The Week in Review 25-30.03.2013

We bring you a review of the main events of the week.

România Internațional, 30.03.2013, 17:52

• Three new judges have been appointed at the Constitutional Court of Romania, while Prime Minister Victor Ponta has taken over as interim Justice Minister.
• Romania and the Republic of Moldova mark the 95th anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania
• Snow falls and blizzard wreak havoc in Romania.
• The seventh Gopo Film Awards Gala is held in Bucharest.
• Romania is guest of honour at the Paris Book Fair.

New appointments at the Constitutional Court of Romania and the Justice Ministry

Starting June, Romania’s Constitutional Court will have a new structure. Romanian President Traian Basescu and the two chambers of parliament have designated representatives to the Constitutional Court, after the mandate of three of its members are due to expire this summer. In recent years, the institution has been attracting a lot of heat on the Romanian political stage, following frequent challenges with respect to the legality of its rulings. Interest in the Court and its members has been growing significantly, all the more so following last summer’s fierce battle between the ruling Social Liberal Union, on the one hand, and the opposition Liberal-Democratic Party and President Traian Basescu, on the other. The three Constitutional Court judges to start their 9-year term in June are president Basescu’s nominee Daniel Morar, who has so far acted as interim Prosecutor General of Romania and who had previously been at the helm of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Valer Dorneanu and Justice Minister Mona Pivniceru, both proposed by Parliament. The new appointments have also triggered a series of changes. Prime Minister and co-leader of the Social-Liberal Union Victor Ponta has taken the reigns of the Justice Ministry and will have to nominate a new candidate to take over this office within 45 days. Ponta said the main priorities of his term in office are a genuine reform of the judiciary, enacting the new procedural codes, and, above all, appointing the new heads of the General Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption Directorate, an issue that has been dragging on for some time now. The nominations were specifically given high-priority in the latest European Commission report on Romanian judiciary under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

Romania and the Republic of Moldova mark the 95th anniversary of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania.

On March 27th, Romania and the Republic of Moldova marked 95 years since the union of the historical province of Bessarabia (most of which is today part of present-day Republic of Moldova) with Romania. Minister delegate responsible for liasing with Romanians worldwide, Cristian David, attended a series of manifestations held in Chisinau to mark this event.

Cristian David: “For us, Romanians on both banks of the Prut river, March 27 bears a special significance, it is a day symbolising unity, closeness, hope and looking forward, and it is not at random that my first visit to the Republic of Moldova comes at such a meaningful time”.

The Romanian official met with Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti and Prime Minister Vlad Filat, who expressed their gratitude towards Romania’s support in various fields over the last years, but most of all for Moldova’s European integration process. In turn, minister David hailed the special relations between the two countries, reiterating Bucharest’s readiness to boost and extend cooperation with the Republic of Moldova.

Snow storms hit Romania

This week Romania and several other European countries have been hit by a wave of snowfalls, blizzard and extremely low temperatures, although March is the first month of spring. Whereas last week eastern Romania was hit by a wave of heavy snowfalls, this week the entire southern region of Romania was under a code orange alert for blizzard and snowfalls. On Tuesday, schools, kindergartens and high schools were closed in the capital-city Bucharest and several southern counties. Road and rail traffic was severely disrupted, although no roads were blocked or closed down.

The seventh Gopo Film Awards Gala was held in Bucharest

The seventh edition of the Gopo Film Awards Gala was held on March 25th. The event designated the winners of its 19 sections. Clearing the board in this year’s edition was Radu Jude’s feature “Everybody in our family” that scooped the awards for best film, best director, best leading actor, awarded to Serban Pavlu, best supporting actor, awarded to Gabriel Spahiu, and best supporting actress, Mihaela Sarbu. Moreover, Radu Jude and Radio Romania International journalist Corina Sabau shared the award for best screenplay. “Somewhere in Palilula”, the debut film of famous stage director Silviu Purcarete won the awards for best costumes and stage design, best original soundtrack, best editing and best image.

Romania is guest of honour at the Paris Book Fair

Romania was guest of honour at this year’s edition of the International Paris Book Fair, one of the most prestigious events of its kind in France. Over 50 authors attended the fair, while some 1,000 volumes in Romanian and 600 volumes in French were launched to the French audience, eager to find out more about Romanian literature. Evidence of that can be found in book sales figures, which exceeded 60,000 euros. French President Francois Hollande visited Romania’s pavilion at the Book Fair. On this occasion the French official said that Romania is an important francophone country that loves French culture. Romania’s presence at the Paris Book Fair has been overshadowed by the decision of several leading writers to boycott the event as a sign of protest towards the new policy pursued by the Romanian Cultural Institute.