Tag: F-16

  • September 28, UPDATE

    September 28, UPDATE

    DEFENCE – Romania on Wednesday officially took over, from the Monte Real Portuguese base, the first six of the twelve F-16 jets which it purchased for 628 million Euros. The fighters have been upgraded and will interact, in the same conditions, with all other multi-role fighters owned by the NATO member states. At present, Romanias airspace is defended by Mig-21 LancerR jets, made in the former USSR, and upgraded by an Israeli firm as of 1995. The Romanian Air Forces also own subsonic training jets made in Romania, as well as cargo planes made in Italy and the US. The Romanian Army is also equipped with Puma and Alouette helicopters made in Romania under French licence. The Romanian Air Forces also operate AN-30 planes, made in the former USSR, and used for capturing aerial views and mapping.



    RESIGNATION – The co-president of the National Liberal Party, the second largest party in Romanias Parliament, Vasile Blaga, on Wednesday announced he would step down from this position and would no longer coordinate the partys campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for December. He will not run in the party elections due in winter, either. The decision was made after the anti-corruption prosecutors announced that Vasile Blaga is subject to legal restrictions and investigated in a corruption case. The acts of corruption were reportedly carried out between 2009 and 2012, when Blaga, who was interior minister and then Senate Speaker, allegedly intervened to favour the granting of some contracts. In exchange for his peddling in influence, Blaga allegedly received commissions worth 10%, with an overall value of 700,000 Euros, from the former mayor of Piatra Neamt (in the northeast), Gheorghe Stefan, and another businessman.



    MH17 PLANE CRASH – The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday hailed the publication by an international commission of the results of an investigation meant to cast light into the circumstances in which the civil Malaysian airlines flight MH17 crashed in Ukraines eastern separatist region, in 2014. According to the results, the Malaysian plane downed in 2014, was hit by a missile launched from a conflict area controlled by pro-Russian fighters. The minutely and independently conducted investigation is meant to clarify the circumstances in which the flight MH17 crashed and to lead to conclusions so that an act of justice be done, a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry writes. It calls on all countries able to support the investigation to fully cooperate in an effort to identify, establish and bring to justice those responsible. We recall that in July 2014, Malaysia Airlines plane operating Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people onboard died in the crash.



    MOURNING – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, and the Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, on Friday will attend the funeral of former Israeli PM and President, Shimon Peres, who passed away in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, at 93 years of age. In a message of condolences to his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, President Klaus Iohannis says that Shimon Peres was a visionary leader and a relentless fighter for a sustainable solution to the Peace Process in the Middle East. The Romanian people-says president Iohannis – will always remember the real and deep friendship of Shimon Peres, the first Israeli President to visit Romania, in 2010. In turn, Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos, evoked in his message of condolences to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, the emblematic personality of Shimon Peres, a promoter of peace, whose internationally recognised personality was also confirmed by a Nobel Peace Prize.




    FEAST OF MUSIC – The most important musical event of this autumn, the RadiRo Festival continues in Bucharest. Wednesdays program included pieces by Richard Strauss, Gershwin and Tchaikovsky, performed by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the oldest radio orchestra in Germany and one of the most innovative in Europe. Organised by Radio Romania, the International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, runs until Saturday, October 1. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • September 28, 2016

    September 28, 2016

    F — 16 The first batch of 6 F — 16 fighters is to arrive in Romania today from Portugal after they have been taken over by Romanian pilots during a ceremony at the Monte Real airbase in the presence of several high-ranking Romanian and Portuguese officials. The planes that have witnessed what experts may refer to as Mid-Life Upgrade are able to carry out missions like their multi-role counterparts in the other NATO countries. The six planes will be stationed in Fetesti, southeastern Romania. Nine Romanian pilots and 80 technicians have been trained under Portuguese supervision for the operation and maintenance of these fighters. Three more planes are to be delivered by the end of the year and another three in 2017. Three years ago Romania decided to buy 12 second-hand F-16 fighters from Portugal for 628 million euros. In another move, the USA said it supports Romania’s initiative to set up a multinational force at the Black Sea and pledged assistance inside NATO to beef up military presence. The two governments have pledged to step up efforts of strategic cooperation, fighting terrorism and cooperation in the field of cyber security.



