Radio România Internațional

Tag: General Affairs Council

February 19, 2019

COMPET – The EU Competitiveness Council (COMPET) continues its
agenda today with one its most important innovation and research programmes,
Horizon Europe. The meeting is presided by Romanian Research Minister Nicolae
Hurduc and the program represents one of Romania’s top priorities during its
term at the helm of the Council of the EU. According to the Romanian official,
research and innovation should be the core engine of the European Union, which
has the human resources and necessary infrastructure to maintain its status of
leader in the field of scientific research. Romania wants to ensure the
necessary conditions for the continuation of the Horizon Europe program
starting 2021.

GAC – The General Affairs Council
meeting today in Brussels is expected to decide the work agenda of the European
Council meeting due next month. Presiding is Romanian Minister for European
Affairs, George Ciamba. Talks will focus on the multiannual financial framework
post-2020, considering a political agreement on the future budget of the EU
should be reached as late as this autumn. EU officials will also look at the
status of triggering Article 7 sanctions procedures against Poland for failure
to observe the rule of law, and against Hungary, respectively, for failure to
uphold fundamental European values.

BRANCUSI DAY – Romanians today celebrate Brancusi Day, devoted to
the birth anniversary of famous sculptor Constantin Brancusi. The artist
embodies Romanian identity in its material and spiritual entirety, succeeding
in committing it to the legacy of universal culture, says Ioan-Aurel Pop, the
President of the Romanian Academy. An iconic figure of modernist art,
Constantin Brancusi was born in Romania and moved to Paris. He is recognized as
one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century. The National
Museum of Modern Art in Paris hosts a great number of Brancusi’s works, which
in his will he left to Romania. However, upon the refusal of the communist
authorities in Romania to bring home Brancusi’s works upon the sculptor’s
death, the collection was bequeathed to France along with the contents of his
workshop in Paris. The Romanian Parliament declared February 19 Brancusi Day
in 2015.

FLU – The death toll of the flu epidemic in Romania has reached
138. According to a press release of the National Center for Infectious Disease
Surveillance and Control, the last three victims are a 68-year-old woman
without a previous history of medical diseases who had taken the anti-flu shot
and another two women, aged 64 and 81 respectively, both suffering from other
medical conditions and who had not taken the anti-flu vaccine.

PSD – The Executive Committee of the
Social-Democratic Party (PSD) is today meeting to decide on the new nominations
for the positions of Transport and Regional Development ministers. The
nominations are expected to be discussed later today jointly with coalition parties.
According to Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, the proposals will also be
presented to President Klaus Iohannis before an official announcement is made.
Talks follow after Social-Democrat Mircea Draghici withdrew his candidacy for
the position of Transport Minister. Previously, Lia Olguta Vasilescu also
withdrew her candidacy for the position of Minister of Regional Development.
President Klaus Iohannis has repeatedly refused the nomination of Lia Olguta
Vasilescu, although he made no reference to Mircea Draghici.

RETRIAL – The High Court of Cassation and Justice today admitted
the appeal for annulment filed by former Romanian Senator Dan Sova against his
3-year prison sentence in a case where he was charged with influence peddling.
The National Anticorruption Directorate accused Sova of having received 100,000
euros in exchange for facilitating a judicial assistance contract between a
thermal power plant in Govora and a local law firm. Dan Sova was released from
prison in December last year after having served six months of his detention
time, following a Constitutional Court ruling concerning the illegal structure
of the five-judge panel.

