Radio România Internațional

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The Week in Review

Repatriations of Romanians from Gaza continue

Romania will continue the dialogue with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities for the evacuation of the Romanian citizens and their family members in the Gaza Strip, depending on the developments on the ground and the agreement of the parties involved, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. Moreover, a consular team will remain available in the area of the Rafah border-crossing to Egypt to provide further assistance. The first group of almost one hundred Romanian citizens and their family members were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and transported to Romania from Cairo with a TAROM aircraft. There are also other groups of Romanians who requested permission from the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to transit the border crossing point to Egypt. On board the first aircraft were the PM Marcel Ciolacu and the FM Luminiţa Odobescu, who met in Cairo with the evacuated persons. The head of the Romanian diplomacy declared that the security situation is extremely difficult and complex, which requires a permanent updating of the evacuation plans. And Marcel Ciolacu gave assurances that Romanian citizens and family members will continue to be supported by the Romanian Government to reach extended families and integrate into Romanian society.

Important decisions made by the Romanian Government

The Romanian government adopted, during Thursday’s meeting, the new pension law, which provides for two increases for 2024. The document also establishes the recalculation of all pensions according to new criteria, so that the inequities in the system should be eliminated. At the end of the government session, the labor minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu said that the pension law is a stable and sustainable law, which will eliminate inequities, and which is based on respect for contributions and work. She expressed confidence that budgetary resources will be found for the implementation of the two expected increases in 2024 and evoked a better collection of revenues and the reduction of tax evasion. The executive wants the pension law to be adopted by Parliament by November 20.

Klaus Iohannis in Brussels

The best option is for Romania and Bulgaria to enter the Schengen Area together, and all negotiations and all attempts to convince those who are still reluctant on this issue are converging towards this, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in Brussels. The Romanian president talked with the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, and participated in the signing of a memorandum of collaboration in the nuclear field, but the official visit had more stakes. One of them concerned the support for the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union, all the more so since, on the same day, in Brussels, the European Commission gave the green light to the European Council to start accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, Belgium will take over the presidency of the EU Council in January and will manage both the agenda and the framework of these negotiations. Thus, the discussion extended from economic aspects to defense aspects, especially since a contingent of the Belgian army is in Romania to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. At the end of his visit to Brussels, Klaus Iohannis was received by His Majesty Philippe, King of Belgium, at the castle in Laeken.

F-16 aircraft in Romania

On Tuesday, the Netherlands sent the first five F-16 fighter planes to Romania, to the air base in Feteşti (south), which will be used to train the Ukrainian pilots. The European F-16 Training Center was established there as a result of the collaboration between the Romanian and Dutch defense ministries. Given the current geopolitical context and Romania’s strategic position in the Black Sea region, this center becomes essential for cross-border collaboration, strengthening security and consolidating solidarity within NATO. The Romanian defense ministry reminds that this center will be an international hub for the training of F-16 aircraft pilots and will facilitate the increase of interoperability between allies. Romania thus joins other allied nations in supporting the training of Ukrainian pilots for the future use of F-16 aircraft. The center will contribute to the creation of common operational standards and to strengthening the capacity of the North Atlantic Alliance to face the complex challenges in the Black Sea region and in Eastern Europe.

The first Romanian judge at the International Court of Justice

Romanias former foreign minister, the current presidential adviser Bogdan Aurescu was voted, on Thursday, a judge at the International Court of Justice, thus becoming the first Romanian to occupy this position. This represents a victory of the Romanian diplomacy, says the Romanian Foreign Ministry, pointing out that Romania promotes a foreign policy based on respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, as well as for international law. In a congratulatory message, President Klaus Iohannis writes that this is a success of Romanian diplomacy, which reflects our firm commitment to the international order based on rules. The judges of the International Court of Justice are elected for nine years by the General Assembly and the UN Security Council, from a wider list of candidates. (LS)

11 November 2023
March 9, 2019 UPDATE

COMMEMORATION Former political prisoners and victims of the communist regime in
Romania between 1944 and 1989 were commemorated on March 9th, when
the Romanian Orthodox Church commemorates the 40 martyrs of Sebaste. Religious
services were held in Bucharest and wreaths of flowers were laid at monuments.
The commemoration of the anti-communist political prisoners on this day was
decided through a law approved by Parliament in 2011. It is believed the
communists sent to prisons over one million people, of which tens of thousands lost
their lives to precarious detention conditions.

