Radio România Internațional

Tag: Brussels

  • December 18, 2021 UPDATE

    December 18, 2021 UPDATE

    VISIT The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă will be on a visit to
    Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, for talks with senior EU and NATO officials. According
    to the Government, on Monday the Romanian PM will have a working dinner with
    the president of the European Council Charles Michael. On Tuesday, Ciucă will
    have meetings with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der
    Leyen and with other EC members. The PM will also have a meeting with the
    secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO headquarters.


    BUDGET The
    government of Romania passed a number of measures on which the 2022 public
    budget is based. An emergency order freezing the salaries of public officials and
    other public sector staff, with 2 exceptions, was endorsed by the Cabinet with
    amendments compared to the version subject to public debate. The bill also
    includes other measures, such as a low VAT rate only for the purchase of a
    family’s first home. The new tax provisions, alongside the new Ceilings Act,
    are the foundation of next year’s state budget, and are designed to reduce
    expenditure and maintain the public deficit below 6.2% of GDP.


    ANTI-CORRUPTION The government approved the 2021-2025 National
    Anti-Corruption Strategy, the justice minister Cătălin Predoiu announced. He pointed
    out that the document is a political commitment to support all institutions
    involved in fighting corruption, and also a first goal met out of the ones
    included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in the judicial sector. Predoiu
    added that the Strategy is correlated with international instruments to which
    Romania is affiliated, such as GRECO and the Cooperation and Verification
    Mechanism. The CVM was introduced in January 2007, upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s EU accession, to support the 2
    countries in overcoming deficiencies in judicial reform and in fighting
    corruption.


    BORDER As of Monday, December 20, travellers entering Romania are
    no longer required to fill in separate COVID-19 statement, because all the data
    will be included in the digital Passenger Locator Form (PLF). The measure is expected
    to help reduce waiting times at border checkpoints, including at the Henri
    Coanda Airport, near Bucharest. The transport minister Sorin Grindeanu Saturday
    requested the Airport management to take steps to streamline passenger flows
    and to avoid crowding. The request came after hundreds of people waited for a
    long time for the authorities to check their documents. Romanian border
    checkpoints are getting crowded these days, as many Romanians living abroad are
    coming home for Christmas. Queuing is reported at the checkpoints on Romania’s
    western borders, where apart from travel documents the digital Covid
    certificates and PCR tests must also be checked. In order to streamline border
    crossing, at the checkpoint in Giurgiu (south), the number of border police
    will be increased by 20%.


    MINORITIES Romania
    celebrated on December 18 the Day of Ethnic Minorities. President Klaus
    Iohannis said on this occasion that ethnic minorities make an essential
    contribution to social cohesion and that only together can a modern Romania be
    built, with no place for racism, xenophobia and intolerance. Protecting cultural
    heritage, including that of national minorities, is a priority for the Culture
    Ministry, which treasures the culture of minorities as an element contributing to
    the shaping of Romanian culture as we know it today, reads a news release
    issued by the institution.



    COVID-19 733 new COVID-19 cases
    and 64 related fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the
    authorities announced on Saturday. The coordinator of the vaccination campaign,
    Valeriu Gheorghiţă, announced on the other hand that the number of people
    requesting their first doses of anti Sars-CoV-2 vaccine is on the decrease. He detailed
    that the number of people who get their first vaccine doses drops by 15-25%
    from one week to the next. On Saturday only 4,500 first
    doses were administered. Meanwhile, the Omicron variant of the virus has been
    reported in 89 countries, with the number of cases doubling over 1.5-3 days in
    areas with community transmission, the WHO announced on Saturday. WHO first
    labelled Omicron a variant of concern on November 26. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • October 21, 2021

    October 21, 2021

    COVID-19 The Romanian authorities Thursday announced
    over 16,000 new Covid-19 cases and 448 related deaths
    in 24 hours. Some 1,800 patients are in intensive care. Bucharest
    has requested the European Commission to help supply Romanian hospitals with tocilizumab,
    which is used in treating severe forms of the disease. Romanian authorities
    have also asked for teams of experts to support front-line staff for specific periods.
    Meanwhile, as of Monday all school children will be on a 2-week holiday, access
    to most activities will be conditional on presenting a digital COVID
    certificate, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and outdoor areas
    and night curfews will be in place for the unvaccinated. These are just some of
    the restrictions introduced in an attempt to curb the pandemic. After having
    analysed the situation jointly with government officials, president Klaus
    Iohannis said the only solution to put an end to the epidemic is vaccination. However,
    until a significant proportion of people get vaccinated, restrictions are
    necessary.


    GOVERNMENT President Klaus Iohannis is having talks today with parliamentary
    parties, to designate a new prime minister after the proposed one-party cabinet
    headed by the president of Save Romania Union Dacian Cioloş Wednesday failed to
    get a confidence vote from Parliament. The minority government made up of the
    National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania
    was dismissed following a no-confidence motion, and negotiations failed to
    rebuild the ruling coalition, broken up in September over disagreements between
    the Liberal PM Florin Citu and Save Romania Union. The Liberals said they were
    willing to discuss with all parliamentary parties, except for the nationalist
    party AUR, supporters of anti-vaccine theories. The Liberals’ National
    Political Bureau Thursday decided to nominate Nicolae
    Ciucă as prime minister with a minority government comprising the National
    Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians. Save Romania Union
    would like to restore the coalition with the 2 parties, but without Florin Citu
    as prime minister. In turn, the Ethnic Hungarians would like to see the
    coalition rebuilt. The largest party in Parliament, the Social Democratic
    Party, wants a government of experts, to help overcome the healthcare crisis,
    whereas AUR party asks President Klaus Iohannis to designate a prime minister
    backed by a sound parliamentary majority.


    SUMMIT EU heads of state and government convene on Thursday and Friday in
    Brussels to discuss EU-wide cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union’s digital agenda, the
    rise in energy prices, migration, the EU trade policy and foreign relations. On
    Monday, the
    president of Romania Klaus Iohannis took part in a videoconference with the
    president of the European Parliament Charles Michel and other EU leaders, in
    preparation of this summit. The Romanian president highlighted the need to
    quickly identify efficient short-term solutions to the current energy crisis,
    which will have a notable social and economic impact on all EU member states.
    Klaus Iohannis also emphasised the importance of diversifying energy sources,
    of reducing the Union’s reliance on third-country suppliers, and of ensuring
    energy supply security.


