Radio România Internațional

Tag: Brexit negotiations

  • December 7, 2020

    December 7, 2020

    COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Another
    3,660 new infections with SARS-CoV-2 and 127 related deaths were reported in
    last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Monday. The
    total number of infections has thus climbed to 517 thousand, while the death
    toll stands at 12,447. 1280 people are currently in intensive care. 80% of
    people infected with COVID-19 have recovered. Several towns and villages in
    Romania are still in quarantine. In Sibiu County, where the infection rate is 5
    per thousand inhabitants, authorities have decided to extend the quarantine for
    another week in Sibiu and 6 villages.




    ELECTION – According
    to the partial results of Sunday’s legislative election in Romania, the Social
    Democratic Party grabbed the highest number of votes both in the Chamber of
    Deputies and in the Senate, some 30%. The National Liberal Party is in second
    place with 25%, followed by the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance with 15%,
    the Alliance for the Union of Romanians with 9% and the Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania with 5% of the vote. Romanians in the Diaspora
    voted over the course of two days, on Saturday and Sunday. Italy, Moldova,
    Spain, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany and France reported high voter
    turnout rates. The new Parliament will have 465 seats – 136 Senators and 329
    Deputies. Sunday’s voter turnout stood at 32%, the lowest in the last 30 years.




    MOLDOVA – Thousands protested
    on Sunday in the Moldovan capital-city Chişinău, calling for the demise of
    Parliament, at present controlled by a pro-Russian majority. The Moldovan
    Parliament recently voted for limiting the president’s prerogatives and
    strengthening the status of the Russian language. The rally was staged
    following a public appeal launched by the pro-European President elect, Maia
    Sandu. Sandu’s call was answered by leaders of parliamentary parties in
    opposition, but also of non-parliamentary political parties. Protesters accused
    Parliament and the Government of promoting corruption and the misappropriation
    of public funds, also calling for snap elections. Maia Sandu said Sunday’s
    protest is not advocating any ideology or political party, but is simply aimed
    at voicing the will of the people, who have grown tired of corruption and want
    a better life. The acting president, Igor Dodon, as well as members of the
    Socialist Party in Parliament, have refused to comment on the allegations.




    BREXIT – Representatives of
    Great Britain and the European Union continue negotiations in Brussels with a
    view to reaching consensus on a post-Brexit agreement, the absence of which
    would have serious economic consequences for both sides. On Sunday evening the
    chief negotiators conveyed diverging messages on how talks are progressing. EU
    officials said they are close to solving one the major obstacles, related to
    the fishing rights agreement, whereas the British side dismissed the
    information. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission
    President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to make an assessment tonight on
    the progress reported so far in striking a trade agreement, which both the
    British and the European Parliament must ratify before taking effect on January
    1, 2021. London’s future relation with Brussels is also expected to rank high on
    the agenda of the summit in Brussels, to be held on Thursday and Friday. The UK
    is still subject to EU legislation following its official withdrawal on January
    31, 2020.




    HANDBALL – The Romanian
    women’s handball team is today playing Norway in the last fixture in Group D at
    the European Championships in Denmark. Romania has already secured its presence
    in the main group phase, after defeating Poland 28-24 on Saturday. On Thursday,
    in the first match, Romania lost 19-22 to Germany, whereas Poland lost to
    Norway. The first three teams in each group will advance to the main group
    phase. (V. Palcu)



  • September 7, 2020 UPDATE

    September 7, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19
    – Some 900 new cases of SARS CoV-2 have been reported in the last 24 hours in
    Romania, taking the total number of infections to some 96.000. The official
    death toll has exceeded 3.900. 465 patients are currently in intensive care.
    6.600 Romanians living abroad have tested positive for COVID-19, mostly in
    Germany, Italy and Spain. Of these 126 have died.




    CAMPAIGN
    – The campaign for the local election due on September 27 continues in Romania
    with the observance of measures aimed at preventing the pandemic from
    spreading. According to the Interior Ministry, face masks are compulsory, while
    all people attending election events and meetings will undergo triage and will
    have to sanitize their hands. Access rules and individual health safety
    measures will be publicly displayed. Participants will also have to observe the
    minimum 1-meter distance. A maximum of 50 people are admitted for indoor
    activities for a maximum duration of 2 hours. In the case of outdoor events,
    the participation is limited to a hundred people. Candidates are vying for one
    of the 41 positions of presidents of county councils, 3.200 mayor seats, 1.300
    county councilmen and 40.000 local councilmen. Originally slated for June, the
    local election was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, while the
    mandates of local officials were extended by another six months.