    RESIGNATION Vasile Blaga, co-chair of the National Liberal Party, the second largest party in Bucharest Parliament has announced on Wednesday he stepped down from this position. Anti-corruption prosecutors have earlier announced that Blaga was placed under investigation in a corruption file. During his term in office as Interior Minister and president of the Senate over 2009 and 2012, Blaga allegedly favored certain bidders helping them to get contracts for which he received 700 thousand euros in commissions from the former mayor of Piatra Neamt, in northern Romania Gheorghe Stefan and from a businessman.



    CSAT Romania’s Higher Defence Council (CSAT) has decided in favour of a medium and long-time strategy over improving relations with the neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet Romanian-speaking country. ‘Our relation has to become better, more performing, pragmatic and predictable’, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, who chaired the latest CSAT session, said. He underscored the pro-European parties in Chisinau are facing difficulties and stood for what he called a very serious approach to the bilateral relation, without populist attitudes ahead of the Parliamentary election in Romania and those presidential in the Republic of Moldova. Iohannis’ statement came after the pro-Russia socialist opposition in Moldova had tabled a censure motion in Parliament against the pro-Western coalition government. Socialist leader Igor Dodon, a fierce anti-Romanian and anti-European politician is seen as favourite in the election polls for the presidential election on October 30th.



    DECESEAD Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres died in Tel Aviv on Wednesday at the age of 93. Shimon Peres was hospitalized following a stroke two weeks ago. For the role he played in the peace negotiations with the Palestinians, Shimon Peres was the joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize along with then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Peres is considered the last representative of the generation that fought for and built modern Israel. During the war of independence as head of the Navy Services he played a prominent role in the country’s defence establishment and in promoting the aerospace industry. Shimon Peres visited Romania a couple of times and according to our correspondent in Israel, he had a big admiration for the Jews coming from Romania, saying about them that they came in peace and integrated in Israel.




    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions Astra Giurgiu is in Italy to take on AS Rome on Thursday night in their second Europa League match. Astra was defeated in Bucharest 2-3 by Austria Vienna. Also part of the same group is Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic. Also on Thursday, vice-champions Steaua Bucharest will be up on their own turf against Spanish side Villareal after a nil-two defeat in Turkey against Osmanlispor. The two Romanians sides made it to Europa League groups after having been eliminated from the most important inter-club competition the Champions League.





  • Jurnal românesc – 27.09.2016  UPDATE

    Jurnal românesc – 27.09.2016 UPDATE

    România a intrat în top 20 mondial al statelor care furnizează migranţi.
    Potrivit unui raport ONU cu date din 2015, sunt 3,4 milioane de cetăţeni români
    care locuiesc în altă ţară
    . Este a doua cea mai mare creştere a diasporei unei ţări, spun experţii
    Naţiunilor Unite. Aceştia notează că este cea mai accelerată creştere a
    numărului de migranţi într-un stat care nu s-a confruntat cu războiul. România
    a înregistrat o creştere de 7,3% pe an, în timp ce pe primul loc este Siria, cu
    13,1%, iar pe locul trei Polonia, cu 5,1%. La nivel european, România a urcat,
    pentru prima oară, pe locul 4 la numărul total al cetăţenilor care trăiesc în
    străinătate, după Marea Britanie, Polonia şi Germania. Diaspora reprezintă 17%
    din totalul populaţiei României, în timp ce în Polonia doar 11%. Populaţia
    României este, în prezent, de aproape 20 de milioane de locuitori.