    ECONOMY All EU member states concluded year 2020 with governmental
    deficits, Eurostat announced today. The highest levels were reported in Spain
    (11% of GDP), Greece (10.1% of GDP), Malta (9.7% of GDP), Italy (9.6% of GDP) and
    Romania (9.4% of GDP). According to Eurostat, Denmark and Sweden were the only
    EU countries with government deficits below the 3% of GDP ceiling stipulated in
    the Stability and Growth Pact. Across the EU, the government deficit
    skyrocketed from 0.5% of GDP in 2019 to 6.9% of GDP last year.


    FOOTBALL
    Romanian football champions CFR
    Cluj are playing today at home against the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, in Group D of
    the Europa Conference League. The Romanians are ranking last in the group, with
    1 point out of 2 matches, whereas their opponents are the group leaders, with 4
    points. In the previous leg, CFR drew at home against Danish side Randers FC,
    and AZ Alkmaar won on home turf against the Czech club Jablonec. CFR is the
    only Romanian team playing in continental competitions this season. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • European law versus national law

    European law versus national law

    Heated debates were held in the European Parliament on Tuesday, following the decision of the Polish Constitutional Court, which called into question the precedence of EU law over national law. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the EU executive will act to defend the Unions common values. “I am deeply concerned. This decision calls into question the foundations of the European Union. It is a direct challenge to the unity of the European legal order”, said the head of the EC. She went on to say that, in this situation, three options might be considered: to open new infringement procedures, to launch a new protection mechanism to suspend the payment of funds to Warsaw, and to resort to the procedure in Article 7 of the EU Treaty which could deprive Poland of the right to vote. Most MEPs said that all countries in the Union voluntarily agree on common rules when they join the Union and insisted that, in fact, there is no conflict between the legal order of the EU and the Polish Constitution. On behalf of the Slovenian EU presidency, the Slovenian Foreign Minister Anze Logar said that the precedence of the EU law is the foundation of the Union and the basis for living together in a European community.



    Attending the debates, the Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, pointed out that the precedence of the EU law does not extend to the constitutional system, and that the Polish Constitution is above any other principle of law. He said that Poland rejects the EUs ‘blackmail’, and said that, for his country, the Constitution remains the ‘supreme law’. He emphasized the “differences” that the EU makes between member states and stressed that Poland does see “the division between strong and weak countries, new and old countries”. On the other hand, the official insisted on Polands will to continue to be part of the European Union. Warsaw has been in an open conflict with Brussels for several years over controversial reforms made in the judiciary that were implemented by the right-wing populist party Law and Justice.



    The conflict has recently culminated with a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court on October 7, which declared certain articles in the EU treaties “incompatible” with the countrys constitution. The BBC writes that according to opinion polls, more than 80% of the Poles are in favor of Polands EU membership, primarily because EU membership gives them the freedom to travel and work in the Member States, access to the single market and to the Union money. According to the BBC, more and more Polish citizens, especially against the backdrop the Warsaw-Brussels dispute, have begun to share the Polish governments view that Brussels is overstepping its powers and responsibilities. (LS)

  • February 14, 2021

    February 14, 2021

    Vaccines — The simple motion entitled “Incompetence and lack of commitment kill. Vlad Voiculescu, a danger to the health and life of Romanians”, submitted to the Chamber of Deputies by the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party-PSD, against the health minister will be debated on Monday in Bucharest and voted two days later. The National Liberal Party will not vote on the motion filed against Vlad Voiculescu (a member of USR-PLUS Alliance, in the governing coalition), announced the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban. Meanwhile, the anti-COVID vaccination campaign continues in Romania. More than one million doses of vaccine have been given to date, most of them from Pfizer / BioNTech company, as well as from Moderna and AstraZeneca. Latest data from the Strategic Communication Group show that over 1,900 new cases SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in the past 24 hours. The death toll exceeded 19,400, and about 960 people are in ICUs. As of Saturday, people coming to Romania from countries in the yellow zone, i.e. where the infection rate is higher than in Romania, must comply with new rules.



    Budget — In Romania, the budget bill, currently under public debate, is to be adopted in the coming days. The Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, who made a series of clarifications on the topic, recalled that the government has proposed 4 reforms related to salaries, pensions, education and fiscal administration. According to the PM, the salary expenses for 2021 have been capped at the level of those from 2020, and salaries in the public sector will be established, this year, when the law on unitary salary is modified. Florin Cîţu also said that he wanted performance from the government ministers and announced that he would make a mid-year assessment of the budget execution and this check the ministers’ activity. The draft budget is based on a deficit of 7.16% of the GDP and an economic growth rate of 4.3%. The calculations are based on investments of 5.5% of the GDP, on 13% higher revenues than last year and also rising expenses by only 5%.



    Acquittal — In the US, the Senate has acquitted the former US President Donald Trump in second impeachment trial on charge of inciting Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 5 people died in the riots. Trump is the first president in the history of the United States to go through two impeachment trials. The big stake in the second trial was the former presidents political future – if he had been convicted, he would have been barred from holding federal office ever again. Now he might try to get a new term in office in 2024. 57 senators voted against Trump – all the 50 Democrats and 7 Republicans — but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. After his acquittal, Donald Trump issued a statement saying the trial was “yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country” and added that “his patriotic movement” was just beginning. President Joe Biden said that Donald Trumps acquittal shows that democracy is fragile.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep (2 WTA), qualified today in Melbourne, to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, where she will take on Serena Williams (11 WTA). In the eighth finals, Simona Halep defeated the Polish player Iga Swiatek (17 WTA), in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, while Serena Williams won, also in three sets, 6-4, 2 -6, 6-4, against the Belarusian player Arina Sabalenka (7 WTA). In the eighth finals of the mens doubles tournament, the Romanian-Brazilian pair Horia Tecău / Marcelo Melo will play against the pair Ivan Dodig (Croatia) / Filip Polasek (Slovakia).



