Order! Order! Britain's speaker quits Brexit hotseat

Yahoo – AFP, Robin MILLARD, October 31, 2019

John Bercow is the youngest person to hold the role of speaker in 100 years
(AFP Photo/HO)

London (AFP) - John Bercow stepped down on Thursday after 10 years as speaker of Britain's House of Commons -- a role that rocketed him into the heart of the Brexit battle, and won him European fans.

The man in the middle of more than three years of fiery parliamentary debates has proved a controversial figure, loathed by pro-Brexit supporters and hailed by its foes.

Animated, verbose and with an idiosyncratic style, the 56-year-old Bercow has yelled "Order! Order!" more than 14,000 times during his tenure as the 157th speaker.

His detractors call him pompous -- one MP even branded him a "sanctimonious dwarf" -- but his backers say he has bolstered the rights of backbenchers to hold the government to account.

A social media mash-up by German television of Bercow trying to calm down rowdy MPs has been seen thousands of times. A Belgian newspaper called him "irreplaceable".

Dutch daily De Volksrant wrote: "The only order in British politics comes from John Bercow's mouth in these turbulent days."

Both Britain's main party leaders paid tribute to Bercow Wednesday as he chaired the weekly prime minister's questions session for the final time.

Bercow is loathed by Brexit supporters (AFP Photo/DANIEL SORABJI)

'Unreturnable volleys and smashes'

"Although we may disagree about some of the legislative innovations you have favoured, there is no doubt in my mind that you have been a great servant of this parliament and of this House of Commons," said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Johnson, in his own inimitable style, said the tennis fan had been "peppering every part of the chamber with (his) own thoughts and opinions, like some uncontrollable tennis ball machine, delivering a series of literally unplayable, unreturnable volleys and smashes".

He also likened Bercow's glare to a "trademark Tony Montana scowl", after Al Pacino's character in the 1983 film "Scarface".

Opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn added: "You've done so much to reform this House of Commons and our democracy is the stronger for the way you have done it."

Bercow will not stand in the December 12 general election.

His replacement as speaker will be chosen on Monday. Nine candidates are standing, including his three deputies and former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman.

Bercow's number two, Lindsay Hoyle, is the bookmakers' odds-on favourite to win.

By convention, the main parties give the speaker a clear run in a general election, standing down their candidates.

John Bercow will not be standing in the December 12 election in Britain 

(AFP Photo/Tolga AKMEN)

'Egotistical preening popinjay'

Born in 1963 into a modest family, Bercow grew up in London and was a child tennis champion, leading to his lifelong love of the sport, notably Swiss great Roger Federer.

He was always a Conservative, but in his youth held hard-right views that he now rejects.

He became an MP in 1997 and 12 years later was elected as speaker, becoming the youngest person to hold the role for 100 years.

While the Brexit clashes came to dominate his tenure, Bercow also caused a stir by saying he would not allow US President Donald Trump to address parliament during a planned visit.

Bercow married Sally Illman in 2002 and they have three children.

She became a household name after posing for a photoshoot in Bercow's official residence in the Houses of Parliament draped only a sheet, and appearing on the "Celebrity Big Brother" reality television programme.

Critics say Bercow is filled with self-importance.

The Daily Mail newspaper called him an "egotistical preening popinjay" who had "shamelessly put his anti-Brexit bias before the national interest -- and is a disgrace to his office".

But Bercow's supporters say he has sought to modernise parliament, abandoning the speaker's traditional robes for a simple gown over a suit, and seeking to make it easier for female MPs with new babies.

Russian journalist walks free as drugs charges dropped after outcry

Yahoo – AFP, Anna SMOLCHENKO, June 11, 2019

Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov walks free from a Moscow police
station after drug charges against him are dropped (AFP Photo/Vasily MAXIMOV)

Moscow (AFP) - A Russian investigative journalist walked free late Tuesday after authorities in Moscow dropped drug charges against him in a rare climbdown by law enforcement following a public outcry.

