Tag: integrity

  • November 7, 2022 – UPDATE

    November 7, 2022 – UPDATE

    DROUGHT In Romania, the total area affected by drought is more than
    one million hectares. According to the agriculture ministry, losses have been
    reported in most counties. The most affected crops include wheat, barley, oats,
    rye, rape, corn and sunflower.


    ENVIRONMENT Romania fully supports the EU in spearheading the
    efforts to limit climate change and the joint commitment of EU member states to
    reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, president Klaus Iohannis said on Monday
    at the Climate Implementation Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt as part of
    the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27). We must ensure an orderly climate
    transition, with multiple benefits, including investments in research-development-innovation,
    green economy and job creation, the Romanian official also said. He emphasised
    that access to affordable energy can be secured through investments in low-carbon production capacities, in resilient energy networks and
    by creating a regulatory framework tailored for renewable energy. The cost of
    climate inaction is much higher than the cost of action. Climate change
    generates loss and economic as well as non-economic damages throughout the
    world, Klaus Iohannis pointed out.


    MOLDOVA Romania covers at present more than 90% of Moldova’s
    electricity needs, Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, said at a TV
    station. He also said the situation is serious in the neighbouring country,
    given its full dependency on foreign natural gas and electricity resources.
    According to Aurescu, Romania has also supported Moldova by supplying it with
    fuel oil and firewood. Bucharest has called on the international community to provide
    grants to Chisinau, so as the latter may purchase energy from the free market.


    ANI Romania’s National Integrity Agency (ANI) has found that the mayor
    of the capital city’s District 1, Clotilde Armand, has breached conflict of
    interest rules. According to a news release issued by the institution, Armand
    appointed herself as the manager of an EU-funded project, from which she
    obtained material gains. ANI has also announced it notified the Prosecutor’s
    Office and the Bucharest Prefect Office in this respect. A French citizen born
    in 1973, Clotilde Armand settled in Bucharest in 1999, after marrying a
    Romanian citizen. She was one of the founders of the current Save Romania Union
    (USR) in 2015, which she represented at the local elections of 2020 when she
    won the mayor seat of one of the capital’s richest districts.


    REACTION The Romanian Foreign Ministry denies the allegations made by
    Russian President Vladimir Putin in a recent Unity Day speech, which falsely
    induce the idea that Romania would have territorial claims in Ukraine. In a news
    release, the Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Romania’s firm commitment to the
    independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its
    internationally recognized borders. In his speech, Putin talked about
    territories forcibly seized by Ukraine from Hungary, Romania and Poland.


    THEATRE The National Theatre Festival (NTF) continues in Romania
    until November 13. Theatre performances during this event will have in-person
    attendance, after two years of pandemic with online performances. The NTF
    includes over 60 theatre shows staged by public and independent companies from
    Romania and abroad. The festival, held this year under the motto, ‘Fragile
    borders. Fluid histories’ also includes an on-air section comprising a number
    of exquisite radio drama shows. (AMP)

  • October 2, 2022

    October 2, 2022

    Statement — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, along with seven other presidents of several NATO member states from Central and Eastern Europe, namely the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland and Slovakia, signed a joint statement reiterating their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. “We firmly support the decision of the NATO Summit in Bucharest of 2008 regarding the future accession of Ukraine,” Klaus Iohannis said in a post on a social network. We remind you that on September 30, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, signed Ukraines request for an accelerated accession to NATO. The Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that Ukraine has the right to apply for membership, but emphasized that, at the moment, the priority is providing aid to Kyiv. Support for Ukraines accession to NATO has already been expressed by the Baltic States and Canada.



    Visit — The Romanian Defense Minister, Vasile Dîncu, said on Saturday, during his official visit to Chisinau, that NATO was not looking for a confrontation with the Russian Federation and that it unequivocally supported the sovereignty, integrity and independence of neighboring Ukraine. According to a Defense Ministry communiqué, Vasile Dincu analyzed, during the discussions with Prime Minister Natalia Gavriliţa, the state of bilateral cooperation, also in a regional context. The discussions also covered the security situation in the area, highlighting the actions taken by both sides to manage the unprecedented number of refugees from Ukraine, as well as the energy crisis generated by Russia. During the meeting with the President of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu, the Defense Minister stated, among other things, that the war in Ukraine triggered multiple crises. He highlighted the role of the two countries’ Parliaments in creating the legislative framework for strengthening resilience, especially in the energy field. Vasile Dîncu also had a meeting with his counterpart Anatolie Nosatîi with whom he discussed the status and prospects of bilateral cooperation in the military field and the regional security situation. At the same time, he reiterated Romanias full support for Moldova’s advance on the European integration path and the development of its relations with the Euro-Atlantic structures.



