Radio România Internațional

Tag: European Council

March 16, 2016 UPDATE

PRESIDENCY – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will attend the European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, the Presidential Administration in Bucharest has announced. The participants will discuss, among others, supplementary measures to approach the migration crisis. On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will join the European leaders for a working session devoted to cooperation between Brussels and Ankara, the Presidential Administration says.

SMOKING BAN – A smoking ban comes into effect in Romania on Thursday. Smoking will be prohibited in all enclosed public spaces, including spaces with a roof and two walls. Smoking will still be permitted in maximum-security prisons and in enclosed environments in the transit areas of international airports. Smoking is banned in workplaces and all children playground areas, both outdoor and indoor. Electronic cigarettes will be allowed, with the exception of public transport. Penalties for breaking the smoking ban include fines and even the closing down of the venues in question. Smoking is one of the most expensive habits. Last year alone, the state cashed in 2.7 billion euros from taxes and duties on cigarette trade.

FINANCIAL– Romanias top ten exporters account hold a 17% share in total exports, accounting for almost 10 billion euros, according to a report by the National Institute for Statistics commissioned by the Ziarul Financial newspaper. Romanias biggest exports come from the car industry. The top 500 exporters cover 74% of Romanias exports, which amounted to almost 55 billion euros in 2015. Last year, only six out of the 500 companies retained their positions, while 68 companies entered the top 500.

AIR INCIDENT – A plane belonging to the Romanian state-owned airline, TAROM, en route from Budapest to Bucharest was forced to land, for technical problems. The plane, having on board, among others, the President of Harghita County Council, in central Romania, Borboly Csaba, was forced to land, just minutes after taking off. All passengers have been safely evacuated.

CORRUPTION – Romanias Prime Minister between 2008 and 2012, Emil Boc, the current mayor of Cluj in northwestern Romania was heard on Wednesday, as a witness, at the National Anti-Corruption Directorates headquarters in Bucharest in a file investigating the activity of the National Agency for Property Restitution, ANRP. Boc said he provided details to the anticorruption prosecutors on the procedures of designating the ministries representatives on the commissions of state agencies. Two Liberal MPs were investigated, among others, in the ANRP file, Ioan Oltean and Catalin Teodorescu, who are accused of having used their influence for a businessman to receive over-evaluated damages. The prejudice brought to the state was estimated at some 24 million Euros.

MUSIC-Radio Romania’s Charming Flute project featuring flautist Ion Bogdan Stefanescu and pianist Horia Mihail travels to the United States. The performances are scheduled for March 18, 6.30 PM, at the Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC and for March 20, 12 PM, at the Victor Borge Hall – Scandinavia House in New York (58 Park Ave.). The all-Romanian programme includes works by Anton Pann, George Enescu, Tudor Ciortea, Paul Constantinescu, Petre Elinescu, Ciprian Porumbescu, Vasile Jianu, Ioan Dobrinescu and Tiberiu Brediceanu.

(Translated by Diana Vijeu)

16 March 2016
February 19, 2016 UPDATE

EUROPEAN COUNCIL — The European Council President Donald Tusk announced late on Friday that there is unanimous support for a deal between the UK and the EU. The announcement comes after two days of intense negotiations in Brussels. The agreement paves the way for the UKs in/out referendum on EU membership in June. “I have negotiated a deal to give the UK special status in the EU. I will be recommending it to Cabinet tomorrow”, the British Premier said in a post on Twitter. Romania was represented at the European Council meeting by President Klaus Iohannis.

HEALTHCARE — The Romanian PM, Dacian Ciolos, and the healthcare minister, Patriciu Achimas Cadariu, on Friday paid a visit to Arges County, in the south, where several cases of serious digestive problems have been reported among children. On Thursday two foreign experts came to Romania in an attempt to identify the source of the bacteria that caused the digestive problems in children. 3 of the children continue to be in a serious state, having been diagnosed with the hemolytic-uremic syndrome. We recall that 3 children died in February due to serious digestive infections that were followed by other major complications.

BRANCUSI DAY— In 2016 Romania marks 140 years since the birth of the great sculptor Constantin Brancusi. February 19 has been proclaimed national celebration day and the National Program “140 years since the birth of the great sculptor Constantin Brancusi” has been launched on the occasion. The program is being run by the Romanian Cultural Institute in partnership with the “Constantin Brancusi” Centre for Research, Documentation and Promotion. On Brancusi Day, various events have been scheduled across Romania as well as at the Romanian Cultural Institute’s centres abroad.

