Radio România Internațional

Tag: London

Promotion of Romanian tourism

With the mission of attracting 10 million foreign tourists in the future, several dozen travel companies are promoting Romania these days at the tourism fair in London – World Travel Market, one of the most important events in the tourism industry worldwide. Romania’s presence is remarkable, exceeding the level of 2022. With a number of 40 co-exhibitors, of which 25 are travel agencies specializing in incoming, with a generous space and meeting tables, we are ready to promote and develop the Romanian tourism in front of a global audience. For the first time, we are also participating as tour operators, companies and not just as associations, employers associations or public authorities.

Romania has finally managed to resolve an incomprehensible limitation that has blocked our access to international events on our own for years, said Adrian Voican, the vice-president of the National Association of Travel Agencies – ANAT. According to ANAT, those who are not in London, as incoming tourism professionals, do not exist! No small or large country is missing from the event. The budgets are absolutely shocking. Romania needs a minimum of 30 million euros annually to matter in the ‘war’ of brands and to fulfill its mission of bringing 10 million foreign tourists in the future, Adrian Voican explained.

Held between November 6 and 8, the World Travel Market gathers this year 3,500 exhibitors from 184 countries, and the organizers have announced that during the 3 days of the event, 72 conference sessions and presentations on the most topical issues of world tourism will be held. According to ANAT, Romania’s participation in this fair underlines the importance of promoting Romanian tourism at global level – with an impressive list of exhibitors and a tight competition, we remember how small Romania is in the context of world tourism and how much work and how much money are involved in the industry that brings in 10% of the global Gross Domestic Product, with the 1.2 billion people who travel around the world. In this sense, ANAT firmly believes that Romania must no longer miss any major fair.

At the Romanian pavilion organized by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, no detail was overlooked – the desks were designed to include all the essential elements for the best possible promotion of the destination, there will be tastings of Romanian wines, various networking meetings with tour operators and companies on various topics, and the eight films promoting Romania, made in collaboration with the British producer Charlie Ottley, will also be presented. In Romania as well, the biggest players in the tourism industry will present their best offers between November 9-12, during Romanias Tourism Fair 2023, the autumn edition. Dedicated both to families looking for all-inclusive or proximity holidays, and to travel enthusiasts who venture to more distant exotic destinations, the fair organized in Bucharest brings very advantageous offers and contributes to the consolidation of the tourism industry in Romania by promoting tourist attraction areas. (LS)

8 November 2023
Meeting for the reconstruction of Ukraine

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, on Wednesday, at the Conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine, organized in London, the creation of a European fund worth 50 billion Euros in the coming years, necessary for the reconstruction of the country invaded by Moscow’s troops on February 24, 2022. The head of the European Commission says that the European Union has an additional responsibility towards Kyiv, since the authorities there claim that they are determined to lead their country towards admission into the Union.

The community program will be financed in three ways: European grants, loans and money obtained from the confiscation of Russian assets. The experts’ estimates regarding the costs of reconstruction already exceed 300 billion pounds and continue to grow, so, the international media write, the contribution of the private sector will also be necessary. And the US will provide additional aid, worth 1.3 billion dollars, for the Ukrainian economy, especially for its essential infrastructure, the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced, also in London.

The meeting is attended by dozens of political leaders and businesspeople from around the world, and for the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, it was another opportunity to advocate for his country’s rapprochement to the European Union and NATO. The reconstruction of Ukraine, Zelensky added, must be based on trust between partners and a geopolitical context that guarantees that such conflicts will not occur again.

Meanwhile, the number of Ukrainian citizens who found employment in neighboring Romania after the outbreak of the war reached a new record on Wednesday, said the Romanian Labor Minister, Marius Budai. According to him, at the national level, 6,810 employment contracts were concluded for the Ukrainian citizens, the highest level since February 24, 2022 until now. Most Ukrainians employed in Romania, 1,452, are working in the manufacturing industry, and 1,181 in constructions. Another 737 are employed in the commercial field. From the point of view of the areas in which they chose to work, most Ukrainians, 2,770, found work in Bucharest, and 418 in Timiş county (west). More than four and a half million Ukrainians fled through Romania from the menace of the Russian invasion troops. Most of them continued their way to Western European countries, but over 85 thousand chose to stay here.

The Ukrainians say that especially the language barrier – their Slavic language has very few similarities with Romance Romanian – prevents them from finding a job and enrolling their children in school, in order to benefit from the financial aid offered by the Romanian state. The new program adopted by the Romanian authorities to support the refugees obliges every member of the family to work, and the children to go to a Romanian school. (LS)

22 June 2023
Historischer Tag für Großbritannien: Britisches Königspaar gekrönt

RadioRomaniaInternational · Historischer Tag für Gro‎ßbritannien: Britisches Königspaar gekrönt

Der britische König Charles III. und seine Ehefrau Camilla wurden am Samstag in einer aufwendigen Zeremonie in der Westminster Abbey Cathedral in London gekrönt. Charles III. wurde im vergangenen September König, nachdem seine Mutter Elisabeth II. im Alter von 96 Jahren gestorben war. Er trug den königlichen Mantel und legte den Eid auf den Dienst am Volk ab. Es war das erste Mal seit 70 Jahren, dass das Vereinigte Königreich Zeuge der Krönung eines Staatsoberhauptes wurde.