    ELECTION
    – The Permanent Election Authority on Monday announced some 3.032 Romanians
    living abroad have enrolled for postal voting, while 1.059 voters have registered
    for casting votes in the polls. The Authority recalls that eligible voters can
    register for physical or postal voting over April 1 – September 21. The
    president of the Permanent Election Authority, Constantin-Florin Mituleţu-Buică
    has recommended all citizens in the diaspora opt for postal voting, the safest
    way to cast their vote remotely, at zero costs and risks, all the more so in
    the given crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic.




    DIPLOMACY
    – ‘Increasing Romania’s role inside the EU and NATO and also consolidating and
    expanding the Strategic Partnership with the United States remain the key lines
    in Romania’s foreign policy’, is the message conveyed by the country’s
    president, Klaus Iohannis at the Romanian Diplomacy Annual Meeting. According
    to the president, in the wake of the pandemic crisis, the Romanian diplomacy is
    going to embrace some new facets and that involves additional ingenuity and
    flexibility. The present Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy has been held
    online for the first time as videoconference and is going to last three days
    under the title, ‘The impact of the pandemic over the international tendencies
    and the Romanian diplomacy response’. High on the agenda are the impact of the
    medical crisis over the international relations and global tendencies as well
    as the adjustment of the Romanian diplomacy instruments in this context. The
    guest list this year includes the head of the European diplomacy Josep Borrell
    and NATO’s deputy secretary general, Romanian Mircea Geoana.




    SCHOOL YEAR
    – Romania’s Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has said the school year begins on
    September 14, at the same time underlining that people’s right to education is
    fundamental. The Romanian official has explained local authorities are allowed
    to establish their own scenarios depending on the epidemiological situation in
    their region. In Bucharest the infection rate in the past two weeks has stood
    at 1.19 per thousand, which places the capital city in the yellow zone and that
    allows for the students’ return to schools. 43 localities have been placed in
    the red zone, where students are taking only online courses, while over 27
    hundred localities are in the green zone, allowing normal school attendance.
    The Health Ministry will this week provide direction lines for the organization
    of activity in education institutions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.




    BREXIT -
    Negotiations on post-Brexit relations between the EU and the UK will resume on
    Tuesday in London. British chief negotiator for Brexit, David Frost, has
    recently said that London does not fear a failure in reaching an agreement on
    trade. On the other hand, EU chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier,
    expressed concern and disappointment with the progress of negotiations. The two
    parties have only weeks at their disposal to settle the negotiations. According
    to officials in Brussels, negotiations will end next month. If an agreement is
    reached, Member States will require time to ratify it before taking effect on
    January 1, 2021, when the EU will officially leave the EU.






    (Translated
    by D. Bilt & V. Palcu)



  • The Brexit transition agreement

    The Brexit transition agreement

    Brexit secretary David Davis and the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Monday announced that they had reached a draft agreement on the terms of a transition deal which will take effect once Britain departs in March 2019 lasting until December 2020. Those terms will underlie the EU’s future partnership with Great Britain. The sides reached an agreement on the rights of some 4.5 million EU citizens residing in the United Kingdom and of 1.2 million British citizens residing in EU countries.



    During the 20-month transition period, Great Britain will be able to negotiate and sign new free trade deals with the EU. The agreement also includes a financial deal, the citizens’ rights in the transition period and a provisional compromise on the post-Brexit border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Michel Barnier said that the transition period demanded by the United Kingdom would give Britain time to prepare its administration and affairs. The agreement will be debated at the European Council Summit later this week.



    In another development, the European Parliament’s Brexit Coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, said Parliament had taken note of the political agreement on the Brexit transition period but it reserved the right to monitor it. The European Parliament has reiterated that according to procedures, it will be the one to determine the final withdrawal agreement. In turn, the British government argues that the transition agreement with the EU will give more certainty to companies and citizens.



    The announcement regarding the terms of the Brexit transition period was made after a day before the UK Parliament Committee supervising the Brexit negotiations had issued a report saying that the withdrawal from the EU might be delayed given the poor progress in the talks between London and Brussels. Great Britain is going to pull out of the Union on March 29, 2019, two years after the withdrawal procedure was put in place under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and nearly three years after the vote in favour of Brexit at the referendum of June 2016. The negotiations are due to end by October 2018 to allow for the European Parliament and the UK Parliament to ratify the agreement.


    (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • March 1, 2018 UPDATE

    March 1, 2018 UPDATE

    Visit — The situation of the Romanian justice system was the central topic of discussions the First Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans held on Thursday in Bucharest with the Romanian officials: President Klaus Iohannis, PM Viorica Dancila, the speakers of Parliament’s two chambers, Calin Popescu Tariceanu and Liviu Dragnea, the leaders of the ruling coalition, as well as with the members of the parliamentary committee in charge of modifying the justice laws. Mr. Timmermans also had meetings with representatives of the justice system. Fresh from these talks the European official had a press conference in which he said that contact with the Romanian authorities would be intensified on the issue of the judiciary. He praised the progress Romania reported in this field after EU accession in 2007. Mr. Timmermans also underlined that the EC’s ambition was to be able to stop the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification for Romania by 2019, given that Romania will take over the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.