    Brussels — The European Union, accused of slow management of the coronavirus pandemic, will speed up the procedure for authorizing improved versions of the vaccines against new strains of the virus, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety announced today. Stella Kyriakides told the German daily Augsburger Allgemeine that the procedure had been discussed with the European Medicines Agency and it was decided that, from now on, a vaccine, which is improved by a manufacturer to fight new strains based on an existing and certified vaccine, no longer needs to go through all the authorization stages. The health commissioner also said the EU had managed to secure a supply of 700 million doses of vaccine by the end of the third quarter of this year. (tr. L. Simion)

  • February 12, 2021 UPDATE

    February 12, 2021 UPDATE

    Budget bill — Romania’s 2021 budget bill has been put up for public debate on the Finance Ministry’s website. It is based on a deficit of around 7% of the GDP and an economic growth rate of 4.3%. Under the draft budget, child allowances remain unchanged, pensions increase only from January 1, 2022, holiday vouchers are no longer granted this year, and students will only benefit from a 50% discount on rail transport. Also, investment is estimated at 5.5% of the GDP, which is more than last year. The leftist opposition as well as employers’ associations and trade union federations criticize the austerity measures proposed by the Government.



    State of alert — The state of alert in Romania has been extended by 30 days, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the measures in place are compulsory mask wearing, travel restrictions during the night, special conditions for cultural and sports events and for activities in tourism and the hospitality industry. For both tourism and hospitality industry there are exceptions or special implementation conditions. The way of calculating the number of infections, based on which restrictions are set for regions and localities, will be changed.



    Visit — The Romanian PM, Florin Cîţu, on Friday met with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leye. The two senior officials addressed issues such as managing the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recovery process and the goals of combating climate change and the digital transition. The Romanian PM presented the stage of the vaccination campaign at national level, which places Romania on one of the first places among the EU member states. In his turn, the President of the European Commission thanked for Romania’s decision to donate up to 200 thousand vaccine doses to the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet, with a majority Romanian-speaking population). On the other hand, the PM Cîţu mentioned the priority given by Romania to fulfilling the recommendations of the European Commission in order to finalize the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. He also reiterated Romanias priority objective of joining the Schengen area. We remind you that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was established upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, on January 1, 2007. As regards Romanias accession to the Schengen area, it was initially scheduled for March 2011, but was repeatedly postponed due to the opposition of some member countries that invoked the lack of reforms in the judiciary. The two topics were approached, on Friday, during the meeting of the Romanian PM Florin Cîţu with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The European official expressed his support for Romanias efforts in the two cases.



    Vaccination – In Romania continues the anti-Covid-19 vaccination campaign. More than one million vaccine doses have been administered so far. Most people have been vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are also being administered to the population. More than 2,550 new cases of coronavirus infection were reported nationwide on Friday. Most of them were registered in Bucharest. The total number of cases exceeded 757,000, with the death toll exceeding 19,270. About 1,000 people are in ICUs. On the other hand, Romania has reintroduced quarantine measures for people arriving from several countries, including Hungary. The list includes a total of 66 states, which the Romanian authorities consider to have a high risk from an epidemiological point of view. Exempted from the two-week quarantine measures are those people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the last three months or have already received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.



    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, world’s no. 2, qualified, on Friday to the eighth finals of the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Halep defeated the Russian player Veronika Kudermetova 32nd seeded in the third round, 6-1, 6-3. Also on Friday, another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, was defeated by the Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-2 , 6-4, in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Cîrstea (68 WTA) conceded defeat after 1 hour and 25 minutes to the Czech player, seeded 19th and ranking 20th in the WTA classification.



    MAE — The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu hailed the adoption on Friday of the Declaration of the member states of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies on the situation in Myanmar. Romania holds the presidency of the Community of Democracies for the period September 2019 – September 2021. According to a MAE communiqué, the declaration, supported by Romania and other states including the US, Canada, Great Britain, Finland, Norway, expresses deep concern about the situation in Myanmar where, as of February 1, the democratically elected government has been toppled by the military forces. The document calls for military leaders to observe democratic norms and the rule of law, asking for the establishment of a legitimately elected Parliament, as well as for the release of unjustly detained persons and the observance of the freedom of expression. (tr. L. Simion)

  • February 11, 2021

    February 11, 2021

    Budget – Romanias state budget bill for 2021 is to be made public today. The Prime Minister Florin Cîțu says the government is counting on an economic growth rate of 4.3% and estimates a budget deficit of about 7% of the GDP. Increasing investments, reducing spending and eliminating public money waste, freezing pension growth this year, giving up granting holiday vouchers, reducing funds for free transport and eliminating some benefits – are among the measures that are needed in a year in which Romania should focus on economic recovery, after the crisis brought about by the pandemic, the Prime Minister Cîţu underlined. The Social Democratic Party – PSD, in opposition, announced that it would submit amendments in Parliament for all the important budget chapters. The Social Democrats, who consider the Governments draft budget to be an austerity one, accuse the government of lacking vision and solutions to solve the existing problems. Meanwhile, the number of trade union protests is growing in Romania. The representatives of the Cartel Alfa trade union are returning today to protest in front of some ministries and of the Government. Trade unionists from the Sanitas Federation have also announced protests in Bucharest. Protests have also been announced in front of the prefect’s offices across the country, showing dissatisfaction with many of the measures announced by the Government.



    Visit — The Romanian Prime Minister, Florin Cîţu, pays a two-day visit to Brussels as of today, where he is going to meet with some of the most important European leaders, including the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The talks will focus on the way in which Romania wants to use the European money that will be allotted through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, adopted on Wednesday by the European Parliament. At the same time, Prime Minister Cîțu will present to the European leaders the way in which the Romanian Government intends to reduce unjustified expenses and to re-launch the economy. Today, Florin Cîţu is meeting with the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and with the Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans and Margrethe Vestager. The Romanian PM will also have meetings with the leaders of the main political groups in the European Parliament, and will equally meet with the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, and with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoana, both Romanians.



    Brussels — The European Parliament on Wednesday approved the Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help member states fight the economic and social effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the most important element of the incentives package of the Next Generation EU European Recovery Instrument. 672.5 billion Euros will be made available in the form of grants and loans, of which 30.44 billion will be allocated to Romania. The Romanian Finance Minister, Alexandru Nazare, has stated that the Romanian authorities are in permanent dialogue with the European Commission in order to complete the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, on the basis of which the funds will be approved.



