Radio România Internațional

Tag: declassified documents

  • December 5, 2024

    December 5, 2024

    COALITION – The leaders of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians (UDMR), in addition to the group of national minorities, have agreed to create a coalition meant to ensure stable governance and continue reforms. The coalition seeks to avoid isolating Romania at global level, to uphold a sustainable pace of economic growth and to safeguard the country’s European track, the absorption of EU funds, implement reforms stipulated in the Recovery and Resilience mechanism and ensure Romania’s accession to Schengen and the OECD. The exact structure of the cabinet will be decided after Sunday’s second round of the presidential election.

     

    DOCUMENTS – The Prosecutor General’s office announced it would investigate the documents presented by secret services at the meeting of the country’s Supreme Defense Council, to ascertain whether there is sound legal basis to start a criminal investigation targeting Călin Georgescu, an independent candidate enrolled in the presidential race. According to documents declassified by president Klaus Iohannis, a state actor coordinated the activity of TikTok accounts, which boosted Călin Georgescu’s standing in global trends on TikTok, ahead of the first round of the presidential election. Tens of thousands of Russian cyber-attacks targeted the Permanent Electoral Authority, including on election night, intelligence services say. An independent candidate criticized for his pro-Russian, extremist views, Călin Georgescu will face pro-European candidate Elena Lasconi of USR in the presidential runoff slated for December 8.

     

    CRIME – Anti-crime prosecutors (DIICOT) have arrested a 34-year-old Columbian, suspected of planning various subversive actions. In July, the suspect devised a plan to destroy objectives of national security importance, prosecutors say. The Columbian national was reportedly radicalized by a Russian citizen. Investigators also say that the man had been trained to collect intelligence in his home country, and had taken pictures of the objectives he was planning to attack.

     

    MOLDOVA – The Moldovan government could call a state of emergency in connection to the energy crisis, the line minister Victor Parlicov said, as the Russian provider Gazprom could cut gas supplies. Prime Minister Dorin Recean said he would announce a number of measures meant to ensure energy security on Thursday, adding that gas prices will not go up over the coming months.

     

    FRANCE – Michel Barnier’s Cabinet, sworn in in September at the end of a tough negotiation, has collapsed in the wake of a no-confidence vote called by the opposition in connection to next year’s budget. The far right and the alliance of left-wing parties all voted to oust Barnier. Sources close to Emmanuel Macron say the president will announce a new Prime Minister over the next 24h. The future head of government will need to stabilize financial markets on the short term, to prove France has a leadership, and to vote the state budget for 2025. At the end of Wednesday’s Parliament sitting, the French left-wing alliance persistently called on the president of the Republic to entrust them with forming a government. In turn, the far right warned it would block any and all actions of a leftist cabinet. Given the current structure of the National Assembly, none of the three main political groups can secure absolute majority to form a government by itself.

     

    HANDBALL – Romania tonight takes on France, the Olympic vice-champions, at the European Handball Championship hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, in its first match in the main group phase. Romania will next play Sweden on Friday and Hungary on Sunday. We recall Romania has taken part 14 times in the European Championship, obtaining a single medal, bronze in 2010. Romania ranked 12th at the previous edition of 2022. (VP)

  • December 4, 2024 UPDATE

    December 4, 2024 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT – The interim president of the National Liberal Party, Ilie Bolojan, on Wednesday said the pro-European parties in the new Parliament, PSD, PNL, USR, UDMR and the group of national minorities have agreed to create a coalition as part of a joint resolution. The coalition will seek to ensure stability and reforms. The four parties are expected to hold together over 55% of total seats in Parliament after the completion of the redistribution process. The other three parties that entered Parliament, AUR, SOS Romania and POT, seen as ultranationalist and sovereigntist, will hold 37% of MP seats. The exact figures will be made public at the end of the week once all mandates that were left vacant after the election are redistributed, the president of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says. The new Parliament is expected to officially start its activity on December 20, when the four-year term of the current legislature is set to end.

     

    DOCUMENTS – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Wednesday declassified 5 documents presented by the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Special Telecommunications Service in the November 28 meeting of the Supreme Defense Council. The documents regard infringement of electoral advertising regulations ahead of the 1st round of the presidential election. We recall that following last week’s meeting, Council members noticed that cyber-attacks sought to influence the first round of the presidential election, held on November 24.

     

    FINANCE – Finance Minister Marcel Boloș on Wednesday said the Government has withdrawn 6 bln EUR from the Reserve Fund to deal with imbalances triggered by the recent political uncertainty. Romania is undergoing a period of uncertainty until a new government is sworn in to stabilize and finalize the country’s budget policies, the Finance Minister added, expressing hope the crisis would end. The same difficulties in terms of state bonds and loans are also transparent on the stock market, Minister Boloș went on to say.

     

    FLOODS – The Government has updated the national strategy for the management of medium and long-term flood risks. The updated document provides a number of general objectives, including the need ot modernize the protection infrastructure, including embankments and dams, implementing natural solutions, such as water draining, introducing tight regulations for the use of farmland in at-risk areas and providing risk management training to technical staff. The implementation of these goals are estimated to cost approximately 18 bln EUR, which will be covered with EU funds from the Recovery and Resilience mechanism.

     

    NATO – Ukraine’s allies should provide enough military assistance to “alter the course of the war once and for all”, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in Brussels, which hosted the two-day meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers. On Tuesday, in her speech before the Foreign Affairs Council, Romania’s Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, said NATO membership presented Romania with the strongest security guarantees it ever had. Over 5,000 NATO troops are currently deployed to Romania for deterrence and security consolidation purposes, the Romanian official recalled. Another positive effect of the presence of foreign troops is an economic boost, while NATO membership itself reinforces Romania’s credibility at international level, including on financial markets, the Romanian official said.

     

    GAUDEAMUS – A new edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair has kicked off in Bucharest. Organized by Radio Romania, the event this year is presided by a special honorary guest, Mircea Cărtărescu, one of the best-known and internationally acclaimed Romanian contemporary writers, the recipient of countless national and international awards. Some 200 exhibitors are taking part in the fair, which until December 8 will bring visitors hundreds of book launches and numerous premieres. (VP)