HANDBALL – Romanian handball side CSM
Bucharest will play RK Borac Banja Luka of Bosnia Herzegovina in the
quarterfinals of the men’s Challenge Cup, following a draw hosted today by
Vienna. The first leg will be played on home turf on March 23 or 24 while the
return leg will be played the week thereafter.
A win against the Bosnian side will pit CSM Bucharest against the winner
of the match between HC Vise BM of Belgium and Russia’s HC Neva SPb Sankt
Petersburg.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player world no. 2
Simona Halep is today playing Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in the second round of
the Dubai Duty Free Championships, totaling 2.8 million dollars in prize money.
Halep has played Bouchard four times, the last time winning against her in the
Australian Open last year. Simona Halep has three wins against Eugenie
Bouchard. Also today the pair made up of Raluca Olaru of Romania and Darija
Jurak of Croatia defeated second-seeds Nicole Melichar of the United States and
Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic 7-6, 7-6 and have advanced to the doubles
quarterfinals.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

19 February 2019
Romania takes over the presidency of the GAC

On Tuesday, Romania took over the presidency of the General Affairs Council of the European Union. The office was taken over by the Minister Delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba, at the end of a meeting with his counterparts, held in Brussels. Special attention was paid at the meeting to the 2021-2027 multi-annul financial framework, in preparation for the debates to be held by the European leaders at the European Council due on December 13-14.

In his speech, George Ciamba appreciated the efforts made by the Austrian presidency with regard to this file. At the same time, he stressed the fact that Romania was ready to maintain the same pace of discussion, which should lead to consistent progress during its term. Also, the Romanian official stressed the need for an ambitious but also balanced budget, to reflect both support for growth and convergence objectives, and the need for an effective response to the current challenges. The substantial progress of negotiations on this matter largely depends on the constructive commitment of all the member states and European institutions, George Ciamba also said.

Also in preparation for the meeting of the European Council, the European Affairs ministers approached other topics on the European leaders agenda, in particular the Internal Market, migration, the Economic and Monetary Union and the EUs external relations. As regards the agenda of the European Council, the Romanian minister George Ciamba stressed the importance of the European Councils strong support for strengthening the Internal Market. Also, he highlighted the principles underlying the formulation of a post 2020 vision of the Common Market. They include the upholding of fundamental rights, the elimination of barriers and boosting the capacity to respond to digital threats.

The need to carry on efforts to ensure a comprehensive approach to migration was also stressed by minister Ciamba, who mentioned Romanias availability to carry on the efforts made by the previous presidencies in this matter. Also, he stressed the importance of talks on the recent developments in the Sea of Azov, and on the measures taken to combat disinformation. The latter aspect is a priority on the agenda of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which Romania is holding in the first half of next year.

12 December 2018
May 22, 2017

SALARIES — The Unified Pay Scale bill, which provides for raising state employee salaries gradually until 2022 is put to a vote today in the Senate in Bucharest. The Senate labor committee passed a number of amendments, among them raising by 25% the indemnities of local elected officials working on projects financed with European funds, and granting a 15% bonus to public servants in decentralized services under the Ministry of the Environment. The Unified Pay Scale bill raises state budget wages across the board. Stay tuned for details after the news.

INVESTIGATION — The parliamentary committee appointed to investigate the 2009 presidential elections starts hearings today with journalist and former political adviser Dan Andronic. Over the next few days, the committee hears former Minister of the Interior Vasile Blaga, former chairman of the Permanent Election Authority, Maria Patru, and Mircea Geoana, who ran in the 2009 elections. Recently, Dan Andronic alleged that the heads of major state institutions, such as the director of intelligence and the head prosecutor, had tampered with the elections in favor of the then incumbent president and candidate Traian Basescu. He won a second term in office with a narrow margin, running against Mircea Geoana. Prosecutors are already investigating the case for abuse of office, as well as forging documents and electoral records. The report of the parliament committee could get to the joint chambers by the end of this legislative season, which concludes on July 1st.

BRUSSELS — Romanian Delegate Minister for European Affairs, Ana Birchall, takes part in Brussels in the General Affairs Council Meeting, gathering 27 countries, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministers of the 27 gather to pass the authorization to open negotiations for the Brexit, the UK leaving the European Union. During her trip, Minister Birchall will hold talks with her Estonian counterpart, Matti Maasikas, on the priorities of the Estonian presidency of the European Council, and the main issues under debate at the European level. The minister pointed to Romanias intense interest in protecting the rights and interests of Romanians living and working in the UK.