    Vaccines — The National Committee for Emergency Situations proposed the extension of the state of alert in Romania by another 30 days, starting on February 12, maintaining the current restrictions. 2,644 new cases of infection were reported on Thursday across Romania. The total number of cases exceeded 755,000, with the death toll exceeding 19,200. Almost 1,000 patients are in ICUs. In parallel, the national vaccination campaign continues. Since the start of the campaign, on December 27, more than 671,000 people have been vaccinated, mostly with Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines. Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are also available for administration.



    Weather — Romanian meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert for bad weather, with strong winds, snowstorms and glaze being expected across Romania valid until Monday morning. Freezing temperatures are expected in the north, northeast and center of Romania and snowfalls will be reported, at first in the west, center, north of the country and in the mountains, to eventually extend to the entire country. Locally, frost will be reported. The wind will intensify throughout the country, amplifying the sensation of cold, with speeds of 55 up to 65 km/h. Maximum temperatures today range between 1 and 16 degrees Celsius. In Bucharest, the noon temperature stood at 13 degrees C.



    colectiv– The documentary film colectiv, directed by Alexander Nanau, has been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film categories of the Academy Awards. It is for the first time when a Romanian production enters the final stage of nominations for two categories. The film follows the investigation of several journalists into the corruption of the Romanian healthcare system. The film ‘colectiv’ was designated best documentary film at the European Film Academy Awards and was considered the best documentary at the London Film Critics Circle Awards. (tr. L. Simion)

  • January 19, 2021 UPDATE

    January 19, 2021 UPDATE

    Vaccination campaign – The second stage of the national vaccination campaign against Covid-19 is currently under way in Romania. Valeriu Gheorghiță, the campaign coordinator, announced on Tuesday, in a press conference, that Romania has contracted sufficient vaccine doses, and starting with the second quarter of the tear, the number of delivered doses will increase significantly. He added that 299 vaccination centers were opened across the country in the second stage of the campaign. Over 233 thousand Romanians have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19 since the start of the campaign, on December 27, and over 800 common and minor side effects have been registered. The second stage targets people over 65, people with chronic diseases and employees in key areas. About 6 million Romanians have the right to be vaccinated in this stage. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 697,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the country and more than 630,000 patients have recovered, according to the Strategic Communication Group. Most new cases of COVID-19 are registered in Bucharest. The total number of Covid-19-associated deaths is 17,369. 1,050 patients are currently in ICUs.



    Travel conditions — The persons who have received the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine at least 10 days before coming to Romanian will no longer be quarantined, the National Committee for Emergency Situations announced. The Committee established the same conditions for those who were in direct contact with a COVID-19 positive person more than 10 days after being vaccinated with the second dose. Also, people confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 might end the quarantine period on the 10th day if they take a test and the result is negative. Children traveling with vaccinated parents to countries with a high incidence of COVID-19 will be quarantined for ten days upon returning to Romania, as they can risk spreading the disease, said Florentina Furtunescu, a representative of the National Public Health Institute. In another development, the list of states with an epidemiological risk has been updated. Thus, no country is in the red zone, and the yellow zone includes 48 countries, among which the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France and Germany.



    Statistics – The National Strategy and Forecast Committee has revised slightly downwards Romanias economic growth in 2021 from 4.5%, as estimated last autumn, to 4.3%. The Committee also forecasts private consumption rate of only 3.7%, as against 4.6% as estimated in the autumn, and a trade deficit of minus 21.4 billion Euros, slightly higher than the autumn forecast. The average exchange rate this year is going to be 4.89 lei per 1 Euro, as compared to the autumn estimate. The end-of-the-year inflation is forecast at 2.2%, slightly lower than the previous estimate of 2.5%.



    Brussels — The President of the Republic of Moldova, pro-Western Maia Sandu, said that she managed to unblock the dialogue with the European Union, affected by the policy of her pro-Russian predecessor, Igor Dodon. Maia Sandu met on Monday and Tuesday, during her official visit to Brussels, with the most important European leaders, emphasizing that the EU is the main partner of the Republic of Moldova in the fight against corruption, in reforming institutions and in strengthening the rule of law, according to Radio Chisinau. Maia Sandu had a meeting with the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, during which they tackled the political developments in Chisinau and the reforms on the European agenda of Rep. Moldova. The Moldovan President also met with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who assured her that she could count on the Unions support in the reform process and in the anti-corruption fight. During the meeting with the Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, the two officials agreed on re-establishing the complex political dialogue between Chisinau and Brussels and discussed ways to have a more active cooperation on regional security.



    Ambassador — The US Ambassador to Bucharest, Adrian Zuckerman, on Tuesday met with the Romanian Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, at the end of the American diplomats mandate. Adrian Zuckerman was accompanied by the deputy head of the Diplomatic Mission, David Muniz, who will become “Chargé dAffaires” after the ambassador’s departure, on January 20, shows a press release of the US Embassy in Bucharest. The talks of the three officials focused on the progress reported in the past year in the bilateral relationship and on the continuation of cooperation on numerous projects, including the one on the Cernavoda nuclear power plant (in southeastern Romania). The Romanian prime minister thanked Ambassador Zuckerman for his involvement in the bilateral relationship, adding that he was looking forward to working with David Muniz. The latter assured PM Cîțu that the Romanian-American relationship would remain close under the Biden Administration and expressed his interest in further strengthening the Strategic Partnership. (tr. L.Simion)

  • January 8, 2020 UPDATE

    January 8, 2020 UPDATE

    Brussels — The Liberal PM Ludovic Orban on Wednesday met in Brussels with the president of the EP, David Sassoli. PM Orban reiterated Romania’s wish to join the Schengen area. Romania’s objective is supported with determination by the EP, and David Sassoli underlined that this would benefit the entire EU. The two officials also talked about the implementation of the agreement on fighting climate change. Romania has called on the European authorities to introduce provisions which should maintain the competitiveness of European companies after the implementation of the agreement and that should allow each country to access the necessary resources to reach the set targets. Ludovic Orban also reiterated Romania’s firm and clear commitment to continuing to act as a loyal partner deeply attached to the European project and expressed Bucharest’s interest in having an active and decisive role in the decision –making process in Brussels. In turn David Sassoli said that Romania was a fundamental state for the EU thanks to its political weight, its adherence to the western culture and its geopolitical relevance.