Mehr als 2 000 Gäste nahmen am Samstag an der Zeremonie teil. Darunter der rumänische Staatspräsident Klaus Johannis und die Kustodin der rumänischen Krone, Prinzessin Margareta. Präsident Johannis sagte, er fühle sich geehrt, an den Feierlichkeiten zur Krönung Seiner Majestät König Charles dem III. in London teilzunehmen, die ein historischer Moment und eine Feier der Traditionen der britischen Monarchie seien.

König Charles III. ist ein Freund Rumäniens und hat ein tiefes Verständnis für den europäischen Kontinent in seiner Gesamtheit“, sagte die Kustodin der rumänischen Krone, Prinzessin Margareta, in ihrer Botschaft anlässlich der Krönung des britischen Herrschers. Die Krönung verbindet die Vergangenheit mit der Gegenwart durch eine tausendjährige historische Tradition. Eine Tradition, die Kriege, Katastrophen, Revolutionen und grundlegende Veränderungen in der Welt überdauert hat. Seine Majestät König Charles wird gekrönt, nachdem er dem Vereinigten Königreich und dem Commonwealth fast sechs Jahrzehnte lang treu gedient hat. Mein ganzes Leben lang habe ich seine Hingabe an die Krone und die Nation miterlebt“, hei‎ßt es weiter in der Botschaft von Prinzessin Margareta.

Zwischen dem rumänischen Königshaus und dem britischen Königshaus bestehen nicht nur verwandtschaftliche Beziehungen, sondern auch enge Verbindungen. So nahm Charles als Kronprinz an der Beerdigung des letzten rumänischen Monarchen, König Michael I., Margaretas Vater, teil, der im Dezember 2017 im Alter von 96 Jahren verstarb. Mitglieder der rumänischen Gemeinschaft in Gro‎ßbritannien versammelten sich in London, um den Krönungstag mit traditioneller Musik und Essen zu feiern. Wir freuen uns für den neuen König und ehren ihn dafür, dass er der beste Botschafter Rumäniens im Vereinigten Königreich war. Er hat immer so schön über unser Land gesprochen und seine Einzigartigkeit dargestellt“, sagte eine rumänische Frau, die an den Feierlichkeiten anwesend war.

Charles besuchte Rumänien erstmals vor 25 Jahren, damals noch als Prinz von Wales. Seitdem hat er Rumänien häufig besucht und erklärt, dass er das Land und insbesondere Siebenbürgen bewundert, die historische Provinz, die die Spuren des kulturellen Erbes der vor acht Jahrhunderten eingewanderten deutschen Siedler trägt. Charles engagierte sich für die Erhaltung des rumänischen Kulturerbes, indem er alte Landhäuser kaufte und restaurierte und sie somit vor der Zerstörung bewahrte.

Im Jahr 2015 wurde die Prince of Wales Foundation Romania gegründet, eine gemeinnützige Organisation, die die Erhaltung des architektonischen Erbes, die Landwirtschaft und die nachhaltige Entwicklung in Rumänien unterstützt. 2017 verlieh ihm die rumänische Präsidentschaft den Nationalen Orden Stern Rumäniens“ im Rang eines Gro‎ßkreuzes als Zeichen der Wertschätzung für seine Arbeit in Rumänien und für die Förderung seines Images in der Welt“.

8 May 2023
Athlete of the Week

Romanian judoka Asley
Gonzalez walked away with gold from the European Open in Rome. In the eight
finals of the 100 kilogram category, the Romanian outperformed Adir Karimli of
Azerbaijan and Italian Enrico Bergamelli in the quarters. In the semifinals,
the Romanian defeated Falk Petersilka of Germany and in the finals Harry
Lovell-Hewitt of Britain.

In the same category,
another judoka from Romania, Eduard Serban conceded defeat in the first round
to Italian Daniele Accogli.

That was the first
gold medal won by the Romanian delegation, which ranked 10th in the
nations’ ranking. The competition in Rome brought together 381 judokas from 34
countries, 220 in the men’s contest and 161 in the women’s events. Romania was
represented by five athletes.

For his performance,
Radio Romania International has designated Asley Gonzales athlete of the week.

Gonzales was born in
Caibarien city, Cuba on September 5th 1989. He became champion in the
Pan American Games twice, in 2011 and 2013 in the 90 kilogram category, a
category he competed in until 2021.

In
2013, at the World Championships in Rio, Gonzales became gold medalist after
defeating Varlam Liparteliani of Georgia in the finals.

At the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, Gonzales
lost in the first round and made it to the finals of the next Olympics in
London. Unfortunately he conceded defeat in the finals to Song Dae-Nam of
South-Korea.

Four years later, at the Olympics in
Rio, Gonzales lost in the third round to Lkhagvasürengiin Otgonbaatar of
Mongolia. Gonzalez lives in Oradea, western Romania and became a Romanian
citizen in 2021. He is competing for Romania and has been nicknamed by the
fans, Asley, the Romanian.

