Press Review - January 25, 2018

01.25.2018 By Oana Gavrila

EC Calls On Romanian Parliament To Rethink Judicial Reform

The European Commission on Wednesday said it was concerned by the latest developments in Romania and called on the Romanian Parliament to rethink the proposed judicial reforms.

A joint statement by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and First Vice-President Frans Timmermans mention the latest Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) report, which “identified the justice laws as an important test of the extent to which the legitimate interests of judicial and other stakeholders are given an opportunity to be voiced.

The statement also mentions drawing on the opinion of the Venice Commission as a “prerequisite for sustainability of the reforms and an important element in fulfilling the CVM benchmarks” and expresses once again its readiness to cooperate with and support the Romanian authorities in the process of opening up the debate in line with the Commission's recommendations.

“The Commission again warns against backtracking and will look thoroughly at the final amendments to the justice law, the criminal codes and laws on conflict of interest and corruption to determine the impact on efforts to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and combat corruption,” the statement concludes.

Hungarian Minority Party Senator Verestoy Attila Dies

Senator Verestoy Attila of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania died Wednesday. He was 63.

Verestoy gained his first term as lawmaker in 1990 and held successive terms in Parliament until his death.

Estonia Seeks to Launch its Own Cryptocurrency, Estcoin

Estonia, a world leader in e-services innovation, including the creation of Skype and Transferwise, is now thinking of a new “first”: that of “Estcoin”, a Bitcoin-like digital currency that will put the euro on blockchain mode.

The initial proposal launched by Kaspar Korjus, the executive director of the government’s digital identity program, “e-Residence”, was already torpedoed by the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) Mario Draghi last August, with the ban on eurozone countries to issue cryptocurrencies.

Korjus has since presented a new proposal, with three models of estcoin, a digital token that “does not necessarily fall” in the category of cryptocurrencies and which could be introduced “without violating the rules of the ECB”. All three models use blockchain technology, a method of transmitting anonymous and tamper-proof information, launched in 2009 that has enabled the emergence of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, and peer-to-peer payments.

According to Korjus, estcoin would be used exclusively as part of the digital identity card program, the e-Residence, launched by Tallinn in 2014.

The latter, presented as offering a “transnational digital identity granted by a government”, allows businessmen from all over the world to found a company in the EU and manage it remotely, paying taxes and digitally signing the necessary documents. So far nearly 28,000 international customers, including 4,271 companies, have obtained e-Residence in Estonia.

Romania's Population Seen Declining to 16.8 Million By 2050

Romania is among the top ten countries in Eastern Europe whose populations will decline the most by 2050.

The world's population is seen growing to approximately 10 billion by 2050, as African population will double, according to an outlook by the United Nations Organization.

In 2017-2050, Romania's population is estimated to drop 17%, while neighboring Bulgaria will see a 23% decline.

In Latvia, the population is seen declining 22%, in the Republic of Moldova by 19%, Ukraine by 18%, and Croatia by 17%, the same as Romania and Lithuania. Serbia, Poland, and Hungary's populations are seen declining 15% by 2050.