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RADOR: News from Romania, 98-11-05
November 5, 1998
CONTENTS
[01] Laws Promulgated;
[02] Meeting of Parliamentary Permanent Bureaux;
[03] Complaint against House of Deputies' Education Commission Report;
[04] Draft Laws on Romanian Police;
[05] ApR Believes PD Is Playing a Double-Crossing Game;
[06] Prime Minister Radu Vasile on a Visit to France;
[07] Romania and the New European Court for Human Rights;
[08] Prince Charles on a Visit to Romania;
[09] A Romanian Military Delegation Is Back from London;
[10] MAE Appeal to Iraq;
[11] PRM Delegation on a Visit to China.
[12] Textbook for Journalists.
[01] Laws promulgated
Romanian President Emil Constantinescu promulgated the Law approving the
Ordinance 19/1997 on transports. The law establishes the general rules for
route, railway, water and air transports as parts of a national system, and
the coordination, control, inspection and monitoring resposabilities the
authorities should assume in activities concerning the transport and its
means. The Romanian Presidency has anNounced that the president has also
promulgated the Law allowing graduates of private colleges, training
schools and universities to take their graduating exams at similar state
institutions. The Law ratifying the Memorandum on financing the 1997 EU-
Phare operational programme has been also promulgated. RADOR
[02] Meeting of parliamentary permanent bureaux
The permanent breaux in the two chambres in Romanian parliament have
decided that the new structure of the Administration Council of Romania's
National Bank (BNR) should be discussed at a joint meeting next week. The
meeting next week is also expected to appoint the new BNR governor whose
nomination should pass in parliament. The current mandate of the BNR
Administration Council ends on December 1 and the new nominations are
subject to political negotiations between parties in parliament. RADOR
[03] Complaint against House of Deputies' Education Commission report
At a meeting on Wednesday morning, the speaker of Romania's HouNe of
Deputies, Ion Diaconescu, had talks with representatives of the governing
coalition in the Education Commission. Participants have decided to write a
letter of complaint about the commissioners' report and request its return
to the commission for additional amendments. On Thursday, the complaint
will be part of the debates on the draft law amending and completing the
Education Law. According to the same source, the leadership of the
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) told a press
conference on Wednesday that the party would request the return of the
report before the debates on Education Law would start. The head of the
UDMR parliamentary group in the House of Deputies, Varga Attila, said the
report included a number of mistakes and illegitimate articles. UDMR leader
Marko Bela recalled that the coalition leaders agreed to send the report
back to the commission. RADOR
[04] Draft laws on Romanian Police
At a meeting on Wednesday, Interior Minister GavriN Dejeu has presented the
Commission for defence affairs in the House of Deputies with a draft law
concerning the Statute of the police officer and two projects amending the
Law on organising the Romanian Police. Deputy chief commissioner Mikhail
Nica said a project was designed to approxximate the law to stipulations in
the Statute while the other project referred to the emerging EU-type police
force. The commissioners have agreed to examine firstly the draft law on
the police officer Statute as the police is going soon to be demilitarised
and turn into a civilian force. RADOR
[05] ApR believes PD is playing a double-crossing game
The leaders of the Alliance for Romania Party (ApR) believe the Democratic
Party (PD) should clarify its position on the political stage to become a
real partner for other social-democrat parties. ApR believes the PS is
actually playing a double-crossing game trying to "escape" any
resposibility as member in the governing coalition. The ApR believes thaN a
second withdrawal of the PD from the coalition would be no more credible.