(bill)

14 March 2023
Athlete of the Week

Romanian judoka Asley
Gonzalez walked away with gold from the European Open in Rome. In the eight
finals of the 100 kilogram category, the Romanian outperformed Adir Karimli of
Azerbaijan and Italian Enrico Bergamelli in the quarters. In the semifinals,
the Romanian defeated Falk Petersilka of Germany and in the finals Harry
Lovell-Hewitt of Britain.

In the same category,
another judoka from Romania, Eduard Serban conceded defeat in the first round
to Italian Daniele Accogli.

That was the first
gold medal won by the Romanian delegation, which ranked 10th in the
nations’ ranking. The competition in Rome brought together 381 judokas from 34
countries, 220 in the men’s contest and 161 in the women’s events. Romania was
represented by five athletes.

For his performance,
Radio Romania International has designated Asley Gonzales athlete of the week.

Gonzales was born in
Caibarien city, Cuba on September 5th 1989. He became champion in the
Pan American Games twice, in 2011 and 2013 in the 90 kilogram category, a
category he competed in until 2021.

In
2013, at the World Championships in Rio, Gonzales became gold medalist after
defeating Varlam Liparteliani of Georgia in the finals.

At the Olympics in Beijing in 2008, Gonzales
lost in the first round and made it to the finals of the next Olympics in
London. Unfortunately he conceded defeat in the finals to Song Dae-Nam of
South-Korea.

Four years later, at the Olympics in
Rio, Gonzales lost in the third round to Lkhagvasürengiin Otgonbaatar of
Mongolia. Gonzalez lives in Oradea, western Romania and became a Romanian
citizen in 2021. He is competing for Romania and has been nicknamed by the
fans, Asley, the Romanian.

(bill)

14 March 2023
September 14, 2022 UPDATE

Debates – The new scheme for capping and compensating the price of energy on Wednesday reached the parliamentary committees in Bucharest for debates. The senators from the economic and energy commissions are debating the document recently adopted by the government, which includes the new scheme for compensating and capping the energy price, which applies from September 1. According to the emergency ordinance, the monthly consumption level up to which the price will be capped was reduced to 255 KWh, in the case of electricity. The intention of the government is for people to try to save electricity in the coming period. In the case of natural gas, the ordinance does not make any changes for domestic consumers. The interim speaker of the Senate, Alina Gorghiu, has declared that the ordinance will be modified in the commissions, if anything was omitted, but the changes will be made with the agreement of the governing coalition. The provisions in the emergency ordinance have triggered criticism from the opposition and the business environment.

Energy — The EU will propose measures to cap the income of low-cost electricity producers and will force companies that sell fossil fuels to share the profits they make following the increase in energy prices. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during her speech on the state of the EU held in the plenary session of the European Parliament gathered in Strasbourg. She also said that the EU bloc was also discussing capping energy prices and was working on establishing a more representative gas reference price than that at the TTF hub in Amsterdam. In the spring, at the TTF hub in Amsterdam, the gas pricing hub for the European gas market, the pricing reached the record level of almost 335 Euros for one MWh. Also, the European Commission will propose that member countries should reduce their net monthly electricity consumption by at least 10% and by 5% during peak hours, until March 31, 2023. Instead, the EC document does not include a ceiling for the price of natural gas, an idea that caused divisions among the member countries. Ursula von der Leyen has warned that a difficult period will follow for companies and households in Europe, evoking the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine.

London – Five days after the death in Scotland, on September 8, of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, the Queen’s coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace in London, last night, to the applause of the crowd, and it was greeted by the new King Charles III. After being on public display for the first time, for 24 hours, in Edinburgh, the royal coffin was flown to the British Capital by a Royal Air Force plane and deposited overnight at Buckingham Palace before being moved, on Wednesday, to Westminster Hall, the building of the British Parliament. From this evening, people will have access to the Parliament building, to pass by the Queen’s coffin. People started queuing as of Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of people, spread over kilometers and regardless of the weather, are expected to queue for hours to bid their final farewell to the queen. Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral will take place on September 19, at Westminster Abbey. Romania will be represented by President Klaus Iohannis. Her Majesty Margareta, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, and Prince Consort Radu will also attend the funeral.

Software — The Romanian government will force all central and local public authorities to give up Russian anti-virus solutions or applications that could be under Moscows control. A draft law in this sense was on the agenda of the government’s meeting on Wednesday, in the context in which other European states, such as Germany and Italy, have already made such decisions. Kaspersky company, which produces one of the best known antivirus solutions, will be directly affected by this measure, because all its software will have to be uninstalled from public computer systems in the country. Any antivirus program creates backdoors on computers and could be used for espionage. The bill’s substantiation note shows that many public institutions and local administration authorities in Romania, including Bucharest City Hall, purchase and use Russian antivirus programs, due to their low prices.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan (65 WTA) qualified, on Wednesday, to the quarter finals of the WTA 250 tournament in Portoroz, Slovenia, after defeating the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek, 6-1, 6-7, 6-1. The Romanian player will fight for a place in the quarter finals with the Spanish Cristina Bucsa (110 WTA), or the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia (18 WTA). The Portoroz tournament, on an outdoor hard court, has prizes up for grabs worth over 200 thousand Euros. (LS)

14 September 2022
September 5, 2022

School – Almost 3 million pre-school and school children in Romania started a new school year on Monday in over 17,800 units across the country. The 2022-2023 school year will have 36 school weeks divided into five modules, separated by five mini holidays. End-of-semester tests will no longer be mandatory and there will be only one grade point average, an annual one, instead of semester grade point averages for each subject. Refurbishing works are unfinished in several schools while others lack fire safety certificates.