BURIAL Remains of Romania’s former sovereign, Carol 2nd were reinterred
on Saturday at the Archbishop Cathedral in Curtea de Arges, southern Romania,
where other members of the royal family are also buried. After a religious
service, the coffin was placed into a crypt not far from those of Romania’s
last sovereign king Mihai 1st and his wife, queen Ana. King Carol 2nd
ruled the country between 1930 and 1940 a very controversial period in Romania’s
history characterized on one hand by economic prosperity, cultural development
and loyalty towards Romania’s Western allies, and on the other by the king’s
immoral behavior, the corruption of his associates and the setting up of his
personal dictatorship in 1938. After ceding without fight a third of the
country’s territory to the neighboring USSR, Hungary and Bulgaria, Carol 2nd
was forced to abdicate in favour of his son Mihai. He lived in exile and died
in Portugal in 1953.

VISAS The European Union announced that
as of 2021, US citizens will need visas to travel to the Schengen zone. The US
citizens must have a valid passport, a bank or a credit card as well as an
e-mail address to apply for an ETIAS visa. ETIAS stands for the European Travel
Information and Authorization System. Minors will need only a passport and
their name included in the ETIAS database, www.etiasvisa.com
informs. At present, the US citizens don’t need visas for stays up to 90 days.
Europe has recently decided to improve their security system to prevent any
other problems concerning illegal migration and terrorism, the ETIAS webpage
has also announced. In 2016 the European Commission published for the first
time a report calling on the USA to apply a visa waiver in the case of five EU
members, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Poland and Romania, because under the EU
rules all its citizens must benefit from the same rights.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team on
Saturday secured a 22 – 20 win against Russia in a match counting towards Rugby
Europe International Championship 2019. In its last match Romania will be up
against Belgium on March 17th on the latter’s home ground. In the
first three matches of this contest, Romania lost to Georgia 9-18, secured a
38-10 win against Germany and conceded defeat to Spain 21-18. The
aforementioned competition is Europe’s second major rugby tournament after the
Six Nations Championship. The Romanians presently come 18th in the
world’s ranking and that’s their weakest performance in the past 6 years.

TENNIS The world’s number two tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep, on Sunday
will be up against Ukrainian challenger Katerina Kozlova in the third round of
the Indian Wells tournament currently underway in the USA. In the second round
the Romanian managed a two-set win, 6-2, 6-4 against Barbora Strycova of the Czech
Republic. Halep won the Indian Wells tournament in 2015. Also on Sunday,
Romanian-American pair made up of Monica Niculescu and Abigail Spears will be
playing Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu of China in the round of 16.
In the men’s doubles contest, Horia Tecau of Romania and his Dutch teammate
Jean Julien Rojer will be up against Marton Fucsovics of Hungary and Guido
Pella of Argentina.

(translated by bill)

9 March 2019
September 23, 2018 UPDATE

SOCIAL PROGRESS — Romania stagnates this year in the Global Report of Social Progress, ranking 44th out of 146 countries, just as last year, according to a release of the Initiative for Competitiveness. Romania’s social performance slightly improves in terms of access to water, shelter, environment quality, tolerance and inclusion and individual rights but deteriorates in terms of medical services, personal safety, access to knowledge and to IT&C. In terms of GDP per capita, Romania ranks 45th out of 146 countries. According to the report, a real advance of the social progress index in Romania depends on the quality of social investment, education and connection with the technology of the future, as national priorities.

POPE – Pope Francis paid tribute on Sunday to Lithuanians who suffered and died during Soviet and Nazi occupations, on the day the country remembered the near-extermination of its Jewish community during the Holocaust. During Mass in Santakos Park, Pope Francis honored both Jewish victims of Nazi-era executions and the Lithuanians who were deported to Siberian gulags or were tortured and oppressed at home during five decades of Soviet occupation. The Pope will tour Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as they celebrate 100 years since declaring independence following World War I.

