Press Review - April 19, 2018

04.19.2018 By Oana Gavrila

Ruling Party Leader Backs Changes to Judicial Law That Could Reopen His Case

Romania's parliamentary commission amending judicial laws has proposed changes that could help governing party leader Liviu Dragnea reopen the court case that has stopped him becoming prime minister.

One of the proposed changes says all judges involved in a trial must sign off on the case, otherwise the trial would have to be held again. Dragnea, who has a suspended jail sentence for election fraud, said he backed the changes but was not interested in requesting a retrial should the change go through.

Romania Posts Highest Annual Inflation in EU in March

March 2018 was the second month in a row when Romania recorded the highest annual inflation rate in the European Union, with 4% from 3.8% in February, Eurostat data showed.

The annual inflation rate in the EU grew to 1.5% in March from a revised 1.4% in February.

The highest inflation rates in the EU in March were recorded in Romania (4%), Estonia (2.9%), Slovakia (2.5%), and Lithuania (2.5%).

In the eurozone, annual inflation grew to 1.3% in March from 1.1% in February.

According to Romania's statistics board, the country's annual inflation rate climbed to 5% in March from 4.7% in February. The central bank revised its inflation forecast back in February to 3.5% at the end of 2018, from a previous projection of 3.2%.

Razvan Burleanu Reelected Head of Romanian Football Federation

Razvan Burleanu was reelected head of the Romanian Football Federation in the first round.

He will remain in this position for the next four years after garnering 168 votes. His main opponent, former football player Ionut Lupescu, garnered 78 votes.

President To Challenge Referendum Bill At Constitutional Court

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday said he would challenge at the Constitutional Court a bill on the organization of referendums that removes the head of state from the procedure of organizing the popular vote on various matters.

The Lower Chamber passed the bill on April 4 as decision-making forum. The president sent the bill back to Parliament for reexamination but lawmakers passed the bill in its initial form.

So far, the Parliament drafted a separate bill every time a referendum was held and the Romanian president would either sign the bill into law or send it back to Parliament for re-examination.