Radio România Internațional

Tag: G7

June 12, 2021 UPDATE

G7
Leaders of the world’s seven most developed countries are expected to endorse a
proposal by US president Joe Biden for a global minimum corporate tax of at
least 15%, the White House has announced. The Global Minimum Tax plan, also
known as GMT, would effectively put an end to the practice of global
corporations seeking out low-tax jurisdiction to move their headquarters to,
even though their customers, operations and executives are located elsewhere. A
decision on the GMT is going to be officially made during the G 7 summit, which
kicked off in Cornwall, the UK, on Friday. The summit of G7 countries whose
economies account for 40% of the global economy has an ambitious agenda.
Leaders from the United States, France, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy
plus the EU leaders are trying to find solutions to global issues, such as
vaccine supplies for the entire planet, solutions to the present economic
crisis as well as ways to fight the global warming. Britain announced a
donation of over 100 million vaccine doses to the poor countries while the USA
is going to donate 500 million doses to 100 developing countries.

COVID-19 The number of Covid-19 infections in Romania is still low with
127 new cases reported on Saturday. 5 new Covid-related fatalities have been
reported in the past 24 hours and 236 patients are in intensive care. The
vaccine rollout continues at a lower pace though with only 39 thousand doses
administered in the past 24 hours. Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in
Romania in December last year, over 4 million people have been fully
vaccinated.

RELAXATION New relaxation measures were imposed in Romania on Friday night
when the state of alert across the country had been extended for another month.
So, indoor private events can be attended by 200 people in regions with an
infection rate below 3 per thousand only if the participants are all
vaccinated, tested negative for the virus or already had the disease. Outdoor
events may have an attendance up to the maximum capacity of the facility
hosting the event. In Bucharest mask mandates are still in place around schools
as well as indoor or crowded outdoor facilities.

PNRR The European Commission has started assessing the recovery plans
it has received from the member countries willing to access funds from the
European recovery plan. The Commission has made a series of observations and
called for additional information after it received the recovery and resilience
plan made by Romania. The European Commission has two months to assess the
national recovery plans, one of the main conditions being that the applicants
earmark at least 37% to ecological transition and 20 % to the digital sector.
Education, healthcare, transport and infrastructure as well as digitization and
public administration reforms are the main domains the National Plan of
Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) focuses on and where Romania pledges to invest
all the roughly 30 million Euros it is going to attract. All investment must be completed by 2026.

LOAN
The World Bank will give Romania a 150 million Euros loan to improve the
quality of its medical system. The money is to be used for improving the
country’s telemedicine services and the screening network for cervical cancer,
to build burns units and fit them with the equipment they need. The new loan
agreement was signed in Bucharest and is completing an initial funding stage
for a project currently underway in Romania.

WEATHER According to meteorologists, the weather
will be unsettled in Romania until Tuesday with rain showers, strong winds and
thunderstorms mainly in the country’s north. Flood warnings have been issued
for 15 counties in Romania and temperatures are expected to range between 20
and 28 degrees Celsius.

FOOTBALL Wales versus Switzerland ended
in a one-all draw in Baku, Azerbaijan, in Group A of the European Football Championship
2020. Italy tops the group with 3 points after a 3-0 win against Turkey on
Friday. In a first for the Romanian capital, Bucharest will be hosting four
games: Austria versus North Macedonia on June 13th, Ukraine versus
North Macedonia on June 17th and Ukraine versus Austria on June 21st,
all of them in group C. Romania will also be hosting a match in the round of 16
on 28th June. Also in a first for Romania, the country will have two
teams of referees at the aforementioned competition.

(bill)

12 June 2021
June 12, 2021

G7
Leaders of the world’s seven most developed countries are expected to endorse a
proposal by US president Joe Biden for a global minimum corporate tax of at
least 15%, the White House has announced. The Global Minimum Tax plan, also
known as GMT, would effectively put an end to the practice of global
corporations seeking out low-tax jurisdiction to move their headquarters to,
even though their customers, operations and executives are located elsewhere. A
decision on the GMT is going to be officially made during the G 7 summit, which
kicked off in Cornwall, the UK, on Friday. The summit of G7 countries whose
economies account for 40% of the global economy has an ambitious agenda.
Leaders from the United States, France, the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan and
Italy plus the EU leaders are trying to find solutions to global issues, such
as vaccine supplies for the entire planet, solutions to the present economic
crisis as well as ways to fight the global warming. Britain announced a
donation of over 100 million vaccine doses to the poor countries while the USA
is going to donate 500 million doses to 100 developing countries.

COVID-19 The number of Covid-19 infections in Romania is still low with 127
new cases reported on Saturday. 5 new Covid-related fatalities have been
reported in the past 24 hours and 236 patients are in intensive care. The
vaccine rollout continues at a lower pace though with only 41 thousand doses
administered in the past 24 hours. Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in
Romania in late December, over 4 million people have been fully vaccinated.

RELAXATION New relaxation measures were imposed in Romania on Friday night
when the state of alert across the country had been extended for another month.
So, indoor private events can be attended by 200 people in regions with an
infection rate below 3 per thousand only if the participants are all
vaccinated, tested negative for the virus or already had the disease. Outdoor
events may have an attendance up to the maximum capacity of the facility
hosting the event. In Bucharest mask mandates are still in place around schools
as well as indoor or crowded outdoor facilities.

PNRR The European Commission has started assessing the recovery plans
it has received from the member countries willing to access funds from the
European recovery plan. The Commission has made a series of observations and
called for additional information after it received the recovery and resilience
plan made by Romania. The European Commission has two months to assess the
national recovery plans, one of the main conditions being that the applicants earmark
at least 37% to ecological transition and 20 % to the digital sector.
Education, healthcare, transport and infrastructure as well as digitization and
public administration reforms are the main domains the National Plan of
Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) focuses on and where Romania pledges to invest
all the roughly 30 million Euros it is going to attract. All investment must be completed by 2026.

WEATHER Romanian meteorologists have issued a
yellow alert for unsettled weather all over the country. Rain showers,
thunderstorms and hail are expected in almost all regions. Temperatures are
ranging between 20 and 29 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in Bucharest of
24 degrees. Flood alerts have been issued for 15 counties until Monday at noon.

(bill)

12 June 2021
June 5, 2021 UPDATE

Covid-19 RO. The national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 continues, though not at the pace desired by authorities. Only some 20 thousand people received a first dose of the vaccine over the past 24 hours, despite efforts to convince the population to go to the immunization centers. Numerous vaccination marathons and other events aimed at increasing the number of immunized people are organized this weekend. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu called for measures to boost the vaccination campaign, stressing that the pandemic is not over. “In order to carry out the vaccination campaign in rural areas now, we need the support of local authorities, county council presidents, prefects, mayors, but also opinion leaders, such as priests, doctors, even the police in the area”, the Prime Minister stressed. The data presented by the authorities show that 4.4 million Romanians have been vaccinated, most of them with both doses. 179 new cases of infection were reported in the last 24 hours, in 32,000 tests. Also, 113 deaths were reported. 329 patients are in intensive care.

