Radio România Internațional

Tag: Chancellor Angela Merkel

  • August 19, 2018

    August 19, 2018

    PROTEST – The Army Prosecutor’s
    Office in Bucharest has so far registered 260 criminal complaints against gendarmes,
    filed by participants in the August 10th anti-government protest.
    The gendarmes are accused of abusive intervention during the demonstration. As
    of Monday, claims and complaints will be received at the General Prosecutor’s
    Office, which will initiate the necessary criminal proceedings. Army
    prosecutors have opened a prosecution file for abusive behavior and professional
    misconduct in relation to the intervention of the gendarme forces during the
    protest. Ionel Corbu, Chief Prosecutor of the Army Prosecutor’s Office with the
    Bucharest Military Tribunal, has stated that the aggression displayed was not
    justified, as there were other means that could be used instead. On Saturday,
    dozens of people marked in Bucharest one week since the violence of August 10th.




    ITALY – The Romanian Foreign
    Ministry has announced the death of the second Romanian caught in the collapse
    of the Morandi road bridge in Italy. Representatives of the Romanian consular
    team, who travelled to Genoa, are in permanent contact with the family and is
    ready to provide the necessary assistance. According to Reuters, the search
    operations ended on Saturday night, and the official death toll stands at 43. Saturday
    was a day of national mourning in Italy, but half of the victims’ families
    decided to boycott the official ceremony in Genoa in protest against the
    Government. The Italian Government holds the operator of the motorway that
    included the Morandi bridge responsible for the tragedy. The leadership of the
    company responsible for the management of the bridge has announced it will
    allocate 500 million Euros for reconstruction and other projects aimed to aid
    the city. The families of the 40 victims will get millions in damages and the
    company will also pay for the relocation of those who were living in the
    buildings under the bridge.




    CYBER ATTACK – The Romanian
    Intelligence Service has announced that it possesses intelligence according to
    which large-scale cyber attacks were perpetrated against financial institutions
    in Romania in the June-August 2018 period. The American banks too had received
    warnings from the FBI that certain hackers were prepared to attack ATMs and
    payment processing devices. The Romanian Intelligence Service has stated that
    the hackers use several attack methods, including the Cobalt Strike arsenal,
    associated with a cyber-crime group in Eastern Europe.




    TALKS – The German chancellor
    Angela Merkel and the Russian President Vladimir Putin have made no real
    progress with regard to the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, the relations with
    Iran and the North Stream 2 gas pipelines, the issues that the two officials
    discussed on Saturday night, Reuters reports. The two leaders met in a formal
    bilateral meeting for the first time since the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
    After the talks, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peksov told the press that no
    agreement was reached following the discussions held at the Meseberg castle, north
    of Berlin. He stated that both Merkel and Putin believed the North Stream 2
    project was purely commercial, despite opposition from both the US and Ukraine.
    The pipeline should be rendered operation in late 2019, and would supply Europe
    with Russian natural gas, going round Ukraine. This project, initiated by
    Moscow, is being implemented despite the EU’s energy strategy to reduce the
    dependence on gas imported from Russia.




    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis
    player Simona Halep, world’s no.1, has qualified for the final of the WTA
    tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, with approximately 3 million dollars in prize
    money, after defeating on Friday 6-3, 6-4 Arina Sabalenka of Belarus. The
    Romanian player, who is the tournament’s first seed, will play the final match
    against the Dutch Kiki Bertens, no 17 in the WTA rankings. To Simona, the
    Cincinnati final will be the 33rd in her career, whose record
    includes 18 titles won so far. In another move, the pair made up of the
    Romanian Horia Tecau and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer failed to qualify for the
    final of the doubles competition of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in
    Cincinnati. They were defeated on Saturday by the British-Brazilian pair Jamie
    Murray – Bruno Soares.



