Catalin Predoiu

Romania's Schengen accession on March 31 brings about notable changes at Bucharest's Henri Coanda International Airport as Austrian officers will collaborate with Romanian counterparts in passport and document scrutiny. The collaboration aims to enhance border security and streamline identity verification processes for travelers entering the Schengen zone.

Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov participated today in a tripartite meeting with the interior ministers of Austria and Romania - Gerhard Karner and Catalin Predoiu, at which he introduced them to Bulgaria's position for full Schengen membership, the Ministry of the Interior announced.

Austria no longer has a problem with Romania, but still claims that the Schengen area needs to be reformed. As for Bulgaria, it continues the dialogue with the Netherlands and needs to make some urgent reforms in the judicial system. This was stated by the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs, Catalin Predoiu, in an interview with B1 TV.

The investigation into the serious incident at a gas station in Romania continues. The two explosions on Saturday killed three people and injured nearly 60, many of them seriously.

The Romanian Prime Minister ordered immediate checks after reports that the gas station was unlicensed. According to preliminary information, the cause of the accident was a lit cigarette.

One of the main goals, justifying the alliance of the "Denkov-Gabriel" cabinet, may soon be unachievable. Bulgaria will hardly get into the Schengen area this summer or at the beginning of the next year. This became clear from the words of Austrian Minister Gerhard Karner, quoted by BTA.

Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has resigned.

He announced this himself minutes ago at a press conference at the Council of Ministers on Victoria Square in Bucharest, BTA reported.

The bicameral Romanian parliament on Tuesday elected two new judges at the Constitutional Court - Bogdan Licu and Laura-Iuliana Scantei, both of whom are believed to be close to President Klaus Iohannis.

Licu, who was nominated by the Social Democratic Party, PSD, for the position, was supported 208 lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies while 93 voted against.

Interim Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca underscored the importance for the authorities to raise public awareness on "modern-day slavery", stressing that it is essential to ensure "cooperation and coordination of actions" to combat this scourge, at national, European and international level.

The Minister of Justice, Catalin Predoiu, sent prosecutors a firm message in which he urges them to take the money of criminals, emphasizing that the coronavirus pandemic offers various opportunities to criminals to attack medical institutions. "Follow the money resulting from crimes, not only the criminals, take the money produced through crime, take everything they stole.

President Klaus Iohannis stated, on Tuesday, that from May 15, once the state of alert comes into force, the wearing of protection masks in closed spaces becomes mandatory, the maintaining of distance between people and hand hygiene are also mandatory. "Unfortunately, the COVID-19 epidemic is still among us. It's not the time to relax too much.