Pandemic. The list of countries by Covid-19 incidence rate has been updated by the National Committee for Emergency Situations in Romania. In Europe, only France and the United Kingdom are in the red zone. People who come to Romania from these countries and are not vaccinated will be placed in quarantine for 14 days. The Netherlands, Sweden and Latvia have moved from the red to the yellow zone, and Turkey, Cyprus, Switzerland and Croatia are now in the green zone.

Visit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, meets, on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, who will pay a state visit to Romania. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the Israeli presidents state visit is part of the very good dynamics of high-level bilateral contacts in recent times, the most recent meeting between the two heads of state taking place on the occasion of the Romanian presidents participation in the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, in January 2020, followed by telephone talks in March and June 2020 . The source adds that President Rivlins visit reflects the solidity of the bilateral relationship, as well as the fact that Israel remains a key strategic partner of Romania in the Middle East. The discussions will focus on ways to develop and deepen bilateral relations in all areas of common interest, the visit taking place in the context of celebrating, on June 11, 73 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between Romania and the State of Israel. Economic and health cooperation will also be addressed, including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Holocaust education and other measures to combat anti-Semitism in Romania, as well as cultural and interpersonal exchanges between the two states. “Special attention will be paid to the situation in the Middle East region,” the presidential administration said in a statement.

G7. G7, the group of the most industrialized countries in the world, reached a historic agreement on Saturday on a global minimum tax for multinationals. This would be 15%, applicable to companies in each country where they operate, the goal being to tax multinationals where they make a profit and not just where they are registered. The measure will apply to international companies with a profit margin of at least 10%. According to the agreement, above this threshold, 20% of the profits obtained will be taxed in the countries where the group operates. However, the joint statement of the G7 finance ministers (UK, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany and the US) does not say whether states that have already imposed a tax on digital giant companies, such as the UK, would give it up to apply the new tax. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen welcomed the deal, saying the global minimum tax will do justice to the middle class and workers in the United States and around the world.

Tennis. The Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău / Kevin Krawietz qualified for the quarterfinals of the mens doubles event of the Roland Gaross tennis tournament, the second Grand Slam of the year, after defeating, on Saturday, in three sets, the pair Jamie Murray (UK) / Bruno Soares (Brazil). In the womens doubles, the Romanian-Argentine pair Irina Begu / Nadia Podoroska qualified for the fourth round after a victory, also in three sets, in the match against the Japanese Shuko Aoyama / Ena Shibahara. The Romanian-Latvian pair Monica Niculescu / Jelena Ostapenko was defeated and left the competition. Romanian Sorana Cîrstea (29 years old, 54th place WTA) will meet, on Sunday, the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek (23. 85 WTA) in the fourth round of the tournament. Cîrstea is the last Romanian left in the singles event. (MI)

5 June 2021
Nachrichten 26.08.2019

Die Bukarester Regierungskoalition PSD-ALDE ist am Montag abend auseinandergebrochen. Die Allianz der Liberalen und Demokraten ALDE, der Juniorpartner der Koalition, geht in die Opposition; die ALDE-Minister werden am Dienstag aus der Exekutive ausscheiden. Laut dem ALDE-Vorsitzenden Calin Popescu Tariceanu kommt die Entscheidung, nachdem die PSD, mit der ALDE die Regierungskoalition bildete, den ALDE-Antrag auf eine Umstrukturierung der Regierung und ein neues Regierungsprogramm nicht unterstützt hat. Ferner erklärte Calin Popescu Tariceanu dass er als Senatsvorsitzender zurücktreten werde und auch nicht mehr beabsichtige, für die Präsidentschaftswahl zu kandidieren. ALDE werde den unabhängigen Präsidentschaftskandidaten, den ehemaligen Schauspieler Mircea Diaconu, unterstützen, der auch von der Partei Pro Rumänien unterstützt wird. Die Abstimmung fand bei einem Treffen der Ständigen Delegation von ALDE statt; bei demselben Treffen stimmte die ALDE-Führung auch für eine Allianz mit der Partei Pro Rumänien des ehemaligen PSD-Premierministers Victor Ponta ab. Die Premierministerin und PSD-Vorsitzende Viorica Dăncilă hat ihrerseits in einem sozialen Netzwerk erklärt, die Sozialdemokratische Partei PSD werde die Regierung des Landes fortsetzen. Ferner erklärte Viorica Dancila, dass die PSD die Stabilität der Regierung sicherstellen wird, und dass die externe Glaubwürdigkeit wichtig sei. Gemäß der Verfassung und den Entscheidungen des Verfassungsgerichts ist die sozialdemokratische Premierministerin Viorica Dăncilă verpflichtet, innerhalb von 45 Tagen im Parlament eine erneutes Bestätigungsvotum zu beantragen, da sich die politische Farbe der Regierung ändert. Wenn die Premierministerin die notwendigen 233 Stimmen nicht bekommt, bleibt die Regierung interimistisch. ALDE hat vier Minister in der Regierung, dies sind Grațiela Gavrilescu, stellvertretende Ministerpräsidentin und Umweltministerin, Ramona Mănescu, Außenministerin, Anton Anton, Energieminister und Viorel Ilie, Minister für Beziehungen zum Parlament.

Die vom Exekutivkommitee der Sozialdemokratischen Partei am Samstag beschlossenen Vorschläge für neue Minister sind am Montag von Ministerpräsidentin Viorica Dancila an Präsident Klaus Iohannis übermittelt werden. Die Vorschläge des PSD-Exekutivkommitees lauten: die Richterin Dana Gîrbovan für das Justizministerium, der Generalsekretär der Sozialdemokratischen Partei, Mihai Fifor, für das Innenministerium, Senator Serban Valeca für das Bildungsministerium. Die Interims-Justizministerin Ana Birchall wird Vize-Premierministerin für Partnerschaften und der Abgeordnete Iulian Iancu wird Vizepremierminister in Wirtschaftsfragen. Die Ankündigung, dass die Richterin Dana Gîrbovan als Justizministerin vorgeschlagen wird, wurde von der Opposition heftig kritisiert. Die Opposition erinnerte daran, dass Dana Gîrbovan eine glühende Verfechterin der Änderungen der Justizgesetze war, die von den Regierungsparteien PSD und ALDE durchgeboxt wurden, mit der Absicht, sich die Richter und Staatsanwälte unterzuordnen und den Kampf gegen die Korruption zu stoppen.

In der rumanischen Hauptstadt Bukarest findet vier Tage lang das jährliche Treffen der rumänischen Diplomatie statt, das vom rumänischen Außenministerium veranstaltet wird. Themen der Gespräche sind die Zukunft der EU und ihre globale Rolle, die transatlantischen Beziehungen, die Beziehungen zu den östlichen Nachbarn, europäische Angelegenheiten, die politischen und wirtschaftlichen Beziehungen Rumäniens zu den Ländern des asiatisch-pazifischen Raums, des Nahen Ostens, Afrikas und Lateinamerikas, die humanitäre Hilfe und der Beitrag zu Frieden und Sicherheit in der Welt. An dem Treffen der rumänischenn Diplomatie beteiligen sich die Außenministerin Ramona Manescu, der Minister für europäische Angelegenheiten George Ciamba und die Leiter der konsularischen und diplomatischen Vertretungen Rumäniens im Ausland. Besondere Gäste des diesjährigen Treffens sind die Außenminister Bulgariens und der Republik Moldawien sowie der kroatische Staatssekretär für europäische Angelegenheiten. Am Montag, dem ersten Tag des Diplomaten-Treffens in Bukarest unterzeichneten das rumänische Aussenministerium und das UN-Programm für Entwicklung eine Vereinbarung zur Zusammenarbeit.

