Off-shore law passed
With 91 votes in favour and 13 against, Romania’s Senate passed an off-shore law on Wednesday. The law is designed to favour investments in the Black Sea region in order to avoid the country’s dependence on Russian gas while ensuring its energy independence. Investors are expected to get 40 percent of the profit while 60 percent will go to the Romanian state. Most senators belonging to the governing left-wing Social Democrat Party (PSD), and right-wing National Liberal Party (PNL) along with opposition right wing Save Romania Union (USR) expressed their support of the project while the nationalist opposition Alliance for Union of Romanians (AUR) voted against. The bill will now go to Romanian parliament’s lower house, a decision-making body.
Romania’s former DGAF chief on trial
A former chief of Romania’s Anti-Fraud General Directorate (DGAF) in Bucharest was sent to court for influence peddling on Wednesday. Former DGAF chief Georgiana Popa is under house arrest after being caught receiving € 100,000 on March 29. Ms. Popa repeatedly claimed the money from a former DGAF chief currently witness in the case. She said the money would go to an anti-corruption prosecutor expected to order a favourable solution in the case, sources of Romania’s anticoruption watchdog, the DNA, said.
PNL’s National Council expected to meet on May 27
The National Council of the governing center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) is expected to meet in the central Romanian resort of Poiana Brașov on May 27. Some 1,000 delegates are expected to attend the event which is supposed to allow the election of the party’s secretary general, first vicepresident and vicepresident. Sources say the position of secretary general will go to Lucian Bode, currently an Interior Minister, while Energy Minister Virgil Popescu, and Dan Motreanu, a former minister, are expected to be the party’s next first-vicepresidents.
Romania: Coronavirus updates
Romania reported 705 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday which is 107 cases less than previous day, with 8 deaths (3 men, 5 women), and another 144 people under intensive care. which is 9 less than figures reported a day before. In capital Bucharest, the number of new cases hit 137, according to data issued by the country’s Strategic Communication Group (GSC). With its 137 cases, Bucharest still leads among other regions in the country, followed by the north-western county of Cluj with 82 cases, southern county of Prahova (39 cases), and central county of Brașov (33 cases).
Alexandru Danga