    Senatul a adoptat, marţi, o propunere legislativă care stipulează că autorităţile
    publice locale vor suporta cheltuielile de repatriere în cazul cetăţenilor
    români decedaţi în afara graniţelor, dacă familia nu poate suporta costurile
    aferente. Propunerea vizează modificarea legii privind serviciile consulare
    pentru care se percep taxe şi care stabileşte tarifele taxelor percepute la
    misiunile diplomatice şi oficiile consulare ale României în străinătate.
    Iniţiatorii, parlamentari din mai multe partide, susţin că repatrierea
    cetăţenilor români decedaţi în afara graniţelor ţării reprezintă o problemă
    majoră nerezolvată a României. Ei spun că există numeroase cazuri în care
    familiile celor decedaţi nu au suficienţi bani pentru repatrierea acestora.
    Costurile procedurii de repatriere variază între 1.500 şi 6.000 de euro.
    Propunerea de lege are caracter ordinar, iar Senatul a adoptat-o în calitate de
    primă Cameră sesizată.






    Tot marţi, Senatul a adoptat tacit
    propunerea legislativă a deputatului liberal Daniel Stamate Budurescu prin care
    ziua de 9 mai a fost declarată zi de sărbătoare naţională. Iniţiativa urmează
    să fie transmisă Camerei Deputaţilor, for decizional în acest caz. Independenţa proclamată de
    Parlament, la 9 mai 1877, este opera poporului român şi a fost apărată de
    Armata Română prin participarea la războiul dintre anii 1877-1878,
    argumentează iniţiatorul proiectului. El a spus că ostaşii români, avându-i în
    frunte pe Generalul Alexandru Cernat – comandant de operaţii şi pe domnitorul
    Carol I – <>, au cucerit independenţa
    naţională. Congresul de la Berlin, încheiat la 1 iulie 1878, a recunoscut
    independenţa României, iar ţările europene au încheiat ulterior relaţii
    diplomatice cu statul român. Guvernul nu susţine proiectul, întrucât şi ziua de
    10 mai a fost declarată sărbătoare naţională.




    Romania va primi, miercuri, de la Portugalia, primele şase aparate F-16, a declarat,
    marti, ministrul Apărării de la Bucureşti, Mihnea Motoc. Săptămâna trecută, el
    s-a întâlnit cu ambasadorul lusitan la Bucureşti, João-Bernardo Weinstein, căruia
    i-a mulţumit pentru contribuţia specialiştilor din Forţele Aeriene Portugheze
    la pregătirea piloţilor şi personalului tehnic care vor deservi aeronavele. În total,
    România a cumpărat de la Portugalia 12 avioane F-16 modernizate, compatibile cu
    modelele de aeronave folosite de celelalte state NATO. Contractul, semnat în
    urmă cu trei ani, a costat Armata Română circa 630 de milioane de euro.

  • September 27, 2016 UPDATE

    September 27, 2016 UPDATE

    F – 16 Romania is to receive from Portugal on Wednesday the first batch of six F-16 fighter jets, Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc said in Bucharest on Tuesday. Last week Motoc met the Portuguese ambassador Joao-Bernardo Weinstein to whom he thanked for the contribution of the Portuguese Air force experts to the training of the technical personnel in charge of maintaining the jets in Romania. We recall that Romania has bought from Portugal 12 upgraded F-16 fighters compatible with those used by the other NATO countries. The contract was signed three years ago and the Romanian Army shelled out about 630 million euros.




    NATIONAL DEFENCE Romanias Supreme Defence Council (CSAT), chaired by President Klaus Iohannis, convened in Bucharest on Tuesday. The agenda of the meeting covered such topics as the implementation of the decisions made at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the latest developments in the Middle East and the implications for Romania as well as the main measures needed to eliminate threats to national security caused by a massive flow of migrants and to maintain the public order and safety climate. Other topics on the agenda are the situation of those active in the defence industry, the evaluation of cyber security in public institutions in Romania, setting up and rendering operational the multinational brigade for developing and consolidating essential elements of the advanced allied presence as well as the state of the public healthcare system in Romania.A decision was made during the session that the second infantry brigade ‘Rovine based in Craiova, southern Romania become a multinational brigade, while Healthcare Minister Vlad Voiculescu briefed the participants on the public healthcare system.