OLYMPIAD – Romanian pupils won nine prizes at the 4th International French Language Olympiad in Ohrid, Macedonia, held between the 15th and the 19th of September. They won four first prizes (two in individual and two in team events), three second prizes and two third prizes. The International French Language Olympiad gathered pupils from 6 countries members of the International Organization of La Francophonie: Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova and Romania. The competition is enlisted in the program of the activities carried out by the Regional Office of La Francophonie for Central and Eastern Europe. Romanian pupils also got very good results at other international competitions, such as the International Physics Olympiad held in July, where they won five medals, at the Central European Olympiad in Informatics, where they won two gold and two silver medals and at the International Earth Science Olympiad in Warsaw, in August.

BUCHAREST – Events celebrating the City of Bucharest ended on Sunday with a concert of the British singer Rod Stewart. Romania’s capital city marked 559 years since it was first mentioned in official records, as well as 100 years since the Union of December 1, 1918, when the Romanian provinces were united into a nation state. On Friday, the famous Romanian panpipe player Gheorghe Zamfir gave a memorable show and on Saturday Bucharest hosted one of the biggest 3D video-mapping shows in the world.

RESEARCH – Ministers from Romania hold the EU record in appearing at EU council meetings, being present in over 90 percent of the meetings, according to research from Danish think tank Europa. The figures – based on minutes from council meetings in the period 2015-2018 – also showed that ministers from Slovakia and Poland appeared the least, leaving their chairs to diplomats in almost every other meeting.

ELECTION — Almost 30 Romanians are on the candidate lists of political parties in Belgium, in the local elections scheduled for October 14. They are trying to win local councilor seats in several localities, including the capital Brussels. The initiator of the “DreptLaVot” project, Ioana Banach, says in a post on the RomBel website, of the Romanian community in Belgium that more than ever before, Romanian candidates matter at these elections, given the fact that in Brussels, for instance, they account for 9% of the population.

23 September 2018
July 14, 2018 UPDATE

France — The French ambassador to Romania, Mrs. Michele Ramis, said Saturday at the reception given on the occasion of France’s National Day that France needed a Europe that protects citizens, and Romania is a visible partner in this project. Mrs. Ramis recalled that 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership. The French official hailed the Romanian people’s European spirit and their resilience in front of nationalism and euro-skepticism. Michele Ramis talked about the success of the Romanian presidency, next year, in the direction of a Europe of convergence, protective and stronger in the world, based on common values. Attending the reception at the French embassy, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that at end of November he would open, in Paris, together with the French President Emmanuel Macron, the season France-Romania. President Iohannis expressed conviction that, in the spirit of their historic fraternity, Romania and France will contribute to the success of re-launching the project of a stronger Union. In another development, trade exchanges between France and Romania increased by 4.4% in 2017 as compared to 2016, reaching 7.8 billion Euros, showed the French Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Romania. There are almost 3 thousand French companies operating in Romania, with a total of direct investments of 4.2 billion Euros.

Venice Commission — The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, believes that the preliminary opinion of the Venice Commission related to the changes made to the justice laws is an extremely worrying signal regarding the independence of the judiciary and calls on Parliament not to ignore these recommendations. According to the Presidential Administration, the Venice Commission confirms the points of view expressed by civil society in Romania, by the Supreme Council of Magistracy, by judges and prosecutors as well as by the Romanian president, including through notifications related to the unconstitutional character of these modifications and the requests for re-examination of these laws. The Venice Commission recommends the Romanian authorities to reconsider the modifications to the justice laws mainly in relation to the appointment and dismissal of chief prosecutors of the main prosecutors’ offices. According to these modifications, the Romanian president can refuse the appointment made by the justice minister only once and providing solid arguments. The European experts also recommend the authorities to give up the scheme for the early retirement of magistrates which would entail a massive depopulation of courts and also to give up the idea of setting up a special section for investigating magistrates. The opposition National Liberal Party has called on the Constitutional Court to take note of the preliminary report on the justice laws. Social Democrat MP Eugen Nicolicea, the president of the legal commission in the Chamber of Deputies, claims the Venice Commission’s preliminary report runs counter to a previous report related to European standards regarding the independence of the judiciary.