ECONOMY — Romania attracted 1.25 billion euros from the external capital markets, by reopening the two instalments of euro bonds issued in October 2015, at historical cost lows, the Public Finance Ministry officials announced on Friday. Of the total sum lent, 750 million euros will reach maturity in 10 years’ time while 500 million euros will reach maturity in 20 years’ time. According to Finance Minister, Anca Dragu, the transaction reconfirms the very good perception of and the confidence of investors in the Romanian economy in the context of a volatile market.

FOOD INDUSTRY — “Salam de Sibiu”, a dried raw salami with noble mould, has been registered under EU quality schemes as a Romanian traditional product, being recognised as such at EU level, the Romanian Agriculture Ministry has announced. According to the line ministry, “Salam de Sibiu” has been included in the Register of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The decision by the European Commission was published on Friday in the Official Journal of the EU. Romania has only one more similar product recognised at EU level, namely “Magiun de prune Topoloveni”, which is a jam made from very ripe fruit, from various plum varieties, without added sugar. The agriculture minister, Achim Irimescu, said late last year that Romania intends to get European recognition for two other products: the cheese of Ibanesti and the famous kürtőskalács, a spit cake made in Tinutul Secuiesc (Szecklerland), in central Romania.

FILM — The long reel “Illegitimate” directed by Romanian Adrian Sitaru will have a final screening on Saturday at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film, which had its world premiere late last week, has received big hands of applause from the public and appreciative reviews by international journalists. “Illegitimate”, one of the most daring and thought-provoking Romanian films in recent years, tells the story of two brothers and their illegitimate love. The Berlin International Film Festival started on February 11 and runs until February 21.

HANDBALL — Romania’s vice champion women’s handball team, HCM Baia Mare, on Friday qualified to the Champions League’s quarter finals, after defeating, on home turf, the German team Thuringer HC, 38-27, in the main Group 1 of the Champions League. In the same competition, but in the 2nd main Group, the champions CSM Bucharest will take on the Danish team FC Midtjylland, on Sunday, in an away match. Ranking first in this group is the defending champion Buducnost Podgorica, followed by Gyori Audi ETO KC, RK Vardar Skopje and CSM Bucharest.

(Translated by Diana Vijeu)

19 February 2016
Romania and the migration crisis

A former European commissioner for
agriculture, Dacian Ciolos will return to Brussels next week as Romania’s prime
minister in a technocratic cabinet. On Tuesday, the joint parliamentary
committees for European affairs approved Ciolos’ agenda for the upcoming
meeting of the European Council on the 17th and 18th of
December.

The proposal for Romania to be
represented at this meeting by its prime minister came from president Klaus
Iohannis, and experts have all welcomed the idea because, on the one hand,
Ciolos is at ease in Brussels, and on the other, because this would send a good
signal about the mutual trust between the president and the prime minister. In
the past, both Iohannis and his predecessor Traian Basescu did not hide their
misgivings about delegating the former Social Democrat prime minister Victor
Ponta to represent Romania in Brussels. We recall that Ponta resigned last
month following massive anti-corruption demonstrations.

Ciolos said it was important to have
a meeting with the parliamentary committees for European affairs because one of
his cabinet’s priorities is to prepare Romania’s agenda in the run-up to its
taking over the EU rotating presidency in 2019. At next week’s summit, Ciolos
said Romania would insist on the need to solve the fundamental issues
underlying migration and to secure Europe’s borders more efficiently. Dacian
Ciolos:

The central element of my agenda is
that Romania will insist on the need to address the root causes of migration
and to achieve a better security of the European Union’s borders, while also
controlling migration at its source.

The prime minister also said Romania
would maintain its reservations about the introduction of a permanent mechanism
for the redistribution of refugees coming to the European Union from Africa and
the Middle East. In September, the former prime minister Victor Ponta said
Romania could not take in more refugees than it could accommodate. He said
Romania could only provide accommodation for 1,500 people, but 150-200 of these
places had already been occupied. Amid speculations in the foreign media at the
time about Romania receiving 4,000-7,000 immigrants, president Iohannis said
that each EU member state had a right to take in only as many refugees as it can
accommodate. The figure he mentioned, namely 1,785, was close to that proposed
by Victor Ponta. Iohannis stood for what he called voluntary quotas and
rejected the idea of mandatory quotas proposed by EU officials. Later, Romania
appeared to agree to the principle of mandatory quotas, but commentators say
that after last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris, in which so-called refugees
were also involved, the entire issue of migration needs to be reconsidered.