    Iran — The US will immediately impose additional sanctions on Iran unless the latter changes its behavior, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday speaking from the White House. He called on NATO to become ‘much more involved in the Middle East process’ and on Europe, China and Russia to give up the nuclear agreement with Iran, taking the US’s example. The American President underlined that Iran should give up its nuclear ambitions and its support for terrorism. He also conveyed a message to the Iranian people, saying that America was ready to make peace with those who want it. He gave assurances that no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack on two Iraqi bases housing US troops. Previously, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had condemned the Iranian attack on the Iraqi bases housing US troops, the first retaliatory action after the killing of the influential Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone airstrike on January 3. He called on Iran to abstain from any further violence. NATO suspended its operations of training the Iraqi army and will temporarily transfer part of its personnel outside Iraq out of security reasons. Several West European leaders also condemned the attack and called for reticence. Bucharest officials also made an appeal for calming tensions in the region, the Romanian Foreign Ministry warning that the Iranian attack on the Iraqi bases housing US troops could lead to the deterioration of the security situation in the region. The Romanian military that are part of the international coalition deployed in the area were not affected by the attacks and neither was the 180-strong community of Romanian citizens in the Erbil region in Iraq, which was also targeted by the Iranian missiles.



    TurkStream — The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday officially inaugurated TurkStream gas pipeline that will annually deliver more than 30 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Turkey and Europe. On the occasion of a ceremony held in Istanbul, Erdogan considered the inauguration a historic moment for the Turkish-Russian relations and for the region’s energy map. The partnership between Russia and Turkey is being consolidated in all domains, in spite of the efforts of those who are opposed to it, said the Russian president Vladimir Putin. TurkStream gas pipeline is part of Russia’s effort to bypass Ukraine and deliver gas to Europe. The new gas pipeline has two lines: one for the local market in Turkey and another one that will cross Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary for customers in South and Southeastern Europe, France Press reports.



    Climate — 2019 was second warmest year on record and the hottest in Europe, shows data provided by Copernicus’ climate change service. The findings show that in 2019 the global average of surface air temperature was only 0.04 degrees C lower than in 2016, the hottest year on record. Also, the 2010-2019 decade was the warmest on record. In 2019 Europe reported the highest temperature on record which exceeded the temperatures reported in the years 2014, 2015 and 2018. The European Service also confirmed that the level of CO2 concentrations continued to grow. (update by L. Simion)

  • January 7, 2020 UPDATE

    January 7, 2020 UPDATE

    Bavaria — On Tuesday the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis paid a working visit to the State of Bavaria where he attended a meeting of the local government. The Romanian head of state met with the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, who is the president of the Christian Social Union (CSU). The two discussed bilateral relations as well as European issues such as the EU future multiannual budget, Brexit and the migration policy. Klaus Iohannis has promised that Romania will get involved alongside the other member states to make the EU stronger and more united. He has also announced that there will be a meeting of the Romania-Bavaria joint committee, which is critical both for the political and economic relations. The PM of Bavaria Markus Söder underlined that from a geographical point of view Romania is very important to Europe. On Tuesday President Iohannis participated in the annual meeting of the parliamentary group of the CSU in the Bundestag, and met with the speaker of the Bavarian Parliament, Ilse Aigner.



    Brussels — The Romanian PM Ludovic Orban on Tuesday met with the president of the European Council Charles Michel on his first day of his working visit to Brussels. PM Orban said that Romanian would back the promotion of the EU strategic agenda, which focuses, besides protecting the citizens and their liberties, on building a green Europe, fair and neutral from the point of view of the climate impact, on promoting the European interests and values in the world. As to the challenges facing the EU, Ludovic Orban said they should be solved in a balanced manner, while taking into account the citizens’ interests. Also on Tuesday the Romanian PM and the EU chief negotiator for Brexit Michel Barnier highlighted the importance of the Brexit deal, especially for the protection of the citizens’ rights. Mr. Orban said that the future partnership with Great Britain needs to be ambitious and balanced and should take into account aspects beyond the commercial and economic framework. On Wednesday Ludovic Orban will talk with the president of the EP David Sassoli and will participate in the meeting of the European People’s Party in the EP. On Thursday, the Romanian PM is to meet with the president of the EC Ursula von der Leyen and with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.



    Baghdad — The 14 Romanian military on mission in Iraq will be temporarily relocated to another coalition base. The measure follows the decision made by the ambassadors of NATO’s North Atlantic Council during Monday’s meeting to temporarily suspend the mission of training the Iraqi troops against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Middle East. NATO subsequently announced that it also temporarily withdrew part of its personnel from Iraq. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said he was closely monitoring the situation in Iraq and that the crisis in the region could be solved by diplomatic means and the return to calm. He added that the Strategic Partnership with the US is solid and unfolding well, and that the antimissile defense shield in Deveselu, a part of the NATO defense system, is functioning optimally. The Romanian president underlined that the situation in Iraq also concerns Romania because there are many Romanian citizens who live and work in the Middle East.



    Damascus – The Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday met with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on the occasion of a surprise visit to Damascus, the first visit he pays to the Syrian capital since the beginning of the conflict in 2011. According to the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, Vladimir Putin referred to the ‘immense’ progress made by Syria and the peaceful atmosphere on the streets of Damascus. Reuters news agency recalls that president Putin had previously visited Syria in 2017 when he visited the Hmeimim air base, the largest Russian base in that country. In turn, the Syrian president expressed gratitude for Russia’s help in the fight against terrorism and for the restoration of peace. The conflict started in Syria through the repression of the pro-democracy manifestations turned into a complex civil and military war which involved Jihadist groups and foreign powers. The conflict has left behind more than 380 thousand dead and millions of people displaced and stranded.



    Madrid — The Spanish Socialist Pedro Sanchez was reconfirmed as prime minister after narrowly winning Parliament’s confidence vote. This ends a period of 8 months of political deadlock. Sanchez will be able to form a new government coalition together with the radical left Podemos that will be supported by several small regional and national parties. In their highly criticized program, the Socialists and Podemos promised to make a left turn in the sense of increasing the minimum wage, introducing taxes for the richest and for companies, and partially abrogating the controversial labor market reform, adopted by the Conservatives.