Die Entscheidungen der rumänischen Regierung über die Präsidentschaftswahlen im November treten diese Woche in Kraft. Das Dokument enthält Informationen und Vorschriften über die Abstimmung in Rumänien und im Ausland. Die Frist für die Einreichung von Bewerbungen ist der 22. September. Der Wahlkampf beginnt am 12. Oktober. Der erste Wahlgang findet am 10. November und der zweite am 24. November statt.

Am Montag, dem letzten Tag des G7-Gipfels im französischen Biarritz, appellierte der UN-Generalsekretär, Antonio Guterres, an die internationale Gemeinschaft, sich stärker für die Verteidigung der Amazonasregion einzusetzen, die von verheerenden Waldbränden heimgesucht wird. Frankreichs Präsident Emmanuel Macron hat angekündigt, dass die G7-Industriestaaten einen 20-Millionen-Dollar-Fonds vereinbart haben, mit dem die Staaten im Amazonasgebiet die Waldbrände bekämpfen können. Gleichzeitig sagte Macron, in den kommenden Monaten werde eine internationale Initiative der UN-Staaten für die Amazonasregion gestartet, die analysieren wird, wie die betroffenen Gebiete aufgeforstet werden können.

Das rumänische Damen-Volleyball-Nationalteam besiegte Estland am Sonntag in Budapest mit 3:1 in der Gruppe C der Europameisterschaft. Dies ist der zweite Sieg der Rumäninnen in Folge, nachdem sie am Samstag mit 3:1 das Team des Gastgeberlandes Ungarn besiegt hatten. Die Niederlande liegen mit 6 Punkten nach 2 Spielen an der Spitze der Gruppe, gefolgt von Rumänien mit 6 Punkten nach 3 Spielen, Kroatien, Ungarn, Aserbaidschan und Estland. Am Dienstag tritt Rumänien gegen Kroatien an.

26 August 2019
August 21, 2019

PARTNERSHIP US president Donald Trump and his Romanian counterpart
Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday adopted a joint statement pledging to take action as
friends and allies to forward the robust and strategic partnership between the
two countries. The two leaders have agreed that energy security translates as national
security and have underlined their opposition towards projects that have
rendered allies and partners energy-dependent on Russia. The US and Romanian
leaders have said the excellent partnership in the field of law enforcement and
the anti-graft fight is based on mutual commitment to the rule of law and
independent justice. The two high officials have also highlighted the
significant increase in the bilateral trade as well as the mutual interest in
the creation of an investment climate, which provides transparency,
predictability and stability. The two presidents have also tackled Romania’s
inclusion in the Visa Waiver programme and the USA has reiterated its support for
Bucharest’s efforts towards achieving eligibility in accordance with the US
legislation. This has been the second meeting between the two presidents after
the one in Washington in 2017.

TALKS British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is today
having talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel on changing the terms of the
Brexit agreement, the BBC reports. Johnson is expected to reiterate his call
for the Irish border backstop plan to be scrapped. The
British Prime Minister has said the arrangement to avoid a hard border after Brexit
is anti-democratic and must be removed to secure a deal but the EU
has rejected the possibility of any changes to the backstop. The backstop is
part of the withdrawal agreement negotiated between Brussels and former Prime
Minister Theresa May, which has been rejected by Parliament three times. On
Thursday Boris Johnson is expected to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and
to participate in the G7 summit in France on Saturday.

FESTIVAL The 17th intercultural festival ProEtnica kicks
off today in Sighisoara, central Romania, the only medieval city inhabited in
south-eastern Europe. For five days the event brings together 50 ensembles of
the ethnic communities in Romania. Stands of various national minorities and
craftsmen are on view in this medieval citadel during the festival. According
to organizers, a first for this festival is a literary section, which allows
writers belonging to the national minorities as well as writers who write about
minorities to present their works and stage debates, lectures, presentations,
exhibitions and book launches. ProEthnica is aimed at promoting inter-cultural
dialogue and artistic interaction at European level.

FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions CFR Cluj were defeated by
Czech side Slavia Praga 1-0, on their own turf in the first round of the
Champions League’s play-off on Tuesday night. The return game pitching Slavia
against CFR will take place in Prague on August 28th. CFR Cluj has
so far defeated Astana of Kazahstan, Maccabi Tel-Aviv of Israel and Celtic
Glasgow of Scotland, whereas the Czech champions have qualified directly for
this stage of the competition. In the Europa League, Romania’s vice-champions
FCSB will be taking on Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes in an attempt to
qualify for the groups.

(translated by bill)

21 August 2019
June 8, 2018 UPDATE

B9 FORMAT- On Friday in Warsaw, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda participated in the meeting of the Bucharest 9 Format, which includes NATO members from central and Eastern Europe. The participants adopted a joint declaration, about which the Romanian President said it reflects common evaluations and objectives focusing on strengthening Euro-Atlantic security. He also stated that NATOs eastern flank must be further consolidated. Also, the Romanian head of state has said that earmarking 2% of the GDP for defence and investing in modernizing the military capability are investments in a countrys own security and Romania has fulfilled its commitment to ensuring that. In turn, the Polish President Andrzej Duda has stated that the joint declaration will help the decision-making process at the NATO summit due in Brussels next month.

CORRUPTION – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest has postponed for June 21st its ruling in the case in which the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea is accused of acts of corruption. Its the second time that the court postpones its verdict. The reason invoked was that part of the defendants in this case filed some written conclusions on June 7th, and the judges need time to study them. Last month, prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested a sentence of 7 years and 5 months in prison for abuse of office and 2 years and 6 months for forgery. They say that Liviu Dragnea, during his term as president of the Teleorman County Council, ordered the fictitious employment of two Social Democratic party members by the Directorate for Social Work and Child Protection. The two were paid from public money although they allegedly worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. Dragnea claims he is innocent and has denied prosecutors accusations. In 2016 Dragnea received a 2-year suspended prison sentence for attempted electoral fraud.

DEFENCE – The very good cooperation in the field of defence, with focus on the British military contribution in Romania, was high on the agenda of the talks held in Brussels on Friday between the Romanian Defence Minister Mihai Fifor and the British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. The Romania – Great Britain bilateral meeting was held on the second day of the NATO Defence Ministers summit, at the general headquarters of the Alliance, reads a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry. Minister Fifor appreciated Great Britains active participation in air-policing missions and also its constant presence in the Black Sea, thus proving its commitment to NATOs deterrence and defence posture in the region. In turn, the British secretary of defence stressed that the fact that Romania is a regional stability factor and has a substantial contribution to maintaining security in the Black Sea and Western Balkans regions.

CEREMONY – General Nicolae Ciuca, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, will attend on Saturday the ceremony occasioned by the anniversary of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the invitation of Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart William Peach, according to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry. This is recognition of the good cooperation between the two armies and an opportunity to promote at military level the interests of the Romanian Army in the relation with the British Army, one of its most important allies, the communiqué also reads.