London — The presdient of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was looking forward to a constructive relationship with Liz Truss, the future British PM, in full respect of the agreemnets between the EU and the UK. The Romanian PM Nicoale Ciuca also congratulated the leader of the British Conservative Party Liz Truss for her success in the internal elections. Lizz Truss won against Rishi Sunak in the internal competition within the British Conservative Party after the resignation of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A foreign minister in the Johnson government, Liz Truss will be sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday, after being received by Queen Elizabeth II, occasion on which the acting prime minister will also come to present his resignation. Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July, after he had resisted for a long time challengers from his own party and the scandals overshadowed, for a while, by the war Russia started against Ukraine on February 24. Since then, he has stood out thanks to his firm support for Kyiv, especially the military aid offered. At domestic level, the British are waiting for consistent economic measures to help the population in winter, given that utility prices will be three times higher than last winter, and that inflation has exceeded 10%, Radio Romania’s correspondent to London reports.

Swimming – Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă congratulated Romanian athletes Bianca Costea, David Popovici and Vlad Stancu for their performances at the World Junior Swimming Championships from Lima, Peru. The Romanian PM wrote in a Facebook post that the three are “an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the more than three million children and young people who started the new school year”. “We are proud of our team that made known the Romanian anthem at the world competition for juniors in Lima”, Nicolae Ciucă also stated. On Sunday, on the last day of the competition, David Popovici won the gold in the 100m freestyle, Bianca Costea won gold in the 50m freestyle, and Vlad Stancu won the bronze medal in the 1,500 m freestyle event. Romania took 4th place in the medal ranking at the Junior World Championships, with 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. Gold was won by the mens 4×100 m freestyle relay team (David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma, Patrick Sebastian Dinu), David Popovici won gold in the 200m and 100m freestyle and Bianca Costea in the 50m freestyle. The Romanian swimmers ended a summer full of performances, with David Popovici being the star. He won the 100m and 200m events both at the Senior World Championships in Budapest and at the Senior European Championships in Rome.

Accord – The European Commission and Ukraine on Monday signed an agreement regarding a 500 million-Euro aid for housing and education for displaced people, as well as for agriculture in the war-ravaged country, AFP reports. This funding, announced by the EC on the sidelines of a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels, attended by the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denîs Shmîgal, is part of the European commitments announced this spring. “Electricity exports from Ukraine can replace considerable volumes of Russian gas imports,” said the head of the Ukrainian government. At the same time, he added that, “Ukraine has the largest underground gas storage facilities and could become the gas shelf’ of Europe.” Meanwhile, the price of gas in Europe rose by 30% on Monday, after Russia announced that gas delivery through the Nord Stream gas pipeline remained halted indefinitely, increasing fears of disruptions and the rationalization of gas this winter in the EU – Reuters reports.

Commemoration — On behalf of Germany, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has apologized to the relatives of the Israeli victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage-taking, assuming responsibility for the various “failures” that accompanied the tragedy, as part of Monday’s commemoration of the attack. On September 5, 1972, members of the Palestinian organization Black September entered an apartment of the Israeli delegation in the Olympic Village, killing two Israeli athletes and taking hostage nine other members of the delegation hoping to obtain an exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The intervention of the German security services ended with the death of all the hostages, a bloody denouement for which the West German authorities were partially responsible. Five Palestinian attackers were shot dead and three others were arrested. The Scholz government agreed to unlock the sum of 28 million Euros for compensations. Documents will also be declassified to allow German and Israeli historians to have a better understanding of what happened. The Israeli President Isaac Herzog, present at the commemoration of the attack, expressed hope that the agreement would bring this painful episode to a point of healing.

Moldova – The President of the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet with a majority Romanian-speaking population), Maia Sandu, convened a meeting of the Supreme Security Council on Monday in which two main topics were analyzed: the procrastination of high corruption cases and the numerous false bomb alerts of the recent period. After the meeting, Maia Sandu spoke, in a press release, about the measures that must be taken to increase peoples trust in the judiciary, but also about the need to stop the phenomenon of leaking information from pending criminal cases, which, she says, harms investigations. Referring to the multiple false bomb alerts, Maia Sandu said that these were the actions of elements that aim to increase the degree of anxiety in society. (LS)

5 September 2022
September 5, 2022

School – Almost 3 million pre-school and school children in Romania started a new school year on Monday in over 17,800 units across the country. The 2022-2023 school year will have 36 school weeks divided into five modules, separated by five mini holidays. End-of-semester tests will no longer be mandatory and there will be only one grade point average, an annual one, instead of semester grade point averages for each subject. Refurbishing works are unfinished in several schools while others lack fire safety certificates.