TRUMP — US President Donald Trump arrives today in Israel, the second leg of his first international tour as head of state, the first being Saudi Arabia. He will hold talks in Jerusalem with President Reuven Rivlin, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli leaders. On Tuesday, he goes to Bethlehem, where he meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In Saudi Arabia, a major US ally, Trump signed contracts worth 380 billion USD, mainly for armament and oil sales. In Riyadh, speaking to representatives of over 40 Muslim states, he called on leaders there to take the initiative in fighting Islamist militants. The tour will continue with Italy and Belgium.

TENNIS — Five Romanian tennis players attend the tournament in Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year, with 36 million Euro in prizes. According to betting houses, Simona Halep, currently ranking fourth in the world, is among the favorites to win. On Sunday, she lost the finals of the tournament in Rome against 11th seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The four other Romanian contenders in the current competition are Irina Begu, 44th, Monica Niculescu (53 WTA), Sorana Cîrstea (67 WTA) and Patricia Ţig (119 WTA). The first day of the tournament is Sunday.

HANDBALL — Romanian mens handball team Potaissa Turda was defeated on Sunday in an away game by Sporting Lisbon, 37-28, in the first leg of the finals of the Challenge Cup. The return leg is scheduled for May 27 in Cluj-Napoca. In womens handball, Romanian champions CSM Bucharest came in third in the Champions Leagu Final Four, the most important European competition. In 2016, CSM won the Champions League in their very first year of attendance.

DRUGS — The Bulgarian authorities, working with Romanian authorities, have captured over 400 kg of heroin at the Vidin-Calafat crossing point between the two countries. The black market value of the transport is over 32 million Euros. The heroin was found in a truck transporting construction materials, transiting between Iran and Holland.

22 May 2017
May 16, 2017 UPDATE

STATISTICS — Romania has reported the most significant growth of all 28 EU states, with a GDP increase of 5.6% in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the same period of last year- shows the preliminary estimate published on Tuesday by Eurostat. After Romania, the biggest growth rates in the period January — March 2017 were reported by Poland and Lithuania (both with 4.1%). Also in the first quarter of 2017, as compared to the previous 3 months, Romania reported the highest economic growth rate in the EU, namely 1.7%. According to data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics, Romania’s economy increased by 5.7% in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the same period of last year.

PROTEST— As many as 15 thousand employees of the Romanian Ministry of Finance continued, Tuesday, their spontaneous protest against the draft law on the salaries of the public sector employees which could lead to salary cuts. On Monday as many as 22 thousand employees of the institutions subordinated to the Finance Ministry stopped work to start a spontaneous protest both in Bucharest and several counties of Romania. The talks between trade unions’ leaders and the finance ministry’s officials have ended in no result.

GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL — The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall, participated on Tuesday in the meeting of the General Affairs Council in Brussels. According to a press communiqué, the European foreign affairs ministers debated the agenda of the future European Council meeting to be held between June 22- 23. High on the agenda were issues such as migration, security and defense, employment, economic growth and competitiveness, and foreign relations. Another issue on the meeting agenda referred to the presentation by the European Commission of the actions taken following the launch of the White Paper on the future of the EU. Minister Ana Birchall said that Romania supports the measures aimed at strengthening the single market, so as to ensure social cohesion, long-term economic growth and higher living standards for the European citizens.

CANNES — Romania director, scriptwriter and producer Cristian Mungiu is head of Cinefondation and of the short-film section at this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The festival’s 70th edition kicks off on Wednesday. As many as 14 Romanian shorts are presented within the Romanian Short Waves programme. Another Romanian director, Alexander Nanau, will be in Cannes as the director of photography of “Nothingwood” by Sonia Kronlund, a film to be screened within the “Quinzaine des réalisateurs” section.