    Consumer protection — The European Commission has hailed the enforcement of the new EU consumer protection rules. The EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders considers the rules a strong warning to traders who should play by the rules, not bend them. The new rules will ensure greater transparency of online marketplaces: it will become clearer whether products are sold by trader or a private individual, and fake reviews will be forbidden. Moreover sellers will not be able to advertise fake price reductions and price comparison sites will need to inform consumers about the ranking criteria. The new rules will also enforce consumer rights: by ensuring compensation for victims of unfair commercial practices and imposing penalties in case of “mass harm situations” affecting consumers across the EU. Member states have 2 years to transpose the rules into their national legislation. (news udpate by L. Simion)

  • December 29, 2019 UPDATE

    December 29, 2019 UPDATE

    VISIT PM Ludovic Orban will be on a working visit to EU and NATO institutions in Brussels between January 7th and 9th, the Government announced on Sunday. The Romanian PM will have meetings with the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The agenda also includes talks with the president of the European Council Charles Michel and with the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli.




    PENSIONS The Romanian public pension system is in imminent danger, given that the number of employed contributors has dropped significantly, and people need to be encouraged to save money in privately-managed pension funds, which ensure more safety, transparency and traceability, the Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru said in an interview to AGERPRES news agency. She also warned that there is a trend across Europe to increase the retirement age, but she did not suggest that the Government plans to take any measures in this respect in the current term in office. The Labour Minister also expressed concern with the budgetary impact of the planned 40% pension raise as of September 2020, as decided by the previous, Social Democratic cabinet dismissed in October, but said that as long as she is the labour minister the law will be complied with.




    CUSTOMS The customs offices on the Romanian – Moldovan border will be revamped and upgraded as part of a EU-funded project. Included in the project are the check points in Albiţa, Sculeni and Giurgiuleşti, which are seen as strategic points for the Unions security policy. The programme has a 36-month deadline for implementation, a total budget of 10 million euros, and is designed to enhance institutional and operational efficiency in customs offices by modernising the infrastructure and streamlining the transit of goods and persons. A number of 347 customs workers will also be trained to use special equipment to fight cross-border organised crime.




    FINANCIAL Most analysts in CFA Romania Association expect the national currency to depreciate in the next 12 months, to 4.8663 leu for the euro, with an average inflation rate of 3.52%, according to data in the Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator for November. CFA Romania is an organisation of chartered financial analysts certified by the CFA Institute (USA). At present CFA Romania has over 240 members. The Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator was launched by CFA Romania in May 2011 and is designed to measure the financial analysts expectations regarding Romanias economy for the coming 12 months.




    BORDER Nearly 900,000 people came into Romania during the Christmas period, and 655,000 left the country, the Romanian Border Police announced on Sunday. The highest numbers were reported on the Hungarian border, in the west of the country. On the other hand, Romanian border police have caught Middle Eastern citizens attempting to illegally cross the border into Hungary. They were coming from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, had applied for asylum in Romania, and were trying to get to Hungary and further west illegally.




    UKRAINE The Ukrainian governmental forces and the pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine Sunday completed a prisoner exchange, thanks to which all people taken captive in the 5-year conflict were able to return home, Reuters reports. The operation took place in the breakaway Donbass region. According to Kiev, a total of 76 Ukrainian prisoners were freed. Since 2014, over 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict in east Ukraine, with occasional clashes still reported in spite of the ceasefire. The prisoner exchange agreement was reached in a summit in Paris this month by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukraines president Volodimir Zelenskiy. The French-German brokered deal also includes a number of measures such as consolidation of the cease-fire, massive prisoner swaps by the end of December and new troop pull-outs from the 3 zones by the end of March 2020.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • December 29, 2019

    December 29, 2019

    VISIT PM Ludovic Orban will be on a working visit to EU and NATO institutions in Brussels between January 7th and 9th, the Government announced today. The Romanian PM will have meetings with the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and with the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. The agenda also includes talks with the president of the European Council Charles Michel and with the president of the European Parliament David Sassoli.




    PENSIONS The Romanian public pension system is in imminent danger, given that the number of employed contributors has dropped significantly, and people need to be encouraged to save money in privately-managed pension funds, which ensure more safety, transparency and traceability, the Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru said in an interview to AGERPRES news agency. She also warned that there is a trend across Europe to increase the retirement age, but she did not suggest that the Government plans to take any measures in this respect in the current term in office. The Labour Minister also expressed concern with the budgetary impact of the planned 40% pension raise as of September 2020, as decided by the previous, Social Democratic cabinet dismissed in October, but said that as long as she is the labour minister the law will be complied with.




    CUSTOMS The customs offices on the Romanian – Moldovan border will be revamped and upgraded as part of a EU-funded project. Included in the project are the check points in Albiţa, Sculeni and Giurgiuleşti, which are seen as strategic points for the Unions security policy. The programme has a 36-month deadline for implementation, a total budget of 10 million euros, and is designed to enhance institutional and operational efficiency in customs offices by modernising the infrastructure and streamlining the transit of goods and persons. A number of 347 customs workers will also be trained to use special equipment to fight cross-border organised crime.




    FINANCIAL Most analysts in CFA Romania Association expect the national currency to depreciate in the next 12 months, to 4.8663 leu for the euro, with an average inflation rate of 3.52%, according to data in the Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator for November. CFA Romania is an organisation of chartered financial analysts certified by the CFA Institute (USA). At present CFA Romania has over 240 members. The Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator was launched by CFA Romania in May 2011 and is designed to measure the financial analysts expectations regarding Romanias economy for the coming 12 months.




    UKRAINE The Ukrainian governmental forces and the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have initiated a prisoner exchange, thanks to which all people taken captive in the conflict 5 years ago should be able to return home, Russian news agencies report. The prisoner exchange agreement was reached in Paris this month by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukraines president Volodimir Zelenskiy, in the first Ukraine peace summit since 2016. The French-German brokered deal includes a number of measures such as consolidation of the cease-fire, massive prisoner swaps by the end of December, new troop pull-outs from the 3 zones by the end of March 2020. The conflict between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists—backed by Moscow, according to the West and to Kiev—dates back to 2014 and has left behind over 13,000 dead and nearly 1.5 million displaced. The peace agreements signed in Minsk in 2015 allowed for a substantial decrease in violence. This September Moscow and Kiev also swapped an important number of prisoners.