G7 – At the opening of the G7 summit hosted by Canada, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk blamed the US President Donald Trump for defying world order, France Presse reports. On Friday, the first day of the two-day summit, Donald Trump urged G7 to reintegrate Russia, which was expelled from the format in 2014, after annexing the Crimean Peninsula. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that she expects difficult discussions at the summit, between Washington and its partners, especially with regard to international trade, climate protection, development and external policies.

FESTIVAL- Almost 13 million Euros is the budget of this years edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which started on Friday. Until June 17, the audience will have the opportunity to watch some 524 performances. The 25th edition of the festival has brought to Sibiu 3,300 artists from 73 countries. This is the first year when the festival has two honorary patrons: the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, a former mayor of Sibiu, and Prince Charles, the Heir to the British Crown, who is famous for his passion for the region of Transylvania, in central Romania.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings and first-seed at the Roland Garros, will play in the final against the American Sloane Stephens, no.10 in the WTA classification. In the semifinals, Halep defeated the Spanish Garbine Muguruza, number three in the world, and winner in Paris in 2016, while Sloane Stephens defeated her co-national Madison Keys (no.13 WTA). This is the third Roland Garros final for Simona Halep, after the ones in 2014 and 2017, which she did not manage to win.

8 June 2018
28.05.2017

Am letzten Sonntag des Monats Mai wird in Rumänien der Tag der Rumänen von Überall gefeiert. Zu diesem Anlaß finden in Rumänien und im Ausland zahlreiche Kulturveranstaltungen statt. Die Bukarester Regierung hat ein neues Gesetzespaket erarbeitet, um die im Ausland lebenden Rumänen zu unterstützen. Das heutige Gesetz ist älter als 10 Jahre und es mußte auf den neuesten Stand gebracht werden, präzisierte die Ministerin für die Rumänen von Überall, Andreea Pastarnac, in einem Interview für Radio Romania. Mehr als 2 Millionen Rumänen arbeiten legal außerhalb der rumänischen Grenzen, die meisten von ihnen in EU-Staaten. Die größten rumänischen Gemeinden befinden sich in Italien und Spanien – in diesen Ländern werden Veranstaltungen zum Feiern des Tags der Rumänen von Überall organisiert. Zum selben Anlaß findet in Bukarest das Seminar Die rumänische Sprache näher an zu Hause. In einer Botschaft zum Tag der Rumänen von Überall sagte Staatspräsident Klaus Iohannis, er wünsche, dass die Ruumänen von Überall einander unterstützen und gemeinsam an den wichtigen Entscheidungen, die ihr Leben bestimmen, teilnehmen sollten.

US-Präsident Donald Trump hat die Gruppe der sieben großen Industrienationen (G7) mit seinem Konfrontationskurs in eine schwere Krise gestürzt. Nur in letzter Minute konnte auf ihrem zweitägigen Gipfel in Taormina auf Sizilien ein Fiasko abgewendet werden. Massive Differenzen gab es im Klimaschutz und beim Umgang mit Flüchtlingen. Allein in der Handelspolitik näherten sich die Staats- und Regierungschefs am Samstag an. Die mageren Ergebnisse des Gipfels stießen auf scharfe Kritik. Nach seiner ersten Auslandsreise kehrte Trump zurück in die USA, wo ihn die Affären über die Kontakte seines Wahlkampflagers zu Russland erwarteten. Obwohl er erst nach zähem Ringen zugestimmt hatte, den Kampf gegen Protektionismus in die Abschlusserklärung des Gipfels aufzunehmen, verkaufte der Präsident den Mini-Kompromiss als Erfolg. Mit dem Kompromiss über Protektionismus konnte ein tiefergehendes Zerwürfnis mit den USA verhindert werden. Die Gegensätze prallten vor allem in der Klimapolitik aufeinander. Die sechs anderen Staaten appellierten eindringlich an Trump, dem Klimaabkommen von Paris treu zu bleiben. Er will nächste Woche über einen Ausstieg aus der historischen Vereinbarung entscheiden, die zu einer Verringerung der Treibhausgase verpflichtet. Er empfindet das Abkommen als unfair und schädlich für die Wirtschaft der USA, die nach China der zweitgrößte Klimasünder sind. In einem ungewöhnlichen Schritt hielten die G7 den Streit sogar im Abschlusskommuniqué fest. Die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel und Frankreichs Staatspräsident Emmanuel Macron betonten, keine Kompromisse zulassen zu wollen. Umweltschützer begrüßten, dass eine Aufweichung des Abkommens verhindert worden sei. (dpa)

Anläßlich seines Vatikanbesuches ist der rumänische Staatssekretär Victor Micula mit dem Generalsekretär der Gemeinschaft SantEgidio, Alberto Quattrucci und mit anderen Führungsmitgliedern der Gemeinschaft zusammengekommen. Victor Micula würdigte die mehr als 20 Jahre lange Aktivität der Gemeinschaft SantEgidio, die besondere Aufmerksamkeit, die sie den Beziehungen zu Bukarest schenkt sowie die Bereitschaft der Gemeinschaft SantEgidio, im Rahmen von ökumenischen Projekten und internationalen humanitären Programmen zusammenzuarbeiten. Die Gemeinschaft SantEgidio entstand im Jahr 1968 in Rom in den Jahren nach dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil. Heute ist sie eine Laienbewegung, zu der mehr als 60.000 Personen gehören. Sie setzt sich in Rom, in Italien und in mehr als 70 Ländern der Welt für die Weitergabe des Evangeliums und im Dienst an den Armen ein. SantEgidio ist ein Öffentlicher Verein von Gläubigen“ in der Kirche. Die verschiedenen Gemeinschaften auf der ganzen Welt sind durch dieselbe Spiritualität und die Grundlagen miteinander verbunden, die den Weg von SantEgidio kennzeichnen.

28 May 2017
May 28, 2017

DAY The Day of the Romanians the world over is celebrated today as every year on the last Sunday in May through a series of cultural events taking place both in Romania and abroad. The government has completed a fresh law package to come to the support of the Romanians living outside Romanias borders. The law currently in force is ten years old and it needed a series of amendments, field minister Andreea Pastarnac told Radio Romania. According to statistics, over 2 million Romanians are working legally outside the country, most of them in countries members of the EU. The largest Romanian communities are in Italy and Spain. The two countries will today be seeing a series of cultural events to mark this special day. Bucharest is today hosting a seminar entitled ‘The Romanian Language Closer to Home. In an address on this occasion, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said that he wished these Romanians may support each other and participate in decisions that might affect their life.

MARATHON Romanian-born athlete Raphael Igrisianu, who has been living in Germany for the past 20 years and who holds the world record of running with a basketball, on Saturday won the International Marathon in Sibiu, central Romania. He covered the distance in two hours and 52 minutes in support for a cultural project aimed at educating children through music. Igrisianu has so far run in 60 international marathons being one of the best-known Romanian marathoners. 32 hundred people from Romania and abroad ran in the Sibiu marathon race.

