Romania marks its National Flag Day
Romania celebrates the Day of its National Flag, to mark the date of June 26th, 1848, when the Revolutionary Government stated that the Tricolor was the national flag of all Romanians. Public military and religious ceremonies have been held across the country, with the observance of the social distancing rules and the healthcare measures currently in force.
The Romanian Constitutional Court has argued that the mandatory quarantine cannot be imposed by ministerial decree
The Constitutional Court in Romania has ruled that isolation, quarantine and the admission to hospital cannot be imposed by ministerial decree only, even if individuals targeted are infected with the new coronavirus. Constitutional judges say that the procedures mentioned above are limiting individual rights and liberties and that restrictive measures could only be imposed by a law that would establish them clearly. The Constitutional Court’s decision comes after the Ombudsman raised questions about some articles in the 2006 healthcare reform law and the government’s emergency decree on measures to prevent and counter the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Romania remains on the United States’ watch list for human trafficking
Romania is still on the US watch list for human trafficking, and the Government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the abolishion of people trafficking, the State Department says. The US ambassador, Adrian Zuckerman, has called on the Romanian Parliament to start working immediately with the Government to approve the legislation needed in order to arrest the criminals. „The gangs have shamelessly trafficked people, knowing that they may escape unpunished, as it happened in the past,” the US diplomat said. The Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs has taken note of the US State Department’s report on preventing and combating human trafficking in 2019 and is constantly working to reduce human trafficking, so that the assessment for this year is positive and Romania avoids a negative report for a third consecutive year, Minister Marcel Vela has said. He added that the Ministry of Internal Affairs „has done its job” in countering and preventing human trafficking, „although in the first half of 2020 all authorities have focused on the COVID-19.”
Mădălina Brotăcel, RADOR