London — The presdient of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was looking forward to a constructive relationship with Liz Truss, the future British PM, in full respect of the agreemnets between the EU and the UK. The Romanian PM Nicoale Ciuca also congratulated the leader of the British Conservative Party Liz Truss for her success in the internal elections. Lizz Truss won against Rishi Sunak in the internal competition within the British Conservative Party after the resignation of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A foreign minister in the Johnson government, Liz Truss will be sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday, after being received by Queen Elizabeth II, occasion on which the acting prime minister will also come to present his resignation. Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July, after he had resisted for a long time challengers from his own party and the scandals overshadowed, for a while, by the war Russia started against Ukraine on February 24. Since then, he has stood out thanks to his firm support for Kyiv, especially the military aid offered. At domestic level, the British are waiting for consistent economic measures to help the population in winter, given that utility prices will be three times higher than last winter, and that inflation has exceeded 10%, Radio Romania’s correspondent to London reports.

Swimming – Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă congratulated Romanian athletes Bianca Costea, David Popovici and Vlad Stancu for their performances at the World Junior Swimming Championships from Lima, Peru. The Romanian PM wrote in a Facebook post that the three are “an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the more than three million children and young people who started the new school year”. “We are proud of our team that made known the Romanian anthem at the world competition for juniors in Lima”, Nicolae Ciucă also stated. On Sunday, on the last day of the competition, David Popovici won the gold in the 100m freestyle, Bianca Costea won gold in the 50m freestyle, and Vlad Stancu won the bronze medal in the 1,500 m freestyle event. Romania took 4th place in the medal ranking at the Junior World Championships, with 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. Gold was won by the mens 4×100 m freestyle relay team (David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma, Patrick Sebastian Dinu), David Popovici won gold in the 200m and 100m freestyle and Bianca Costea in the 50m freestyle. The Romanian swimmers ended a summer full of performances, with David Popovici being the star. He won the 100m and 200m events both at the Senior World Championships in Budapest and at the Senior European Championships in Rome.

Accord – The European Commission and Ukraine on Monday signed an agreement regarding a 500 million-Euro aid for housing and education for displaced people, as well as for agriculture in the war-ravaged country, AFP reports. This funding, announced by the EC on the sidelines of a meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels, attended by the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denîs Shmîgal, is part of the European commitments announced this spring. “Electricity exports from Ukraine can replace considerable volumes of Russian gas imports,” said the head of the Ukrainian government. At the same time, he added that, “Ukraine has the largest underground gas storage facilities and could become the gas shelf’ of Europe.” Meanwhile, the price of gas in Europe rose by 30% on Monday, after Russia announced that gas delivery through the Nord Stream gas pipeline remained halted indefinitely, increasing fears of disruptions and the rationalization of gas this winter in the EU – Reuters reports.

Commemoration — On behalf of Germany, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has apologized to the relatives of the Israeli victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage-taking, assuming responsibility for the various “failures” that accompanied the tragedy, as part of Monday’s commemoration of the attack. On September 5, 1972, members of the Palestinian organization Black September entered an apartment of the Israeli delegation in the Olympic Village, killing two Israeli athletes and taking hostage nine other members of the delegation hoping to obtain an exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The intervention of the German security services ended with the death of all the hostages, a bloody denouement for which the West German authorities were partially responsible. Five Palestinian attackers were shot dead and three others were arrested. The Scholz government agreed to unlock the sum of 28 million Euros for compensations. Documents will also be declassified to allow German and Israeli historians to have a better understanding of what happened. The Israeli President Isaac Herzog, present at the commemoration of the attack, expressed hope that the agreement would bring this painful episode to a point of healing.

Moldova – The President of the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet with a majority Romanian-speaking population), Maia Sandu, convened a meeting of the Supreme Security Council on Monday in which two main topics were analyzed: the procrastination of high corruption cases and the numerous false bomb alerts of the recent period. After the meeting, Maia Sandu spoke, in a press release, about the measures that must be taken to increase peoples trust in the judiciary, but also about the need to stop the phenomenon of leaking information from pending criminal cases, which, she says, harms investigations. Referring to the multiple false bomb alerts, Maia Sandu said that these were the actions of elements that aim to increase the degree of anxiety in society. (LS)

5 September 2022
August 30, 2021

COVID-19 Valeriu Gheorghita, the man in
charge of Romania’s vaccine rollout, has told a private TV channel that the
daily number of Covid infections in Romania is expected to go above 2,000 in
mid-September instead of the initial estimates of 15-16 hundred. Gheorghita
expects the situation to worsen because of the Delta variant, which is to
become dominant even in Romania. According to him, the high degree of mobility
and people interaction largely contributes to spreading the virus. 868 new
cases were reported by the authorities on Sunday after over 30 thousand tests
had been carried out, which means an infection rate of 2.8%. More than 2000
patients are being treated in hospitals, 269 in ICUs. 19 Covid-related
fatalities have been reported. In spite of these alarming figures, the interest
of the Romanians in getting the vaccine is still low, only 56 hundred people
got the jab yesterday. And since the rollout kicked off in late December last
year only 5.1 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.

