Radio România Internațional

Tag: French President Emmanuel Macron

  • November 9, 2018 UPDATE

    November 9, 2018 UPDATE

    PARIS – On Saturday and Sunday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will attend ceremonies commemorating the centennial of WWIs armistice. The Romanian head of state, invited by the French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend the centennial ceremony at the Triumphal Arch alongside leaders of the belligerent countries in WWI and also leaders of the states that supported the war efforts. Also, Klaus Iohannis will attend the inaugural edition of the Paris Peace Forum, president Macrons initiative, focused on supporting and striving to improve global governance in the fields of peace and security, environment, development, technological advancement and economy. In Paris, president Iohannis will also meet with Romanian research students. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, the meeting organised at the Romanian Embassy in Paris is devoted to Romanian contributions to the development of science and technology, in the Centenary Year of the Great Union.



    FOREIGN AFFAIRS – The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu met in Bucharest on Friday with his counterpart from neighbouring Hungary, Peter Szijjarto. On that occasion, the two officials talked about the stage of bilateral relations, laying emphasis on the importance to increase two way trade exchanges and boost cooperation in such domains as energy and infrastructure. Other points on the agenda of talks included the EU enlargement in the West Balkans, security in the Black Sea region and the Eastern Neighbourhood, which are foreign policy issues of utmost importance for the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. In another move, Melescanu told his counterpart that he pays special heed to the way in which the Hungarian authorities are managing domestic and foreign policy issues with a direct impact on bilateral relations, particularly this year when Romania celebrates the Great Union Centennial anniversary. In turn, the Hungarian official said the two countries have the capacity to solve their sensitive files.



    DEFENSE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihai Fifor, said on Friday there is a complex security situation in the region, against the backdrop of the Russian Federations aggressive attitude, which manifests itself by increasing the number of troops and dispatching new capabilities in the Black Sea area. The declaration was made during the visit paid by Mihai Fifor alongside his Canadian counterpart Harjit Singh Sajjan to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air-base in south-eastern Romania. The two officials will meet with soldiers from the Canadian detachment deployed in Romania for enhanced air-policing missions, as well as with Romanian Air Force staff. On this occasion, minister Fifor also referred to the importance granted by Romania to the Trans-Atlantic dialogue during the Romanain presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019.



    FAC (TRADE) – Romania supports the European Commission in the process of negotiation to reform the World Trade Organisation, the Romanian minister for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Ştefan-Radu Oprea said in Brussels on Friday. The statement was made at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), where EU-US trade relations were also on the agenda of talks. On the sidelines of the meeting, minister Oprea held talks with several counterparts from the EU member states, in the run up to Romanias holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.



    TRADE DEFICIT – According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romanias trade deficit grew by more than one billion Euros in the first nine months of the year. Thus, the deficit of the trade balance, which is the difference between the value of imports and that of exports, has reached 10 billion Euros. This year, a big share of both imports and exports has been held by transport machinery and equipment.



    HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball champions CSM Bucharest on Sunday plays away from home against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungary, in Champions Leagues Group D. The Hungarian team ranks first, with 6 points, followed by CSM Bucharest with 4, and Kristiansand of Norway and Bietigheim of Germany with 3 points each. The first three highest ranking teams will qualify for the main groups. On Thursday, in the mens competition, the current holder of the national title, Dinamo Bucharest, defeated Ademar Leon of Spain on home turf. Dinamo gained 10 points and now tops the group rankings. The main counter-candidates for play-offs qualification are Ademar Leon, which currently has 9 points, Wisla Plock of Poland and Elverum of Norway, with 8 points each. (Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)

  • November 9, 2018

    November 9, 2018

    PARIS – On Saturday and Sunday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will participate in events commemorating the centennial of WWIs armistice. The Romanian head of state, invited by the French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend the centennial ceremony at the Triumphal Arch alongside leaders of the belligerent countries in WWI and also leaders of the states that supported the war efforts. Also, Klaus Iohannis will attend the inaugural edition of the Paris Peace Forum, president Macrons initiative, focused on supporting and striving to improve global governance in the fields of peace and security, environment, development, technological advancement and economy. In Paris, president Iohannis will also meet with Romanian research students. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, the meeting organized at the Romanian Embassy in Paris is devoted to Romanian contributions to the development of science and technology, in the Centenary Year of the Great Union.