G7 US president Donald Trump might withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, sources quoted by Reuters have announced. Trump has announced on a social network that he will make a decision in this respect next week after G7 leaders have failed to convince him on the importance of this agreement. The summit of the worlds richest countries ended in Sicily on Saturday without an agreement on the fight against the global warming. The G7 leaders have signed a common stance against protectionism and bad trade practices as well as a common accord on fighting terrorism.

VISIT During the visit he paid to the Vatican, Romanian state secretary Victor Micula has had a meeting with the secretary general of SantEgidio community, Alberto Quattrucci, and other members from the community leadership. According to Foreign Ministry communiqué, the Romanian official has on this occasion voiced appreciation for the activity of more than 20 years of the SantEgidio community in Romania and for the special attention paid to developing relations with Bucharest and its readiness to cooperate in various ecumenical and international humanitarian programmes. Talks focused on the activity the SantEgidio community – a lay movement of Catholic inspiration set up in 1968 in Rome and now present in over 70 countries – is carrying out at international level in the humanitarian, social, educational and sanitary fields, in fighting poverty and helping the needy and migrants.

28 May 2017
26.05.2017

Exercice – Quatre mille militaires roumains et des Etats de l’OTAN participent, à partir d’aujourd’hui et jusqu’au 16 juin, à l’exercice multinational Noble Jump 2017, l’exercice le plus ample organisé par l’Alliance cette année. Il aura lieu sur les territoires de la Roumanie, de la Bulgarie et de la Grèce. Y participent des militaires de 9 pays: Roumanie, Royaume-Uni, Allemagne, Pays-Bas, Espagne, Pologne, Norvège, Albanie et Bulgarie. Ils se serviront d’environ 500 moyens techniques, informe le ministère de la Défense. Le moment culminant sera l’exercice aux munitions de combat sur le polygone de Cincu, au centre de la Roumanie. L’exercice testera les capacités opérationnelles des effectifs de la Force de réaction très rapide et le niveau de mise en place du Plan d’action pour accroître la capacité de réaction de l’Alliance en Bulgarie et en Roumanie.

G7 – Les chefs des gouvernements des sept pays les plus industrialisés, G7, prennent part à commencer par ce vendredi, deux jours durant, à un sommet en Sicile. La réunion est la première de ce type avec la participation du président des Etats Unis, Donald Trump. Selon la BBC, il y aura des accords pour lutter contre la violence extrémiste et il y aura des discussions importantes avec le premier ministre japonais au sujet de la menace de la Corée du Nord. Des divergences pourraient se faire jour au sujet de thèmes tels que les changements climatiques ou le commerce, estime la source citée.

Rougeole – En Roumanie, une fillette de quatre mois est décédée des suites de la rougeole, qu’elle aurait contractée de sa maman, une mineure non vaccinée du milieu rural. C’est le 6e décès causé par la maladie au département de Dolj (sud-ouest), et le 27e dans ce pays, ces derniers mois. Le Premier ministre Sorin Grindeanu a mis en garde que le taux de vaccination n’est en Roumanie que de 60%, bien qu’il devrait être d’environ 95%. Selon lui, pour mettre fin aux foyers de rougeole, une forme d’obligation de l’immunisation pourrait devoir être mise en place. Depuis 2016, la Roumanie se confronte à une épidémie de rougeole qui touche notamment les enfants de moins de 15 ans. Près de 6000 cas ont été recensés.

Sécurité – Le chef de la diplomatie roumaine, Teodor Meleşcanu, participe, vendredi et samedi, à Bratislava, à la 12e édition du Forum Global de Sécurité GLOBSEC. Selon le ministère roumain des Affaires étrangères de Bucarest, le ministre roumain aura une intervention au sujet des évolutions sécuritaires européennes. A l’occasion, M Melescanu présentera la vision de la Roumanie au sujet du renforcement du rôle de l’UE dans le domaine de la sécurité et de la défense et du développement de sa coopération avec l’OTAN, a précisé le ministère des Affaires étrangères. L’événement est organisé par la diplomatie slovaque et par l’ONG GLOBSEC.

Médias – En Roumanie, les médias n’arrivent pas à accomplir leur responsabilité principale, celle d’informer le public, et ils agissent de manière répétée comme un porte-voix de certains intérêts commerciaux et politiques, en transgressant les normes journalistiques de précision, d’équilibre et d’information complète. C’est la principale conclusion du rapport Media Pluralism Monitor 2016 – Le Suivi des risques pour le pluralisme des médias à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de l’UE, élaboré par le Centre pour le Pluralisme des Médias et la Liberté de la Presse (CMPF), avec le soutien de l’UE. Selon le rapport, même si les dispositions légales de Roumanie offrent un cadre « assez solide » en la matière, les pratiques dépourvues d’esprit de suite et la mise en œuvre de ces dispositions conduisent à des risques possibles. D’autre part, le marché médiatique de Roumanie est dominé par la télévision, avec une hausse récente de l’utilisation d’Internet et une baisse continuelle de la consommation de presse imprimée. Le développement rapide l’Internet et la disponibilité de contenus gratuits rendent d’autant plus difficile la survie de certaines publications à tradition, dans un pays où les gens n’ont pas l’habitude de lire et de payer pour les infos, précise le rapport du CMPF.

Accusation – Le maire général de Chişinău, la capitale de la République de Moldova, le libéral pro-occidental Dorin Chirtoacă, a été retenu la nuit dernière par les procureurs anticorruption pour 72 heures, étant accusé de trafic de influence. L’adjoint au maire Nistor Grozavu, un chef de service et plusieurs autres personnes avaient déjà été retenues dans cette affaire, étant accusées d’avoir truqué, à la demande de Chirtoacă, un appel d’offres d’aménagement des parkings payants de la ville. Un piquet est organisé au siège de la Mairie par les supporters du maire, qui affirment qu’il est victime d’une vengeance politique. Elu en première en 2007, lorsqu’il était devenu, à 29 ans, le plus jeune maire d’une capitale européenne, Chirtoacă est un des leaders proéminents du Parti Libéral, qui se prononce pour l’admission de la République de Moldova à l’UE et à l’OTAN et pour la réunification avec la Roumanie et s’oppose de manière catégorique à l’orientation philo-russe du président socialiste Igor Dodon.

Justice – L’ancien ministre roumain de l’Energie, Constantin Niţă, a été condamné aujourd’hui par la Haute Cour de cassation et de justice à 4 années de prison ferme pour trafic d’influence. La Cour a également décidé de saisir 303.000 lei (67.000 euro), la saisie conservatoire étant maintenue. Selon les procureurs du Parquet national anticorruption, en 2013, Niţă Constantin, député au Parlement roumain, et à la date des faits, ministre de l’Energie, a demandé à un homme d’affaires (le dénonciateur) une commission de la valeur d’un contrat conclu par la société commerciale de ce dernier avec la mairie de Iasi (nord-est). La commission a été prétendue en échange pour que Niţă use de son influence sur le maire et en vue du bon déroulement du contrat. L’arrêt de la Haute Cour n’est pas définitif.

