The Romanian Parliament convened on Friday afternoon to vote on a request to impeach President Traian Basescu. The votes of 217 members are needed to suspend the President, and the governing alliance of Social Democrats and Liberals (USL) hold by themselves 212 votes. The Constitutional Court issued an advisory ruling on the request earlier today, but gave no final ruling whether the arguments including in the impeachment request were valid. The vote comes as EU pressures intensify on USL, an alliance accused of threatening the rule of law. In his speech at the beginning of the Parliament session today, Basescu pointed out that, for USL, more important than his suspension the interest to take hold of all reigns of power, including justice.
UPDATE 8.10 p.m. Parliamentary debates are over. Voting on President Basescu's impeachment has started
UPDATE Senate speaker Crin Antonescu - a Liberal who is due to take over as interim President if Basescu is suspended, said he would witdraw from politics if Basescu is not dismissed in a referendum
Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan stated during an interview on Wednesday, December 17, that there should be no statute of limitations in cases of serious corruption. The statement comes after a Recorder investigation, which showed that several heads of the major institutions in the Romanian justice system allegedly delayed trials for years until wrongdoings were […]
President Nicușor Dan has challenged, before the Constitutional Court (CCR), the constitutionality of the law that requires that at least 40% of the athletes who play on a team in official national competitions be Romanian. Dan noted that the law violates the principle of non-discrimination and the free movement of workers, enshrined both in the […]
Craiova International Airport will open its new passenger terminal on Thursday, December 18, completing a major infrastructure investment aimed at significantly expanding capacity and improving air connectivity in southwestern Romania. It is part of a broader expansion and modernization project financed through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (POIM) 2014–2020, with a total value exceeding EUR […]
Romania is set to be connected to the Western European energy network thanks to grid investments worth EUR 30 billion. The funds will be provided by the EU by 2035, and the project will link Romania to Hungary and Austria in a joint project. Romanian energy minister Bogdan Ivan signaled the signing of the new […]
Franck Bagouet has been appointed managing director of TotalEnergies Marketing Romania SA and managing director of Automotive Southeast Europe Hub TotalEnergies Marketing. He succeeds Didier Grimault, who has accepted a new position within the TotalEnergies company. “I am glad to join this dynamic affiliate and confident that, together with our talented team, we will reinforce […]
Databricks, the data analytics and artificial intelligence company co-founded by Romanian professors Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia, announced on Tuesday, December 16, that it is raising USD 4 billion in funding at a valuation of USD 134 billion, according to CNBC. The new valuation represents a 34% increase compared to the August round, when Databricks […]