Ivan Golunov, a reporter with independent media outlet Meduza, walked out of the gates of a Moscow police building to cheers from waiting journalist and wept as he thanked supporters.

"This all happened so quickly and thank you for that, that you supported me. I think it somehow influenced the course of events," Golunov said, with tears running down his cheeks.

He said he hoped his case would change police practices and "such situations will not happen again to anyone in this country."

The journalist vowed to continue his investigative reporting for Meduza, which is based in EU-member Latvia to allow it to work more freely.

"I will be doing investigations because I have to justify the trust of those who supported me," he said.

The 36-year-old was detained last week on charges supporters said were trumped up to punish him for his investigative work and placed under house arrest.

The case sparked outrage in Russia and abroad over what critics slammed as the impunity and corruption of law enforcement agencies.

In a surprise announcement on Tuesday Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said Golunov was to be released from house arrest and charges against him lifted.

Kolokoltsev also said he would ask President Vladimir Putin to sack the head of a Moscow police department and another senior official in charge of drug control in the capital.

The EU welcomed the news, with a European Commission spokesperson calling it a "positive outcome", but demanding a probe into reports police beat Golunov in detention.

Journalists and activists reacted with joy.

The arrest triggered a public outcry, and Russia's most respected newspapers on 

Monday publishing headlines reading "I am (we are) Ivan Golunov" (AFP Photo/

Yuri KADOBNOV)

"This is victory... I'm crying," said Meduza editor-in-chief Ivan Kolpakov.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny called it "an inspiring and motivating example of what simple solidarity... can achieve".

Golunov's Meduza colleague Ilya Zhegulev told AFP: "An unbelievable event has happened."

"Even the most optimistic didn't believe this would happen, and happen so quickly."

Arrest sparked outrage

Golunov had been charged with attempting to deal a "large amount" of drugs and was placed under house arrest at the weekend, facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The reporter said he was beaten in detention. His lawyers alleged drugs had been planted on him to justify his arrest.

Moscow police admitted photographs published on its website that they said showed drug paraphernalia found at the crime scene were not taken at Golunov's flat.

Golunov's lawyer Sergei Badamshin said Golunov's fingerprints were not found on any of the items police said they seized during a search of his flat.

The officers who arrested Golunov last week have been suspended pending an investigation, Kolokoltsev said.

"I believe that irrespective of any citizen's professional activities his rights should always be protected," the minister added.

After Golunov's arrest, hundreds protested outside a court and the Moscow police headquarters.

Supporters had organised a march to happen in Moscow for Wednesday to press for his freedom. But Golunov as he walked free said he would prefer supporters spend time with "loved ones and family."

Journalists and activists reacted with joy to Gulonov's release (AFP Photo/

Vasily MAXIMOV)

'We are Ivan Golunov'

The international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders hailed what it called the "historic mobilisation of the Russian civil society".

"Now those who tried to set him up must be judged," the NGO wrote on Twitter.

"We are happy that the authorities listened to society," the editorial team of Meduza and several other prominent journalists said in a statement. "This is just the beginning, a lot of work lies ahead."

As part of an unprecedented campaign of solidarity, major newspapers Kommersant, Vedomosti and RBK published the same front page on Monday with headline "I am/we are Ivan Golunov" in giant letters.

Even some staunchly pro-Kremlin television journalists such as RT chief editor Margarita Simonyan expressed support for the independent reporter.

Golunov has investigated everything from Russia's shady funeral industry to corruption at Moscow city hall.

His release came a month after days of protests forced authorities to backtrack over plans to build a controversial new cathedral in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

During his two decades in power, Putin has silenced most of his critics and sought to muzzle the media.

The few opposition and independent media that still operate in Russia are under huge pressure, Kremlin critics say.

The Meduza website is based in Latvia to circumvent censorship, but some of its journalists like Golunov live in Russia.

