October 22, 2019 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 22.10.2019, 20:13
CVM Romania’s Justice Minister Ana
Birchall says the CVM report is of great importance and pledged to summon the
specialized national committee for a common action plan shortly. The latest
developments in the reform of the judiciary and the process of fighting
corruption in the first months of 2019 were reasons for serious concern for the
European Commission, says the latest assessment report with the Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism released on Tuesday. According to the document, since
the previous report in November 2018, the Commission has continued to announce
the authorities in Bucharest about its concerns over the rule of law. The key institutions of Romania would need
to collectively demonstrate a strong commitment to judicial independence and
the fight against corruption as indispensable cornerstones, and to ensure the
capacity of national safeguards and checks and balances, a press release from
the Commission reads. The Commission regrets that
Romania did not engage with the recommendations made, supported unanimously by
the Council and fully in line with the resolution of the European Parliament.
The European Commission will continue to monitor the situation in Romania
through its Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the report also says. We
recall that Romania’s justice and home affairs have been monitored since the
country’s EU accession in 2007.
SCHENGEN The future Schengen accession
of Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania would make the European Union better equipped
for protecting this border-free area, Dimitris Avramopulos, the EU Commissioner
for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship said in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The
European Commission decided in Strasbourg on Tuesday that Croatia meets the
technical conditions for Schengen accession. Avramopulos recalled that at
present 400 million EU citizens can travel without restrictions in 22 EU
countries and in four associated non-EU countries. The EU official has
underlined that the Schengen zone is the largest border-free area in the world.
Initially scheduled for March 2011, the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to
this zone has been repeatedly postponed due to opposition from some member
states which invoked the lack of reforms in the country’s justice system.
KING Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis and his wife Carmen Iohannis on Tuesday attended emperor
Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony in Tokyo. Naruhito proclaimed his ascension to
the throne in the presence of 180 foreign dignitaries, including Prince
Charles, the heir to the British throne, and King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen
Letizia. President Iohannis also attended the imperial banquet in honour of the
enthronement. On Monday, the Romanian president had talks with the Japanese
prime minister Shinzo Abe and the Finnish president Sauli
Niinisto, and met his Latvian counterpart Egils Evits on Tuesday. Emperor
Naruhito, who is the 126th monarch of his dynasty, took over
imperial duties in May this year after the abdication of his father Akihito,
now known as emperor emeritus.
DRILL More than 1,000 servicemen
and nine war ships of the Romanian navy and NATO allies are taking part in Fall
Storm 19, one of the most important exercises carried out in south-eastern
Romania, including the Black Sea territorial and international waters. The
exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability and the planning and management
of forces at multinational and inter-institutional level. Fall Storm 19 also
involves Romanian air and ground troops and will come to an end on the 27th
of October.
(translated by bill)
