Radio România Internațional

Tag: General Affairs

  • Romania chairs first GAC meeting

    Romania chairs first GAC meeting

    Romania undertakes to be an honest mediator that preserves the unity and cohesion of the European Union during its presidency of the EU Council, said the minister for European affairs, George Ciamba, at the first meeting of the General Affairs council chaired by Romania.



    Ciamba presented the priorities of this six-month presidency, highlighting its 4 pillars: Europe of convergence, a safer Europe, Europe – a stronger regional actor, and Europe of shared values. Speaking about the European context in which Romanias term in office takes place, and which is marked by a number of complex processes, such as Brexit, the negotiations on the forthcoming multiannual financial framework, the elections for the European Parliament, and the reflection on the future of the Union, the Romanian official said the Union needs more unity and cohesion, today more than ever:



    George Ciamba: “Convergence is very important to Romania, as illustrated by our motto, ‘Cohesion, a shared European value. Cohesion is a process that not only strengthens the single market, but also generates benefits for citizens. We are talking about creating jobs, about generating economic growth for our country as well as for the rest of Europe. So it is very important for us that no discrimination exists between the citizens of Europe.



    Romania also seeks to achieve concrete results and to reach political agreements on as many topics as possible, so as to pave the way for the adoption of the new EU budget this autumn.



    The EU ministers also discussed the issue of disinformation as a threat to European democracy. The topic was proposed by Romania, and Minister Ciamba said coordinated efforts and actions are required of Member States in this respect, particularly ahead of the European parliamentary elections due in May.



    Back to the cohesion policy, one of the key elements of the Romanian presidency, Bucharest may be earmarked, as proposed by the European Commission, 8% more funds under the cohesion policy in the EU 2021-2027 budget than in the current framework. The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu announced in a social media post that the Commission requested Parliament to approve the highest allocation so far under the cohesion policy, namely 373 billion euros, of which 31 billion for Romania.



    In turn, the Minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb says Romania has not lost any money earmarked by Brussels. She explained that the absorption rate is close to the EU average, and that at the end of the year Bucharest filed several disbursement applications to the Commission, which should bring another 355 million euros into the country.



    Rovana Plumb: “We should not forget that Romania started out from zero absorption, and since 2017 we have reached 26%. The European Commissions website confirms this. In absolute figures, we are talking about nearly 8 billion euros in investments that benefit millions of Romanians, local authorities and also the business environment.



    Rovana Plumb also added that during the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, the cohesion budget will be managed by the Ministry for European Funds.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 8, 2019

    January 8, 2019

    EU COUNCIL The Romanian minister delegate for European Affairs is taking part in Brussels in the meeting of the General Affairs Council presided for the first time by Romania. Bucharest will present on this occasion its priorities as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The agenda of the meeting also includes the 2021-2027 financial framework, as well as measures to fight online manipulation, in the context of the elections for the European Parliament due in May. The visit of the College of European Commissioners to Bucharest on January 10th and 11th, marks the official launch of the Romanian Presidency in Bucharest, minister Ciamba added. The 4 pillars of the Romanian presidency are “Europe of convergence, “A safer Europe, “Europa – a stronger regional actor, and “Europe of shared values. Bucharest has earmarked a budget of 60-80 million euros for its EU Council presidency.




    CHILD ALLOWANCES The Romanians working in Austria whose child allowances for the children left in their home country were cut down further to legislative changes in the host country may request support from SOLVIT Romania, which is subordinated to the Foreign Ministry. SOLVIT is a network set up and coordinated by the European Commission in the field of the internal market, which relies on the cooperation of the 31 Centres that are part of the public administration of the countries affiliated to the European Economic Area. Specifically, where a violation is identified, SOLVIT Romania will contact SOLVIT Austria, which is in charge with contacting the relevant national authority in order to identify a solution to the problem. Moreover, Romanian authorities are also currently working with the European Commission with respect to the Austrian legislative measures that lower the child allowances paid to Romanian workers in Austria to the level of the child allowances paid in Romania.




    COHESION Romania will be earmarked 31 billion euro under the Cohesion Policy, in 2021 – 2027, which is 8% more than in the 2014 – 2020 period, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu announced. The cohesion policy has the largest budget for the post-2020 period, namely 373 billion euro, and Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Italy and Finland will receive higher amounts than in the current period, the European official said. According to Corina Cretu, the European Commission wants 3-party negotiations with the European Parliament and Council to be initiated as soon as possible and the procedures for accessing EU funds simplified. This will prevent delays in implementing projects in all EU member states. Corina Creţu added that she will talk about this during the visit that the EC president Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, and the College of Commissioners will make to Bucharest on January 10th and 11th.




    PROTESTS The French PM Édouard Philippe announced plans to ban participation in unauthorised protests, after 8 consecutive weekends of “yellow vest rallies. He said the government would draft a bill punishing those who fail to declare the organisation of a protest, those who take part in one and those who wear masks to cover their faces. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Paris and other cities last weekend, but the number of protesters was lower than in previous weekends, and so was the extent of violent clashes. Anti-government protesters are disgruntled with the fuel taxes and the low living standards. They also want to make sure that citizens initiative referendums will be introduced as a guarantee of democracy.




    VISIT North-Korean president Kim Jong-un is on a visit to Beijing, where he will have talks with Xi Jinping, the president of China, which is North Koreas main diplomatic and trade ally. Kim visited the country 3 times in 2018, 2 of the trips taking place ahead of the historic meeting with the US president Donald Trump, which many commentators saw as an opportunity to coordinate strategies. The current 3-day visit fuels speculations regarding a second USA – North Korea summit to be held soon. Trump has recently said the place of the meeting will be announced in the near future.




    INTERNET While waiting for the results of the recent presidential elections, the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have cut internet access and text messaging services and have blocked the French radio station RFI, news agencies announce. The government said this was a measure meant to preserve public order and to stop the dissemination of fictitious election results. Meanwhile, the EU and the African Union Monday denounced the coup attempt in Gabon, a former French colony in Africa. Here too, the internet was shut down and power was cut in several areas. Internet shutdowns were also reported in Sudan and Cameroon over the past few months. In Uganda, in 2016, internet access was blocked around election time, with the authorities claiming that this was the only way to prevent the dissemination of fake news inciting violence.




    TENNIS The Romanian player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, is playing her first match this year against the Australian Ashleigh Barty (15 WTA), in the 8th-finals of the WTA tournament in Sydney. Barty Tuesday defeated the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (22 WTA) 6-3, 6-3. Last year, Halep won both her matches against Barty without losing a set, in the Montreal semi-finals and in the 8th-finals of the Cincinnati tournament. Simona, who had to cut her 2018 season short because of a herniated disc, last won a match in August, against Arina Sabalenka of Belarus, in the Cincinnati semi-finals, lost the following 3 matches and withdrew in the fourth.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 21, 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)