29-06-2017

New Romanian Minister of Culture Makes Film Law a Priority

By
    Lucian Romascanu Lucian Romascanu credit: paginademedia.ro

    BUCHAREST: Lucian Romaşcanu has been named the new Minister of Culture, announced by the Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose on 28 June 2017. Romaşcanu said that a new film law will be among his priorities, telling the Romanian press agency Mediafax that he plans to set up an open debate for a new film law.

    The internal dispute inside the leading party PSD (Social-Democratic Party) led to a political crisis that culminated with the resignation of Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu last week and finished with the approval by the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis of the new Prime Minister Mihai Tudose on 27 June 2017. A day later, Tudose announced his team of ministers.

    Romaşcanu was previously head of executive management for the newspapers division of Ringier Romania (from 2006 to 2009), General Manager at Cancan Media, an independent media group publishing titles covering celebrity gossip (from 2009 to 2012), Executive Manager at TV channel KanalD (from 2012 to 2014), Management Advisor to the President and General Manager of the Romanian National Television - TVR (from 2014 to 2016) and Country Manager at TailWind EMEA part of ThinkDigital Group of Companies (from 2015 to 2016). At the end of 2016 he entered politics and became PSD senator and President of the Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs of the Senate of Romania.

    In May 2017 the Chamber of Deputies rejected the Film Law approved by the Romanian government as an emergency ordinance on 29 November 2016. The new law proposed by the Ministry of Culture aimed at bringing the Romanian film law into line with European legislation and was approved by the Government in December 2016, shortly before the parliamentary elections won by the Social-Democratic Party.