    COLECTIV – The first 25 witnesses have been subpoenaed to testify today, at the Bucharest Tribunal, in relation to the fire that broke out three years ago at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest. We recall that on October 30th, 2015, during a rock concert, a fireworks show started a fire, which killed 64 people and wounded another 200. The owners of the club and the former district mayor Cristian Popescu-Piedone are being tried in relation to this case. The owners are accused of encouraging and allowing the access of people beyond the clubs admitted limit, especially given that the facility did not have enough emergency exits. Also, they allowed the fireworks show, although the clubs interior arrangements were unfit for such activity. On Thursday, survivors of the fire talked with the health minister Sorina Pintea about implementing in Romania a rapid intervention mechanism in case of accidents that cause third-degree burns.



    TRADE DEFICIT – According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romanias trade deficit grew by more than one billion Euros in the first nine months of the year. Thus, the deficit of the trade balance, which is the difference between the value of imports and that of exports, has reached 10 billion Euros. This year, a big share of both imports and exports has been held by transport machinery and equipment.



    VISIT – The Romanian and Canadian Defense Ministers, Mihai Fifor and Harjit Singh Sajjan respectively, are paying a visit to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air-base in south-eastern Romania. The two officials will meet with soldiers from the Canadian detachment deployed in Romania for enhanced air-policing missions, as well as with Romanian Air Force staff. A communiqué issued by the Romanian Defense Ministry reads that the Canadian detachment, made up of 135 soldiers and CF-188 Hornet fighters, are carrying out, alongside MiG-21 LanceR aircraft and Romanian Air Force soldiers, enhanced air policing missions under NATO command. According to the same communiqué, jointly deployed Air Policing missions contribute to the development of reaction and deterrence capacity, as well as to the enhancement of interoperability between the Romanian Air Force and the Canadian Royal Air Force.



    SANCTIONS – The US has announced new sanctions against individuals and entities in relation to the annexation of Crimea and the violation of human rights in the Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia, France Presse reports. Financial sanctions are aimed at preventing such individuals and entities from doing business with Americans and banning them access to the US market. The Washington Administration stated in July it did not recognize the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.



    HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball champions CSM Bucharest on Sunday plays away from home against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungary, in Champions Leagues Group D. The Hungarian team ranks first, with 6 points, followed by CSM Bucharest with 4, and Kristiansand of Norway and Bietigheim of Germany with 3 points each. The first three highest ranking teams will qualify for the main groups. On Thursday, in the mens competition, the current holder of the national title, Dinamo Bucharest, defeated Ademar Leon of Spain on home turf. Dinamo gained 10 points and now tops the group rankings. The main counter-candidates for play-offs qualification are Ademar Leon, which currently has 9 points, Wisla Plock of Poland and Elverum of Norway, with 8 points each.


    (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)


  • December 10, 2017 UPDATE

    December 10, 2017 UPDATE


    MICHAEL I On Monday, Romanias Parliament will gather in solemn session to honour the last sovereign of Romania, King Michael I, who died on December 5th in Switzerland, aged 96. The coffin will arrive in Romania on December 13th, and on December 16th the former king will be buried in Curtea de Arges, the final resting place of the Romanian royal family. Michael I took the throne in September 1940, and for a long time his was a merely ceremonial role, with the pro-Germany strongman Ion Antonescu actually ruling the country. But on August 23, 1944, the King had Marshall Antonescu arrested, broke the countrys ties with the Axis and had Romania join the anti-Nazi coalition. Historians agree that this decision shortened the war by months, saving tens of thousands of lives. He was forced by the communists to abdicate in 1947 and was able to return to the country only after the fall of the regime. He was one of the most important promoters of Romanias joining NATO and the EU.



    BUDGET Next week, the 2018 budget and social security bill will reach the joint budget-finance committee of the Romanian parliament. The final vote on the 2018 budget is scheduled for December 21st. Representatives of the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania say that the budget is balanced and sustainable, but the opposition MPs say the time allocated for debate is too short and the bill needs improvement. Next years budget is based on a estimated 5.5% economic growth rate, an annual inflation rate of 3.1% and a budget deficit below 3% of the GDP. The estimated monthly net salary is the equivalent of some 570 euro. According to the Romanian Government, health, education and investment are next years priorities. On the other hand, the budget deficit might start decreasing as of 2019, to reach 1.45% of the GDP in 2021. These estimates were presented in the macroeconomic report drawn up by the Finance Ministry, a document which accompanies the 2018 budget bill.