9 December 2015
Romania, a Negotiator in the Middle East

The refugee crisis and the developments in Syria rank high on the agenda of the European Council autumn session, taking place on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. The leaders of the 28 EU Member States, including Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, are looking for new solutions to handle the wave of migrants coming in from the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Before heading off to Brussels, the president referred to the migration phenomenon, which generated many tensions within the EU. Klaus Iohannis said Romania was solidary with the other EU states and wanted to remain part of the solution. The important thing however, the president argues, is to identify the source of these refugees, and it is pretty obvious the main source is Syria, as the ongoing conflict there has prompted many people to flee.

Klaus Iohannis: “The conflict in Syria is the cause of a huge number of refugees, both in other countries in the Middle East and in the European Union. The solution is obvious: ensuring peace in Syria. For that, all stakeholders must join forces. The fact that, in recent months, Russia has made military interventions in Syria does not help find a way out, and instead, we believe, it only makes matters worse. The only viable solution right now is to negotiate. All parties involved must sit at the negotiations table, and only then will a solution be at hand.

The fact that Romanias embassy in Damascus is still operational might turn Romania in a mediator for peace in the region, the President believes. His view seems to be shared by the US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute, who says Bucharest might contribute to finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis. In turn, Petru Filip, the chairman of the Senates Foreign Policy Committee, also referred to Romanias role in the Middle East, during his official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Petru Filip: “We are trying to preserve this role of political mediator, so to say, that Romania has had in the area for years. I believe this is a benefit for Romania and for Romanias policy in the Middle East. I dont only mean Israels relations with the Palestinian Authority, but also to the other states in the region. We are trying to be politically active in the area, and at least let the others know that our diplomatic missions are willing to mediate peace and stability in the area.

Petru Filip also reiterated Romanias intention to support the peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East together with its international partners.

15 October 2015
New EU measures to ease migration crisis

Addressing the root causes of migration at the same
time with its effects is the main decision taken by European Union leaders at
two important meetings held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels, the Justice
and Home Affairs Council and the European Council. At the end of the latter
meeting, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said:

It is obvious that if we want to manage the
migration phenomenon efficiently we must first go to its roots, that is the
crisis areas, such as Syria, and do our best to put an end to the conflict and
reinstate peace in those areas.

The European Union cannot do this by itself, but it
surely can contribute. Thus, the EU leaders have pledged to grant an additional
sum of at least 1 billion euros to the UN agencies supporting the refugees in
Syria’s neighbouring countries, such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Most of the
amount will go to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to the World Food Programme. Under this programme,
Romania will contribute 300,000 euros over the next three years.

Another measure was to strengthen
the EU’s external borders, as, according to the European Council President,
Donald Tusk, the proper management and control of EU borders is a joint
responsibility of the member states. Otherwise, the Schengen border-free area
itself may be at risk.

Another decision taken by the
European leaders is that the so-called hotspots, the EU-run reception centres
in frontline member states such as Italy and Greece, where asylum applications
are processed, will become operational at the end of November. A number of reception
centres have already been set up, but they can only function under strict rules
in order to be considered hotspots. It is from these centres that people
considered illegal migrants will be sent back to their countries of origin
while the asylum-seekers will be relocated to other member states.

In Romania, the deputy prime
minister and interior minister, Gabriel Oprea will be in charge of coordinating
the reception of refugees. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has given
assurances that all relevant government structures will get involved in solving
the situation, while also taking a jibe at the way in which the Hungarian
authorities have handled the refugee crisis. Victor Ponta:

I
want to make it clear that the government is getting ready to take all
necessary measures. This is what I describe an European and balanced approach
to the situation, which is very different from the xenophobic and chauvinistic
attitude of our neighbours.

Following the decision taken at
Wednesday’s Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council, 120,000 refugees
will be relocated among EU member states. Although it has repeatedly stated
that it can only accommodate 1,785 refugees, Romania will now have to take in
another 2,475.

24 September 2015
June 26, 2015 UPDATE

President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on Friday in Brussels, after the summer meeting of European heads of state and government, that EU countries have undertaken to take part in redistributing the immigrants to Greece and Italy via the Mediterranean. He added that the Romanian Foreign Ministry will suggest a number of migrants that it can accommodate. Klaus Iohannis pointed out that the 2-year long relocation will be voluntary, in terms of the number of immigrants that each member state will take over. He added that the talks in Brussels also tackled a revision of the EU security strategy and the fight against terrorism. Opinions were also exchanged with the NATO Secretary General, who presented the measures the Alliance is considering in order to cope with the current security threats. On Thursday, the first day of the European summit, Greece was one of the major topics, after the Eurogroup once again failed to reach an agreement with the Greek officials. Unless a deal is struck by June 30, Greece risks defaulting on payments and exiting the Eurozone.