Football – Une réunion du Comité exécutif de la Fédération roumaine de football est prévue aujourd’hui à Bucarest. La Fédération devrait valider la décision de la Ligue professionnelle de football, qui a accordé le titre à l’équipe FC Viitorul. Le FCSB (ex-Steaua Bucarest) a menacé de contester cette décision au Tribunal d’Arbitrage Sportif de Suisse, si elle est validée par la Fédération. Le FCSB a terminé le championnat à égalité de points avec Viitorul et soutient que le titre devrait lui revenir, étant donné les résultats meilleurs dans les 4 rencontres directes. La Ligue considère toutefois que le champion est Viitorul, car il convient de prendre en compte uniquement les deux résultats directs du play-off, de la deuxième étape de la compétition. La Coupe de la Ligue, compétition qui ne sera plus organisée dorénavant, a été gagnée par Dinamo Bucarest, tandis que FC Voluntari et Astra Giurgiu se disputeront la Coupe de Roumanie.

Tennis – La joueuse de tennis roumaine Sorana Cîrstea (67e WTA) rencontre ce jeudi Yulia Putintseva du Kazakhstan (28e WTA), dans un match comptant pour les quarts de finales du tournoi de Nürnberg, en Allemagne. Le match a été interrompu la veille, au score de 1 partout dans les manches et 4 partout au manche décisif. Par ailleurs, la paire roumano-néerlandaise Horia Tecău / Jean-Julien Rojer joue contre le duo Scott Lipsky (Etats Unis) / Leander Paes (Inde) les demi-finales du tournoi de Genève. Tecău et Rojer sont les principaux favoris de la compétition.

26 May 2017
May 26, 2017

SUMMIT Heads of government from the world’s most industrialized countries have convened in Sicily for a G7 summit. This is the first G7 summit attended by the president of the United States, Donald Trump. According to the BBC, agreements on fighting extremist violence and talks with the Japanese Prime Minister on threats posed by North Korea are high on the agenda. The summit is also expected to see divergent opinions regarding the climate change or trade.

DRILL 4 thousand troops from Romania and other NATO countries are participating until June 16th in ‘Noble Jump 2007’, the biggest multinational NATO exercise this year on the territories of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. The Romanian troops will be joining their counterparts from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Norway, Albania and Bulgaria and will make use of 500 technical means, the Romanian Defence Ministry informs. The drill will culminate with the artillery fire in the shooting range of Cincu, in central Romania. ‘Noble Jump 2007’ is aimed at testing the operational capabilities of the elements of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force and the level of implementing the action plan for increasing the Alliance’s Response in Bulgaria and Romania.

MEDIA Mass-media in Romania cannot accomplish its main responsibility, namely to inform the public and is repeatedly acting as a mouthpiece for various political and trade interests violating journalistic norms of unbiased, balanced and complete information. This is the main conclusion of the report Media Pluralism Monitor 2016, an instrument monitoring the risks of the media pluralism in the EU and outside set up by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom with EU support. According to the report, although legislative provisions in Romania are offering a solid framework, the inconsistent implementation of these provisions and practices are leading to these risks. The report also says that the development of Romania’s mass-media market is dominated by televison; the Internet use is on the rise and the printed press users are diminishing. Rapid Internet development and the availability of free content is making the survival of traditional publications very difficult in a country where people aren’t used to reading and paying for the news, the report also says.

MAYOR The mayor general of Chisinau, the capital of the neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country, the pro-Western Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca was detained last night by anti-corruption prosecutors for 72 hours for influence peddling. Deputy mayor Nistor Grozavu, a head of department and several other persons had been arrested in the same file. Upon Chirtoaca’s direction they had allegedly forged a public bid for paid parking lots around the capital. The city hall is being picketed by Chirtoaca’s supporters who say that he is the victim of political revenge. Chirtoaca got elected in 2007 to become at the age of 39, the youngest mayor of a European capital city. Chirtoaca is one of the most prominent leaders of the Liberal Party supporting the country’s EU and NATO accession and the union with Romania at the same time categorically opposing the pro-Russia direction promoted by socialist president Igor Dodon.

MEASLES A four-month girl died of measles complications, a disease she got from her minor mother in Romania’s rural area. This has been the sixth death caused by the disease in the county of Dolj, southwestern Romania and the 27th around Romania in the past months. Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has called into attention the fact that the vaccination rate in Romania stays around 60% instead of a desired 95% and in order to stop these outbreaks the country might need compulsory vaccination. Since 2016 Romania has seen a series of measles outbreaks mainly in children under fifteen; 6 thousand cases of infection have been reported so far.

26 May 2017
May 21, 2017

HEARINGS – A parliamentary committee that probes into the presidential election of 2009 is to start hearings on Monday, and the first to be heard is the journalist and former political adviser Dan Andronic. He has recently stated that the heads of major public institutions at that time, including the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Prosecutor Generals Office, influenced the outcome of the vote to the benefit of Traian Basescu. The latter won a second presidential term in office in 2009, after a very narrow victory against the Social Democrat Mircea Geoana. Prosecutors have initiated criminal proceedings in this case, for suspected abuse of office and forgery of documents and election records.

EU – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall, takes part in Brussels on Monday in a meeting of the General Affairs Council held in an EU27 format, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. The participants will adopt a decision authorising the opening of the Brexit negotiations with the UK and nominating the Commission as the EU negotiator, and will endorse negotiating directives. On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Ana Birchall will have talks with her Estonian counterpart, Matti Maasikas, about the priorities of the Estonian presidency of the EU Council and the main topics of discussion at EU level. The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs mentioned that Bucharest attaches great importance to protecting the rights and interests of the Romanians living in UK.

FRANCE – The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, receives the PM of Italy Paolo Gentiloni in Paris today. According to AFP, the meeting takes place days ahead the G7 summit that brings together the leaders of the USA, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy and Canada in Sicily, southern Italy. A major topic on the agenda will be the Paris Agreement on climate change, at a time when the US President Donald Trump, who will attend the meeting in Sicily, threatens to take his country out of this process, AFP also notes.

INTERNATIONAL – While on his first international tour, the US President Donald Trump is to address in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, today leaders of over 40 Muslim countries. BBC reports that the US President will mention the need to open a common front against religious extremism and against intolerant ideologies. On Saturday, the first day of the tour, the parties signed contracts amounting to 380 billion US dollars, primarily in the oil sector and in arms procurement.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 4 in the world, plays today the final of the tournament in Rome, which has 2.7 million US dollars in total prize money, against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (no. 11 WTA). In the semi-final, Halep outplayed the Dutch Kiki Bertens (20 WTA). Last week, the Romanian player won the Madrid tournament for the second consecutive year. This is the 24th tournament final for Halep, who has won 15 titles so far. If she wins today, Halep goes up to no. 3 in the world rankings.

FOOTBALL – Dinamo Bucharest won the Romanian Leagues Cup after Saturday nights 2-0 victory against ACS Poli Timisoara. The match was played in Bucharest. This is the second competition organised by the Romanian Professional Football League, after the championship. This year the League awarded the champions title to FC Viitorul. FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharest, threatened however that it would challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the Switzerland, on grounds that both teams finished the championship with the same score and that overall it won in the direct matches against Viitorul. Two other teams from southern Romania, FC Voluntari and Astra Giurgiu, will play for the Romanian Football Cup.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

21 May 2017
April 11, 2017 UPDATE

G7 — Foreign Ministers of the G7 countries met on Tuesday in the Italian town of Lucca. Britain and America failed to win immediate support from European allies for new sanctions on Russia, the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In his turn, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that Assad’s reign has come to an end. After the meeting, the American official left for Moscow, in an attempt to convince Russia to withdraw its support for Assad. The move comes after last week’s US air strikes, in response to the use of chemical weapons that killed 89 people in Syria.