Football – Belgium defeated England, Saturday, 2-0, in the third-place playoff of the World Football Championship hosted by Russia, thus obtaining the bronze. Belgium already played in a third-place playoff at the 1986 World Cup, when it was defeated by France. A world champion in 1966 England fought for bronze in 1990 but it was defeated by Italy. Sunday will see the final that will pit France against Croatia for which qualification to the final is a premier. France won the world title in 1998, when it organized the final tournament, and Croatia won the bronze.

Fitch Ratings — The Fitch Rating agency has confirmed the ratings for Bucharest’s long term credits in hard currency and local currency at BBB-stable, shows a communiqué of the rating agency. Fitch ratings has also confirmed the F3 rating for currency on short term. The confirmation of the ratings reflects Bucharest’s robust operational performance, the moderate level of debt in relation to its operational balance and current revenues. The rating also includes the solid taxation base, due to Bucharest’s welfare level, which is substantially higher than the national average. The negative side of it is that the rating reflects the dependence of operational revenues on economic cycles and the uncertainties related to contingent debt, shows the Fitch Ratings. Following the 2016 local elections, an ambitious and modern plan for investments was adopted, with the leftist government willing to further develop the city infrastructure, mainly the road infrastructure, Fitch Ratings reports.

Kidnapping — The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Saturday activated a crisis cell to deal with the situation of the Romanian citizen who, according to the international press, ws abducted in Libya. According to a foreign ministry communiqué, the crisis cell started the urgent verification to assess the situation. The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said that the top priority was to verify whether a Romanian citizen was indeed taken hostage, what his situation was and what group is involved in the kidnapping. The case is being managed by the Romanian Embassy to Libya relocated in Tunis. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry officials the maximum alert level was set up for Libya in 2015. According to international news agencies at least two people, among whom a Romanian engineer, were abducted Saturday by an armed group in an attack on an oilfield in the southwest of Libya.

Pollution — Between 2015-2016 Romania, Poland, Spain and Great Britain reported the biggest reduction of sulfur oxides emissions, a high reduction being operated in the energy sector, shows a report of the European Environment Agency. Nevertheless Romania still reports the 6th highest level of sulfur oxides emissions in the EU, after the levels reported by Poland, Great Britain, Spain, France and Germany. Also Romania reports the 11th highest level of NOx nitrogen oxides emissions, which is on a downward trend, oxides that contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain. (news translated and updated by L. Simion)

14 July 2018
March 22, 2017

STRIKE Part of the employees of Romania’s railway company CFR Infrastructure went on an unofficial strike causing delays on some routes with scores of trains also being halted. According to trade union leaders, the collective labour contract has expired and although the company’s board proposed a 22.5% rise in the salary funds, the move isn’t legally grounded, as the budget hasn’t been approved. CFR employees are discontented with the improper working conditions, the shortage of equipment and fuel.

DRILL The US ambassador in Bucharest, Hans Klemm has announced that in July Romania will be hosting a large-scale military drill that brings together 30 thousand NATO soldiers from various countries. Klemm has underscored the close friendship between Romania and the USA, their bilateral strategic partnership and alliance inside NATO.

COMEMORATION Belgium today commemorates a year since the tragic events at the Brussels airport and underground, when 32 people were killed and over 320 wounded, in what was described as the most severe attacks in the country’s recorded history. Four Romanians were killed in the attacks, including a minor. The attacks were claimed by the same cell of the Islamic State, which also masterminded the attacks in Paris in November 2015, which left 150 people dead. Belgium, France and Germany have in the past two years been the Jihadists’ target of choice.

MEETING Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has arrived in Washington to attend the ministerial meeting of the anti-ISIS coalition, an event hosted by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. According to sources with the Romanian Foreign Ministry the meeting’s main objective is to assess the progress made in stopping ISIS actions with emphasis on humanitarian assistance and measures aimed at stabilizing the conflict areas freed from ISIS occupation. By participating in this event, Romania has reiterated its commitment to meeting its assumed objectives and backing international efforts meant to fight terrorism and stabilize countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