    Weather — Code yellow and code orange alerts for cold weather have been issued for the whole of Romania until Friday evening. The skies will be overcast and light snowfalls are expected in all of the country’s regions. Minimum temperatures will drop to minus 24 degrees C while the highs will not exceed plus 2 degrees C. Schools remained closed for the entire week in the capital Bucharest and several counties in the southeast. Several national and county roads in the south and east of the territory are still closed. Because of the strong winds, the Black Sea ports remained closed. Trains have reported delays, many have been cancelled and airports are operating in winter conditions. According to the authorities, problems related to electric power and natural gas supply have been dealt with.



    Brexit — The EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, on Thursday said that London’s stand regarding the future relations with the community bloc leaves room for a free trade agreement between the two sides. According to Barnier, the only possible model remains that of a free trade agreement, as recently happened with Canada, Japan and South Korea. He added that Great Britain would remain a member of the European Customs Union but it would have to accept more responsibilities, among which border controls with the EU. Barnier said that the success of Brexit negotiations entailed accelerated talks, only 13 months ahead of the official date for Brexit.



    Tennis — The pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecău and Dutch Jean Julien Rojer on Thursday qualified to the semifinals of the Dubai tournament with prizes up for grabs worth more than 2.6 million dollars. They defeated 6-4, 6-4 the pair Marcin Matkowski (Poland)/ Uisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pakistan). For a place in the final, Tecău and Rojer, 2nd seeded and title holders, will be up against the pair Ivan Dodig (Croatia) / Rajeev Ram (the US) on Friday. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • Brexit talks move to second stage

    Brexit talks move to second stage

    The leaders of the 27 EU member countries, convening in Brussels at the end of last week, agreed that Brexit negotiations can move to a second stage, one which will look at the relations between the UK and the Union once the Britons leave the bloc in March 2019. London has made sufficient progress in clarifying 3 key aspects of Brexit, the EU-27 decided, speaking about the divorce bill, the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the rights of European citizens in post-Brexit UK.



    As far as Romania is concerned, the results so far fully meet the goals pursued in the negotiations, the Romanian presidency says in a press release. The Romanian citizens living in the UK and their families will continue to benefit from all their current rights as regulated by the EU legislation. All social security benefits, including family and child allowances, remain in place, and the professional qualifications obtained or pending prior to Brexit will be recognised. Family reunion principles have also been agreed on, with future family members and the children of the EU citizens in Britain granted the same rights as before.



    Guidelines have also been adopted for the negotiations on the transition period and the future UK-EU relations. According to the Romanian presidency, these guidelines concern aspects like the need to finalise all stage-one elements and to reinforce these outcomes by beginning to draft the withdrawal agreement, making second-stage negotiations conditional on compliance with all the commitments made in the first stage, and the intention to preserve a close partnership with Britain in fields of mutual interest such as security, defence and foreign policy. In the context of the endorsement of these guidelines, President Klaus Iohannis, who represented Romania in the Brussels summit, underlined Bucharest’s interest in having a strong partnership with the UK in terms of security, defence, foreign relations and the fight against terrorism. (Translated by A.M. Popescu)

  • December 15, 2017 UPDATE

    December 15, 2017 UPDATE

    ROYALTY — Romania was on Friday in its second day of three days of national mourning for its last sovereign, King Mihai I. He passed away on December 5 in Switzerland, at the age of 96. Thousands of Romanians stood in huge lines to attend the laying in state ceremony. King Mihai will be interred on Saturday in Curtea de Arges, the final resting place of his wife, Queen Anne, and the other three kings of Romania who preceded him. The funeral will be attended by European monarchy and numerous other officials.



    BREXIT — EU leaders on Friday in Brussels agreed to start the next phase of Brexit negotiations. Participants in the summit said sufficient progress has been made in the three key areas: the financial settlement, the future rights of EU citizens and the Irish border. At the summit, President Klaus Iohannis said that he was pleased with results so far, which he said grant him hope that a clear understanding will be reached by the end of next year. The first stage of the accord, according to Iohannis, settles issues facing Romanians working in the UK. British PM Theresa May had called on the 27 member countries to go to the next stage of discussions as soon as possible, and said she wished the EU remain a special and reliable partner. Also on Friday, an extended Euro summit took place, allowing discussions between European leaders on the process of consolidating the economic and monetary union. President Klaus Iohannis reiterated Romanias commitment to joining the Eurozone as an important move both for Romania’s economy and for its position within the EU.