FIREFIGHTERS Romanian Prime Minister,
Florin Citu, on Monday congratulated the Romanian firefighters who joined the
international efforts aimed at putting out wildfires in Greece. According to a
post on the government’s Facebook page, firefighters from Romania did an
excellent job in Greece. We recall that Romania had deployed to Greece 142
firefighters, 8 fire engines, three tankers, a command center as well as
equipment and other elements of logistics. The 142 Romanian firefighters got
promoted on Monday upon a request by the Interior Minister Lucian Bode and the
head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), Raed Arafat. They have
also been awarded the DSU Honorary Medal. This is the second squad of
firefighters from Romania to intervene in Greece. In early August Romania had
deployed 100 firefighters to Greece and 23 fire engines.

FESTIVAL On the third day of the
‘George Enescu’ Festival, music lovers are going to enjoy on the stage of the
Romanian athenaeum, the performances offered by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, an
orchestra with artists from 10 countries in Northern Europe, such as Sweden,
Estonia, Denmark and Russia. Pianist Maria Joao Pires is performing pieces of
Mozart at the Athenaeum accompanied by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic. Under the baton
of conductor Kristjan Jarvi, music lovers will be delighted to listen to
Enescu’s second symphony in A major as well as to his own creation entitled
‘Aurora’. Tonight the Palace Hall in Bucharest will be hosting a concert given
by London Symphony Orchestra. Last night, this famous orchestra presented
Ondrej Adamek’s ‘Where are you’, a piece specially made for mezzo-soprano
Magdalena Kozena and the great conductor Sir. Simon Rattle. 32 orchestras from
14 countries are participating in this anniversary edition of the George Enescu
International Festival.

TENNIS 4 out of the 5 Romanians on the
US Open’s main board are having matches today. Romanian Simona Halep will be up
against Camila Giorgi of Italy while Irina Begu plays Andrea Petkovic of
Germany. Ana Bogdan, also from Romania, has been pitched against Rebeka
Masarova of Spain, while Gabriela Ruse, at her first participation in this
prestigious tennis event will be playing Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech
Republic. The fifth Romanian on the main draw, Sorana Carstea will be taking on
Veronika Kudermetova of Russia on Tuesday.

AGE On January 1st 2021
Romania’s resident population stood at 19.2 million people, 142 thousand less
than in the same period of 2020, data released by the National Institute for
Statistics shows. The main cause of this decrease is the negative birth rate as
the number of deceased exceeded the number of those born by over 120 thousand.
Urban population and women are main categories accounting for 53.6%, 51%
respectively of the total population. At a rate of 124 old persons against 100
youngsters below 15 years, the phenomenon of demographic aging is deepening in
Romania, the same data reveals.

(bill)

30 August 2021
Dokumentarfilme zur modernen Geschichte Rumäniens erstmals in London

Das Festival rumänischer Dokumentarfilme in Gro‎ßbritannien wird vom Rumänischen Kulturinstitut in London, in Zusammenarbeit mit den rumänischen Festivals Astra Film Sibiu und One World Romania organisiert. Framing the Change zeigt dieses Jahr über 30 Filme und lädt das Publikum zu speziellen Veranstaltungen ein. Das Projekt bringt rumänische Dokumentarfilme der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte in den Vordergrund, Filme, die die soziale Realität Rumäniens erforschen, während sie passiert. Die Streifen beschäftigen sich mit der massiven Migration, der Überschneidung von Religion und der säkularen Welt, dem komplizierten Verhältnis von Schul- und Heimerziehung, der jüngsten Geschichte Rumäniens. Die Auswahl umfasst auch eine Reihe von Filmen, die in das persönliche Leben ihrer Schöpfer eintauchen oder die Geschichte einer Gemeinschaft aufdecken und so die Vielfalt der Stile und Ästhetik im rumänischen Dokumentarfilm widerspiegeln.

Der erste Teil der Retrospektive wurde von Adina Marin (Mitglied des Teams beim ersten internationalen Filmfestival Astra in Sibiu) zusammengestellt und zeigt, unter anderen, die Regisseure Alexandru Petru Bădeliţă, Alex Brendea, Dumitru Budrala, Radu Ciorniciuc, Andrei Dăscălescu, Oana Giurgiu, Alexandru Solomon und Julio Soto. Adina Marin kommt zu Wort: Ich habe mich sehr über dieses Projekt gefreut, das von Magda Stroe, der Koordinatorin des Rumänischen Kulturinstituts in London, initiiert wurde, die mit einer kleinen Übersicht über rumänische Dokumentarfilme beginnen wollte. Das Projekt wuchs durch ihre Bemühungen und wurde zu dem, was wir heute sehen. Eigentlich war es ganz natürlich, dass es so ablief, denn mit der Zeit wurden rumänische Dokumentarfilme zu einem umfangreicheren und komplizierteren Thema, das nicht in zwei oder drei Vorführungen abgehandelt werden konnte. Was die Auswahl betrifft, wenn man eine Retrospektive macht, nimmt man entweder alle Dokumentarfilme, die in dem betreffenden Zeitraum entstanden sind, ins Programm auf, was unmöglich ist, oder man trifft eine Auswahl, die an sich automatisch subjektiv ist.