CLIMBING — Romanian Horia Colibăşanu on Tuesday obtained a remarkable sport achievement at international level, which is also a national first, after he climbed on Mount Everest (8,848m), the highest mountain on the planet, without oxygen reserves and without the help of Sherpas. Horia Colibăşanu’s climbing lasted almost 12 hours, his last camp being set up at 8,300 m. He wants to climb the world’s all 14 peaks exceeding 8,000 meters. This has been Horia’s 19th international expedition.

MIGRANTS— As many as 30 foreign citizens, from Iraq and Syria, were caught by the Romanian border police at the border with Serbia while they were trying to illegally enter Romania, according to a release of the Territorial Inspectorate of the Border Police. The migrants that crossed the border between Serbia and Romania illegally, were heading for western Europe.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (44th WTA) was defeated on Tuesday by Latvian Anastasija Sevastova (17th WTA) in the first round of the Rome tennis tournament, with 2.7 million dollars up for grabs. After winning the Madrid tournament for the 2nd consecutive year, Simona Halep (4th WTA), will play on Wednesday, directly in the 2nd round, against the German Laura Siegemund (32nd WTA).

(Translated by Elena Enache)

16 May 2017
April 27, 2017 UPDATE

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – Romanias Constitutional Court will analyze on May 4 the Ombudsmans notification regarding the law that bans people with criminal records from being members of the Government. It is the 4th time that the Romanian Constitutional Court postpones a decision in this respect, invoking the complexity of the case and claiming that the issue should be analyzed from a political perspective. The Law that forbids people with criminal sentences to be part of the government is the one that prevented the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea from claiming the office of prime minister after the parliamentary elections that the Social Democrats won in December 2016. In 2016 Dragnea received a 2-year suspended sentence for attempting to rig the referendum of 2012 on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu. The Ombudsman made the notification in early January.

COOPERATION -The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis underlined Georgias contribution to Euro-Atlantic security, including through its participation in NATO missions, during a meeting he had in Bucharest with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The Georgian official had previously met with his Romanian counterpart Sorin Grindeanu, and the two officials signed a political declaration of cooperation. Romania and Georgia cooperate in fields such as tourism, economy, agriculture, sea trade, culture, science and sports. In the first quarter of 2017, the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries stood at some 44.3 million dollars. PM Grindeanu assured his Georgian counterpart that Romania supports the European aspirations of his country. In turn, the Georgian PM thanked Romanian authorities for the support provided including for the elimination of visas for the Georgian citizens travelling to EU countries.

INFRINGEMENT – On Thursday, the European Commission decided to sue Romania at the European Court of Justice, under an infringement procedure, for failing to bring the national legislation regarding waste in line with the European directive in the field. According to a communiqué issued by the Commission, Romania should have transposed the European legislation by 2013 at the latest. The framework directive on waste is aimed at protecting the environment and human health by preventing or curbing the negative effects of waste production and management. Romania is one of the EU member states with the poorest performances as regards the management of solid waste. The European Commission has sued other European countries as well, including Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, France, Spain and Slovenia.

EU DEFENSE – The Romanian defense minister Gabriel Leş has reiterated Romanias commitment to actively contribute to strengthening the EUs Security and Defense. He made this statement at the meeting he had in Malta with the Chief Executive of the European Defense Agency, Jorge Domecq. In turn, the European official thanked Romania for its involvement in the Agencys programs. The talks were held on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the EU defense ministers.

GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Ana Birchall attended in Luxembourg on Thursday the General Affairs Council in the EU 27 format, the first without Great Britain. According to the Romania official, it was established that in the negotiations with the UK, the 27 countries should have a common voice, a unitary and coherent stand, in order to obtain a balanced agreement, under which all the four fundamental freedoms, including the free movement of people, are objectively and fairly observed. Held after the UK decided to leave the EU, the meeting in Luxembourg set the main guidelines that are to be endorsed by the heads of state and government that will attend the European Council on April 29th.