Vengaboys head back to Ibiza with ‘protest’ hit in Austria

DutchNews, May 31, 2019

The Vengaboys in 2009. Photo: Violent Music via Wikimedia Commons

Dutch band Vengaboys chart topper We’re going to Ibiza, recorded 20 years ago, has become a number one hit in Austria after being used as a protest song. 

A video of the song was put online by German comedian Jan Böhmermann in the wake of a corruption scandal which involved deputy prime minister and leader of the right-wing FPÖ Heinz-Christian Strache. 

The politician, who has since stepped down, was set up to meet who he thought was a Russian investor in Ibiza and was filmed promising government contracts in exchange for electoral support. 

Wow, Going to Ibiza is #1 in Austria #ibizavideo

Hey @janboehm Did you make this happen?!https://t.co/grujlnjsuB pic.twitter.com/3q0hMbb705

— Vengaboys (@vengaboys) 21 mei 2019

The band, founded by DJs Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen, are now in great demand in Austria and performed at a protest meeting in Vienna earlier this week. 

The Vengaboys song is actually a version of Typically Tropical’s Barbados, which was a hit in 1975.

Humiliating exit for Austrian far-right's 'Mr Clean'

Yahoo – AFP, Jastinder KHERA, May 18, 2019

After years of efforts to clean up the image of Austria's far-right, Heinz-Christian
Strache (L) quit Saturday over what he termed a "stupid, irresponsible mistake"
(AFP Photo/ALEX HALADA)

Vienna (AFP) - Heinz-Christian Strache, the man who successfully steered Austria's far-right back into government after years in opposition, has himself been brought down by an explosive corruption scandal.

The 49-year-old was forced to quit Saturday after German media published hidden-camera footage -- of unknown provenance -- showing him meeting the purported niece of a Russian oligarch over a boozy dinner in a luxury villa on the resort island of Ibiza.

After years of efforts to clean up the image of his Freedom Party (FPOe), founded after World War II by former Nazis, Strache has now been disgraced by what he termed a "stupid, irresponsible mistake".

In the recordings, Strache is seen promising public contracts in return for campaign help and suggesting he could help bring about staff changes in Austria's largest-circulation tabloid, the Krone Zeitung, as well as the part-privatisation of public broadcaster ORF.

For many observers, the scene seemed to confirm the stereotypes of the party that Strache had worked so hard to bury: too ready to engage in dubious practices, too close to Russia, and contemptuous of the free media.

'Mature' figure

It almost certainly marks the humiliating end of a political career which had come a long way in the three decades since Strache was detained by German police at a torch-lit protest by a group aping the Hitler Youth.

When the former dental technician, brought up single-handedly by his mother in a lower-middle-class area of Vienna, took over the FPOe in 2005 aged 35, the movement was a mess.

Joerg Haider, its controversial but magnetic leader from 1986-2000, had broken off to form his own party, the movement torn apart by its last spell in government in the early 2000s.

But "HC", his striking blue eyes matching the party colours, restored its fortunes and in elections in 2017, the FPOe won 26 percent -- double the score of the Alternative for Germany a month earlier.

This gave Strache, cutting a mature figure in new glasses, a ticket to enter talks to form a coalition with Sebastian Kurz's conservative People's Party (OeVP).

When the FPOe last entered government in 2000 under Haider, there was uproar in Europe.

This time, the reaction was more muted, with Europe more inured to populists and the FPOe seen as having moderated.

Stream of controversy

Indeed, early in Strache's leadership, FPOe posters screamed "Daham statt Islam" ("Home not Islam") but over the years they became less shrill and more subtle.

In the 2017 campaign, the main messages were "fairness" -- an elastic term encompassing everything from lower taxes to scrapping benefits for immigrants -- and opposition to "Islamisation".

Strache also moved to clean up the party's image by suspending members for anti-Semitic behaviour.