MEASLES — The Romanian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that 21 people have died of measles. Around 4 thousand cases have been reported since September last year. Health authorities continue the immunization campaign for children aged 9 months to 9 years, in an attempt to prevent the spreading. Also on Tuesday the Health Ministry made public a vaccination bill. The bill stipulates the setting up of an immunization committee at the level of each county, that should intervene in case parents refuse the compulsory immunization scheme for their children. Health Minister Florian Bodog has said that following public and parliamentary debates, sanctions will also be stipulated in the bill.

NATO – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis asked Parliament to approve the opening, on the country’s territory, of a NATO counterintelligence unit. The new structure will carry out its activity within the Command of the Multinational Division Southeast in Bucharest. Romania already hosts two NATO structures set up following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. NATO has asked to establish a counterintelligence centre in Bucharest to act against “reported threats” and to support alliance structures in the country against espionage and sabotage by hostile forces. The request comes amid intense preparations for deployment in Romania of the largest NATO exercise in the country’s history, some 30,000 troops from 11 countries.

DIPLOMACY — The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu made an official visit to Tallinn on Monday and Tuesday, at the invitation of his Estonian counterpart, Sven Mikser. Melescanu also held talks with PM Juri Ratas and parliament Speaker Eiki Nestor. The Romanian Minister and the Estonian officials approached, among other things, the bilateral economic ties and the cultural exchanges. Teodor Melescanu also took part in the opening of the Romanian Embassy in Tallinn and visited the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.

UNIVERSITY — The Hungarian Government gave assurances that it would not close down any university, the Central European University (CEU) inlcuded. Thus, according to Hungarian authorities, the Central European University can stay open once an agreement between Hungary and the US is reached. On Monday, President Janos Ader signed the controversial legislation backed by the governing right-wing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Demonstrators in Budapest on Sunday had urged the President not to sign the bill into law. The government passed amendments to the Higher Education Act, which would make it impossible for the CEU to continue working in Budapest, 26 years after it was set up by the Hungarian-born American philanthropist and financier George Soros.

STOCK EXCHANGE — The Bucharest Stock Exchange on Tuesday launched an Internet platform that would offer extensive information on the shares listed. Under the name InvestingRomania.com the platform includes information on 13 major companies on Romania’s capital market. The published data come from several sources, including a news agency, analyses and estimates by financial pundits and current and periodical reports sent to the stock exchange. Users also get access to a platform which allows for the selection of portfolios based on two types of indicators.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

11 April 2017
Nachrichten 11.04.2017

Der rumänische Staatspräsident, Klaus Iohannis, hat in einem Schreiben das Bukarester Parlament aufgefordert, die Einrichtung eines Nato-Spionageabwehr-zentrums in Rumänien zu billigen. Besagtes Nato-Spionageabwehrzentrum soll im Rahmen des Führungsstabes der Multinationalen Süd-Ost-Divison der Nordatlantischen Allianz in Bukarest funktionieren. Die Einrichtung eines Nato-Spionageabwehrzentrums in Rumänien sei nützlich, infolge der wiederholten Bedrohungen, die in letzter Zeit gemeldet wurden, meinen die Alliierten. Die neue Struktur soll die in Rumänien funktionierenden Nato-Strukturen mit Informationen über mutma‎ßlichen Spionageaktivitäten oder Sabotageversuche unterstützen.

In der Bestechungsaffaire um den Kauf von Microsoft-Lizenzen haben die rumänischen Staatsanwälte den früheren Tennisspieler Dinu Pescariu und den Geschäftsmann Claudiu Florică unter Aufsicht gestellt. Die Antikorruptionsbehörde will auch die Zustimmung des rumänischen Staatspräsidenten für die Strafverfolgung gegen den früheren Telekommunikationsminister Gabriel Sandu einholen. Die beiden Unternehmer sollen dem Minister über einen Mittelsmann über zwei Millionen Euro gegeben haben, um bei einer Ausschreibung begünstigt zu werden. Dem Staat soll ein Schaden von rund 51 Millionen Euro entstanden sein. Der gewesene Minister ist bereits in einem anderen Verfahren im Zusammenhang mit ähnlichen Umständen zu drei Jahren Gefängnis verurteilt worden. In diesem Fall, der zu den grö‎ßten Korruptionsaffairen zählt, ging es um 60 Millionen Euro Schmiergeld und einen Schaden von 27 Millionen Euro.

In der Abgeordnetenkammer in Bukarest stimmen die Parlamentarier über eine Änderung am Strafttatbestand des Interessenkonflikts ab. Damit die Einstellung eines Verwandten durch einen Beamten als Straftat gilt, soll beispielsweise ein Schaden für das Interesse der Öffentlichkeit entstanden sein. Das Abgeordnetenhaus ist entscheidendes Gremium in der Sache. Neulich stimmten beide Kammern einer Abweichung vom Strafgesetzbuch zu, nach der ein Parlamentarier auch eine Person einstellen darf, die bei ihm in den letzten fünf Jahren beschäftigt war.

Die Bukarester Wertpapierbörse hat am Dienstag eine Nachrichtenplattform im Internet für Anleger eröffnet. InvestingRomania.com soll der grö‎ßte Anbieter von Fachinformation sein und Informationen über 13 der wichtigsten Unternehmen auf dem Kapitalmarkt bringen. Auch Börsenexperten und Firmen veröffentlichen dort Berichte und Schätzungen. Nutzer können sich im Detail über die Kurse und das Tagesgeschäft mit den eigenen Aktien informieren.

Der ungarische Präsident Janos Ader hat am Montag neue Vorschriften für den Umgang mit ausländischen Universitäten im Land in Kraft gesetzt. Das könnte zur Schlie‎ßung der Central European University führen, die vom US-Milliardär ungarischer Abstammung George Soros finanziert wird. Soros gilt als persönlicher Gegner von Premierminister Viktor Orban. Tausende Demonstranten hatten am Wochenende gegen das Gesetzt protestiert und auch viele Persönlichkeiten der wissenschaftlichen Welt, inklusive mehrere Nobelpreisträger, hatten ihre Unterstützung für die 1991 gegründete Prestige-Universität kundgetan und die Initiative der Regierung von Viktor Orban als politischen Angriff bewertet.

Die Au‎ßenminister der G7-Staaten haben sich geschlossen für eine Ablösung von Syriens Präsident Baschar al-Assad ausgesprochen. Eine politische Lösung mit einem Verbleib von Assad an der Macht werde es nicht geben, sagte der französische Au‎ßenminister Jean-Marc Ayrault am Dienstag am Rande eines G7-Treffens im italienischen Lucca. Entscheidend sei, als ersten Schritt einen Waffenstillstand unter Beobachtung der internationalen Gemeinschaft zustandezubringen.