JUSTICE PardoN is not a miracle-solution for Romania’s overcrowded penitentiaries, although the country runs the risk of being condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, Justice minister Tudorel Toader has said in a debate on democracy and justice in Romania before the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs with the European Parliament. Toader has also said that he has called on the Legislature in Bucharest to postpone the draft law on granting pardoning in some cases so that the government may take additional measures. Romanian MEPs and civil society representatives are also to speak before the committee. Toader will also meet Vera Jurova, the European commissioner for Justice, consumers and gender equality. High on the agenda are the future European Commission report on the progress made by Romania inside the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

SUMMIT The governments of Romania and the neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian speaking country, are to meet on Thursday in Piatra Neamt north-eastern Romania, for a new common session. The two delegations headed by Prime Ministers Sorin Grindeanu and Pavel Filip respectively will be talking ways of developing bilateral cooperation, joint projects and new cooperation opportunities. Investment opportunities in the Republic of Moldova will also be tackled as well as cooperation in the fields of IT, finance, justice and home affairs. The relation between the two countries is a special one. There are common expectations and there is permanent interest from the two countries’ citizens. We’ll continue to support the European progress of the Republic of Moldova, Romania’s Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has said on behalf of the Romanian government. The talks with Grindeanu’s pro-Western counterpart come after last week the country’s president, Pro-Russian socialist Igor Dodon, reiterated in Moscow his intention to consider denouncing the country’s association and free-trade agreement with the EU and deepening the relations with the Eurasian Economic Union as well as the federalisation of the Republic of Moldova as a peace solution in the pro-Russia breakaway region of Transdniester.

LONDON ATTACK A car mounted the pavement and ploughed into pedestrians crossing the busy Westminster Bridge beside Londons Big Ben, killing a person and wounding several others. Then the driver entered the Parliament building and wounded a police officer. Parliament was placed on lockdown and the attacker was shot by armed police. Authorities say the attack is being treated as a ‘terrorist incident’.

22 March 2017
October 24, 2016 UPDATE

ARMY DAY – Marked every year on October 25, the Romanian Army Day is being observed this year both at home and abroad. On Tuesday events will be held in all towns and villages hosting military units, in countries where defense attaches are accredited and in military bases and theatres of operations where Romanian military are deployed. Floral tributes will be paid at the cemeteries and monuments devoted to Romanian heroes in Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Russia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. A memorial service for the re-burial of the Romanian military killed in the battle of Stalingrad will be held at the Rossoshka Military Memorial in the Volgograd region.

PRESIDENCY – The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Cioloş announced on Monday that the government almost finalized the master plan including the priority administrative and technical actions to be taken in the run up to Romanias taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2019. Attending, in Bucharest, the conference “Start 2019: Romania at the presidency of the Council of the EU, Prime Minister Cioloş added that the Government started assessing the human resources in the public administration in order to identify well-trained people that will make up the elite body of the Romanian administration to deal with European issues. He underlined that during Romanias presidency several thousand working group meetings will have to be managed as well as various specialized experts committees within the Council of the EU. The prime minister also announced that a number of debates on this topic would be launched in the coming period.

CETA – Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said his country couldnt reach a consensus for the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada. The EU had given Belgium an ultimatum to take a domestic decision on this matter by Monday evening, after the Wallonia region expressed discontent with certain provisions in the document. Romania and Bulgaria had blocked the agreement for a while, demanding the lifting of Canadian visas for their citizens as a prerequisite to signing the agreement. The Canadian side reached an agreement with Bucharest authorities for the gradual lifting of visas as of next year. With Belgium vetoing the CETA agreement, President Iohannis said Romania would continue negotiations with Canada, irrespective of the fate of the agreement. Romania and Bulgaria are the only EU member states whose citizens still require a visa to travel to Canada presently.

RADIO AND TV LICENCE FEE – The budget and finance committee in the Chamber of Deputies gave its positive opinion on a draft law spearheaded by the Social-Democrats, allowing for the elimination of some non-fiscal fees. The Committee established, however, that the radio and tv licence fee, originally included in the draft law, would not be eliminated. Previously representatives of the political class, civil society and public media institutions said that eliminating the fee would seriously affect the autonomy and independence of the public radio and television. Already passed by the Senate, the law will be voted on Tuesday by the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep (4 WTA) is leader in the Red Group at the WTA finals in Singapore. On Tuesday, Halep will take on Angelique Kerber of Germany in the eighth direct encounter with this player. In the other fixture in the Red Group, Madison Keys will play Domonika Cibulkova. The White Group includes Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, Svetlanta Kuznetsova of Russia, Karoline Pliskova of the Czech Republic and Garbine Muguruza of Spain. This is Haleps third participation in the WTA Finals, after in 2014 she played the final against Serena Williams of the US and last year was knocked out in the group phase.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