However, since the party's entry into government, it has been dogged by a steady succession of controversies.

Strache himself was forced to apologise last year to one of ORF's most prominent newscasters, Armin Wolf, after sharing a Facebook post accusing the journalist of spreading "lies" and "fake news".

Other revelations pointed to extremist sympathies in the party's base, including links to the Identitarian Movement Austria.

The appointment of the FPOe's Herbert Kickl as interior minister also sparked fears among Austria's Western partners over whether information could be leaked to Moscow.

Observers say the manner in which Strache has been brought down will raise questions over the FPOe's future and to what extent his efforts to detoxify the party have been permanently damaged.

#UPDATE Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz dramatically pulled the plug on his coalition government and announced fresh elections after an explosive camera sting claimed the scalp of his far-right deputy https://t.co/uppuyddsoT

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 18 mei 2019

Scuppering Brexit would be 'catastrophic', May warns MPs

Yahoo – AFP, Joe JACKSON, January 13, 2019

Theresa May, who is fighting to save her agreement negotiated with the EU, told
lawmakers they must not let down Brexit-backers in a crunch parliamentary vote
Tuesday (AFP Photo/Ben STANSALL)

London (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday warned MPs ready to reject her EU divorce deal next week that failing to deliver Brexit would be a "catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy".

May is fighting doggedly to save her withdrawal agreement -- forged during 18 months of gruelling negotiations with European leaders -- from a crushing defeat in parliament on Tuesday.

The embattled leader said some voters in Britain's 2016 referendum on EU membership had trusted politicians "for the first time in decades" and lawmakers must not let them down by now scuppering Brexit.

"Doing so would be a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in our democracy," May wrote in the Sunday Express newspaper.

"So my message to parliament this weekend is simple: it is time to forget the games and do what is right for our country."

Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 29 but, with less than 11 weeks left, has yet to finalise the terms of its departure.

May's deal agrees a 21-month transition period under current terms while the future relationship with the bloc is negotiated, but it has drawn steadfast opposition from both Brexiteers and Remainers.

The prime minister has said rejecting it will throw Britain into "uncharted territory" and put the country at risk of crashing out without an agreement, or even no Brexit at all.

'No confidence in the government'

The opposition Labour Party, which favours remaining in a permanent customs union with the EU, has suggested it will seek a no-confidence vote in the government if MPs throw out the plan.

The Observer newspaper reported Sunday that its lawmakers have been told it could be tabled "within hours" of that on Tuesday, with the confidence vote to be held the following day.

If the government lose a no-confidence motion, there will be a period of 14 days in which parties can seek to find an alternative working majority in parliament.

If they fail to do so, a general election would be called.

"We will table a motion of no confidence in the government at a time of our choosing, but it's going to be soon, don't worry about it," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the BBC on Sunday.

Corbyn conceded if the party won power, parliament would likely need to delay Brexit beyond March 29 so it could renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.

'A very British coup'

The prime minister already postponed a House of Commons vote on her plan in December to avoid defeat -- and MPs look set to reject it again on Tuesday.

Lawmakers who believe it either leaves Britain too close or too distant from the bloc, fired ominous warning shots this week, voting to force the prime minister to quickly set out an alternative plan for Brexit if she loses the vote.

It was her second setback in 24 hours after MPs also voted to deny the government certain taxation powers in a no-deal scenario -- in a bid to avoid such an outcome.

The Sunday Times said a group of senior cross-party backbench rebels are now plotting to change House of Commons rules to enable them to override government business if the deal falls.

Described as "a very British coup", the plan would see May lose control of parliamentary business to MPs, threatening her ability to govern, the newspaper said.

It said Downing Street was "extremely concerned" about the possibility, which could see lawmakers then delay Brexit through new legislation.

Conservative MP Nick Boles, who favours a Norway-style relationship which would keep Britain in the EU's single market, told the paper he was exploring tactics in the Commons to rule out a no-deal scenario.

