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| The Week in Review |
| (2012-03-03) |
| Last updated: 2012-03-07 12:45 EET |
On the rundown today:
Romania signs the EU Fiscal Pact. The Netherlands still vetoes Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession
Teodor Melescanu is the new head of Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Service
The Lustration Law is passed in Romania
The National Anti-Corruption Directorate reports positive results for 2011
(And) Ice continues to hinder traffic on the Romanian section of the Danube
Romania signs the EU fiscal pact. Netherlands still vetoes Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession.
Twenty-five out of the 27 EU member states, including Romania, on Friday signed the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, designed to consolidate budget discipline in the EU. The document was signed by President Traian Basescu, with the approval of the Romanian Government. The spring European Council, bringing together EU heads of state and government, also brought less pleasant, although hardly surprising news: the postponement of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession, because of the opposition of the Netherlands. Although the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, emphasized that Bucharest and Sofia do meet all criteria for accession to the European border-free area, EU leaders decided to make a decision only in September. The Netherlands says the two countries have not made sufficient progress in ensuring the security of the Union’s external borders, in cracking down on corruption and in reforming their judicial systems. On the other hand, Serbia can take pride in its diplomatic achievement in the current summit, as it was acknowledged as an official candidate country, although neighboring Romania did not make it easy for them. Just days before the summit, Bucharest made its agreement with Serbia’s candidacy conditional on that country’s compliance with the rights of the Romanian minority. After a bilateral protocol was signed on the rights of the Romanian–speaking minority in Serbia, counting some 300 thousands people, who hadn’t been previously recognized by Belgrade, Romania voted in favor of Serbia’s candidate status.
Teodor Melescanu is the new head of Romania’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
In the absence of opposition MPs, who have been on a parliamentary strike for more than a month now, the Parliament in Bucharest validated the appointment of Teodor Melescanu as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. The office had been vacant since the former holder, incumbent Prime Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, was entrusted by President Traian Basescu with forming a new cabinet, further to Emil Boc’s resignation. Melescanu was foreign minister between 1992 and 1996 and defense minister in 2007 and 2008. On Monday, he temporarily withdrew from the National Liberal Party, in opposition, after accepting President Basescu’s nomination.
The Lustration Law is passed in Romania.
Twenty-two years after the fall of communism in Romania, the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making body in this case, Tuesday passed the Lustration bill. The act imposes a five-year ban on the right to hold public offices for people who held positions in the communist apparatus. Such individuals include holders of paid political positions in the main structures of the communist apparatus, between March 1945 and December 1989, members of and collaborators with the former political police, the Securitate, and high-ranking communist prosecutors. The law makes an important distinction between people who run for public offices and those who are appointed. Candidates running for public offices such as mayor, president, head of County Council, local or county councilor, are not subject to the provisions of this law, and will only have to sign a sworn statement concerning their background. However, all persons appointed to public offices will be checked as soon as the Lustration Law takes effect. The institution running these checks will be the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives. As such, a person may run for president, but cannot be appointed prime minister if his or her past is subject to the provisions of this law.
The National Anti-Corruption Directorate reports positive results for 2011.
Romania, a EU member state since 2007, has its reforms in the judicial system still monitored by the European Commission. In its latest report on the progress of these reforms, published recently, the Commission says that Bucharest has made significant headway in fighting corruption, and appreciates the work of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Justice minister Catalin Predoiu has confirmed that the NAD work has seen an improvement in terms of the amounts of damages recovered and in terms of seizing illegal benefits, while the number of people sent to court has been rising. According to the institution’s annual report, made public this week, anti-corruption prosecutors sent to court, among others, a Supreme Court judge, as well as mayors and deputy mayors from 30 counties. Also this week, a judge with Romania’s highest judicial institution, the High Court of Cassation and Justice, was arrested for 29 days, under suspicion of accepting 200 thousand euros in bribe, in exchange for aiding a defendant.
Ice continues to hinder traffic on the Romanian section of the Danube.
Traffic on the Romanian sector of the Danube has been severely disrupted, as tens of barges and vessels have been trapped in the ice for weeks. The most severe situation was reported in Calarasi, in the south, where a ship sank a few days ago, and several others are drifting. Experts with the Romanian Water Management Authority argue that, although the water flow is below the multi-annual average level for this time of the year, it will go up with the weather warming up in the coming days. Since the beginning of the week, a national emergency committee and authorities in 12 counties along the Danube have been monitoring the situation on a daily basis. A task force was also established by the Transport Ministry, with experts in various fields identifying the necessary measures. Authorities are looking for ways to avoid or mitigate the damages caused by the ice thawing and possible floods that may affect some 30 thousand people in the areas along the river.
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