The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, has strongly condemned Fridays terror attack in France, and said this was a tragic proof of the need to enhance global efforts at fighting terrorism. An International Court against Terrorism is needed, Minister Aurescu said in a Twitter post. The presumed attacker, aged 35, was held by the police shortly after the gas factory attack near Lyon, which left one person dead and two wounded. Also on Friday, around 30 people, including foreign tourists, were killed in the Tunisian tourist resort of Sousse. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, no Romanians are among the victims, but investigations go on. In Kuwait as well, around 25 people died and more than 200 were wounded in an attack on a Shia mosque claimed by the IS. Minister Bogdan Aurescu firmly condemned the attack in Sousse and said the events in Kuwait were shocking.

Government corruption remains a widespread problem in Romania, reads the US Department of States report on human rights practices for 2014. The report mentions attempts by politicians to compromise the independence of the judiciary and undermine media freedom through threats to journalists, as well as instances of discrimination. Major human rights problems include police and gendarme mistreatment and harassment of detainees and Roma. According to the report, the Government and Parliament passed laws in a non-transparent manner, and Parliament often voted against lifting the immunity of its members for prosecution for corruption. Also, although the Romanian law guarantees the freedom of the press, there are media groups controlled by politicians. Bribery was widespread, especially in the healthcare sector. In 2014, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate continued to investigate high and medium-level corruption cases at a steady pace throughout the year, sending to court 710 individuals under corruption charges, as compared to 530 in the first half of 2013, the US Department of State also noted.

Romanias womens epee team, made up of Ana-Maria Brânză, Simona Gherman and Simona Pop Friday won the gold medal at the Baku European Games, after having defeated Estonia, 31-25. The mens epee team, including Tiberiu Dolniceanu, Iulian Teodosiu and Alin Badea, lost the final to Italy, 45-44, and won the silver. Romania has won 12 medals in the European Games – 3 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze

26 June 2015
March 20, 2014 UPDATE

EU heads of state and government agreed on Friday in Brussels, at the spring meeting of the European Council, to build an Energy Union. Taking part in the meeting, the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, supported the need to finalise the deregulation of the domestic energy market. He explained that for Romania, in the medium and long run, this means the development of the energy infrastructure, ensuring accessible prices for consumers, maintaining the industry competitiveness, economic growth and new jobs.

The Romanian PM Victor Ponta considers temporarily taking over the finance ministry, until the government has passed the new fiscal code and code of fiscal procedure, according to political sources. A decision in this respect might be announced after consultations with President Klaus Iohannis. The finance minister post has been vacant since Sunday, after Minister Darius Valcov, who initiated the two codes, resigned, being prosecuted in a corruption case. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate has asked the Senate to approve Valcov’s arrest pending trial, because in 2008-2009, while he was the mayor of Slatina, in southern Romania, Vâlcov reportedly took 2 million euros in bribe, in exchange for awarding public work contracts.

The Romanian diplomacy has full confidence in the capacity of the Francophonie to make a contribution to solving global issues, together with other international organisations, said the Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, in a message broadcast on Friday, the International Day of La Francophonie. Romania, Aurescu added, is an important actor in the International Organisation of La Francophonie, and ever since its accession as an observer in 1991, and as a full member in 1993, has constantly worked to promote and achieve the goals of the French-speaking community. In 2006, Bucharest hosted a Francophonie summit.

Over 1,500 foreigners applied for asylum in Romania last year, just 50 more than in 2013, the EU Statistics Bureau announced on Friday. Romania has among the lowest rates of asylum applications per number of inhabitants in Europe. Of Romania’s neighbours, Bulgaria received 11 thousand applications, while Hungary nearly 45 thousand. As for the countries of origin of the asylum seekers in Romania, most of them came from Syria, over 600, followed by Afghanistan, nearly 300, and Iraq—over 200. At a EU level, out of 625 thousand asylum seekers, over 120 thousand came from Syria, more than 40 thousand from Afghanistan and nearly 40 thousand from Kosovo. The host countries of choice for asylum seekers are Germany, Sweden and Italy.

