European Parliament

President Klaus Iohannis on Friday, August 23, the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Fascism and Communism, released a message in which he underscores that this day compels us to reiterate "firm" condemnation of both ideologies, in all their forms, and to remember the innocent victims of those regimes.

The president appointed Kaloyan Metodiev as head of his cabinet with a decree today, the presidential press secretariat announced. The post is vacant after Ivo Hristov ran for a BSP MEP and won a seat in the new European Parliament. With another decree, Radev appointed him as head of the Strategic Council to the presidency, in which Metodiev was a member so far.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila suggested to Dacian Ciolos, chairman of the PLUS (Party of Liberty, Unity and Solidarity, ed. n.) to make an analysis of his own activity as European Commissioner, after the leaders of USR (Save Romania Union, ed. n.) PLUS criticised the nominations by the ruling PSD (Social Democratic Party, ed. n.) for the European Commissioner job.

Moldovan Prime Minister Maia Sandu has asked the State Chancellery to prepare a draft decree under which August 23 will be declared an annual day of commemoration for the victims of all totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.

The EU is undergoing this succession process while besieged by well-known internal and external challenges: demographic, social, and economic pressures abound, while Europe is more a geopolitical chessboard upon which global powers are playing than a player in its own right.

The leader of the Liberal Deputies, Raluca Turcan and the head of the Liberal Senators, Florin Citu, on Thursday have criticised the Social Democratic Party (PSD) ruling at the National Liberal Party (PNL) National Council meeting.

Liberal deputy Florin Roman proposes that all candidates for a position of mayor, local councilor, county councilor, county council president, MP, MEP or to the Romanian presidency submit an affidavit that they do not have and will not run contracts with the state during the term of office.

As European media report, EU members had officially named Borrell the successor of Federica Mogherini on the position of EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security.
Borrell will take over his duty at the end of October, it is said in the European Council statement.

After successive defections by its former MPs, Golden Dawn is showing signs of disintegration. The fatigue and the challenges to the leadership of the neo-Nazi organization had already become evident as the party prepared its ticket ahead of European Parliament elections in May.

True, populist MEPs from Poland's Law and Justice (PiS) Party and Hungary's Fidesz were firmly opposed to Frans Timmermans, a Dutch socialist who has loudly condemned both parties over their violations of EU norms and the rule of law.