After the fall of the Ciorbea cabinet, the Democrats had the chance to
negotiate the governing programme and assumed major resposibilities in the
country's economy. The ApR leaders believe the PD should decide if the
current coalition were the reform's only chance or, on the contrary, it
were the main obstacle in achieving economic reforms. RADOR
[06] Prime Minister Radu Vasile on a visit to France
The last day of Romanian Prime Minister Radu Vasile's visit to France
included a meeting with French employers such as the Movement of French
Enterprises (the new name of France's Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and
many other French businessmen. Along with ministers Radu Berceanu and Sorin
Pantis, the Romanian prime minister presented a most open image of
Romania's economy. He mentioned the persistence of the so-called tax-
evading "grey sector" as one of the country's major difficulties. The prime
ministeN said the next stage in the Romanian economy would include the
restructuring of the state monopolies as maintaining a regular energy price
was the key to economic recovery. Radu Vasile said the governing coalition
was operational and assured that Romania was politically stable. RADOR
[07] Romania and the new European Court for Human Rights
Representing Romania at a meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Foreign
Minister Andrei Plesu has welcomed the opening of the new European Court
for Human Rights. Mr Plesu said the institution could assure a better human
rights protection on the continent. He reiterated the Romanian Government's
commitment to observe all the promises it made to the Council of Europe,
and mentioned the new measures designed to continue the restructuring of
the judiciary and improved legislation on child protection and return of
confiscated property. Mr Plesu said the government would express no reserve
when the was to sign and ratify the Convention on corruption. ThN meeting
marked the end of the Greek presidency of the Council of Europe's
Ministerial Committee taken over by Hungarian Foreign Minister Martony
Janos. RADOR
[08] Prince Charles on a visit to Romania
Although the Prince of Wales' South-East-European tour has no political
implications as no member of the British Royal Family can get involved in
the country's political life, the British media say that, following the
recommendations made by the Foreign Office, the Price of Wales will express
his support of Romania's difficult reforms at high social costs. He is also
expected to encourage Romania's commitments to the West in its attempt to
join NATO and the EU. Prince Charles will like to know what were the
results of the British support of the reforms which Slovenia, Romania,
Bulgaria and Macedonia were supposed to achieve. Highly interested in
urbanisation and architecture, the heir to the British Throne will seek
ways to preserve and restore the Saxon historical heritage in theNRomanian
city of Sibiu. In 1989, Prince Charles took stand against Ceausescu's plans
to destroy the Romanian villages. According to "The Times" newspaper,
Prince Charles and representatives of the World Bank and Romania's Culture
Ministry will seek ways to protect and preserve the Romanian medieval
heritage. RADOR
[09] A Romanian military delegation is back from London
The Romanian military delegatio led by Defence Minister Victor Babiuc has
ended its official visit to London. Minister Babiuc said that, while
holding talks with his British counterpart George Robertson and addressing
the Royal Institute United Service, he presented Romania's internal
arguments in support of the NATO expansion. Mr Babiuc said Romania was
still preparing to join the Alliance as the "open door" principle should be
followed by further steps. RADOR
[10] MAE appeal to Iraq
Referring to Iraq's decision to ban any contact with the UN inspectors
monitoring Iraqi nuclear facilities, the Romanian ForeiNn Ministry (MAE)
recommends the authorities in Baghdad to be reasonable and prove wise in
order to prevent any undesirable consequences for the Iraqi people. A MAE
spkesman said Romania believed that complying with the UN Security Council
resolutions was the only way to get the UN embargo on Iraq lifted. RADOR
[11] PRM delegation on a visit to China
While in China for an official visit, the Greater Romania Party (PRM)
delegation led by senator Corneliu Vadim Tudor met Qian Qichen, a member in
the Political Bureau of China's Communist Party and former Chinese foreign
minister. The talks focused on ways of developing Romanian-Chinese
multilateral relations. The PRM delegation met also Chen Cheqian, the
deputy speaker of the Chinese parliament (the National Assembly of People's
Representatives). The PRM leader has offered his last edition of poems as a
present. RADOR
[12] Textbook for journalists
A textbook on "Introduction to the Science of Journalism and Communication"
by PNofessor Michael Kunczik and Mrs Astrid Zipfel was launched at the
Press Centre of the Romanian Broadcasting Corporation (SRR) on Wednesday.
The book was written, translated and published through the Friedrich Ebert
Foundation. Its Romanian version was alewady issued by Cluj University
Press. The textbook is designed to help journalists in former communist
countries and it was already translated into Bulgarian, Macedonian and
Albanian while its Serbian and Croat versions are almost completed. The
book is actually dealing with the current research activity and theories
with reference to particular cases. RADOR
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