Romania has a busy agenda in May as the country will host several important events. The month will start with the EU Summit hosted by the beautiful city of Sibiu, where EU leaders are expected to shape their vision on the Union's future. The month will continue with the European Parliament elections (held on the same day with the local referendum on justice), and the historical visit of Pope Francis. But May is also an important month for ruling party leader Liviu Dragnea and tennis star Simona Halep.

The EU Summit in Sibiu

Romania begins this month with a major event happening in Sibiu, namely the EU Summit scheduled for May 9.  

The main event for Romania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, this informal summit will bring together EU heads of state or government in the beautiful Transylvanian city of Sibiu, where they will discuss the EU's strategic agenda for the period 2019-2024.

The summit will be hosted by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis while the European Council president Donald Tusk will chair the meeting, according to official information. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament president Antonio Tajani will also be present. Local publication Mediafax reported that the summit would also bring French president Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte, and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán to Sibiu, among others.

The heads of state or government attending the summit are expected to arrive in Sibiu’s main square at 11:45 on May 9. The day will end with a press conference of Donald Tusk, Jean-Claude Juncker and Klaus Iohannis. The full programme is available here.

The European Parliament elections & the referendum on justice

May 26 is yet another hot day for the Romanians. On this day, Romania will organize two major events: the European Parliament elections and the referendum on justice.

Romania will have 33 representatives in the next European Parliament, one more than at present. It will thus rank sixth among EU member states by the number of MEPs, after Germany (96), France (79), Italy (76), Spain (59), and Poland (52). The candidates of Romania’s main political parties are varied, the lists including former prime ministers, ministers and city mayors, as well as a former president and journalists.

The latest polls show that the ruling party PSD may lose its lead on the local political scene as the biggest opposition party, PNL, is expected to get most votes in the May 26 elections, while the newly formed USR-PLUS Alliance would be third, with about 17% of votes.

Meanwhile, also on May 26, the Romanians are called to participate in a referendum on justice convened by president Klaus Iohannis. He said this referendum is aimed at stopping the ruling party's assault on justice and later announced the two questions the Romanians will have to answer to with Yes or No: "Do you agree with banning amnesty and pardon for corruption offenses?" and "Do you agree with banning the adoption by the Government of emergency ordinances in the area of crimes, punishments and judiciary organization, and with extending the right to challenge ordinances directly at the Constitutional Court?".

The most recent referendum organized in Romania was held in early October 2018 and was aimed at changing the definition of family in the Constitution so as to ban same-sex marriages in the country. However, this referendum recorded a very low turnout and was invalidated.

The historical visit of Pope Francis

For the first time since Pope John Paul II’s visit in May 1999, a pontiff will visit Romania at the end of May this year. Pope Francis will make a three-day visit to Romania beginning May 31, his official programme including visits to Bucharest, Iasi, Blaj, and the Marian sanctuary in Sumuleu-Ciuc.

The historical visit will begin in Bucharest on the last day of May, when Pope Francis will meet high Romanian officials such as the president, the prime minister, and members of the diplomatic corps. The same day, he will have a meeting with Patriarch Daniel, will visit the People’s Redemption Cathedral and deliver the holy liturgy at St. Iosif Cathedral.

According to the official programme, Pope Francis will land at the Otopeni Airport at 11:30 on May 31. A welcome ceremony at the Cotroceni Palace will be organized half an hour later, at 12:05, followed by meetings with president Iohannis, prime minister Dancila and representatives of the civil society and diplomatic corps. The visit at the Cotroceni Palace will end with a speech of the Pope. The full programme of the Pope’s visit to Bucharest is available here.

The area dedicated to those who want to welcome Pope Francis during his visit in Bucharest has been extended from the St. Iosif Cathedral to the Revolution Square, according to the latest details about the Pope's visit. The public television TVR will broadcast the events and the services the Pope will deliver in the country.

Case against ruling party leader Liviu Dragnea could come to an end

A highly disputed case against Liviu Dragnea, the head of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and one of the most powerful politicians of the moment in Romania, could come to an end this month.

Dragnea was already sentenced to three and a half years in prison in this case, in which he is accused of abuse of office, and the High Court is expected to give the final sentence this month. In fact, the High Court judges were supposed to rule the sentence in the second half of April but they decided to postpone the hearings and set another term for May 20.

But things could take another turn once again, for two reasons. May 20 is also the day when the Constitutional Court is expected to rule on an objection raised by Chamber of Deputies’ deputy president Florin Iordache on the creation of judge panels specialized in corruption cases at the High Court. Should the Constitutional Court endorse Iordache’s objection, Dragnea’s lawyers will be entitled to ask for another panel of judges, which would mean that the trial would resume from square one. Then, local G4media.ro reported that one of the judges in the panel handling Dragnea’s case is retiring on June 1. If a final sentence is not ruled until then, the trial could start again from the beginning.

Liviu Dragnea has repeatedly declared himself innocent in this case, saying this is nothing else but a “political case.”

Simona Halep defends her first Grand Slam title at the 2019 Roland Garros

The 2018 Roland Garros tournament is one that Romania’s tennis ace Simona Halep will remember forever, as it came with the first Grand Slam title of her career. A title she is to defend at this year’s edition of the event, which will start on May 26.  

Halep's victory at the 2018 Roland Garros came ten years after she won the tournament as a junior and 40 years after another Romanian, Virginia Ruzici, also won the French Open.

Before playing at the 2019 Roland Garros, Simona Halep will compete in the Madrid Open tournament that starts on May 3. She won this tournament twice so far, in 2016 and 2017.

newsroom@romania-insider.com

(Opening photo source: Pixabay.com)