Radio România Internațional

Tag: free trade

  • May 22, 2018

    May 22, 2018

    PENSION FUNDS – President Klaus Iohannis asked the Government to clarify its plans with respect to the privately-managed pension funds known as the “Pension Pillar II. The head of state voiced concerns regarding the situation and said people might begin to question the governments capacity to design and manage the pension system. PM Viorica Dăncilă promised that Pillar II will not be dismantled, but did not rule out possible changes in the laws regulating its operation. Dancila explained there was a draft in this respect put together by the National Strategy and Prognosis Commission but not approved by the Government, and that an analysis will be made on the topic.




    REVOLUTION TRIAL – Romanias former leftist president Ion Iliescu was heard today at the Prosecutor Generals Office, in the case concerning the 1989 anti-communist revolution, in which he is accused of crimes against humanity. Last month the head of state Klaus Iohannis approved the prosecutors request to prosecute Iliescu, the ex-PM Petre Roman and the former deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu. They allegedly plotted a military diversion designed to give them legitimacy as the new leaders after the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled the capital city. The diversion resulted in 1,166 deaths, of which more than 800 after Ceausescu was ousted, as well as in losses, damages and injuries.




    EU COMMISSIONER – The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu carries on her visit to Bacau County, in eastern Romania. Jointly with the Minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb she is taking part today in a dialogue with the citizens, hosted by the Vasile Alecsandri University. On Monday, Corina Creţu and PM Viorica Dăncilă had talks with the mayors of county capitals regarding urban investments financed by European funds. The EU Commissioner once again called on the Romanian authorities to make sustained efforts to reduce the risk of losing European money, and mentioned that procedures should be simplified and project assessment processes should be sped up.




    JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest may pass a ruling today in a case in which Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, the Senate Speaker and president of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats, in the ruling coalition in Romania, is charged with perjury and encouraging an offender. In the last hearing of the case, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested a 3-year prison sentence for the Liberal Democrat leader. According to prosecutors, during investigations into the unlawful return of landed estates near Bucharest, Tăriceanu gave untrue statements while under oath.




    AmCham – Romania had a fairly high investment rate compared to other EU member states in 2001-2016, but the effects of these investments were late in appearing, Anda Todor, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania said in a press conference. In turn, AmCham treasurer Ciprian Lăduncă said Romania should have a national investment plan, a long-term business plan approved by all stakeholders in the Romanian society. Another very important measure for the Romanian economy is to encourage long-term saving, whether through life insurance, private pensions or investment funds, Ciprian Lăduncă added.




    EU TRADE – The trade ministers of EU member countries have today authorised the European Commission to initiate negotiations on free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. The announcement was made at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council for trade, held in Brussels. Romania is represented by line minister Ştefan Radu Oprea.




    FACEBOOK – The European Parliament holds a meeting today in Brussels with the Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. He will answer questions concerning the illegal use of the personal data of over 87 million users of the social network by the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, specialising in political strategy. The hearing comes ahead of the implementation in the EU, on May 25, of a new regulation on the protection of personal data. The document comprises some of the strictest rules in the world in this respect. In April, Zuckerberg was heard on the same topic in the US Senate.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 8, 2017 UPDATE

    July 8, 2017 UPDATE

    G20 — The G20 Summit ended in Germany with a final declaration. According to FP the leaders of major world powers made concessions to the US President Donald Trump with respect to climate change and trade, hoping to maintain him within G20. The final declaration was adopted at the end of two days of the summit, marked by strong tension in Hamburg, which was the stage of violent protests. The G20 member states took note of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on fighting global warming and allow it to further pursue a different policy in that field, the declaration also writes. French President, Emmanuel Macron, has announced that a new summit on reducing greenhouse effects will be held in Paris on December 12. In the economic field, German chancellor Angela Merkel said an agreement was reached to endorse free trade and reject protectionism. Bilateral talks were also held on the sidelines of the summit. US President Donald Trump on Saturday gave assurances during a meeting with British PM Theresa May that his country will very soon sign a trade agreement with the UK. As regards Friday’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders agreed on putting in place a ceasefire in southwestern Syria, to take effect as of Sunday at noon. In another move, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada will be temporarily enforced, as of September 21, the two sides announced on Saturday. The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, agreed at the G20 Summit on the aforementioned date, waiting for the full enforcement of the agreement by the national parliaments of all EU member states.



    VISIT – Romania complies with all pledges it has made to the EU- this is the message to be conveyed in Brussels next week by Romanian PM Mihai Tudose. He will meet with all EU high officials, the Presidents of the European Commission, Council and Parliament, respectively, the minister delegate for European affairs, Victor Negrescu announced on Saturday. Negrescu also added the government pays special heed to international cooperation and European affairs.



    MILITARY EXERCISE — US bombers on Saturday carried out bomber drills in South Korea, in response to North Korea’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile test. The aircraft flew from the Pacific island of Guam and dropped neutral bombs in a demarcated area, being escorted by Japanese and South-Korean fighter planes, BBC reports. The US air forces have announced that North Korea’s actions are a threat to America’s allies and to the United States’ territory and expressed readiness to launch attacks if need be.