24 October 2016
October 23, 2016 UPDATE

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Simona Halep on Sunday clinched a two-set win against US challenger Madison Keys in her first match in WTA Finals in Singapore, a tennis tournament with 7 million dollars in prize money. Halep, the competitions third favourite is playing in the Red Group, which also includes the worlds number one Angelique Kerber of Germany and Dominica Cibulkova of Slovakia. The competitions White Group includes Polish Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Spanish Garbine Muguruza and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. The present WTA Finals edition represents Haleps third participation after that in 2014, when she took on Serena Williams in the finals and that last year when she was knocked out in the groups stage.

CETA The EU has called on Belgium to announce until Monday night whether it supports the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). In case of a negative answer the signing ceremony scheduled for Thursday will be cancelled, France Press reports. The signing of the accord was blocked by the French-speaking region of Wallonia in southern Belgium disgruntled about some stipulations in the document, preventing the Belgian federal government from signing it. Romania has pinned its hopes on this free-trade agreement because a visa waiver for its citizens hinges on its conclusion. We recall the Romanian authorities negotiated with their Canadian counteparts the gradual lifting of visas beginning next year. In exchange Bucharest says it gives up any objections congerning CETA. However Wallonias opposition to CETA will also cast a question mark on the visa waiver for Romania whose president, Klaus Iohannis, pledged to continue talks with Canada for the implementation of the waiver irrespective of CETAs fate. Romania and Bulgaria are the only EU countries whose citizens need visas to travel to Canada.

AWARDS Romanian director Cristi Puius film Sieranevada has reaped two major awards at the Chicago International Film Festival, according to the festivals webpage. Sieranevada got the Gold Hugo award for best film and Silver Hugo for best director. Another Romanian production, Graduation by Cristi Mungiu has been awarded Silver Plaque for best screenplay while Adrian Titieni got Silver Hugo for best actor. The Chicago International Film Festival has reached its 52nd edition this year.

RALLY Supporters of Romanias union with the neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country, on Sunday held talks with representatives of the Romanian political parties. They believe that under the present geo-political context, the union of the two states is the only solution for the ethnic Romanians in the Republic so that they may not become victims to a possible Russian aggression, like in Ukraine. On Saturday, Romanian capital city Bucharest saw a rally to support the union between the two countries, which was also attended by numerous citizens from the Republic of Moldova. The event was marked by incidents involving some protesters and riot police. Already a tradition in Bucharest, support rallies for Bessarabia were inaugurated in 2012, which marked 200 years since the annexation of this province by Czarist Russia. The present Republic of Moldova was created on a part of the historical province of Bessarabia, which joined Romania after the First World War and was re-annexed by the USSR back in 1940.

23 October 2016
23 November, 2015

The government in Bucharest meets today to debate the budget for next year. PM Dacian Ciolos said that he would like the budget to pass in Parliament in the first half of December. Until then, however, the new ministers have to analyze the projects left pending by the former cabinet, deciding which to integrate in the new bill. The executive also wants to propose new projects reflecting the new platform, among them a rapid reaction plan issued by a joint institutional group. This group would be coordinated by deputy PM Costin Borc, and has to find solutions to boost confidence in the Romanian economy.

Belgium is on its third day of the highest level of terror alert, level 4, imminent risk of attack, in Brussels and its surroundings. The metro train and most public transportation are not in operation, while railway stations and airports are guarded by heavily armed police and army units. The streets are patrolled by military vehicles, and public venues like cinemas, shops, restaurants and cafes are still closed. The Belgian authorities have announced they arrested 16 people on Sunday to Monday, at the top of a wide ranging anti-terror operation. Among the people detained is Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the Paris attacks of November 13th.