VACCINE CRISIS – The Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu on Thursday said that finding a solution to the vaccination crisis was essential for Romania. He said he was determined to take all necessary measures in this respect, following consultations with the main stakeholders in the field. He made the statements at the conference titled “The European Week of Immunization- Vaccination: a public health issue. Children beyond figures” organized in Bucharest.

SANCTIONS – The US will toughen sanctions against North Korea and will intensify diplomatic efforts meant to persuade the regime in Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and ballistic program. President Donald Trumps strategy was announced after a special meeting at the White House with all the 100 American senators. In another development, France Press reports that the US is looking into the possibility of putting North Korea back on the list of countries that support terrorism. The list currently includes Iran, Syria and Sudan, as North Korea was eliminated from the list in 2008 during the term in office of president George W. Bush.

COLLISION – A Russian spy ship sank on Thursday after colliding with a freighter off the Turkish coast of the Black Sea. The vessel called Liman hit the Togo-flagged ship carrying livestock, which had left the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta heading for Jordan. The incident occurred 40 km off the Bosphorus Strait, and all 78 Russian crew aboard were safely evacuated. Fog and poor visibility was reported in the area at the time of the collision. Liman was launched in 1970, and, according to military sources, its role in the past years was to monitor the drills carried out by NATO in the Black Sea area.

27 April 2017
March 7, 2017

STATISTICS — Romanias GDP in 2016 went up 4.8% against 2015, according to preliminary data published by the National Institute of Statistics. The estimated GDP for 2016 was over 759 billion lei, approximately 169 billion Euro, as compared to 160 billion in 2015. All branches of the economy contributed to the growth in 2016, except for agriculture and construction, which stagnated. The economy was principally driven by consumption. For 2017, the European Commission estimates growth to be 4.4%, with a slowdown to 3.7% in 2018. The IMF expects the GDP in 2017 to be 3.8%, the highest rate of growth expected in Europe. This years national budget is based on an expected growth of 5.2% of the GDP.

REVIEW — Romanias General Prosecutor, Augustin Lazar, presented the general review of activity for last year, declaring that 2016 was a year with considerable results in judicial activity, considering the legislative instability in the country. In his opinion, the Public Ministry fulfilled its important mission in the institutional architecture of the rule of law. The General Prosecutor said that the institutional approach of his office is based on the National Defense Strategy for 2015-2019, as well as the National Anti-corruption Strategy and the National Strategy for the Reform of the Judiciary 2015-2020. For this year, he said, priorities will be mainly fighting corruption and tax evasion, fighting against environmental violations, especially in forestry, as well as violations regarding the national heritage. The event was attended by President Klaus Iohannis, who said Romania has made significant progress in terms of the justice system, but that it still awaits the final results of investigations into the 1989 Revolution and the miners raids of the early 1990s.

POLICE — In Bucharest today, police union representatives hold a new round of discussions regarding the Unitary Salary Law, attended by Interior Minister Carmen Dan, and Finance Minister Viorel Stefan. Yesterday, police unions negotiated the law with Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, but said they did not reach a conclusion, announcing protests for mid-March. Their main complaint is that incentives are not calculated based on the present minimum wage of around 320 Euro, but on the minimum wage as it stood in December. Interior Minister Vasilescu said that the Unitary Salary Law will be ready in July, as provided by the government platform.

COUNCIL — Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Ana Birchall, takes part today in Brussels in the meeting of the General Affairs Council. Under discussion is the draft conclusion of the council regarding the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report, which acknowledges the major progress made by Romania, and emphasizes support for the Romanian authorities in meeting the demands of the mechanism. The meeting in Brussels is in preparation for the European Council agenda scheduled for March 8 and 9. The ministers will analyze a draft recommendation on Eurozone economic policies supporting economic growth, and will focus on reaching an accord on a European banking insurance system. Another point on the agenda is the update provided by the Maltese presidency of the Council on applying the inter-institutional accord for better legislation, passed in March last year. This accord is supposed to make the EU legislative process easier to monitor and more transparent.