Meine Subjektivität bestand darin, auf die für das Astra Film Festival ausgewählten Filme zurückzublicken, die einen bestimmten Moment markierten. Ich spreche von besonderen Vorführungen, emotionalen Filmen, Filmen, die etwas Besonderes in der Karriere eines Regisseurs bedeuten oder Dokumentarfilmen, die Geschichten erzählten, die für einen bestimmten Moment wichtig waren. Ich war sehr emotional, als ich mir diese Filme ansah, um die Auswahl zu treffen. Es war, als würde man Freunde wiedersehen, die man schon lange nicht mehr gesehen hat, und sich fragen, wie es wohl sein wird. Ich war sehr neugierig zu sehen, welche Wirkung ich mit diesen Filmen nach so vielen Jahren erzielen konnte. Es war eine angenehme Überraschung als ich feststellte, dass ein Dokumentarfilm nicht schal werden kann. Wenn wir über die Entwicklung der Technologie sprechen, egal wie sehr sie sich weiterentwickelt, Dokumentarfilme werden ihre Qualität beibehalten, eine Momentaufnahme des Augenblicks zu sein, in dem sie gemacht wurden und alle möglichen Konnotationen zu haben, die wir bis heute spüren.”

Die Retrospektive des zeitgenössischen rumänischen Films in Gro‎ßbritannien wurde mit einer Podiumsdiskussion mit Adina Marin (Managerin des Astra Film Festivals in Sibiu), Andrei Rus (künstlerischer Leiter von One World Romania), Cíntia Gil (Direktorin von Sheffield Doc Fest) und Michael Stewart (Direktor von Open City Docs) eröffnet und von dem Journalisten Jonathan Romney moderiert, der für die Publikationen Film Comment, Sight & Sound”, The Observer” und Screen Daily” schreibt. Adina Marin: Bei dieser Diskussion hatten Andrei Rus und ich, Auswahlleiter für das Programm, die Möglichkeit, Argumente für die unsere Auswahl vorbringen. An den Gesprächen nahmen allerdings Menschen teil, die auf die eine oder andere Weise im Laufe der Jahre mit rumänischen Dokumentarfilmen in Kontakt gekommen sind. Die Diskussion war interessant, weil sie viele Perspektiven einbrachte, nicht nur unsere Visionen, als Organisatoren des Festivals. Ich war froh, Jonathan Romney dabei zu haben, der sich nicht nur für Dokumentarfilme, sondern für das rumänische Kino insgesamt interessiert, das er seit vielen Jahren verfolgt.

Die Diskussion fand kurz vor der Oscarverleihung statt und so kam es, dass wir auf diese Weise eine Brücke schlagen konnten, zwar von Dumitru Budalas Film On the Road” aus dem Jahr 1998, der in gewisser Weise den Weg für rein beobachtende Dokumentarfilme in Rumänien eröffnete, zu Alexander Nanaus Film Colectiv”, der dieses Jahr bei den Oscars zwei Nominierungen erhielt.” Das Programm des zweiten Teils der Retrospektive, der zwischen dem 15. Juni und 31. Juli stattfindet, besteht aus einer Auswahl, die der Kritiker Andrei Rus, künstlerischer Leiter von One World Romania, getroffen hat. Die Filme werden auf dem Online-Kanal des Rumänischen Kulturinstituts in London gezeigt, mit englischen Untertiteln und einige von ihnen sind nur in Gro‎ßbritannien für einen kurzen Zeitraum verfügbar.

23 June 2021
Nachrichten 27.12.2020

In Rumänien wurden binnen 24 Stunden 2.049 Neuinfektionen mit dem neuen Coronavirus gemeldet, nachdem landesweit 7.783 Tests durchgeführt wurden. Bisher wurden im Land mehr als 615.000 Fälle von mit COVID-19 infizierten Personen bestätigt. Laut den am Sonntag von der Gruppe für Strategische Kommunikation übermittelten Daten befinden sich 1.206 Patienten auf der Intensivstation. 122 Menschen, die mit dem neuen Coronavirus infiziert waren, starben. Seit Beginn der Pandemie sind mehr als 15.200 Menschen gestorben.

Die rumänische Botschaft in London schritt für die Repatriierung von 95 rumänischen Bürgern ein, die von den im Zusammenhang mit der COVID-19-Pandemie auferlegten Reisebeschränkungen betroffen waren, sowie von fast 500 Saisonarbeitern, die ihre Verträge in Gro‎ßbritannien abgeschlossen hatten. Die Rumänen wurden mit zwei Charterflügen, die von einem Unternehmen angeboten wurden, heimgeflogen. Diese antworteten auf den Anruf der Botschaft und trug zusätzlich die Kosten für Tickets für fünf Passagiere in der Kategorie der schutzbedürftigen Personen, berichtete die Botschaft. Europa ist mit einer ernsthaften Störung des Luftverkehrs konfrontiert, da immer mehr Länder Flüge aus Gro‎ßbritannien verbieten.

