Radio România Internațional

Tag: EU-Western Balkans Summit

  • December 12, 2023

    December 12, 2023

    Summit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will participate, from Wednesday until Friday, in Brussels, in the EU Western Balkans Summit and in the European Council, in which context he will support the decisions regarding the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. According to the Presidential Administration, Klaus Iohannis will support the granting of candidate status for Georgia, as well as the opening of accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the necessary progress is made to meet the accession criteria. He will also insist on accelerating the accession process of the Western Balkan states.



    Moldova. The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, had a telephone conversation on Tuesday with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, majority Romanian), Dorin Recean, during which he reiterated the strong support of the Bucharest Government for Chisinaus European path. According to a Government press release, Prime Minister Ciolacu emphasized the active support that Romania is giving to the neighboring state for the start of the EU accession negotiation process, in the context of the European Council that will take place this week. The two prime ministers also discussed bilateral cooperation projects, especially in the fields of cross-border energy interconnections and the financial assistance that Romania provides for the development of the Republic of Moldova.



    Budget. In 2024,Romanias budget deficit will stand below 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, lower than the one that will end this year. According to the Romanian Government, important additional sums will be granted next year to Education, Health, Transport and Investments. According to the 2024 draft budget, the salaries of budget employees and teachers, as well as pensions will increase. All these pay rise and budget allocation increases will be made without increasing taxes as well, says the Government. The heads of the governing coalition are counting on a future package of measures to increase collection and reduce tax evasion, as well as on the digitization of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.



    Schengen. According to President Klaus Iohannis, Romanias accession to the Schengen Area would send a strong message of solidarity and unity from the European Union. The president has called for a positive decision in this regard as soon as possible. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu believes that some of Austrias conditions for accepting Romania in the area of ​​free movement, starting with the airports, are not exaggerated. From the opposition, the Save Romania Union states that Romania deserves a full admission to Schengen and calls on the authorities to come up with a concrete plan to achieve this goal.



    Awards. The Ministry of Education is organizing, today, an award ceremony for the students winners of this years international Olympiads, the teachers who trained them and the schools where they study. 138 students who obtained 164 medals, prizes and mentions at 28 international Olympiads and regional competitions will be awarded at the event hosted by the National Theater in Bucharest. They have won 6 gold medals with maximum score, 51 gold medals or first prizes, 55 silver medals/second prizes, 30 bronze medals/third prizes, and 22 honorary mentions or equivalent diplomas respectively.



    Handball. Romanias national team ended their participation in the World Womens Handball Championship in Denmark, Norway and Sweden with a victory, defeating Poland 27-26, on Monday evening, in the last match of the third main group. Thus, Romania has finished in third place in the group and has not fulfilled its objective at this final tournament, namely the qualification for the quarter-finals. The Romanians ranked 12th in the final ranking of the competition and will very likely not participate in the 2024 Olympics. Romania is the only national team that has participated in all 26 editions of the Womens World Handball Championship. It has a world title (1962), two silver medals (1973, 2005) and one bronze medal (2015). At the previous edition, Romania ranked 13th. (MI)


  • May 17, 2017 UPDATE

    May 17, 2017 UPDATE


    SUMMIT – Romanias partnerships with the EU and the US are equally important and choosing between them has never been an option, said Romanias President Klaus Iohannis in Sofia, where he attended the EU – Western Balkans summit. One of the topics discussed in the first session of the summit was connectivity in infrastructure, energy and digital networks and the Romanian head of state stressed that macro-regional strategies in these fields must be given additional support. In the second session, focusing on common challenges, Klaus Iohannis said that the EU and the Western Balkans are in a relation of interdependence, given their geographic proximity, and therefore boosting cooperation remains a top objective, with a view to protecting national security and regional stability. At the end of the summit, the EU heads of state adopted a declaration which explicitly reiterates the support for the regions European prospects.



    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Ministry took note of the Ramallah authorities decision to call for consultations the Palestinian Ambassador to Bucharest and issued a communiqué stressing the need to avoid any action that might jeopardize the peace process. According to the Ministry, a strong political dialogue is needed more than ever, supported also by means of strong diplomatic cooperation, with a view to ensuring a constructive stand on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Also, the Foreign Ministry reiterates Romanias support for the solution of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. On Wednesday, the Ambassador of Palestine to Romania Fuad Kokaly was urgently called to Ramallah for consultations, given that Romania is one of the countries that have blocked the EU declaration regarding the relocation of the member states diplomatic missions from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.