"We have a mechanism which will give parliament control of the Brexit negotiations and ensure we do not leave the EU without a deal on March 29," he said.

"I am working on ways to achieve that outcome," Boles said, indicating he would publish the plan on Tuesday.

Armenia celebrates as veteran leader quits amid protests

Yahoo – AFP, Mariam Harutyunyan, April 23, 2018

People celebrated Armenian prime minister Serzh Sarkisian's resignation
in downtown Yerevan (AFP Photo/KAREN MINASYAN)

Last week Sarkisian was elected prime minister by lawmakers after serving a decade as president, triggering political turmoil in the Moscow-allied nation of 2.9 million people.

The opposition said the move was designed to extend his chokehold on power under a new parliamentary system of government. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital Yerevan in recent days.

The 63-year-old Sarkisian -- who earlier refused to step down -- stunned the country Monday by saying he was in the wrong and resigning.

His announcement came shortly after the release of protest leader Pashinyan who had been detained by police on Sunday.

"I am leaving the post of the country's leader," pro-Moscow Sarkisian was quoted as saying in a statement by his office.

"Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong."

Sarkisian implied that there were several ways to resolve the crisis and that he could have used force to break up protests but chose not do to it.

"This is not in my nature," he added.

Sarkisian quit after a number of serving and former soldiers joined the protests.

Spontaneous street parties broke out and many flocked to stores to buy wine to

toast to the country's future (AFP Photo/KAREN MINASYAN)

'People won'

Armenians cheered the resignation, dancing, hugging each other and setting off fireworks.

"The people won!" shouted supporters of Pashinyan as some people waved national flags and others tooted car horns, on the 11th day of demonstrations.

Spontaneous street parties broke out as tens of thousands took to the streets. Many flocked to stores to buy wine and raise a toast to the country's future.

"You have won, the proud citizens of Armenia!" Pashinyan, the 42-year-old leader of the Civil Contract Party, wrote on Facebook.

"And no one will be able to take this victory away from you. I congratulate you, the victorious people."

First Vice Premier Karen Karapetyan has been appointed acting head of government.

Sarkisian remained the country's top leader even after he transitioned to the post of prime minister following constitutional amendments approved in 2015, which transferred powers from the presidency to the premiership.

Sarkisian, a shrewd former military officer, was first elected president of the impoverished, Moscow-allied country in 2008.

He also held the office of prime minister from 2007 to 2008.

Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian (left) stormed out of a tense televised debate

with opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday (AFP Photo/Vano SHLAMOV)

After the 2008 presidential vote, 10 people died in clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate.

The Kremlin said it was closely watching the political crisis in Armenia -- which hosts a Russian military base -- but would not interfere.

'New life'

Sarkisian's peaceful departure after a decade in power has been hailed as unprecedented.

"For the first time ever the people forced the head of state to resign," said 46-year-old Arman Sarkisian (no relation to Serzh Sarkisian).

"This has never happened before. From now on those who will replace him will think twice before taking decisions."

Gohar Badalyan, a 21-year-old student, added: "A new life is beginning today."

Sarkisian had earlier refused to go and on Sunday stormed out of televised talks with Pashinyan, accusing him of "blackmail".

Over the past days, thousands of opposition supporters held rallies against Sarkisian, denouncing his failure to fight poverty, corruption and the influence of oligarchs.

They blocked roads and marched arm-in-arm holding Armenian flags, with students and a group of serving soldiers joining the protests.

A number of uniformed former soldiers and veterans who fought in Nagorny Karabakh -- a breakaway region seized by Armenian separatists after the collapse of the Soviet Union -- also joined the demonstrations.

Despite the festive mood, many in Armenia acknowledged on Monday that the country still faced huge uncertainty.

Armenians hailed Sarkisian's peaceful departure after a decade in power as 

unprecedented in the country's history (AFP Photo/Vano SHLAMOV)

Andranik Serobyan, a teacher, said the "hardest part is ahead".