French President Francois Hollande and British PM David Cameron met in Paris today, promising to intensify their countries fight against the so-called Islamic State, ten days after the terror attacks that left 130 dead in the capital of France. Hollande said that his countrys aim in Syria and Iraq was to cause the highest amount of damage possible to the terror group, confirming that France would step up its air raids against extremists. Cameron said he was firmly in favor of French action being taken, and said that the British air forces have to also launch strikes against IS. He added that he opened a British airbase in Cyprus to French forces. The PM is scheduled to deliver to Parliament a comprehensive strategy for fighting IS.

Today in Bucharest Romania and the United States hold the fourth meeting of the task force for implementing the common statement on the 21st century Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the two countries are reviewing bilateral cooperation, discussing the aims and cooperation priorities for the upcoming period.

The Romanian- Dutch tennis pair Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer have emerged victorious in the last major international tournament of the year. On Sunday, the two have defeated in two sets the Romanian-Indian pair Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna. This is the first time when Romania has two players in this competition, with seven million dollars in prize money, which featured the top eight players of 2015, as well as the eight best male double teams.

The former mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, goes on trial today for bribe taking, money laundering and abuse of office. The Anti-Corruption Directorate alleges that between 2013 and 2015 he joined a local administration ring that rigged public acquisition procedures in favor of companies providing bribes and kickbacks. The former official was detained in early September, and has been under house arrest since release. Over the last few months, several officials from Bucharest City Hall have been jailed for corruption. Sorin Oprescu, a former member of the former ruling Social Democratic Party became mayor in 2008, and was re-elected as an independent in 2012.

Translated by Călin Coţoiu

23 November 2015
November 21, 2015

Another person injured in the fatal fire of October 30th at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest died on Saturday in a hospital in the Romanian capital city, raising the death toll to 59. According to the Health Ministry, 40 patients were still hospitalised, ten of whom are in a critical condition. Around 30 others are receiving care in foreign clinics. A tribute was paid to the victims of the fire, on Friday night, when hundreds of people gathered for a concert in University Square in Bucharest.

The new Government of Romania, headed by the independent Dacian Cioloş convened on Saturday in an informal meeting. The talks focused on next year’s public budgets, the sector priorities for the coming months, the improvement of the institutions that manage the European fund absorption and on outlining the principles for an administrative reform. According to the PM, such informal meetings will be held on a regular basis, at the weekend, and will focus on the priorities in the governing programme. The technocratic cabinet headed by Dacian Ciolos was sworn in early this week.

The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, carries on today with tens of book launches and cultural events. The fair will end on Sunday. This year’s edition is held under the motto “The Most Read Book Fair from the Most Listened to Radio.” Gaudeamus brings together over 300 publishers and 700 events. The guest of honour in this year’s fair is the Group of Francophone Embassies, Delegations and Institutions in Romania.

The Brussels metro was shut on Saturday after the Belgian authorities raised the terrorist alert status to the highest level, warning people to avoid crowds because of a “serious and imminent” threat, news agencies report. One week after the Paris attacks, perpetrated by ISIS members, and with one of the suspects, based in Brussels, still at large, the city was placed on the top level, 4, of the government’s threat scale. The decision was taken hours after a suspect arrested in Belgium was placed under terrorism charges in relation to the attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on November 13th.

The UN Security Council Friday unanimously approved a resolution introduced by France, which calls on all nations to strengthen and coordinate actions to prevent further terror attacks from the IS group and other terrorist organisations. The resolution describes the IS jihadist group as an unprecedented global threat to the international security and peace. The document authorises UN member states to use any means to dismantle the shelters the terrorists have established in a sizeable part of Iraq and Syria. The Resolution also calls on the international community to block the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria and to crack down on terrorist financing, the Radio Romania correspondent in Washington reports.

The Romanian Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna Saturday qualified in the finals of the London ATP World Tour, after defeating Ivan Dodig / Marcelo Melo (Croatia/Brazil), 6-4 / 6-2. In the other doubles semi-final, another Romanian, Horia Tecau, and his partner, Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands), are facing the No 1 seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan. It is for the first time that Romania has two players in the ATP World Tour Finals, which has 7 million US dollars in prize money and brings together the best-ranking 8 players of the season and the top 8 men’s doubles teams.

(Translation by: Ana Maria Popescu)

21 November 2015