    BUDGET — In Parliament in Bucharest, the joint budget and finance committees are trying to finalize their debates and draw up the final report for the 2018 draft budget. On Thursday, the Finance Minister warned that the proposal to supplement funds for the Ministry of Romanians Abroad is a no go for lack of funding. In addition, Minister Ionut Misa said that the budget for the ministry of diaspora went up 45% compared to 2017. The draft budget is supposed to be submitted for debate in plenary session this coming Monday, while the final vote on it and on the social insurance draft is scheduled for December 21. The budget assumes an economic growth of 5.5%, with supplementary income supposed to be shared between health, education and investment. The executive also expects to provide resources for raising the minimum wage and pensions. The budget is contested by the opposition, which claims expected income is over-evaluated.



    SCHENGEN — Romanian and Bulgarian Euro MPs committed to work together towards their countries joining the European Union and the Schengen area, passing a common statement to this extent at an informal meeting in Strasbourg. They recalled the fact that European Union members in the free travel area admitted that legal conditions have been met by the two countries to join, which was initially scheduled for 2011. Euro MPs Victor Boştinaru and Andrey Kovatchev, leading the proceedings, said that Romanian and Bulgarian Euro MPs of all political leanings committed to work together to ensure that Bulgaria in 2018 and Romania in 2019 will hold successful presidencies of the European Council rotating presidencies.



    DANUBE — Romania will be holding the presidency of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region between November 2018 and November 2019, following the decision of the 14 member states of the organization. This allows Romania to promote at a European and regional level topics and initiatives of interest to Danube region states. This organization is a joint initiative by Romania and Austria, launched in 2011, meant to encourage economic and social development of the area and of the fourteen member states.



    MOLDOVA — The Parliament of Moldova on Friday voted the EU Memorandum on the €100-million aid package, to be disbursed in three installments over the course of 2018. To access the funds, Moldova has to fulfill a set of 28 prerequisites regarding progress in implementing its agreement with the IMF. The requirements forwarded by the Commission are part of the Government’s agenda and part of them, required to disburse the first installment, have already been met, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu has said. One of the requirements provides for the adopting of a new law on the activity of the Court of Accounts and setting up an agency for processing notifications in the field of public procurement. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • October 13, 2017 UPDATE

    October 13, 2017 UPDATE

    RESHUFFLE — The leadership of the Social-Democratic Party on Friday adopted the nominations for the new ministers. Paul Stanescu will take over as the new Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Prime Minister, Felix Stroe is to be the new Transport Minister and Marius Nica will receive the European Funds portfolio. Prime Minister Mihai Tudose said he would present the new proposals to President Klaus Iohannis on Monday. The three will replace outgoing ministers Sevil Shhaideh, Rovana Plumb and Razvan Cuc, who decided to step down in order not to hinder the Government’s activity. Sevil Shhaideh and Rovana Plumb are being investigated by anticorruption prosecutors. Also on Friday, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats said it would not withdraw its political support for Minister Delegate for Liaison with Parliament Viorel Ilie, who is also being accused of influence peddling.



    MEETING — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis on Friday met with European Council President Donald Tusk in Bucharest. Tusk is on a tour of European Council member states, holding consultations in order to draft a document on the future consolidation of the European Union. During the talks President Iohannis reiterated Romania’s firm opposition to any scenarios concerning a multi-speed Europe or a Europe divided in concentric circles, which would only increase the divide between member states. Klaus Iohannis argued in favour of a united, strong, cohesive and coherent Europe that keeps its citizens close and is strongly oriented towards global developments.



    UKRAINE — Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu expressed Bucharest’s sympathy with the concerns and disgruntlement of the Romanian minority in Ukraine over the recently adopted education law. After meeting in Bucharest with his Ukrainian counterpart, Pavlo Klimkin, Melescanu said talks are ongoing with Kiev authorities, who are expected to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation. Minister Klimkin admitted that the Ukrainian Government must talk to the Romanian authorities and the minority communities in Ukraine regarding this law, which severely restricts access to education in the mother tongue. The law was criticized on Thursday in a resolution adopted by the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.



    ROBOR — The ROBOR index, according to which interest rates for credits in the local currency are calculated, has risen to a 1.84% record high in the past years, data released by the Romanian Central Bank shows. The unusual increase, which began in September, was caused by an improved tax collection process. The Central Bank has recently stepped in, granting record loans of nearly 2€ billion to trade banks, but the measure had only a limited effect on the ROBOR increase.



    BREXIT — Great Britain should pay what it owes to the European Union so that negotiations on the post-Brexit UK-EU relations can commence, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday, in the wake of the fifth round of Brexit talks that produced no significant progress. EU chief negotiator on Breixt Michel Barnier said he cannot recommend heads of state and government to move to the next phase of negotiations at the summit next week. Unresolved financial issues are now hindering negotiations, affecting both taxpayers and those who benefit from EU policies. His British counterpart, David Davis has called on European leaders to acknowledge the progress made so far so that negotiations can move to the next chapter of negotiations, trade relations between the European Union and Great Britain. (Translated by V. Palcu)