"Who will be the prime minister? Who will be the country's leader? We will have to live through all of this."

Kremlin 'observing'

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman -- who spoke to reporters before Sarkisian resigned -- said that Russia was carefully watching events in Armenia, which has retained close ties to its former Soviet master.

"We are very attentively observing what is happening in Armenia," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, calling the South Caucasus country "extremely important" for Russia.

Peskov dismissed a question on whether Russia would interfere in the crisis -- which he called "exclusively an internal affair" -- as "absolutely inappropriate."

Macron blurs party lines with mixed French cabinet

Yahoo – AFP, Adam PLOWRIGHT, Clare BYRNE, May 17, 2017

Emmanuel Macron wants to create a new centrist force in French politics
(AFP Photo/YOAN VALAT)

Paris (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron appointed his first cabinet on Wednesday mixing Socialists, centrists and rightwingers with newcomers to politics as he pressed ahead with plans to create a broad governing coalition.

The new cabinet of 22 people meets campaign pledges of being smaller than its predecessors and having gender parity, with European lawmaker Sylvie Goulard landing the prestigious defence portfolio.

She will take over from veteran Socialist Jean-Yves Le Drian who will move over to foreign affairs, while rightwinger Bruno Le Maire was appointed economy minister.

Other key figures instrumental in Macron's sensational victory in this month's election were given senior roles, with the Socialist mayor of Lyon, Gerard Collomb, named as interior minister while centrist ally Francois Bayrou becomes justice minister.

Macron and his centre-right prime minister Edouard Philippe faced a tricky balancing act in choosing their first government, with 39-year-old Macron needing to keep his allies happy while opening up positions to Philippe's rightwing Republicans party.

France's youngest ever president wants to create a new centrist force in French politics -- at the expense of the traditional Socialist and Republicans parties -- which will be put to the test in parliamentary elections next month.

Without a parliamentary majority, he will find it hard to push through his ambitious plans to loosen France's strict labour laws, boost entrepreneurship and reduce class sizes in tough neighbourhoods.

'Sewing up' the middle ground

His appointment of Le Maire as economy minister and fellow Republicans MP Gerald Darmanin as public accounts minister was seen as an attempt to neuter his right-wing opponents, still reeling from their defeat in the presidential vote.

Republicans secretary general, Bernard Accoyer, said Le Maire and Darmanin had been excluded from the party for accepting Macron's outstretched hand and accused Macron of trying to "sew up the democratic debate" by poaching from his rivals.

In the opposite camp, the Socialists have shown greater readiness to work with Macron, who quit the departing Socialist government to run for president.

But Le Drian was one of only two outgoing ministers to be kept on, reflecting Macron's desire for a fresh approach.

Besides seasoned politicians, his team features several new faces drawn from the sports, arts and NGO worlds.

Olympic fencing champion Laura Flessel was named sports minister, star environmentalist Nicolas Hulot -- who had spurned multiple offers of cabinet roles from previous presidents -- accepted the ecology brief and crusading publisher Francoise Nyssen took charge of culture.

The health, education and transport portfolios also went to newcomers, all of them experts in their field.

The far-right National Front dismissed the changes as window-dressing, accusing Macron of "recycling" politicians from the mainstream left and right.

The announcement of the line-up was delayed by 24 hours on Tuesday, with the presidency saying it needed more time to carry out more extensive screening of candidates.

Macron has promised a new law introducing higher ethical standards for lawmakers as one of his first pieces of legislation and was keen to avoid possible embarrassments, aides said.

Former president Francois Hollande was left red-faced by revelations in 2012 that his budget minister Jerome Cahuzac, a plastic surgeon, had a bank account in Switzerland where he had hidden income from tax authorities.