    EU FUNDS According to data provided by the European Commission, at the request of the AGERPRES news agency, Romania has spent only 1.1% of the European money allocated within the 2014-2020 financial framework, as compared to countries like Bulgaria and Poland, which have spent 7.5% and 6.5% respectively. The largest part of this amount, approximately 242 million Euro, has been spent through the Regional Development Fund. The countries that have spent less than Romania from the structural and investment funds are Austria, with 0.3%, and Ireland, with 0.9%. AGERPRES recalls that the Romanian Minister Delegate for European Funds Marius Nica has stated recently that in 2023 Romania will be presented as an example of European fund absorption and the percentage of 89% corresponding to the 2007-2013 time-frame is not bad. As regards the 2014-2020 framework, the Romanian minister has stated that 20 of the 27 EU countries have complained about bureaucracy and cumbersome procedures for the implementation of European funds.



    ROMANIA 100 The president of the Romania 100 platform, the former technocrat Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, announced on Sunday that the platform, created by people wishing to change politics in Romania, will give birth to a party. The new party will be presented in the coming months and will be open for collaboration with the right-wing opposition. Dacian Ciolos headed a government of specialists from November 2015 until January 2017, when the reigns of power were taken over by the leftist coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The Ciolos Cabinet was established after the resignation of the Social-Democrat Government headed by Victor Ponta, against the background of large-scale anti-corruption rallies triggered by the tragedy that occurred at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, where 64 young people died in a fire.



    PROTESTS New street protests were staged on Sunday in Bucharest and other cities across the country against the ruling coalition. People are unhappy with the changes brought to the justice laws. Promoted by the left-wing coalition and virulently criticised by civil society and the heads of the main judicial institutions in Romania, the controversial bill is currently in Parliament for debate. According to the bill, the head of state cannot alter the nominations for the leadership of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, but will still be able to maintain previous responsibilities with regard to the appointment of the Prosecutor General and of the heads of the National Anticorruption Directorate and the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism. Also, a magistrate will no longer be suspended automatically when taken to court. Under the new laws, a special department will be set up to investigate the magistrates accused of crimes that are related to the justice field.



    FAC The Romanian State Secretary George Ciamba will attend in Brussels on Monday the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). The main topics on the agenda of talks are developments in the Middle East and Iraq. Also, there will be a joint session of the EU foreign ministers and development ministers, focusing on the implementation of the decisions made at the African Union – European Union summit, which was held in Abidjan on November 29-30. Also on Monday, on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council, the European foreign ministers will take part in a working breakfast hosted by Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The special guest will be the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.



    ISRAEL Before travelling to Brussels on Monday for talks with the EU foreign policy and security chief Federica Mogherini and EU foreign ministers, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday met in Paris with President Emmanuel Macron. Macron told Netanyahu that Paris disapproved of the White Houses decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel, but at the same time condemned any threat to Israels security. He also told the Israeli Prime Minister that he ought to “give peace a chance” and “make gestures toward the Palestinians.” Macron suggested that one such gesture would be the freezing of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved through a negotiated, two-state solution both parties agree on. Previously, Netanyahu had stated that Europes reaction to US President Donald Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel was hypocritical and said he would not accept a double standard from it. Federica Mogherini herself has criticised the White Houses announcement, just like the USs European allies. Also, the Arab League Foreign Ministers have called on Washington, in a resolution made public after a meeting in Cairo on Sunday, to cancel the decision. They have urged the international community to recognize a Palestinian state having east Jerusalem as capital.



    HANDBALL The first matches in the round of 16 of the World Womens Handball Championship are taking place in Germany. The Romanian national team, which has qualified from the first position in Group A, will take on the Czech squad on Monday. If it wins, Romanian will play against the winner of the game pitching the Netherlands against Japan. From the previous edition of the world championship, in 2015, Romania came home with bronze. Romania is the only side that has participated in all the 22 editions of the championship held so far.


    (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)