    HANDBALL Romanias mens handball team is playing today against North Macedonia in the Carpati Trophy final. In their first match with French top league Saint Raphaels coach Rareş Fortuneanu as a manager, Romania defeated Netherlands on Saturday, 27-25. In the first match of the competition, North Macedonia outplayed Algeria 25-24. Netherlands and Algeria will face each other for the 3rd place. The games are part of the preparations for the first stage of the 2021 Egypt World Championships qualifiers, in which 32 teams are taking part. Next month, in the preliminary tournament in Italy, Romania will play against the host country, Georgia and Kosovo.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • December 9, 2019 UPDATE

    December 9, 2019 UPDATE

    Broadcasting of RRI short wave programs is back on track – Dear friends, the short wave transmitter in Ţigăneşti, BD 300-1 near Bucharest is up and running. It has been out of order for several months and it’s now broadcasting RRI’s programs again. The transmitter has been repaired by RADIOCOM. We are looking forward to receiving your feedback related to the quality of reception. Thank you!




    Motion — The Romanian Senate on Monday passed a simple motion against the finance minister Florin Citu, the first one targeting a member of the Liberal government headed by Ludovic Orban. The PM said, after the passing of the motion, that he would take no measures against the finance minister. The motion initiated by the Social Democrats, in opposition, accuses the finance minister of having made risky declarations regarding the state of the public finances which led to the depreciation of the national currency. The Liberals claim however that the motion is a new opportunity to give details in Parliament about what they consider the disastrous situation left behind by the Social Democratic Party as regards the state budget.



    Brussels — The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu participated on Monday in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. High on the meeting agenda are such issues as the relations between the EU and Africa and the human rights situation in the world, thus marking the anniversary, on December 10, of the International Human Rights Day. In his speech, minister Aurescu presented Romania’s assessment and stand on the recent political developments in Chisinau, highlighting the important progress made in the reform process by the Republic of Moldova in the 5 months when the country was led by Maia Sandu’s government. In another development, Bogdan Aurescu underlined the importance of deepening the relation between the EU and Africa, in the context of the New Alliance with Africa for the development of economic and commercial relations with the partner states and pointed to Romania’s support in educating the young Africans, also as a way to fight violent extremism. (news update by L. Simion)

  • November 20, 2019 UPDATE

    November 20, 2019 UPDATE

    ELECTIONS The campaign ahead of the second round of Romania’s presidential elections on Sunday continues until Saturday morning at 7 am local time. The incumbent president Klaus Iohannis, who is endorsed by the National Liberal Party, now in power, is facing the former Social Democrat prime minister Viorica Dancila. The Standing Electoral Authority has announced that the electoral register has been updated and the total number of voters in the lists is 18,217,411. The total number of citizens residing abroad and entitled to vote in this election is 715,064. In the first round, which included 14 candidates, Iohannis won almost 38% of the votes and Dancila a little over 22%. Voter turnout stood at 51.19%. In the diaspora, where voting took place over three days, a record turnout was reported, with 675,000 people casting their ballots. The second round of voting is also taking place over three days abroad: on Friday between 12 am and 9 pm and on Saturday and Sunday between 7 am and 9 pm, with the possibility for the voting to be extended until midnight. The foreign ministry has already distributed the materials needed for the voting process abroad. 4 million, six hundred and eight thousand and 175 ballots were distributed among the 835 polling stations set up abroad, 100,000 more ballots than was requested in the first round.




    FINANCE The European Commission Wednesday recommended that Romania should implement an annual structural adjustment of 1% of the GDP in 2020, to ensure that the nominal increase in net primary government expenditure will not exceed 4.4%. Romania is also advised to use any exceptional revenues in order to reduce the deficit, with budget consolidation measures aimed at ensuring sustainable improvement of the government structural balance, able to encourage growth. Bucharest is also requested to present the Council with a report on the measures taken in this respect, no later than April 15, 2020.



    MEETING The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting on Wednesday with the US State Secretary Michael Pompeo, on the side-lines of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. The Romanian minister appreciated the US constant support for strengthening NATOs defence and deterrence posture on the eastern flank and pleaded for enhanced American military presence in Romania, given the volatile security context in the Black Sea region. He also reiterated the firm commitment of the new government in Bucharest for a fair sharing of responsibilities within NATO, confirming that Romania will continue to earmark 2% of its GDP to defence and to take part in foreign military missions. Also on Wednesday, Bogdan Aurescu had talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, on which occasion he mentioned the Common Declaration on the Strategic Partnership signed in 2018 by the presidents Klaus Iohannis and Emmanuel Macron, which re-launched the bilateral relation.



    ARREST The owner of the Romanian company that provided pest extermination services to 2 apartment buildings in Timişoara, western Romania, was taken in pre-trial custody for 30 days, under accusations of manslaughter, bodily harm and trafficking in controlled substances. Three people died, including a 9-day baby, over 40 others, mostly children, are hospitalized, and the buildings have been evacuated. The tragedy caused panic among the locals, with scores of people requesting medical check-ups. Investigations have revealed that the substances used for pest extermination had been purchased on the black market and contained a highly toxic compound. Concurrently with the criminal investigation, new decontamination operations were conducted on Wednesday, and a Health Ministry team is running on-site tests.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Week in Review (June 17 – 23, 2019)

    The Week in Review (June 17 – 23, 2019)

    The PSD-ALDE government has weathered a no-confidence vote



    The left-of-center Government in Bucharest led by the interim Social-Democratic leader Viorica Dancila on Tuesday survived a no-confidence motion submitted by the right-wing opposition. The document, which says that Romania urgently needs a government with a pro-European vision focusing on the countrys development priorities – education, health, public investment, and attraction of European funds – mustered 200 out of the 233 votes needed for its endorsement. The initiators of the no-confidence vote, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Peoples Movement Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, have accused the Government of mounting relentless attacks on the judiciary and destabilizing the economy. Government officials, however, expressed doubt with the oppositions willingness to take over the Government at this time. The censure motion has been announced by the main opposition political group, the National Liberal Party, shortly after the European Parliamentary elections on May 26th, when the ruling Social Democrats ranked second and their coalition partner ALDE failed to clear the election threshold of 5%.




