Twenty Counties Under Code Yellow Warning Of Strong Winds
Meteorologists said twenty counties in western, center and north-eastern Romania will be under a code yellow warning for strong winds starting with Wednesday evening.The warning will be instated starting Wednesday, 10 p.m. local time, for the counties of Suceava, Neamt, Harghita, Brasov, Covasna, Prahova, Dambovita, Arges, Valcea, Gorj, Sibiu, Alba, Caras Severin, Hunedoara, Botosani, Iasi, Bacau, Vaslui, Vrancea and Buzau counties.
According to meteorologists, the wind could reach speeds of up to 70-80 km/h, and the phenomena is expected to be constant until Thursday, 6 p.m. local time.
Snow storms are also expected in the Southern and Eastern Carpathians during the same timeframe, which will be affected by winds as strong as 90-100 km/h during the night.
Strong winds were also registered throughout Wednesday morning in the Southwestern region of Oltenia, which was under the effect of a code orange warning in this regard. (puterea.ro)
President Iohannis Shoots Down Rumors Of Pact With Ruling Party On Judicial Bills
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis denied rumors of a possible pact with the ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) regarding the ongoing judicial overhaul, moments before he entered a meeting with a delegation of the party on Wednesday.
“I do not want a pact with PSD, I don’t know how this idea came up, but it was falsely understood. I want to hold consultations and to be seen as a mediator, I do not want a pact with PSD and ALDE,” said the Romanian head of state.
Iohannis added that the bills must re-enter the parliamentary cycle, stating that “they are not applicable” in their current form and must be rethought.
The President called for an agreement between parliamentary on the process and urged them to respect recommendations made on the subject by the Venice Commission.
“It’s clear that this my objective here is to have the bills corrected, at least, and guarantee judicial independence (…) There needs to be responsible, transparent lawmaking, which can actually modernize the specific laws,” said the Romanian head of state.
The Romanian President decided to hold the talks after the Council of Europe’s advisory body, the Venice Commission, criticized the ongoing judicial reform pushed by the PSD-ALDE coalition in two separate reviews, stating that the proposed bills could weaken the country’s fight against corruption and endanger judicial independence. All parliamentary groups confirmed that they will send representatives to the talks. (puterea.ro)
Romanian Justice Minister Requests Dismissal Of General Prosecutor
Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announced on Wednesday that he will launch the procedure to dismiss General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar from office, after criticizing his activity in a 20-point assessment.
The minister’s reasons for launching the request varied from procedural problems in Lazar’s appointment to the office in 2016, to the fact that he criticized the recent formation of a section to investigate magistrates.
In the announcement, Toader stated that upon documenting the prosecutor’s nomination for the office in 2016, he found that it a lacked a mandatory review on his recent activity, and that when he requested a copy from the country’s top judicial watchdog, CSM, it was dated one year after the decree which appointed Lazar as general prosecutor.
The minister also said that Lazar expressed critical opinions to the judicial reform pushed by ruling PSD-ALDE coalition, even after they were approved by the Constitutional Court, offering an example to the recently-established section to investigate judicial offences.
He also criticized the general prosecutor for growing the number of delegations between prosecutors’ offices during his term, despite committing to lower them in his nomination prohect, and also for signing protocols with the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2016, which he stated “created the premises for a parallel judiciary”.
“The conclusion is that of the necessity to return to normalcy. This means to know and respect constitutional and legal competency, and an interpretation and exertion of the law on the principle of Constitutional loyalty (…) Therefore, we consider that the acts listed in the report, intolerable in the rule of law, demonstrate that the activity of Augustin Lazar contradicts legal obligations,” said the Romanian justice minister to conclude the announcement.
The proposal has a very high chance of leading to general prosecutor’s dismissal, as a similar request made in the case of former chief anticorruption prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi earlier this year ended with the Constitutional Court forcing President Klaus Iohannis to heed the minister’s recommendation, despite initially refusing to do so. The decision also gave the justice minister the sole competency to decide on the reasoning of dismissing chief prosecutors, whereas the president previously had the right to refuse the minister’s request.
The assessment will be reviewed by CSM’s Prosecutor’s Section, although its opinion will be non-binding. (romanialibera.ro)
Leu Firms Vs Euro, Loses Ground Vs US Dollar And Swiss Franc
The Romanian leu gained ground against the euro Wednesday, standing at 4.6590 to the euro at midday, from 4.6670 units on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the leu lost ground against the US dollar, to 4.0802 units on Wednesday, from 4.0662 units on Tuesday.
The Romanian currency also depreciated against the Swiss franc, standing at 4.0919 units, from Tuesday’s rate of 4.0897 units. (romanialibera.ro)