Leo van Doesburg

Now it is up to the Romanian Voters to vote on the 6th or the 7th of October. More than two years ago, 3 million Romanians requested a referendum to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Finally, the hurdles for the organization of the referendum were removed. After the last vote in the Romanian senate with 107 votes in favour, 13 against and 7 abstentions and following the approval of the Romanian Constitutional Court, the Government set the date for the referendum: the 6th and the 7th of October. If there is a majority for YES with a minimum turnout of 6 million (30% of 18 million voters), then the constitution will be amended. Following Croatia and Slovenia, now also in Romania a Citizens’ Initiative has been established to request an amendment to the constitution so that marriage can be defined as a   union between one man and one woman. In both Slovenia and Croatia, the referendum took place and has resulted in amendments to the   constitution. The...

40 Members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, to the President of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea, and to the President of the Senate Calin Popescu Tariceanu. They asked them to respect the sovereignty of their own people and to organize without delay the referendum on the definition of marriage that was requested by 3 million Romanian citizens. The referendum is currently being postponed by more and more procedural delays.

More information, you find here

Update 26 July, 2012 - The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) expresses its concern regarding the current political situation in Romania. The present crisis shows, in the view of ECPM, that there are some fundamental problems in the Romanian political landscape. Although the road towards EU integration brought Romania many positive changes, different governments have still not succeeded to achieve the necessary reforms in order to protect the separation of powers, to guarantee the Rule of Law and to create a democratic culture representing the Romanian people in its entirety. We understand all calls for deeper reform and as well as those who expressed their worries regarding the rapid institutional changes of the last few weeks. These institutional changes reveal, in our opinion, the existence of an underlying need for stronger institutions that must become independent from political party influences. Recent developments are worrying and show the need for deeper refor...

WHY THE LEFT-LIBERAL PUSH IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AGAINST CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BOOST DEMOCRACY  Following the recent protests that took place in Hungary, the social-liberal opposition in Romania also pushed people in the street today using spontaneous demonstrations that have been held earlier days this week. This comes as a second attempt to the one that unfolded last year, when buses with demonstrators were brought to the Constitutional Square to demonstrate when the Romanian Parliament was discussing the third motion of no confidence. By coincidence, it happened that I had meetings in the Romanian Parliament that same day. The Romanian Military Police did not want to let me in, because some of the demonstrators in the parliament balcony had thrown something down. The Military Police got an order not to let any stranger in the parliament. Eventually I fortunately succeeded and after the meeting I went to the balcony to see the parliamentary debate abou...

The second Conscience and Freedom Award Gala took place in Timisoara, Romania, on the 3 rd of December 2011. The event is organized by the Conscience and Freedom Association in collaboration with the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Religious Affairs and National Minorities, and aims to honor individuals who have espoused, established, defended and promoted the cause of freedom of religion and conscience throughout Romania. Recipients of the Conscience and Freedom Award include politicians, academics, activists, writers, religious leaders, diplomats, scholars and other individuals with inspiring stories, who were involved in defending and promoting religious freedom and conscience through their activities, writings, legislative initiatives or acts of courage. 

From 8-10 December, the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the Ecumenical Prayer Group of the Romanian Parliament will organize the 5th Romanian Prayer Breakfast. This event will be organized in collaboration with the ECPM, the Bible Society, and the Dutch Reformed Party. The theme will be: "Christian values in politics" and will take place in the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest. Program is as follows: Wednesday, 8 December 2010 18.00 - 19.00 Arrival of the participants 19.00 - 23.00 Cocktail offered by Mrs. Roberta Alma ANASTASE, President of the Chamber of Deputies, in honor of the participants Cultural - Religious Program. Thursday, 9 December 2010 08.00 - 08.30 Arrival of the participants 08.30 - 10.00 Romanian Prayer Breakfast 10.00 - 11.00 Tour in the Palace of Parliament 11.00 - 13.00 Opening debate. „Christian Values in Politics” 13.00 - 14.30 Lunch. 15.00 - 18.00 Resumption of debate. Conclusions. 18.00 - 19.00 Cultural program. 19.30 - 21.00 Dinner. Friday, 10 De...