Daniel Morar Says Chief Prosecutor Appointments Must Be Transparent, Not Political
Romania’s former chief anticorruption prosecutor Daniel Morar said in an interview on private television station Romania TV that procedures to appoint chief prosecutors must be transparent and grounded in experience not political views.
Morar said that while the current law allows the justice minister to appoint chief prosecutors without any further procedural steps, it has been agreed with the EU that such appointments must be highly transparent. He added both the High Council of Magistrates and the former justice minister were in favor of a public, transparent procedure.
He added appointments must not be political, as the current legal procedure allows, but strictly based on professional experience. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Ponta And Antonescu Share Very Different Opinions On Country’s Regionalization
Tension is mounting between ruling Social Liberal Union leaders Crin Antonescu and Victor Ponta, not just on the matter of appointing new chief prosecutors, but also on the government’s plan to reorganize the country into regions.
Attending a debate at the Romanian Academy Tuesday, the two coalition leaders expressed different opinions about the regionalization plan.
While Prime Minister Ponta argued a regional approach would give Romania a competitive edge in drawing European funds and it would be more efficient to decentralize state power, Antonescu said the plan was likely to do more damage than bring any benefits and regionalization would only increase bureaucracy. (Curentul)
Romania High Defense Council Holds Meeting Wednesday
Romania’s supreme defense council (CSAT), headed by President Traian Basescu, will hold a meeting Wednesday, the president’s office said in a statement.
The meeting will touch upon Romania’s Schengen accession and political and diplomatic efforts pertaining to the matter.
Authorities will also discuss procedures for the management of crisis situations involving Romanian citizens, such as terrorist attacks, cyber threats to the country and the security of Romania’s IT systems of national interest. (Puterea)
Dacia New Registrations In France Up 29.3% In March
Romanian carmaker Dacia’s new car registrations in France rose 29.3% to 6,752 units in March, according to the French carmakers association.
In the first quarter of 2013, Dacia registrations on the French market increased 24.5% on the year, to 22,598 units.
The overall French car market fell 14.7% in the first three months of the year to 433,297 units.
Alongside Dacia, only five car brands registered increase in the analyzed interval: Hyundai (24.2%), Lexus (11%), Toyota (3.2%), Fiat (1.3%) and KIA (0.1%). (Jurnalul National)
High Energy Prices Drive Industrial Producer Price Index Up 0.3% In February
Romania’s industrial producer price index inched up 0.3% in February compared with a month earlier, fueled by higher energy prices, the country’s statistics institute INS said.
Energy prices increased 1.6% on the month in February compared to January and 8.4% compared to February 2012.
In annual terms, industrial prices rose 5.4% in February, boosted by higher prices in all sectors. International industry prices edged up 0.3% on the month in February and were up 3.1% compared with the same period of 2012. (Curentul)
Elementary School Enrollments For 2013-2014 School Year Started Tuesday
Over 9,500 enrollment applications for elementary school were registered by Tuesday at noon, the bulk of which were for children who will turn six before September 1, 2013.
Elementary school enrollments for the 2013-2014 school year started Tuesday, April 2, and will end on April 22. (Curentul)