Zudem fordert die G7 von Russland eine stärkere Zusammenarbeit zur Beendigung des Bürgerkriegs in Syrien. Die Regierung in Moskau dürfe in ihrer Syrien-Politik nicht scheinheilig sein und müsse ihre Verantwortung in dem Bürgerkriegsland annehmen, so Jean-Marc Ayrault. An den G7-Gesprächen in Lucca nahmen auch die Au‎ßenminister der Türkei, Saudi-Arabiens, der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, Katars und Jordaniens teil.

11 April 2017
April 11, 2016 UPDATE

NATIONAL SECURITY LAWS – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, will hold consultations, on Tuesday and Wednesday, with leaders of the parliamentary parties on the national security laws. The Romanian President has recently said the legislation in the field should be improved, and some provisions even replaced, because they are no longer suitable in the current security context, neither at national, nor at global level. Klaus Iohannis has said the citizens rights and freedoms should be taken into consideration when drafting the new legislation. In turn, justice minister Raluca Pruna has announced that on Tuesday the Government will start debating the national security laws.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM – Romanias technocratic prime minister, Dacian Ciolos, said the country cant be modernised and an efficient fight against corruption is impossible without a reform of the central and local public administration. He also said Romania needs an efficient administration, which should function in a transparent way. Ciolos made the statements during a debate, entitled “The Prime Ministers Hour. He has announced that, after the local elections due in June, the Cabinet will introduce a set of legislative changes aimed at reforming the public administration sector, clarifying, among other things, the role of civil servants at local and central levels and the civil service recruitment criteria. In turn, the deputy PM and Minister for Regional Development Vasile Dîncu has said the mayors who win the June local elections may attend training programmes to improve their performance.

LOCAL ELECTIONS – Romanian political parties, alliances, citizen organisations set up by ethnic minorities and independent runners may submit their candidacies for local and county councils and mayor seats, until April 26. As many as 126 parties, alliances and unions have registered their names and election symbols for the June 5 local election with the Central Election Bureau. The campaign for the local elections begins on May 6 and ends on June 4.

BRANCUSI – The Romanian Culture Minister, Vlad Alexandrescu, on Monday announced the official opening of a public subscription for the purchase of sculptor Constantin Brancusis work “Wisdom of the Earth. He mentioned he was the first to have donated money in this campaign. The owners have recently accepted the 11 million euro bid by the negotiating committee appointed by the Government of Romania. Of the total amount, the Government has announced it will contribute 5 million euro, and the balance is to be covered by public subscription. This is not common practice in Romania, and the decision has generated differences of opinions. Dating back to 1907, Wisdom of the Earth, just like works such as The Kiss and The Prayer, was created when Constantin Brancusi was at the height of his creative powers.

ECONOMY – The annual inflation rate in Romania stood at minus 3% in March, further down from the negative 2.7% in February, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute (INS). The National Bank of Romania in February updated the inflation forecast for the year to 1.4%, up 0.3% since the previous forecast. The National Forecast Commission, in its winter forecast, maintained the expected year-end figure at 1.8% and the forecast for 2017 at 2.5%.

COAL-MINING SECTOR – Miners and power industry workers with the Oltenia Energy Complex in south-western Romania started a rally to protest the lay-off of hundreds of complex employees. They will travel over 300 km to Bucharest, to hand a list of demands to the Government members. Among other things, the unionists demand that a plan be urgently put in place to enhance the efficiency of production units and that salary schemes should be based on performance criteria. In mid-March, the management of the complex decided to reduce or suspend certain operations in all its subsidiaries, both in the power sector and in the coal-mining sector, which will entail massive redundancies. Last year the company reported losses of over 200 million euros, 30% more than in 2014.

HIROSHIMA – The foreign ministers of the G7 countries on Monday called in Hiroshima, Japan, for a world without nuclear weapons. At the end of last week the US Secretary of State John Kerry visited the memorial to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, the city was devastated by an American atomic bomb, which left 140,000 people dead. On the other hand, the G7 foreign ministers pleaded for strengthening the fight against the IS terror group. The meeting in Hiroshima of the G7 diplomacy chiefs comes in preparation for the meeting of the G7 heads of state, scheduled to take place at the end of May in Japan.

(Translated by Ana-Maria Popescu and Diana Vijeu)

11 April 2016
April 11, 2016

PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION – The Romanian Culture Minister, Vlad Alexandrescu, announced today the official opening of a public subscription for the purchase of sculptor Constantin Brancusis work “Wisdom of the Earth. He mentioned he was the first to have donated money in this campaign. The owners have recently accepted the 11 million euro bid by the negotiating committee appointed by the Government of Romania. Of the total amount, the Government has announced it will contribute 5 million euro, and the balance is to be covered by public subscription. This is not common practice in Romania, and the decision has generated differences of opinions. Dating back to 1907, Wisdom of the Earth, just like works such as The Kiss and The Prayer, was created when Constantin Brancusi was at the height of his creative powers.

INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in Romania stood at minus 3% in March, further down from the negative 2.7% in February, according to data made public today by the National Statistics Institute (INS). The National Bank of Romania in February updated the inflation forecast for the year to 1.4%, up 0.3% since the previous forecast. The National Forecast Commission, in its winter forecast, maintained the expected year-end figure at 1.8% and the forecast for 2017 at 2.5%.

LEGISLATION – PM Dacian Cioloş is presenting in Parliament today aspects related to the reform of public administration. He has announced that, after the local elections due in June, the Cabinet will introduce a set of legislative changes aimed at reforming the public administration sector, clarifying, among other things, the role of civil servants at local and central levels and the civil service recruitment criteria. Dacian Cioloş has also explained that the goal is to regain the confidence of the public that civil servants work for the best interests of citizens. In turn, the deputy PM and Minister for Regional Development Vasile Dîncu has said the mayors who win the June local elections may attend training programmes to improve their performance.

ELECTIONS – Romanian political parties, alliances, citizen organisations set up by ethnic minorities and independent runners may submit their candidacies for local and county councils and mayor seats, until April 26. As many as 126 parties, alliances and unions have registered their names and election symbols for the June 5 local election with the Central Election Bureau. The campaign for the local elections begins on May 6 and ends on June 4.

PROTEST – Miners and power industry workers with the Oltenia Energy Complex in south-western Romania have today started a rally to protest the layoff of hundreds of complex employees. They will travel over 300 km to Bucharest, to hand a list of demands to the Government members. Among other things, the unionists demand that a plan be urgently put in place to enhance the efficiency of production units and that salary schemes should be based on performance criteria. In mid-March, the management of the complex decided to reduce or suspend certain operations in all its subsidiaries, both in the power sector and in the coal mining sector, which will entail massive redundancies. Last year the company reported losses of over 200 million euros, 30% more than in 2014.

HIROSHIMA – The foreign ministers of the G7 countries today called in Hiroshima, Japan, for a world without nuclear weapons. At the end of last week the US Secretary of State John Kerry visited the memorial to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945, the city was devastated by an American atomic bomb which left 140,000 people dead. On the other hand, the G7 foreign ministers pleaded for strengthening the fight against the IS terror group. The meeting in Hiroshima of the G7 diplomacy chiefs comes in preparation for the meeting of the G7 heads of state, scheduled to take place at the end of May in Japan.

11 April 2016