    Romania was represented at the EU summit in Brussels by its president, Klaus Iohannis



    EU leaders, who have recently convened in Brussels for the European summer summit, have adopted the EU Strategic Agenda for the following five years, a document focusing on four priorities – citizen protection, developing a solid economic basis, building a green, equitable, climate-neutral and social Europe, and last but not least the promotion of European values and interests at world level. However, the heads of state and government who convened in Brussels failed to reach an agreement on holders of the main offices in the EU and postponed a decision on this issue until June 30th. The most disputed position is that of head of the European Commission, for which the candidate must obtain at least 21 votes from the member states, as well as majority in the European Parliament. During the Brussels summit, where the Romanian president briefed the participants over the results Bucharest obtained in its six-month mandate, the European leaders hailed the activity carried out by Romania on the multi-annual financial framework, where agreements were reached on 10 sectoral programmes out of the 37 submitted by the European Commission. The Romanian presidency of the EU was a good one with a large number of files successfully finalized, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis pointed out shortly before the beginning of the European Council in Brussels, recalling that the summit held in Sibiu, central Romania, on May 9th enjoyed a tremendous success.




    Talks on improving election legislation



    Romanias Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has announced the government is working on a project aimed at improving the voting process with a view to allowing citizens from Romania and abroad to exercise this Constitutional right under the best conditions possible. The presidential administration had earlier called for urgent measures to eliminate dysfunctions like those that affected the latest election in the Diaspora. We recall that tens of thousands Romanians spent hours in queues at the polling stations abroad in an attempt to cast their ballot in the European Parliament elections on May 26th. Most of these were even unable to vote just like in the presidential election of 2014. A working group at presidential administration level has gathered opinions from the Romanian citizens in the Diaspora, the line authorities, from NGOs, and election experts. Together with them it identified the measures to implement so that all citizens could vote in decent conditions.




    Romanians and the border-free Schengen Area



    Romania is not far from its entry into Europes border-free area, Schengen, or the day of its inclusion into the Visa Waiver programme, the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopulous said in Bucharest. The EU official participated in the EU-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs in Bucharest hosted against the background of Romanias holding the EU rotating presidency. An EU member since 2007, Romania should have entered Schengen in 2011, but its entry has been repeatedly postponed due to opposition from some member countries. According to Dimitris Avramopulous accession will take place shortly as the country has lived up to almost all its obligations. The day is not far either when Romanians will no longer need a visa for the USA. The meeting in Bucharest was also attended by US Attorney General William Barr, who held meetings with high-ranking Romanian officials. On that occasion Barr expressed his appreciation for the Strategic partnership the US has with Romania, which he described as the staunchest ally of the USA in the region.



    (translated by bill)


  • June 18, 2019 UPDATE

    June 18, 2019 UPDATE

    NO-CONFIDENCE The no-confidence motion against the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats was dismissed on Tuesday in the Parliament of Romania. Although apparently having more support than in the previous 2 attempts at removing Viorica Dăncilăs Cabinet, the Opposition failed to get the required 233 votes. According to the text of the motion, Romania immediately needs a government with a pro-European stand and focusing on the countrys development priorities, namely education, healthcare, public investments and attracting European funds. The signatories, the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union, Peoples Movement Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, said Viorica Dăncilăs Cabinet must be dismissed over the repeated attempts at issuing emergency orders in the field of the judiciary and the poor handling of the EP elections. PM Dăncilă, who is also the interim president of the Social Democratic Party, had asked the Social Democrat MPs to attend the meeting, but to abstain from voting.




    VISIT While on a visit in Romania, the US Attorney General William Barr was received on Tuesday by President Klaus Iohannis. The head of state appreciated the substance and dynamics of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA, which has grown stronger over the past few years, and reiterated Bucharests commitment to strengthening it at all levels, from politics to defence and security and from judicial cooperation to the rule of law. In turn, the US official voiced his appreciation for the Strategic Partnership with Romania, which is the USAs most reliable partner in the region. Also on Tuesday, William Barr discussed with PM Viorica Dăncilă. During the meeting, Viorica Dăncilă requested the Attorney Generals support for including Romania in the Visa Waver programme, an aspect of particular importance to the Romanian authorities. PM Dăncilă also stated that Romania is committed to carrying on the Strategic Partnership with the US in the field of international judicial cooperation in criminal matters and to strengthening this cooperation through constant dialogue and a positive approach.




    COUNCIL The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis takes part on Thursday and Friday in a meeting of the European Council in Brussels, the Presidency announced on Tuesday. The agenda will mainly include aspects related to the appointment of the new EU institution leaders, the endorsement of the EU Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024, the new multi-annual financial framework, as well as the latest developments related to Brexit. On Friday Klaus Iohannis will also take part in a Euro Summit in an extended format. According to the Romanian Presidency, at the end of the 6 months that Romania held the rotating presidency of the EU Council, Iohannis will present the progress made in implementing the goals set by the European Council.




    BSEC The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu took part on Tuesday in the opening session of the high-level conference on cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation. The event was organised jointly by the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU and the Bulgarian presidency of the BSEC, with support from the European Commission. In his address, Teodor Meleşcanu expressed Romanias constant and firm commitment to stimulating regional cooperation in the Black Sea region, as an integral part of Romanias strategic profile. He also reiterated the importance attached by Romania to strengthening the cooperation between the 2 international organisations, so as to help better use the opportunities offered by the EU policies, initiatives and programmes towards the sustainable development of the Black Sea region.




    FOOTBALL Several Romanian football clubs found out their opponents for the first preliminary round of the European cups, following Tuesdays draw of lots in Nyon, Switzerland. The Romanian champions CFR Cluj are to play against FC Astana of Kazakhstan, in the Champions League. The first leg will be played in Kazakhstan on July 9th or 10th, and the return leg a week later in Cluj-Napoca. In Europa League, FCSB will take on Moldovas Milsami Orhei, with the first leg scheduled in Romania on July 11th and the second one in Moldova on July 18th. CSU Craiova takes on the Azeri team FK Sabail, also on July 11th, away from home, while the Romanian Cup winners FC Viitorul Constanta will go straight into the second round of the same competition.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)