EU priority

In his busy first week, Macron is also set to meet EU Council President Donald Tusk in Paris later Wednesday as he tackles his top foreign priority of reforming the European Union.

Tusk was one of the first prominent European voices to congratulate Macron on his May 7 presidential election runoff victory over far-right and anti-EU politician Marine Le Pen.

Macron, who ran a staunchly pro-European campaign, kept with tradition by visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday in his first trip abroad after taking office.

The pair now at the centre of the European project vowed to give it new impetus, saying they were ready to change treaties if necessary.

Macron has urged a deepening of the EU to fight off a recent surge of populism on the continent.

Romania's long battle with corruption

Yahoo – AFP, February 2, 2017

Romanian riot police stand guard as people demonstrate against controversial
decrees to pardon corrupt politicians and decriminalize other offenses in front of the
 government headquarters in Bucharest, on February 1, 2017 (AFP Photo/
DANIEL MIHAILESCU)

Bucharest (AFP) - Romanians protested in huge numbers this week against government decrees that many fear will undermine the long battle against an insidious phenomenon that has long plagued the EU country: corruption.

The biggest demonstrations since the fall of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989 saw as many as 300,000 people hit the streets overnight Wednesday to Thursday in the capital Bucharest and other cities.

This followed the issuing of a government decree 24 hours earlier that decriminalises certain corruption offences and makes abuse of power punishable by jail only if the sums involved exceed 44,000 euros ($47,500).

Brussels is watching

The European Union has long taken Romania to task over slow progress dealing with corruption and organised crime since the ex-communist country joined the bloc together with Bulgaria in 2007.

Brussels has carried out what is known as a Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) review on both countries even though both have chafed at the procedure, feeling they are being unfairly targeted.

Graft watchdog Transparency International ranked Romania below all but three of its fellow EU states in a January report based on public perception of the prevalence of corruption. Worldwide, the country ranked 57th in the world.

Between 2014 and 2016, 1,171 people were found guilty of abuses of power which collectively earned them a fine surpassing a billion euros ($1.1 billion). More than 2,000 cases remain open.

Romanian riot police stand guard as people demonstrate against controversial 

decrees to pardon corrupt politicians and decriminalize other offenses in front of the

 government headquarters in Bucharest, on February 1, 2017 (AFP Photo/

DANIEL MIHAILESCU)

A total of 27 officials, including former prime minister Victor Ponta, have faced justice in Romania in 2015, a national record. Aside from Ponta, five ministers, 16 lawmakers and five senators faced trials.

Former social democratic prime minister Adrian Nastase is the most eye-catching case of a former high-ranking official to be found guilty. He received two jail terms on two counts of corruption, marking a turning point in the anti-graft fight.

Nastase was found guilty of misusing 1.5 million euros of funds for an unsuccessful 2004 presidential campaign and attempted suicide in a bid to avoid jail. Released in the first instance in 2013, he was again placed behind bars in early 2014 for receiving bribes totalling 630,000 euros before being released seven months later.

Ponta stands accused of graft on two counts, the more recent linked to campaign financing which saw him take office in 2012.

Ponta is accused of soliciting financial aid from a businessman to cover the costs of a trip to Bucharest by a "foreign political personality" -- in the shape of former British leader Tony Blair. In exchange the businessman, who said he stumped up 220,000 euros to promote the trip, would receive a seat in parliament.

In another case, in 2015, Ponta was accused on 17 counts including forgery and complicity in tax evasion as well as money laundering between 2007-2011, when he was working as a lawyer.

Related Article:

Romanian government to repeal decree decriminalizing official misconduct

France's honest tax system crusader convicted for hiding millions of euros

Jérôme Cahuzac, appointed by Hollande to lead clampdown on wealthy avoiders, hid cash in a secret Swiss account for 20 years

The Guardian, Angelique Chrisafis in Paris, 8 December 2016

Jérôme Cahuzac leaves court in Paris during his trial. Photograph: Francois Mori/AP

Jérôme Cahuzac, the minister who led François Hollande’s drive for a more honest tax system, has been sentenced to three years in prison for tax fraud and secretly stashing his wealth in tax havens around the world.