    ROMANIAN DIASPORA Romania has been included among the top 20 countries with the largest Diaspora, with some 3.4 million Romanian citizens living in a foreign country, a UN report based on figures released in 2015 shows. According to the UN World Migration Report, this is the second largest increase in a countrys Diaspora, 7.3% per year, and the highest increase in the number of migrants from a country, which hasnt faced war. Ranking first in terms of this increase is Syria, with 13.1%, and ranking third is Poland with 5.1%. At European level, it is for the first time that Romania has gone up to the 4th position, in terms of the total number of citizens who live abroad, following the UK, Poland and Germany. The Romanian Diaspora accounts for 17% of Romanias population, which stands at approximately 20 million people, according to the latest census, carried out in 2014.




    RADIRO RadiRo Festival, organised by Radio Romania, continued on Tuesday with a concert given by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, which performed pieces by Rachmaninoff and Schumann. The festival, staged by Radio Romania, comes to an end on Saturday, October 1st, and the concerts will also be aired live in the European Broadcasting Union network and the Asia-Pacific platform of public and private radio broadcasters. Now in its third edition, RadiRo is the only big European festival devoted exclusively to radio orchestras.






  • September 22, 2016

    September 22, 2016

    UN General Assembly – Romania steps up efforts to meet global challenges like poverty, climate change, terrorism and conflicts, in the spirit of international solidarity and joint responsibility, the PM of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, said in his address at the UN General Assembly session in New York. He added that at present Romania holds the presidency of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, while Romanian military and police troops take part in peacekeeping missions. Romania will continue to earmark substantial political, diplomatic, financial and human resources to maintaining regional and global stability, the head of the Romanian government also said. Today, PM Ciolos is having talks with the Secretary General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and with American business people who invest in Romania. He also had meetings with members of the Romanian community in New York. On Tuesday, PM Dacian Cioloş discussed with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, the prospects for lifting visa requirements for Romanian citizens, and attended the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants.




    Anti-fraud – The head of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Giovanni Kessler, hailed in Bucharest the efforts of Romanian authorities to curb fraud. He added that the Anti-Fraud Department in Romania is the Europeans main partner and a success model for Romanias anti-fraud strategy aimed at building a better, corruption-free society. At the Albiţa checkpoint in eastern Romania Kessler had a meeting with officials of customs authorities in Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The main topic was cross-border cooperation, with a view to preventing and fighting illegal trafficking on the EU external borders.




    Refugees – At the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York Romania did not make any relocation commitments in addition to the decision made at EU level, the Romanian Foreign Ministry says in a news release. The Ministry mentions that Romania takes part in the common European effort in this respect, by means of “implementing internal relocation decisions made in 2015 and of voluntarily participating in the foreign relocation process.




    Defence – On September 28 Romania will receive the first six F-16 planes from Portugal, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc has announced. He made this statement after a meeting with the ambassador of Portugal to Bucharest, João-Bernardo Weinstein, whom he thanked for the contribution of the Portuguese Air Forces to training the pilots and other personnel who will operate the aircraft. Romania has purchased from Portugal a total of 12 upgraded F-16 planes, compatible with the models used by the other NATO member states. The contract, signed 3 years ago, cost the Romanian Army some 630 million euro.




    Measles – Romania is currently facing a measles epidemics. According to the Healthcare Ministry, three infants have died and nearly 700 got sick in the first 8 months of the year, as opposed to seven confirmed cases and no deaths last year. The Ministry intends to run an awareness raising campaign regarding the benefits of immunisation.