  • January 20, 2018 UPDATE

    January 20, 2018 UPDATE


    PROTEST – Dozens of thousands of people protested again in Bucharest and other cities across Romania on Saturday evening against the changes brought to the justice laws and the recent fiscal measures adopted by the government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The protest in Bucharest was attended by people from all over the country. The traffic in the area was disturbed and incidents were reported involving protesters and gendarmes. The protesters are accusing the ruling coalition in Romania of trying to subordinate the judiciary, by amending the legislation in the field. In December, several NGOs called on the Government to inform the Venice Commission about the justice laws and the changes in the criminal codes. Recently, the embassies in Bucharest of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland and Sweden have called, in a joint letter, on all the parties involved in the reform of the judiciary to avoid any action that would weaken the independence of the justice system and the fight against corruption.



    AJC– Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has received in Bucharest a delegation of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), headed by President David Harris, on which occasion he stated that Bucharest authorities will continue to be extremely open to the Jewish community. In turn, David Harris has appreciated the way in which Romania acted while holding the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, between March 2016 and March 2017, stressing in particular the remarkable results obtained in the field of Holocaust education and research. During the meeting, the two parties also discussed the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US and the privileged ties between Romania and Israel, to the strengthening of which AJC would like to keep contributing. David Harris has also met with the Romanian interim prime-minister Mihai Fifor, who has stressed Romanias strategic role in the Black Sea area and the countrys firm commitment as a NATO member. Established in 1906, the American Jewish Committee is one of the oldest Jewish organisations in the USA, fighting against antisemitism at global level and promoting the observance of human rights.



    AIR POLLUTION– The European Commission has announced that on January 30th it will hold a ministerial meeting, involving the participation of nine member states, including Romania. The meeting will focus on the infringement procedure regarding failure to observe the agreed air pollution limits. The other member states, besides Romania, facing infringement are the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and the UK. In 2008, a directive was issued establishing the air quality limits that cannot be exceeded anywhere in the EU, obliging the Member States to limit the exposure of citizens to harmful air pollutants. According to the Commission, despite this directive, these limits are still being exceeded in more than 130 cities across Europe.



    BULGARIA – The German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a visit to Sofia on Saturday, for talks with her Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov on the priorities of the Bulgarian presidency of the EU. The talks focused on Bulgarias joining the Schengen agreement, the EU accession of the countries in the Western Balkans, the migration crisis and the relations with Turkey. Merkel hailed the way in which Bulgaria ensured the security of the EU borders, in particular the one with Turkey. She also appreciated the Bulgarian Prime Ministers initiative to organize an EU-Turkey summit, which would openly address all the important issues. The German chancellor has announced that Bulgarias accession to the Schengen area might start soon with air transportation.



    FARMING – Romania owns 33% of the total number of farms in the EU, but, as regards the area of land used in agriculture, the country is outranked by countries such as France or Spain, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute. According to the institute, Romanias main problem is the fragmentation of agricultural land, which does not help farmers capitalize enough on their production. The study made by the NSI has also revealed that, in 2016, the number of farms dropped by 6% as compared to 2013, when the previous study was conducted.



    ATTACK – On Saturday, the Turkish army confirmed it launched a ground and air offensive against the YPG Kurdish militia in the Afrin region in northern Syria. To Ankara, YPG, Peoples Protection Units, is a terrorist organisation. The operation is regarded with concern by Washington, given that YPG is an ally to the US in the fight against the Islamic State. Ankara accuses YPG of being the Syrian branch of the PKK, which has been carrying out a rebellion in south-eastern Turkey for more than 30 years and is considered by Ankara and its western allies a terrorist organisation.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN– The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number one in the WTA rankings, has today qualified for the next round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, after defeating the American Lauren Davis. The match against Davis was the most dramatic in her career and also the longest, as it lasted three hours and 45 minutes. In the fourth round, Simona Halep will take on the Japanese Naomi Osaka, no. 72 in the WTA classification. Also today, the pair made up of the Romanian Sorana Carstea and the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia has qualified for the last 16 of the womens doubles. Next they will play against the fourth seed Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova, of the Czech Republic. In the mens doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecau and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer were defeated by the Australian Sam Groth/ Lleyton Hewitt. Another Romanian player, Ana Bogdan, was eliminated in the third round by the American Madison Keys.