Romania’s national rugby team is playing in Bucharest on Saturday against Georgia, in the last stage of the Europe Championship, formerly known as the European Nations Cup. The game is seen as the competition “final” given that Georgia, with 17 points, and Romania, with 15, are the best ranking in the competition. In the previous games, the Romanians defeated Portugal, 37-10, away from home, Spain, 29-8, and Germany, 17-12, on home ground, and lost to Russia 13-16. The Rugby Europe Championship is regarded as an excellent training stage for this autumn’s World Cup.

The independent candidate Irina Vlah, backed by the pro-Russian Socialists (in opposition) and by Moscow, is the most likely to win Sunday’s elections for governor of the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia, in the south of the Republic of Moldova. According to polls, over 90% of the respondents favour closer relations with Russia. Some 30% of the over 150 thousand inhabitants of Gagauzia, most of them Turkish-speaking Orthodox Christians, plead for closer ties with Turkey, and only 5% are pro-EU. The Gagauz people’s orientation is radically different from the pro-European options of the central government in Chisinau, which last year signed free trade and association agreements with Brussels and hopes to get the country into the EU in 2020.

20 March 2015
Top-level European Talks

Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has attended his first European Council meeting since taking office against a complicated geo-political background. Speaking about the tense situation in the neighbouring Ukraine and the recent agreement in Minsk, the president said Romania was aware of the enhanced danger of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and would contribute to finding a political solution.

Klaus Iohannis: “I reiterate my conviction that the only way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis is to find a political solution based on dialogue and seeking to end bloodshed. We are optimistic about the new agreement, but were are also aware that there are still tensions and sensitive issues that cannot be resolved without political will and without being united.”

According to Iohannis, many European leaders, including himself, are under no illusion that all the terms of the new agreement will be respected, given that some of its provisions were also part of a previous agreement signed in September. On the sidelines of the European Council meeting, Iohannis had talks with his counterpart in Kiev, Petro Poroshenko at the latter’s request to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.

Poroshenko thanked Iohannis for Romania’s firm support for Ukraine and extended an invitation to visit Kiev, which the Romanian president accepted. Another major theme dominating the agenda of the European Council summit was the fight against terrorism. President Iohannis said anti-terrorist measures had acquired a new dimension and political relevance after the latest attack in France. He warned, however, that such measures should not create new barriers, but should be applied within the European Union without discriminating between the countries that are part of the Schengen area and those who aren’t. He said a declaration was adopted on anti-terrorist measures to increase the security of EU citizens, prevent radicalisation and boost cooperation with international partners.

Bucharest is in favour of cooperation with partners from outside the European Union to counteract these threats, making use of the already existing framework. A third major subject discussed at the EU summit was Greece’s debt, with the European leaders and the Greek authorities failing to reach an agreement. Euro zone finance ministers and Athens’ representatives will resume talks on Monday to reschedule Greece’s immense debt before the expiry of the Greek bailout programme at the end of the month.

13 February 2015
Post-Election Negotiations

Once the results of Sunday’s election for the European Parliament announced, negotiations have started on the future membership of the European Commission. The first to try to form a majority in the European Parliament, with 376 out of the 751 seats, is the former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker, the candidate of the European People’s Party for EC president. Juncker’s legitimacy is supported by the EPP having the largest number of seats in the new Parliament, namely 213. But his mission, commentators note, will not be easy. The party lost 50 seats in the EP compared to the previous term, and its radical right wing has come to include a growing number of Euro-sceptics and xenophobic nationalists, which has weakened the strength and unity of this ideological family.

This is precisely why, pundits say, Juncker cannot afford a strong negotiation position, particularly in relation to his possible partners, the Socialists, who have close to 200 seats. The Romanian PM Victor Ponta spoke about the possible alliance of the EPP and the Socialists:

“The programme and main projects of the European Commission for the coming 5 years will have to reflect the priorities of both parties. And I believe this is what will happen. Everybody has understood that austerity measures did not work for Europe. In political terms, these austerity measures benefited the anti-Europeans.”

Beyond the membership of the new commission, the Romanian President Traian Basescu discussed Romania’s interests in pragmatic terms. He said the country has four major goals for the near future:

“Increasing the number of jobs is the first. The second is sustainable economic growth, primarily based on investments. The third is a stronger focus on the infrastructure in the European Union’s eastern periphery, and last, the price of energy, as a key element for competitiveness.”

On the other hand, just like any other member state, Romania is interested in the position it will hold in the new Commission. Both the President and the Prime Minister pleaded for Romania keeping the Agriculture Commissioner post currently held by Dacian Ciolos. Nonetheless, the two suggested they have different views on the person that should be nominated for this position.

28 May 2014