    Charlotte protests – The situation seems to have got out of control in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a young African-American was shot in clashes with the police. Wednesday was the second running day of protests in this American town, where according to CNN a person was shot and a police officer wounded. The Governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency in Charlotte and sent the National Guard to calm things down. Keith Lamont Scott (43) was shot dead on Tuesday in a parking lot, while police tried to serve a warrant for a different man. According to social media, the man was reading a book when the police officers approached him, but authorities claim he was armed and had refused repeated demands to put the gun down before the police officer, himself an African-American, shot him.




    Corruption investigation – Anti-corruption prosecutors in the Republic of Moldova have taken 15 judges and 3 court enforcement officers, involved in a huge money-laundering scandal. The mass media in Chisinau, quoted by Radio Romania correspondents, say they were reportedly involved in the laundering of a rough 18 billion USD coming from the Russian Federation. If proven guilty, the suspects risk spending 5 to 10 years behind bars.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 23.03.2015

    23.03.2015

    OTAN — Le Royaume-Uni participera avec des troupes aux deux commandements de l’OTAN qui devraient fonctionner en Roumanie, a annoncé aujourd’hui à Bucarest, le ministre britannique de la défense, Michael Fallon, après la réunion avec son homologue Mircea Dusa. Le responsable britannique a affirmé qu’un des plus modernes destroyers de la Royal Navy sera présent en octobre à Constanta, port roumain à la Mer Noire. Michael Fallon a souligné aussi que le Royaume Uni partageait l’inquiétude de la Roumanie au sujet de la sécurité dans le bassin de la mer Noire. Les deux ministres ont évoqué les mesures que les deux pays devraient adopter afin d’assurer une présence permanente des forces de l’OTAN dans cette région. Les ministres Mircea Dusa et Michael Fallon ont également parlé de la situation politique et militaire dans la région suite à la crise ukrainienne et à l’annexion de la Crimée par la Russie. La réunion a également visé la participation des militaires britanniques et Roumains aux exercices prévus se dérouler, fin avril, sur le polygone de Smârdan, dans le sud du pays.



    Avions — Six avions de combat F16 ayant appartenu au Portugal, sur un total de 12 appareils, viennent d’entrer en service au sein des Forces aériennes roumaines pour remplacer les avions Mig21 Lancer, d’origine soviétique. Les pilotes roumains ont intensifié leurs stages de formation sur ce type d’appareil de combat. Au total, la Roumanie payera au Portugal 628 millions de dollars pour les 12 avions qui avaient été utilisées auparavant par les Forces aériennes américaines. Le F16 Falcon est un avion de combat produit à partir de 1978.


    Par ailleurs, plusieurs avions américains et 300 soldats étasuniens devront arriver en Roumanie à la base aérienne de Câmpia Turzii pour simuler des missions air-sol et notamment des attaques contre des blindés en coopération avec des avions roumains.



    Gouvernement — Réunion spéciale aujourd’hui du cabinet de Bucarest consacrée à l’analyse des projets des codes fiscal et de procédure fiscale. Les deux documents qui ont fait l’objet d’un débat public pendant un mois, seront approuvés par le gouvernement de Bucarest mercredi avant d’être soumis au Parlement. Les deux projets se proposent d’accélérer la croissance économique par la réduction de la fiscalité. De l’avis du premier ministre Victor Ponta, le nouveau code fiscal permettra aux autorités locales de décider sur la majoration des taxes. Les retraités seront protégés par une disposition spéciale, conformément à laquelle cette catégorie ne sera pas touchée par d’éventuelles modifications ultérieures du calcul des retraites.



    Tennis — La joueuse roumaine de tennis, Simona Halep, no 3 mondial, s’est adjugé dimanche le tournoi d’Indian Wells. A la fin d’un match dramatique, elle a vaincu la Serbe Jelena Jankovic, 18e mondial, sur le score de 2 – 6, 7 – 5, 6 — 4, et remporté le plus important trophée de sa carrière, le 3e en 2015 et le 11e de sa carrière. Après le succès d’Indian Wells, Simona Halep deviendra le leader du classement « Road to Singapore », pour le Tournoi des championnes qui prend en compte les meilleurs résultats d’une année.