The deeply damaging saga, in which Cahuzac spearheaded the left’s crusade against tax avoidance while secretly hiding millions of euros of his own money from French tax authorities, was the biggest scandal to hit Hollande’s presidency.

Cahuzac was appointed Hollande’s tax tsar in 2012 to lead the Socialist president’s crusade against wealthy tax-avoiders and make the rich pay their share of dragging France out of its economic woes.

But in 2013 he was forced to admit he had hidden his own money in an account in Switzerland for 20 years and lied about it to parliament. The saga wrecked Hollande’s carefully crafted reputation as a straightforward “Mr Normal” who would oversee an honest government. It increased the public mistrust in France’s political class.

Cahuzac and his ex-wife, Patricia Ménard, who was also jailed, jointly ran a hair-transplant business treating some of France’s biggest celebrities. They were found guilty of tax fraud, tax evasion and laundering the proceeds. They hid millions of euros from the tax authorities for two decades, moving their money across the world from Switzerland to Singapore and the Isle of Man.

The prosecutor Jean-Marc Toublanc said during the trial this autumn that Cahuzac’s family life “was rooted in fraud for 20 years”. Cahuzac wept in the dock while giving evidence and hinted he had considered taking his own life rather than admit to lying. By the end of the trial he had repeatedly admitted his “inexcusable wrongdoing” and described it as a kind of “mechanical action” that was “very hard to stop”.

Cahuzac, 64, was a cardiologist who became a plastic surgeon and made a fortune as Paris’s leading hair transplant expert in the 1990s. At his surgery near the Champs-Élysées, he restored the balding crowns of big names in showbusiness and politics while pursuing his own distinguished political career.

When Hollande named him as budget minister to lead France’s clampdown on tax evasion, it was one of the most important appointments in government. Cracking down on financial corruption and taxing the mega-rich had been Hollande’s election rallying cry.

But in December 2012, months after Hollande’s election, the respected investigative website Mediapart revealed that Cahuzac had been hiding his money. From 1992 he had held an undisclosed account at the Swiss bank UBS that contained €600,000. He had travelled to Geneva to close it and transfer the money to Singapore just before he was made head of the parliamentary finance commission in February 2010, Mediapart said.

Cahuzac furiously denied the allegations. In a four-month campaign to protest his innocence, he lied to parliament, saying he had never hidden money in Switzerland. He went on all major television stations to continue this lie and was said to have reassured Hollande he was telling the truth. The government stood by him for months, including when he resigned claiming he was innocent and needed to devote himself to fight the allegations.

Then Cahuzac made a sudden public confession in April 2013, saying he did have the account; had defrauded the taxman and had been “caught in a spiral of lies”. There could not have been a more damaging scandal for the left.

In court, Cahuzac said he had stashed funds offshore to maintain his family’s standard of living, which included buying apartments for the children in London and Paris and taking holidays in Mauritius.

In one episode, Cahuzac, using the codename Birdie, allegedly received two cash payments of €10,000 in envelopes handed over by a bank contact on the streets of Paris. The couple used a Royal Bank of Scotland account in the Isle of Man to channel cheques from English hair transplant clients. As their marriage began to falter, Ménard also opened an account in Switzerland.

Ménard’s lawyer, Sebastien Schapira, told the court the money was “that of fraud, but initially it was that of her work, earned day after day, hour after hour, hair by hair”. He described Ménard as “naive”, an unwitting accomplice who was “swept up” in the fraud before confessing to it in December 2013.

She testified that the couple had become locked in a spiral of wrongdoing. “I’m extremely ashamed of having done all that,” Ménard said.

After the Cahuzac scandal broke, Hollande reinforced measures on financial corruption, ethics and transparency in political life.