    FESTIVALS — Over 150,000 people are expected to attend the Neversea music festival, taking place in Constanta this weekend, the biggest of the festivals taking place on the Romanian Black Sea Coast this summer. The event gathers many famous artists, such as Tiesto, Afrojack, Jason Derulo, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Fatboy Slim, Years&Years, and Ella Eyre. At the same time, the small village of Garana in south-western Romania is the venue for the 21st edition of the International Jazz Festival, the most complex outdoor event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing onto the stage 18 bands. Tourists can also enjoy the mountain routes in the area, outdoor film screenings, theatre shows, yoga classes and fairs.



    TENNIS– The pair made up of Romanian tennis player Florin Mergea and Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Saturday qualified for the Wimbledon third round, the third largest grand slam tournament of the year. They defeated the all-Austrian pair Julian Knowle/Philipp Oswald, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). Also on Saturday Romanian woman tennis player Sorana Cirstea, no. 63 WTA failed to qualify for the next stage of the competition, after loosing to Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, 14th seeded, 6-2,6-2. We recall that Romania’s best-ranked woman tennis player, second seeded Simona Halep has already qualified for the eighth finals, after defeating China’s Shuai Peng no.37 WTA. Simona Halep will next meet Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

  • October 29, 2016 UPDATE

    October 29, 2016 UPDATE

    COMMEMORATION – A rally will be held in Bucharest on Sunday to commemorate the victims of the tragedy that took place on October 30 last year in “Colectiv night club in the capital city. Sixty-four people died and more than 100 were injured on that occasion. The Government has approved a 2-year extension of the funding for those who undergo treatment abroad. The club owners were sent to court under charges of manslaughter, bodily harm and of failing to ensure workplace safety and health standards, and the owners of the company that supplied the fireworks were also indicted. Abuse of office charges were also brought against some employees of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, who failed to take any measures although the club did not have a fire safety license. The General Prosecutors Office has also been investigating whether the Colectiv victims were treated appropriately in the hospitals in the country, following criminal complaints from the families of the patients who died from hospital acquired infections rather than burns. The Colectiv tragedy was followed by large scale street protests that triggered the resignation of the Social Democrat Victor Pontas Cabinet.



    MOLDOVA – In the Republic of Moldova the first round of the presidential election is scheduled on Sunday. Citizens are electing their president through direct voting, after 16 years in which the head of state was designated by Parliament. According to analysts, the vote is crucial for the future geopolitical course of Moldova. The pro-Russian Socialist leader Igor Dodon is seen as the most likely to win in all opinion polls. His main challenger is the former reformist Education Minister Maia Sandu, who pleads for a reform of the state and European integration, and who has the support of other pro-Western candidates having pulled out of the race.



    ROSIA MONTANA – The Romanian Culture Minister, Corina Şuteu, has announced that Roşia Montană in the centre of the country has been included in a UNESCO tentative list, which is the first step towards inclusion in the much shorter UNESCO Heritage List. Roşia Montană was the most active mining centre in the Western Carpathians, starting with the Bronze Age, to ancient times, the Middle Ages and down to modern times. Traditional mining, based on family initiatives and small miner associations, was ended by the nationalisation of 1948, and was followed by a form of large-scale industrial mining which came to an end in 2006. Several NGOs have requested international protection for this town in the Western Carpathians, hoping this will prevent the implementation of a controversial gold mining project in the area. Other Romanian sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage List are the Danube Delta, the Sighisoara citadel, the Horezu Monastery, the painted churches in northern Moldavia, the wooden churches in Maramures, the Saxon settlements with fortified churches in Transylvania and the Dacian fortresses in Orastie Mountains.




    CETA – The European Union and Canada will hold a summit meeting on Sunday to sign the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the president of the European Council Donald Tusk announced last night. The signing ceremony will take place in Brussels. The deal became possible after it was approved by the Parliament of Wallonia, which had initially opposed it. On Saturday the Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders signed the agreement on behalf of his country. Bucharest, too, had opposed the free trade agreement with Canada until the latter accepted the gradual lifting in 2017 of travel visa requirements for Romanians. At present Romanians and Bulgarians are the only EU citizens who need visas in order to enter Canada.




    DIPLOMACY – The Ukrainian minority in Romania and the Romanian minority in Ukraine contribute to the sustainable development of the relations between the two countries, said the Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu. He attended on Saturday, together with his Ukrainian counterpart, the Taras Shevchenko bust unveiling ceremony in Sighetul Marmaţiei, on the Romanian-Ukrainian border. Shevchenko is the national poet of Ukraine. The 2 officials reiterated the need to strengthen bilateral relations, as well as the support given by Romania to Ukraines EU accession efforts. Also on Saturday, Lazăr Comănescu visited the new consular office of Romania in Slatina, across the river Tisza, which will open on Monday, and had meetings with representatives of the Romanian community in Transcarpathia.