The bracelets were taken from the MAS Museum in Antwerp, Belgium.

The three cultural assets of great value, protected by law, were stolen by unknown perpetrators and subsequently alienated. Two bracelets were identified when offered for sale at a public auction in the Principality of Monaco. The third bracelet was identified during the home search of the residence in Belgium of the person who submitted the two bracelets to the auction house in Monte Carlo with a view to public sale, the Romanian Public Ministry reports.

On October 27, 2020, the Belgian judicial authorities signalled the appearance of the two bracelets in an auction catalogue in Monte Carlo. On November 11, 2020, the criminal investigation officers in Romania notified ex officio regarding the commission of the crime of qualified theft.

A criminal investigation was started, and later, the criminal investigation was extended to the crime of carrying out illegal export operations.

The administered evidence showed that the three bracelets come from archaeological sites in northwestern Romania. Obtaining an export certificate, a document that does not exist, was necessary for their export.

To make it possible to return the bracelets to Romania, it was necessary for the Flemish Regional Ministry – the Department of Culture to initiate a declassification procedure (the bracelets being protected by Flemish law as precious artifacts, being entered on a list of heritage assets).

The action to return the bracelets was made possible by excellent judicial cooperation with the investigating judge from the Court of First Instance of Veurne – Belgium and benefited from the support of the Flemish Regional Ministry – Department for Culture, the Romanian Embassy in Brussels and the national member at Eurojust.

The seizure was instituted on these assets, and they will be handed over to the custody of the National History Museum of Romania until the case is finally resolved, and they will be subjected to multidisciplinary expertise (physicochemical, museography, etc.).

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Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke has contacted the Romanian authorities to find out how the country controls the authenticity of dental diplomas following reports of individuals with Romanian credentials who want to practise in Belgium but have limited knowledge of dentistry, Euractiv reports.

The problem is that many so-called students who possess this sort of diplomas are from third-party countries outside the EU, such as Tunisia. This leads to the conclusion that these individuals were sold diplomas without them actively engaging in any higher education in Romania.

When the candidates with Romanian diplomas appear before the accreditation committee, which is required to work in Belgium, they can’t answer the most simple questions. This made the Belgium Dental Association sound the alarm.

According to the association, applicants with Romanian diplomas appear to know very little about dental care. It has even accused public schools in Romania of selling diplomas, particularly to non-EU nationals, of whom many are Tunisians.

This also poses a threat to dental medical tourism in Romania. Romania is well-known as a dental destination, and Romanian dental clinics are among the most famous in the world regarding the quality-pricing ratio. Medical tourists arrive thousands each year in Romania to follow dental care procedures and dental surgery, and this might suffer a hit if the potential clients associate Romania with a fake diploma factory for dentists.

If this is a phenomenon, the Romanian authorities will definitely investigate it and make sure the culprits are brought to justice. Even so, the potential damage to medical tourism in Romania is still to be evaluated.

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President Klaus Johannis welcomes King Philippe of Belgium at the 57th Air Base Mihail Kogalniceanu in the southeastern county of Constanta.

In addition to the official talks, the two high officials will meet with the Romanian, Belgian and other allied military, deployed on the Romanian territory as part of the Allied effort to strengthen the deterrence and defence posture on the Eastern Flank, given the worsening of the security situation due to the Russian illegal aggression against Ukraine. The visit of His Majesty Philippe, King of the Belgians, takes place against the background of a strong bilateral dialogue at a high level and of the close Romanian-Belgian cooperation in the field of defence, especially in the context of the participation of the Kingdom of Belgium with a contingent in the NATO Battle Group in Romania.

Romanian Presidential Administration

The President of Romania and the King of Belgium will address the bilateral agenda’s top priorities and methods to strengthen collaboration at the European and international levels.

According to the statement, there will also be discussions about aid measures for Ukraine and support for Ukrainian refugees, including through the humanitarian centre in the northeastern part of Romania, in Suceava county, in the light of the humanitarian catastrophe created by the Russian aggression. The two high officials will also discuss ways to boost support for the Republic of Moldova, which deals with many problems due to Russia’s actions against Ukraine.

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According to Agerpress, the Competition Council sanctioned five pharmaceutical companies, suppliers of immunoglobulins and other human plasma-derived drugs, and the representative association of the plasma protein therapy manufacturers – PPTA (Belgium) with fines totalling EUR 71 million.

As a national competition authority that ensures the application of the federal and Community rules on competition, the Competition Council started an investigation in 2018 on the pharmaceutical market and found that these companies adopted a strategy aimed at limiting and even interrupting the supply of the Romanian market with immunoglobulins, to put pressure on the authorities to suspend the clawback tax for medicines derived from human blood or human plasma.

Who are the European companies investigated and sanctioned by the Romanian authorities?

According to a statement from the competition authority, the companies who sought financial advantages are Baxalta Gmbh, Switzerland – 22.5 million euro; CSL Behring Gmbh, Germany – 15 million euro; Biotest AG, Germany – 5 million euro; Kedrion Spa, Italy – 3.26 million euro; Octapharma AG, Switzerland – 25.34 million euro; PPTA, Belgium: 71,000 euro.

By analyzing the events, we can conclude that all these companies endangered patients’ lives for their financial gain. Immunoglobulins are essential for patients with severe health conditions, for its a medical treatment for numerous diseases characterized by antibody deficiency. These pharmaceutical companies generated a crisis through this marketing strategy urging the authorities to take immediate measures to provide patients with the necessary medicines, therefore suspending the clawback charge for drugs.

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