    Sécurité — Le président de la République de Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, a convoqué aujourd’hui le Conseil suprême de sécurité, pour une réunion consacrée aux évolutions géopolitiques régionales. Le conseil qui inclut aussi les ministres de l’extérieur, de l’intérieur et de la défense, ainsi que le directeur du service de renseignements évalueront la situation en Ukraine voisine où le conflit entre l’armée gouvernementale et les séparatistes pro-russes a fait plus de six mille morts. Le président Timofti avait déclaré que, sur cette toile de fond, la République de Moldova devrait se rapprocher de l’OTAN puisque sa sécurité était périclitée. La réunion de Chisinau se déroule après la victoire d’une candidate socialiste pro-russe soutenue par Moscou au scrutin de dimanche pour la fonction de gouverneur d’une unité territoriale autonome appelée Gagaousie, dans le sud de la République de Moldova. Selon les sondages, la majorité des plus de 150 mille habitants de la Gagaousie, turcophones chrétiens orthodoxes, seraient favorable à une relation plus serrée avec la Russie et la Turquie et seuls 5% souhaitent un rapprochement avec l’UE. Le choix des Gagaouses diffère radicalement de l’orientation pro-européenne du gouvernement central de Chisinau qui avait conclu l’année dernière des accords d’association et de libre échange avec Bruxelles et qui espère d’intégrer le pays à l’Union à l’horizon 2020.



  • Exercices et transports militaires

    Exercices et transports militaires

    La Roumanie a été traversée, cette semaine, par un transport impressionnant de technique de combat américaine: un train avec 15 véhicules de transport blindés Striker, des véhicules Humvee et des camions logistiques à destination de la base militaire de Mihail Kogălniceanu (sud-est). Six aéronefs américains de combat F-16 d’une escadrille glorieuse pendant la guerre du Vietnam sont arrivés à la base militaire de Câmpia Turzii.



    Dans les eaux de la mer Noire, les navires militaires du groupement naval de l’OTAN et ceux des Forces navales roumaines ont finalisé, cette semaine aussi, une série d’exercices de lutte anti-sous-marin ou de rejet des attaques de certains bâtiments et embarcations rapides ennemis. La Marine militaire roumaine a participé avec deux corvettes, deux navires porteurs de missiles, la Frégate Mărăşeşti et trois aéronefs.



    Toutes ces manœuvres font partie du tableau plus ample des exercices militaires qui ont lieu dans le nord de l’Europe et dans la région de la mer Noire, dans des Etats de l’OTAN, mais aussi de la Fédération de Russie, où Vladimir Poutine a ordonné des exercices qui testent la capacité de réaction des forces russes. La politique militaire de la Roumanie a toujours été défensive. Son adhésion à l’OTAN, le 29 mars 2004, n’a pas modifié cette politique, mais l’a intégrée dans un système de défense commun et puissant, avec des droits, des devoirs et des principes unanimement acceptés par tous les 28 Etats membres.



    Au sujet de la participation de la Roumanie aux récents exercices militaires, le général de brigade Dorin Ioniţă déclarait pour Radio Roumanie : « Le contexte régional actuel de sécurité, mais surtout notre niveau d’ambition à l’égard des besoins opérationnels, ont conditionné l’engagement de nos militaires aux côtés de militaires de différents Etats de l’OTAN et partenaires à un nombre important d’exercices amples, une trentaine, égrenés tout au long de l’année 2015. Ce printemps, nous avons 10 exercices majeurs. La complexité de ces exercices est donnée par la manière de les planifier et de les mener d’après un scénario unique, soit une connectivité au niveau multinational ».



