Simona Halep is returning to Romania on Monday, after winning her first Grand Slam Title, in Roland Garros
Simona Halep is returning to Romania on Monday afternoon, after having won her first Grand Slam title in Roland Garros. She is due to present to the public her trophy, during a ceremony organized by Bucharest City Hall, on the National Arena. The entry at this event will be free of charge.
A weekend of demonstrations in Romania’s capital, Bucharest
More than 2,000 people took part in a protest in Sunday evening, in Bucharest’s Victory Square, unhappy with the authorities’ decision to stop supporting for the moment the comprisal of Rosia Montana area in UNESCO World Heritage. They have also protested against the changed to the judiciary laws and the criminal codes, and against what they see as a politicization of the Constitutional Court, who asked President Klaus Iohannis to dismiss the Anti-corruption Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kovesi. On Saturday, more than a 100,000 supporters of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) were present in a rally against what PSD calls as abuses in the judiciary. The Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea addressed the crowd, saying that he came to protest „against the abuses of the parallel state”. Also on Saturday, the Romanian capital was the scene of the Normality March, organized by the New Right, to support the traditional family and express their opposition to the idea of legalizing same sex marriages. The march was held in response to the Diversity March, earlier on Saturday, organized by sexual minorities in Romania to express support for equal civil rights for all Romanian citizens.
A delegation from the Venice Commission is on a two-day visit to Romania
A delegation from the Venice Commission has come to Romania on a two-day visit, in order to hold discussions on the proposed changes to the laws of the Judiciary. The European experts will have meetings with the Romanian President, the Justice Minister, the General Prosecutor and representatives of the Constitutional Court, the National Anti-corruption Directorate and the Supreme Magistracy Council (CSM), as well as representatives of magistrates’ associations and civil society organizations. They will also discuss with members of Parliament, including members of the Special Committee in charge of the amendments to the Judiciary laws. In a statement last week, the Venice Commission has said that President Klaus Iohannis and Council of Europe’s Oversight Advisory Committee have asked for their opinion on the plans to amend the laws that govern judicial organization, CSM’s activity and the statute of magistrates. The Commission was also apprised by Romania’s Constitutional Court, on grounds of recent attacks against this institution.
Mădălina Brotăcel, RADOR
