cathedral,
destroyed the roof and the spire, but the exterior walls and the two belfries
are still standing.

EU culture. The European
Commission can provide support and long-term funding for the restoration works
at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, the European Commissioner for Education,
Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics said on Tuesday in Bucharest. He
attended a meeting of EU ministers of culture in the context of the Romanian presidency
of the Council of the European Union. The Romanian Culture Minister Valer
Daniel Breaz, who chaired the meeting, said one of the priorities of the
Romanian presidency is to create new opportunities for Europe’s cultural and
creative industries and the European cultural heritage.

No-confidence vote. The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday rejected
with 95 yes votes, 155 no votes and 19 abstentions a simple no-confidence
motion against the energy minister Anton Anton initiated by the National
Liberal Party, in opposition. While debating the motion on Monday, the signatories
warned about the high increases in the price of energy in recent years. The
Liberals, supported by the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party,
also underlined that the absence of a national energy strategy discourages
private companies from investing in the sector. In response, minister Anton
said the government is concerned about the price of energy and natural gas and
has issued an emergency order to cap these increases for the next three years.
He also said the government’s adoption of the energy strategy is in an advanced
stage.

Judiciary. The special parliamentary committee for the justice laws on Tuesday
published a report in favour of the changes to the criminal code, but eliminating
a number of provisions contained in the initial version which were declared
unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Romania. The report will be
debated on Wednesday by the Senate before reaching the Chamber of Deputies a
week later, the president of the special committee Florin Iordache said. The
latter pointed out that the government had four months at its disposal to solve
the problem of the unconstitutional provisions, but did nothing. Tuesday’s
talks in the special committee were attended by the justice minister Tudorel
Toader, who rejected Iordache’s accusations. Recently, the leader of the ruling
Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea said the Social Democrats feel deceived
by minister Toader about the adoption of a number of emergency orders about the
judiciary.

Romania rule of law.
Romania must immediately get back to the path of reform and carry on the fight
against corruption, the European Commissioner for Justice Věra Jourová said at
a debate in the European Parliament regarding the rule of law. According to the
European official, the current situation in Romania poses serious risks of sliding
backwards in terms of the rule of law, particularly with respect to the
independence of courts and the fight against corruption. The Commission will
resort to all means available, should the situation fail to improve, the EU
official added. Last November, the European Parliament voiced concern about the
changes in the Romanian judicial sector, and warned that they may threaten the
separation of powers and the fight against corruption.

Healthcare. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday accused the
government of not respecting its promises to modernise and build new hospitals,
including with the help of European funds. He also said the government has failed
to respect its goals regarding the human resources, and that gaps still exist between
the urban and rural areas and between regions in term of the availability of doctors,
while the exodus of medical staff has continued. The health minister Sorina
Pintea has responded by saying the president does not know the reality in the
healthcare system, that salaries have been raised and that there is a budget
for investments.

Romania-Israel. The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila on
Tuesday congratulated her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone
conversation for the results obtained in the 9th of April elections.
According to the Romanian government press release, the two officials also
talked about the very good relations between their countries and a new joint
government meeting this year that will reiterate both the political commitment of
the two governments to develop and diversify cooperation, and the special
nature of the bilateral ties. Viorica Dancila and Benjamin Netanyahu also
discussed the results obtained so far by Romania’s presidency of the Council of
the EU and current international affairs.

Sustainable development. The European Union has always
been at the forefront of global sustainability, and sustainable development
weighs significantly in all EU treaties, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor
Melescanu said in Bucharest on Tuesday. Speaking at an international conference
themed The 2030 Agenda: Partnerships for Sustainable Development, he also
said that the EU has played a key role in defining the UN global targets for
the year 2030 in this respect. At the end of the conference, the participants
adopted the Bucharest declaration on the promotion of partnerships for
sustainable development. Taking part in the conference were governmental
officials in charge of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, from EU member
countries, the Eastern Partnership, Western Balkans, Central Asia, alongside representatives
of civil society.