    (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)


  • Germany has chosen

    Germany has chosen


    “Europe needs a strong German government now more than ever” said the European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker in a congratulation letter addressed to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who secured her fourth term following September 24th legislative elections. The outcome of the elections brought changes in the membership of the federal parliament. According to the final results, the conservatives are the big winners, with 33% of the votes, although this means 8.5% less than in 2013.



    Professor Ioan Bogdan Lefter, a guest on Radio Romania, drew up the political picture of post-election Germany:


    “The Social – Democrats came second, with less than 20%, which makes their capacity to influence the governing process rather dim. They might not be part of the government, as we know that there used to be a large coalition in Germany, made up of the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, but the latter have announced, through the voice of Martin Schultz, that they are no longer willing to be part of that coalition. Next came the four parties that gather 40% of the votes, and which complicate a bit the political game. The far right Alliance for Germanys entering Parliament had been expected. Then, there are the Liberals, the Free Democratic Party, the Greens and the leftists from Die Linke. The Liberals and the Greens in particular share certain compatibilities with the Christian Democratic Union and probably this is the area where a coalition will be established. It will not be easy, as there are divergences there too, but this is what governing will look like in the coming four years.”



    The Christian – Democratic Union has secured for itself the largest number of seats, but the bitter taste of the poorest elections results since 1949 remains. Martin Schultzs Socialists, who have got the lowest score in their entire history, announced right after the closing of the polling stations, that they would get into the opposition. The leader of the Social Democratic Party believes, though, that the most depressing fact is the strengthening of the Alternative for Germany. “This is a turning point” said Schultz, who, including as president of the European Parliament, has been a constant supporter of the pro-migration policy promoted by Chancellor Merkel.



    Here is professor Ioan Bogdan Lefter again:


    “The elections were rather calm, and the results predictable. The biggest problems now are the formation of a coalition and facing the presence in Parliament of the far right wing. I should say, though, that the share is not that big; the message is worrying, but the percentage is not as big as to put the German democracy in danger. We will see what happens. Mrs. Merkel remains a big leader and she will continue to play a major role in Germany, in the EU, and also at global level.”



    There are talks underway for the formation of the new government, but analysts say that negotiations will really start after October 15th, when the Conservatives hope to win the local elections in Lower Saxony. One step towards forming a new coalition could be the Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeubles decision to accept the office of speaker of the lower chamber of Parliament. This decision opened the path towards allowing another political party to designate a holder of the portfolio left vacant. This is by no means negligible, given that the Free Democratic Party, for instance, has already announced its intention to get the ministry in order to join the coalition led by Angela Merkel. News agencies recall that Wolfgang Schaeuble became one of the most influential European politicians during the Eurozone debt crisis, and the chancellor hopes that his authority will render the office of Bundestag president more visible, allowing for a better control of the factions in the lower chamber of parliament. But how relevant are the results of the German elections outside the countrys borders.



    Ioan Bogdan Lefter once again:


    “The first thing we could say is that Germanys stability is useful to the entire EU and to the whole planet, after all. We are talking about the stability of a country that has been doing very well in the past years, especially since Mrs. Merkel has been chancellor. Its been a strong, stable economy, in a country that has been a role model, the main political force in the Euroatlantic and global context, which has requested, imposed, pleaded and insisted for and eventually obtained results from the austerity policies that brought balance into the economies hit by the big financial crisis.”



    At the same time, according to professor Lefter, we shouldnt forget about Berlins role as main negotiating force, as well as powerful decision maker in serious cases relating to the EUs recent policy, such as the situation in Greece and migration.