KEY STORIES TODAY Govt coalition MPs submit bill preventing people sentenced for corruption, other crimes from taking office / A first reaction to EU agreement / Focus on Moldova

Parliamentarians for the governing coalition in Bucharest have submitted a bill long requested by the opposition which attempts to prevent corrupt people from taking office, among other measures. Also today, a Romanian MEP delivered a first reaction to EU agreement on leadership of European bodies, invoking prosecutor Kovesi.

• MPs representing the PSD and ALDE, the two parties of the governing coalition in Romania, have submitted a bill to review the Constitution which takes over provisions of an opposition-supported move against corruption. 140 deputies and senators for the two parties signed the bill, which includes a provision saying that people who have been sentenced to prison for crimes committed willingly cannot be elected in bodies of the local or central administration, in the House of Deputies or the Senate, or as President of the country unless a situation occurs removing the consequences of the sentence. The bill also says the president can pardon individuals but cannot pardon people sentenced for corruption. Yet another provision says emergency ordinances cannot be adopted in fields covered by constitutional legislation, in issues related to rights and freedoms, electoral rights, crimes and criminal punishment and others. More on this in Romanian here.

• A first Romanian reaction to the agreement announced Tuesday on the future leadership of EU institutions came from MEP Sigfried Muresan. He commented on his Facebook page that France taking over the leadership of the European Central Bank increases chances of Romania’s Laura Codruta Kovesi to become top EU prosecutor. More on this in Romanian here

EARLIER ON TUESDAY

• Date set for Romania’s presidential elections (Eng.)

• Ukraine officials discussing Transdniester

• Moldova PM Sandu’s visit to Romania