Newflash, June 18
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Leyla Cheamil, 18.06.2013, 19:51
The Romanian Parliament on Tuesday ruled against President Traian Basescu’s proposal to hold a new referendum on introducing a single-chamber Parliament with a maximum number of 300 MPs. Parliament’s legal committees had previously approved the proposal, but their approval was only advisory. President Basescu said that the referendum he damanded would be organized at least a week before the referendum to be held for the validation of the Constitution, provided the new Constitution draft law did not account for the result of the similar 2009 referendum. We recall that four years ago most citizens voted in favour of a single-chamber Parliament with a limited number of 300 MPs.
Romania’s primary political target remains consolidating relations with the US, Romanian president Traian Basescu said on Tuesday following a meeting with CIA Director John O. Brennan. Moreover, president Basescu highlighted the importance of the Strategic Partnership between the two states. In turn, John O. Brennan said that the Romanian intelligence agencies, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Romanian Foreign Information Service, are truly remarkable and valued by the United States. Prime Minister Victor Ponta also met with the CIA Director and discussed the cooperation between Romania and the US within the Strategic Partnership. The visit of the American official to Romania came two days following the visit of Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
The process of revising the Romanian Constitution will be analized in full detail by the European Commission, European Commission Secretary General Catherine Day said following a meeting with Romanian Justice Minister Robert Cazanciuc. According to a Romanian Justice Ministry press release, the Commission has acknowledged the activity of institutions playing a major role in combating corruption, although it expects an increase in the rythm of passing rulings in high-level corruption cases. On the other hand, Catherine Day has pointed to the need for Romania to observe the deadline for the enactment of the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes. Minister Cazanciuc had previously said the deadline was set for February 1st, 2014.
Romanians have developed an open attitude towards foreigners residing on Romanian territory and support measures aimed at protecting them, reads a press release made public by the Soros Foundation on Tuesday. The research study shows that learning Romanian is key to integration and contributes to finding employment. However, although Romanian and foreign citizens share the same professional qualification, employers favour homegrown workers over foreigners. According to the Soros Foundation, some 100,000 foreign citizens reside in Romania, of which 50,000 are non-EU immigrants.
The human rights organization Amnesty International has urged Romania to seek ways to end the forced evacuations of Roma, according to a report published on Tuesday. Amnesty International condemns the flaws in the legislation allowing local authorities to expel large and long-standing communities of Roma to relocate to improper housing, isolating them from the rest of the population, under the pretext of carrying out renovation works of urban centres. According to the 2011 census, Romania is home to some 600,000 Roma, although according to data issued by NGOs in the field speak of some 2 million Roma.
Afghan forces have formally taken over security for the whole of the country from the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, which has been on a mission to that country since the demise of the Taliban regime in late 2001, President Hamid Karzai has announced. The vast majority of the 100 thousand NATO military, among whom 1,600 Romanians, is to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. However, international observers doubt Afghan forces’ capacity to ensure the country’s security, given the mounting threat of the Talibans, who have been gaining ground in recent years.
At a meeting held in Belfast on Tuesday G8 leaders have called for organizing a peace conference on Syria as soon as possible, highlighting the need to reach an agreement regarding the setting up of a transition government. G8 leaders also expressed concern regarding the rising threat posed by terrorism and extremism in this country. According to a UN report, since March 2011 over 93,000 people have been killed in the civil war against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. G8 leaders have reiterated their unwillingness to pay ransom in any terrorist hostage-taking crises. Experts say the terrorist group Al-Qaeda has over the last two years received 70 million dollars from hostage-taking operations.