    A présent, à la base aérienne de Câmpia Turzii (centre), un exercice militaire roumano-américain est en cours, sous le générique « Dacian Warhawk ». Selon les spécialistes, il assure un niveau de formation de nature à répondre au contexte international actuel, à la situation géopolitique et géostratégique et il est ciblé sur des scénarios bien définis, qui assurent un entraînement complet. (trad. Ligia Mihaiescu)

  • Jurnal românesc – 30.09.2014

    Jurnal românesc – 30.09.2014

    Organizarea congresului românilor de pretutindeni, pe care Guvernul îl pregătea pentru 30 noiembrie, de Sfântul Andrei, la Palatul Parlamentului, continuă să fie incertă, din cauza neînţelegerilor dintre Executiv şi Comisia parlamentară pentru diaspora. În timpul vizitei făcute zilele acestea în Grecia, ministrul delegat pentru românii de pretutindeni, Bogdan Stanoevici, a declarat că discuţiile se poartă asupra datei, metodologiei şi bugetului evenimentului, care, prin lege, este organizat sub auspiciile Parlamentului de la Bucureşti. Recent, mai mulţi membri ai Comisiei parlamentare pentru românii de pretutindeni au cerut demisia ministrului Stanoevici, pe care l-au acuzat că nu a consultat Legislativul în privinţa alegerii datei congresuluii. Organizarea anuală a unui congres al românilor din întreaga lume este prevăzută în Legea privind sprijinul acordat românilor de pretutindeni, aprobată încă din 2007.



    Situaţia comunităţii româneşti din Portugalia s-a aflat pe agenda discuţiei pe care şeful diplomaţiei, Titus Corlăţean, a avut-o, la Bucureşti, cu vicepremierul lusitan, Paulo Portas. Cei doi au apreciat că românii din Portugalia, care formează cea mai numeroasă comunitate provenită dintr-un alt stat membru al Uniunii Europene, este un exemplu de integrare reuşită. Cu acestă ocazie, ministrul Corlăţean a mulţumit pentru modul în care autorităţile portugheze s-au implicat, în special în ultimul deceniu, în procesul de integrare a cetăţenilor români.



    30 septembrie este ultima zi în care impozitele pe clădiri, terenuri şi mijloacele de transport pot fi plătite fără penalităţi, atrag atenţia autorităţile locale. De miercuri, pentru sumele neachitate se aplică majorări de întârziere de 2% pentru fiecare lună. Plata impozitelor se poate face şi online, la adresa www.ghiseul.ro.


    Primii militari români care vor fi instruiţi pentru a pilota avioane F-16 au plecat, astăzi, în Portugalia. Este vorba de un detaşament de 23 de ofiţeri şi maiştri militari ai Forţelor Aeriene Române. În total, peste 80 de piloţi, membri ai personalului tehnico-ingineresc şi specialişti în planificare vor participa la cursul organizat, în următorii doi ani, în Portugalia. Avioanele F-16 urmează să intre în dotarea Forţelor Aeriene Române începând din 2016.



    Delta Dunării este vulnerabilă în faţa schimbărilor climatice preconizate pentru următoarele decenii, relevă un studiu al organizaţiei World Wide Fund România. Potrivit cercetării, creşterea temperaturii medii anuale afectează atât calitatea apei, florei şi faunei, cât şi sănătatea oamenilor sau economia zonei. ONG-ul apreciază că o măsură esenţială ar fi refacerea zonelor umede, îndiguite în perioada comunistă şi transformate în terenuri agricole. Cu cele 5.400 de specii de plante şi animale, această zonă este a treia din lume în ceea ce priveşte biodiversitatea, după Bariera de corali din Australia şi Arhipelagul Galapagos din Ecuador. Rezervaţia biosferei Delta Dunarii a fost inclusă, la începutul anilor ’90, în patrimoniul UNESCO.



    Primarul Craiovei, Lia Olguţa Vasilescu, participă, zilele acestea, la cea de-a X-a Conferinţă a Oraşelor şi Regiunilor Europene, organizată de Primăria din Viena. Printre temele majore se numără imigraţia, deschiderea IMM-urilor în zonele sărace şi tendinţa oraşelor de a se mări prin zone metropolitane.