TENNIS — Several Romanian women tennis players are present at the Premier Mandatory tournament in Indian Wells in the US, with 6.9 million USD in prize money. Patricia Țig, 99th seeded, went to the final qualifiers by defeating Japanese player Shuko Aoyama, 212th seeded, 6-0, 6-2. Țig plays next American Julia Boserup, 97th seeded. Ana Bogdan, ranked 124th, was eliminated by Japanese player Nao Hibino, ranked 81st, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7. Sorana Carstea, 66th seeded, and Monica Niculescu, 45th seeded, plays against each other in the inaugural round, while Simona Halep, 4th in the world, and Irina Begu, ranked 32nd, play in the second round, with adversaries yet to be established.

FOOTBALL — In Romania, the premiere football league regular season is over, with the play-offs and play-outs starting on March 10. The top six teams will contend for the title, while the last eight will have to fight to stay in the league. Viitorul, Steaua, standing champions Astra, Craiova, CFR Cluj and Dinamo are in the play-offs. Gaz Metan Medias, FC Botosani, FC Voluntari, CSM Poli Iasi, Concordia Chiajna, Pandurii Tg. Jiu, ACS Poli Timisoara and ASA Tg. Mures remain in the play-outs.

7 March 2017
March 6, 2017 UPDATE

LABOUR Talks were held on Monday between labour ministry officials and representatives of law enforcement institutions on the unitary pay law in Romania. The police trade union leaders are unhappy with the result of the negotiations and threaten with protests. They say there are more than 80,000 employees of the Interior Ministry who earn less than the national minimum wage, which currently stands at some 320 Euro. The line minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu has stated that the unitary pay system law is to be finalized in July, as provided in the governing program of the Cabinet formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania. She has also stated that by 2020 the salaries of up to 4,000 lei (890 Euro) will double, and those that exceed this cap will benefit from an increase of 45%. Also, as of July 1st the pension point will increase to 1,000 lei (approx. 225 Euro).

EU POLICY Romania now has the historic opportunity to be part of the relaunch of the European Union, affected by Brexit and the rise of nationalism, said on Monday on Radio Romania the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu. She has advised the Romanian authorities to act and make sure Romania gets seriously involved in the reform process recently launched by the EC President Jean-Claude Junker, along with the presentation of the five potential scenarios regarding the future of the Union. Romania stands against the scenario of a multi-speed Europe. In an interview carried by several European newspapers, the French President Francois Hollande has stated that, for many years, the idea of a union with different paces of development has been opposed to, but this solution has now become a must.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Ana Birchall will attend in Brussels on Tuesday the proceedings of the General Affairs Council. The Councils draft conclusions regarding the report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism will be presented at the meeting. The draft acknowledges the major progress made by Romania and stresses the Romanian authorities support for achieving the CVM goals. The General Affairs Council meeting will also approach the latest preparation for the European Council meeting due on March 9-10, attended by heads of state and government. The last preparations were also made on Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, where Romania was represented by the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and the Defence Minister Gabriel Les. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the meeting was a good opportunity to reconfirm Romanias firm commitment to consolidating the European project on security and defence.

HEXI FARMA The Romanian producer of biocides Hexi Pharma, involved in the scandal of diluted disinfectants used in the Romanian hospitals, was sent to court on Monday by prosecutors of the Court of Cassation and Justice for fraud and use of forgery hampering the fight against diseases. The General Manager of the company Flori Dinu and the Manufacturing Manager Mihai Leva were also sent to court for forgery and actions hampering the fight against diseases. The owner of Hexi Pharma Dan Condrea died in a car crash in 2016, shortly after the it was revealed that his company was delivering diluted disinfectants to hospitals.