    VISIT – On Thursday, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had talks in Bucharest with the European Commissioner for Single Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The main topic on the agenda of talks was the future budget of the EU, which, according to the Romanian Prime Minister, should support efforts to bridge the gaps between the member states. In turn, the European Commissioner appreciated Romanias economic development and said that the future budget should earmark more for cooperation between the member countries defense industries. In another development, also on Thursday, Prime Minister Dancila met with the Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin. The two officials discussed the growing cooperation between Romania and Israel in the tourism sector, and the development of a joint tourism programme.



    NOTIFICATION – The leader of the opposition National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban has announced he has filed a notification with the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest concerning the Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea, who is also the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. According to Orban, the notification is about the memorandum recently adopted by the Romanian Government on the relocation of the Romanian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Orban accuses the two officials of high treason and usurpation of public office. Dragnea has stated that Orbans move was a coup attempt.



    AIR QUALITY – On Thursday, the European Commission referred Romania to the Court of Justice of the EU, alongside another five countries, for failing to respect agreed air quality provisions. The Commission has sanctioned France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary and Romania “for failing to respect agreed air quality limit values and for failing to take appropriate measures to keep exceedance periods as short as possible”. France, Germany and Great Britain will be referred to the Court of Justice for failure to respect limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and Hungary, Italy and Romania are referred to the Court over persistently high level of particulate matter.



    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number one in the world, has qualified to the quarter finals of the WTA tournament in Rome, with 2.7 million Euro in prize money, after the American player Madison Keys, ranking 14th in the WTA classification, withdrew due to an accident. In another move, Haleps main adversary Garbine Muguruza, number three in the world, was eliminated in the second round by the Australian Daria Gavrilova.




  • May 17, 2017 UPDATE

    May 17, 2017 UPDATE


    SUMMIT – Romanias partnerships with the EU and the US are equally important and choosing between them has never been an option, said Romanias President Klaus Iohannis in Sofia, where he attended the EU – Western Balkans summit. One of the topics discussed in the first session of the summit was connectivity in infrastructure, energy and digital networks and the Romanian head of state stressed that macro-regional strategies in these fields must be given additional support. In the second session, focusing on common challenges, Klaus Iohannis said that the EU and the Western Balkans are in a relation of interdependence, given their geographic proximity, and therefore boosting cooperation remains a top objective, with a view to protecting national security and regional stability. At the end of the summit, the EU heads of state adopted a declaration which explicitly reiterates the support for the regions European prospects.



    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian Foreign Ministry took note of the Ramallah authorities decision to call for consultations the Palestinian Ambassador to Bucharest and issued a communiqué stressing the need to avoid any action that might jeopardize the peace process. According to the Ministry, a strong political dialogue is needed more than ever, supported also by means of strong diplomatic cooperation, with a view to ensuring a constructive stand on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Also, the Foreign Ministry reiterates Romanias support for the solution of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. On Wednesday, the Ambassador of Palestine to Romania Fuad Kokaly was urgently called to Ramallah for consultations, given that Romania is one of the countries that have blocked the EU declaration regarding the relocation of the member states diplomatic missions from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.



    VISIT – On Thursday, the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had talks in Bucharest with the European Commissioner for Single Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The main topic on the agenda of talks was the future budget of the EU, which, according to the Romanian Prime Minister, should support efforts to bridge the gaps between the member states. In turn, the European Commissioner appreciated Romanias economic development and said that the future budget should earmark more for cooperation between the member countries defense industries. In another development, also on Thursday, Prime Minister Dancila met with the Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin. The two officials discussed the growing cooperation between Romania and Israel in the tourism sector, and the development of a joint tourism programme.



    NOTIFICATION – The leader of the opposition National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban has announced he has filed a notification with the Prosecutors Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest concerning the Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea, who is also the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. According to Orban, the notification is about the memorandum recently adopted by the Romanian Government on the relocation of the Romanian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Orban accuses the two officials of high treason and usurpation of public office. Dragnea has stated that Orbans move was a coup attempt.



    AIR QUALITY – On Thursday, the European Commission referred Romania to the Court of Justice of the EU, alongside another five countries, for failing to respect agreed air quality provisions. The Commission has sanctioned France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary and Romania “for failing to respect agreed air quality limit values and for failing to take appropriate measures to keep exceedance periods as short as possible”. France, Germany and Great Britain will be referred to the Court of Justice for failure to respect limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and Hungary, Italy and Romania are referred to the Court over persistently high level of particulate matter.



    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number one in the world, has qualified to the quarter finals of the WTA tournament in Rome, with 2.7 million Euro in prize money, after the American player Madison Keys, ranking 14th in the WTA classification, withdrew due to an accident. In another move, Haleps main adversary Garbine Muguruza, number three in the world, was eliminated in the second round by the Australian Daria Gavrilova.