    IAEA — The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, will travel to Kyiv and Moscow next week. According to an IAEA press release, the visit is part of ongoing efforts to “implement as soon as possible a nuclear safety and security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”. On the other hand, Germany has announced that it will deliver to Ukraine the first of its four advanced IRIS-T air defense systems to help it repel drone attacks. The announcement was made on Saturday by the German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht during a surprise visit to Odessa. The Black Sea port has been, in recent days, the target of Russian attacks with Iranian-made kamikaze drones. On the ground, Russia announced that it had withdrawn its troops from the strategic Ukrainian city of Liman, amid fears that thousands of Russian soldiers would be surrounded by Ukrainian troops in the city. Retaking the city of Liman is of significant strategic importance for Ukraine, considering that it is located in the Donetsk region, one of the four regions annexed according to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.



    Nord Stream — Germany announced on Saturday that it would set up a joint team with Denmark and Sweden to investigate the leaks that affected the Nord Stream gas pipelines. According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, the team will call on the expertise of the “navy, police and intelligence services”, following the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines. The origin of the explosions is not yet known. The Nord Stream 1 (stopped since the end of August) and 2 (not operational) gas pipelines were strategic installations for the direct delivery of Russian gas to Germany. A spokesman for the operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, from Russia, said that there were no more gas leaks from it into the Baltic Sea. Huge amounts of methane gas have leaked from the pipeline in recent days. In the context, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced that the EU leaders would discuss the security of the EUs critical infrastructures, on the occasion of the informal summit scheduled for October 7 in Prague, after the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which European officials described as sabotage.



    Justice — As of Monday, the MPs from the Special Committee on Justice Laws will resume the debates on the three bills submitted by the Government. This week, the Committee ended the debates on the articles of the bill on the status of magistrates, adopting several amendments. One of them concerns the appointment of high-ranking prosecutors. Therefore, the general prosecutor of Romania could be appointed not only from among prosecutors, but also from among judges. The vote on the report for this bill is scheduled for Monday. As of Tuesday, debates will start in the special committee on the amendments submitted by senators to the draft law on the organization and functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The bill on the status of judges and prosecutors is the law from the package of Justice laws debated by the committee, after those related to the Superior Council of Magistracy and the organization of the judiciary, which have already been adopted by the plenum of the Chamber of Deputies. This is the first body referred to in the case of the three laws, with the Senate being the decision-making body. (LS)

  • 30 years of diplomatic relations with Ukraine

    30 years of diplomatic relations with Ukraine

    February 1 marks the
    celebration of 30 years since Romania and Ukraine established diplomatic
    relations. The ex-Soviet republic proclaimed its independence in 1991, with
    formal diplomatic relations between the two countries initiated the next year. Romania
    was also the first EU member state to ratify the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in
    2014.


    In this context, but also amid
    disquieting security developments in the Black Sea region, the president of
    Romania Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian
    counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.


    During
    the talks, the Romanian official dwelled extensively on possible solutions to
    issues related to the rights of the Romanian minority in Ukraine, and
    especially on protecting their linguistic identity. He reiterated Bucharest’s firm
    support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to its EU and
    NATO accession efforts.


    The
    Romanian president also emphasised his support for the non-recognition of the
    illegal annexation of Crimea, and commended Ukraine’s responsible conduct to
    avoid the escalation of tensions.


    In turn,
    the Ukrainian official thanked Romania for its vocal and active support
    both at EU and at NATO level.


    The Romanian and Ukrainian
    foreign ministries also exchanged messages of congratulations. Romania’s
    foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu stressed the importance of the relation with
    Ukraine and reiterated Romania’s commitment to developing bilateral relations,
    in the spirit of European values and in line with the European and
    Euro-Atlantic agenda of the ex-Soviet republic. He also voiced hopes that the
    open and solid dialogue between the two countries, which he has constantly
    promoted and supported, will lead to quick and sustainable solutions to the
    identity issues faced by the ethnic Romanian community in Ukraine. He also highlighted
    the commitment to stepping up cross-border cooperation in areas of mutual
    interest.


    The Romanian foreign
    ministry also reiterated Romania’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and
    territorial integrity and for its right to decide freely on its foreign and
    security policy. At the same time, the Romanian authorities voiced confidence
    that the Ukrainian people’s democratic aspirations will be a driving force for
    the reform process in Kyiv.


    The
    situation remains tense at Ukraine’s border with Russia, where Moscow massed
    over 100,000 troops and military equipment and,
    according to analysts, is preparing an invasion. Russia denies this, but it did
    ask NATO to pull out its troops from Romania and Bulgaria, as part of its
    security plans. Moreover, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin warned
    that Ukraine’s NATO accession may trigger a war between Moscow and the
    North-Atlantic Alliance. (A.M.P.)