NATO EXERCISE The multinational military exercise “Poseidon 2017” organized by the Romanian Navy brought to the Black Sea, on Monday, the NATO Mine Counter Measures Group. The training lasts one week and will be unfolding in the Romanian territorial waters and in the international waters in the west of the Black Sea. Participating are some 1,500 soldiers, military ships from 7 NATO member countries, Romanian and Turkish divers specializing in discovering and neutralizing underwater dangers, chiefs of staff of the Bulgarian and Turkish armies as well as aircraft and a helicopter. This is the 2nd military exercise organized by the Romanian Navy this year.

EUROVISION Ilinca and Alex Florea will represent Romania at the Eurovision 2017 contest with the song “Yodel It” following their victory in Sunday nights national selection. The 62nd edition of Eurovision will be hosted by Kiev, with the semi-finals being scheduled for May 9 and 11 and the final for May 13. Romania will compete in the second semi-final. Another Romanian will participate in this years Eurovision contest, Miruna Mănescu, with the song “Apollo” but she will represent Switzerland. Romania has participated in the Eurovision contest since 1993, its best results being the 3rd place won at two editions and a 4th place.

6 March 2017
October 18, 2016

POVERTY — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos has today said in Bucharest that poverty is the result of corruption and of the way in which public resources are allocated. In another move, Ciolos says that a change in the citizens’ behavioural attitudes is also necessary in order to eradicate poverty. The head of government attended debates on the program drafted by the government in an effort to curb poverty. It includes 47 measures destined for all age brackets, from preschoolers to elderly people. Over 37% of the Romanians are exposed to a risk of poverty and social exclusion, Romania ranking second in the EU from this point of view, data released by Eurostat show. One in three children in Romania is facing poverty.

CORRUPTION — One of the shareholders in the wine making company Murfatlar (in south-eastern Romania) and nine other persons have been taken into custody by the anti-corruption prosecutors, in a tax evasion file. The estimated value of the prejudice stands at some 600 million lei (135 million Euro). The anti-corruption prosecutors on Monday searched the headquarters of several firms in the wine-growing industry and the houses of several people, in several counties in the south and south-east, in a file in which investigations are carried out for crimes assimilated to corruption and tax evasion. The acts were reportedly carried out in the 2010-2014 period. In 2015, the wine company Murfatlar, one of the first ten players on the Romanian wine industry reported a turnover of 124.4 million lei (27 million Euro) and a net profit of 3.5 million lei (some 800 thousand Euro), according to the balance sheet submitted to the Finance Ministry.

GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL — State secretary for European affairs, Cristian Badescu, is today attending in Luxembourg the General Affairs Council, a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry shows. The agenda of the meeting also includes talks on the stage revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework. The ministers will also be briefed on the stage of implementing the provisions of the Inter-institutional Agreement, referring to annual scheduling and inter-institutional cooperation, the Romanian Foreign Ministry also writes. The debates of the EU ministers for European affairs are held ahead of the European Council meeting due on Thursday and Friday. The agenda of the Council covers such issues as migration, the trade policy pursued by the EU, global and economic issues as well as foreign relations.

SIMPLE MOTION — Romanian MPs have today adopted the simple motion “Lies can kill, too”, tabled by the Social Democratic Party against the justice minister in the current technocratic cabinet, Raluca Pruna. The MPs of the National Liberal Party and of the national minorities haven’t cast their votes. In the document, the Social Democrats were demanding the resignation of justice minister Raluca Pruna for a series of statements she made in a plenary session of the Higher Council of the Magistracy, on October 6, when she claimed “she had lied to the European Court of Human Rights” about the situation of funds allotted to penitentiaries. Ahead of the vote in parliament, Raluca Pruna defended herself, saying her mandate does not have a biased political stake. She assumed responsibility for the statements she made, saying that no one can take away her right to signal problems in the justice system, among which a severe one, such as under-financing. Today’s vote does not lead to the sacking of the minister.

