Romania will host an International Conference on the role of majority and opposition in a true democratic society, on April 6th
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has approved a document on safeguarding the media freedom. As Radio Romania correspondent says, PACE has firmly asked the governments to guarantee the independence of public media institutions and to not interfere in any way in their daily editorial management. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who spoke in the plenum of PACE, on Tuesday, has appealed to respect for the rights of national minorities and brought to attention the need to continue the fight against terrorism. Mr. Iohannis has also said that, due to a constant dialogue with the Council of Europe, Romania has become a Europe-wide appreciated model in protecting and promoting the rights on national minorities. In this context, the Romanian President has announced an international conference on 6 April in Bucharest, on the role of majority and opposition in a true democratic society, to be attended by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland.
President Klaus Iohannis has triggered the procedure to hold a referendum on the judiciary
The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, has triggered the procedure needed for a referendum on the judiciary and he sent a letter to Parliament on this issue. The President suggests consulting with the citizens on two planned emergency government decrees related to amnesty and changing the criminal codes. The Parliament has a 20 days time frame to approve the move. According to the Constitution, after consulting Parliament, the President of Romania has the right to ask the people to express its will on national interest matters, in a referendum.
The European Commission will maintain its Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Romania
Although it has acknowledged the major progress made by Romania in key areas from the judiciary, the European Commission has said that there were still major deficiencies, that need to be fixed and, consequently, the Commission decided to maintain the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for Romania. In its report published on Wednesday, the Commission says that the unpredictable legislative approach of the Parliament has complicated the process to amend the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. The recommendations made by the Commission for Romania’s justice sector include the need that the Government and Parliament to respect total transparency in submitting changed related to the criminal legislation, the anti-corruption drive as well as those related to integrity matters and the judicial activity. The report has also mentioned the progress that Romania has done during its ten years membership of the European Union.
President Klaus Iohannis has welcomed the European Commission report on Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Romania
The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, has welcomed the fact that the European Commission’s report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for Romania has acknowledged the country’s progress in bolstering the judicial system and the fight against corruption. The head of state has underlined that, for the first time, the European executive has affirmed that it is unsuitable to correlate the CVM with decisions in other areas, like the accession to the Schengen area of the access to European structural funds. The President also draws attention on the concerns expressed by the Commission with regard to the draft government emergency decrees that might affect the legal framework for the anti-corruption drive, a statement from the Cotroceni Palace says.
Mădălina Brotăcel – Agenţia de presă RADOR