MIGRATION — Eight Pakistani nationals were stopped at the Romanian-Serbian border, in the southwest, on Tuesday morning, while trying to illegally cross into Serbia, from Romania. Following checkouts, the police officers established that the respective persons were Pakistani citizens, who said they had crossed the border on foot, with the declared intention to head for a West European state. Many such attempts by migrants trying to illegally cross the border have been foiled in the past two months. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

18 October 2016
May 24, 2016 UPDATE

GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL –State Secretary for European Affairs with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Cristian Badescu, on Tuesday attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council, held in Brussels. The Romanian official expressed Romania’s support for finding common solutions at EU level to the migration crisis. According to the Romanian MFA, Badescu hailed the results of the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement, highlighting the need to maintain the commitment of both sides to consolidating progress on managing migration. Cristian Badescu also reiterated Romania’s support to joint efforts to ensure the security of the EU’s external borders.

PROSECUTION- The Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu is prosecuted for false testimony and encouraging the offender, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate has announced. His name appears in a file in which prosecutors are investigating illegal return of property. Tariceanu is the second most important official in the state, given the position he is currently holding, that of Senate Speaker. He is also co-president of the recently set up centre-rightist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, (ALDE). Between 2004 and 2008, when he was the leader of the National Liberal Party, he held the position of prime minister. We recall that scores of people have been sent to court by the anti-corruption prosecutors in the case of illegal return of land and forests on the outskirts of Bucharest.

HUMANITARIAN SUMMIT — Romania will show solidarity with other countries in the context in which, according to the UN, the world is facing the most severe humanitarian crisis since World War II, says labour minister, Dragos Paslaru, who leads the Romanian delegation at the World Humanitarian Summit organised by the United Nations in Istanbul. Dragos Paslaru has made clear that the Romanian delegation’s mandate is to support all commitments proposed by the UN, relating to such issues as refugees, for instance, and even to come up with private initiatives, in such domains as emergency assistance and education, where Romania has already had a significant contribution. The European Commission has decided to disburse additional funds to humanitarian aid aimed at reducing the effects of the Syrian crisis on its neighbours. Official data show that, at global level, some 60 million people have been forcibly displaced and 125 million are in dire need of assistance.

EUROPEAN FUNDS — Romania reports delays in the process of accessing European funds in healthcare, which is a matter of concern for the European Commission, the EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, has warned in Bucharest. In the healthcare sector, Romania’s degree of absorption since the start of the year is ZERO, the European Commissioner underlined. Corina Cretu has also drawn attention that Bucharest might lose the 326 million Euros available to it to develop infrastructure and medical assistance services if the needs in the domain of healthcare are not identified by the end of the year.

INVESTIGATION — Experts continue the investigation into the circumstances of the car crash in which Dan Condrea, the owner of the Hexi Pharma biocide producer, died on Sunday evening. Condrea has died at a time when his company is at the centre of the biggest scandal in the Romanian healthcare system, after it was disclosed that his company supplied diluted disinfectants. Prosecutors from the General Prosecutor’s Office have demanded a DNA identification analysis as well as technical analysis of the car in order to cast light on the circumstances in which the accident occurred. Hexi Phrama signed contracts worth 51 million lei for the delivery of biocides in the 2014-2016 period to 152 medical units across the country, the Prosecutor General’s office has announced.

FOOTBALL– Romania’s national football team will meet Congo in a friendly match in Como, Italy, on Wednesday. The match, just like that against Ukraine, scheduled for Sunday in Turin, is part of a campaign held in preparation for the European Championship due in France, this summer. Romania and the host country will play the opening match, in Paris, on June 10. Also playing in Group A are Switzerland and Albania.

(Translated by D. Vijeu and V. Palcu)

24 May 2016