Rumänien hat am Sonntag zusammen mit den anderen Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Union die Anti-COVID-19-Impfkampagne gestartet. Die erste Person, die gegen COVID-19 geimpft wurde, ist eine Krankenschwester aus Bukarest, die am 27. Februar den ersten mit dem SARS-CoV-2-Virus bestätigten Patienten in Rumänien übernahm. Die ersten 10.000 Dosen COVID-Impfstoff kamen am Samstag in der Hauptstadt an, von wo aus sie im Land verteilt wurden. Die ersten Dosen werden an medizinisches Personal in Krankenhäusern verabreicht, die im Kampf gegen die Pandemie an vorderster Front stehen. Die erste Phase, in der Ärzte geimpft werden sollen, wird im Januar abgeschlossen sein. In der zweiten Phase werden die Personen aus den Risikogruppen und die Arbeitnehmer aus den wesentlichen Bereichen geimpft, und erst im April beginnt die Impfung der Bevölkerung. Eine zwischen dem 11. und 14. Dezember durchgeführte IRES-Studie zeigt, dass sechs von zehn Rumänen behaupten, sie würden sich gegen das neue Coronavirus impfen lassen, aber nur ein Viertel der Rumänen wäre bereit, dies so schnell wie möglich zu tun. Ein Drittel der Bevölkerung des Landes will nicht geimpft werden. Der Hauptgrund wäre ein mangelndes Vertrauen in den Impfstoff oder das medizinische System. 15% der Befragten glauben, dass das Virus nicht gefährlich ist oder dass ihre Immunität stark ist, während 13% sagen, dass sie Angst vor Nebenwirkungen haben.

Die Europäische Union hat am Sonntag die Impfkampagne gegen das neue Coronavirus gestartet. Die ersten Impfstofflieferungen kamen am Samstag in Ländern des gesamten EU-Blocks an, in denen bereits mehrere Personen geimpft wurden. Die europäische Impfkampagne hat begonnen, da immer mehr Länder Fälle von Infektionen mit dem neuen Coronavirus-Stamm melden, der ursprünglich im Süden Englands gefunden wurde. Die Leiterin der Europäischen Kommission Ursula von der Leyen bezeichnete den Start als “aufregenden Moment der Einheit” für die 450 Millionen Bürger in den 27 EU-Mitgliedstaaten. Die Europäische Union hat den gemeinsam von dem kleinen deutschen Unternehmen BioNTech und dem amerikanischen Pharmakonzern Pfizer entwickelten Impfstoff genehmigt. Eine gro‎ße klinische Studie hat gezeigt, dass der Impfstoff zu 95% wirksam bei der Vorbeugung schwerer Coronavirus-Erkrankungen ist. Politiker und Gesundheitsexperten haben gewarnt, dass es Monate dauern wird, bis die Anzahl der Impfstoffe ausreicht, um jeden zu schützen, der geimpft werden möchte.Am Sonntag warnte die WHO, dass die COVID-19-Pandemie nicht die letzte derartige Krise sein werde.

Rumänische Meteorologen teilen mit, dass bis Montagmorgen in den Bergen Schnee überwiegt, insbesondere in Höhen über 1500 m, und dass eine neue Schneeschicht abgelagert wird. Der Wind wird stärker, besonders auf den Kämmen, wo die Böen 80 … 90 km / h überschreiten. In der südlichen Hälfte des Landes wird es vorübergehend im Allgemeinen mä‎ßige Niederschläge geben, die lokal 15 … 25 l / m² und isoliert 30 l / m² überschreiten. Diese werden überwiegend in Form von Regen und Schneeregen auftreten. Ab Sonntag bis Montag gilt die Warnstsufe Gelb in den Südkarpaten wegen Schneefall und Schneestürmen, insbesondere auf über 1700 m Höhe, und in den westlichen Berggebieten. Es wird mä‎ßig quantitativ schneien und der Wind wird stark sein, mit Böen von 80 … 90 km / h und auf dem Kamm über 100 … 120 km / h. In Rumänien ist es kälter geworden beim bedeckten Himmel insbesondere im Süden des Landes.

27 December 2020
Nachrichten 07.12.2020

Die Sozialdemokratische Partei hat die Parlamentswahlen am Sonntag in Rumänien mit 30,16 % der abgegebenen Stimmen für den Senat und 29,71 % für die Abgeordnetenkammer, gefolgt von der National Liberalen Partei, die 25,62 % im Senat und 25,21 % in der Abgeordnetenkammer gewonnen, so am Montag das Zentrale Wahlbüro nach der Auszählung von 95,25 % der Wahllokale. An dritter Stelle steht die Allianz Union Rettet Rumänien – PLUS, die im Senat 15,21 % und in der Abgeordnetenkammer 14,73 % gewann. Die rechtsorientierte Allianz für die Union der Rumänen (AUR) hat 8,69 % Stimmen im Senat und 8,6 % in der Abgeordnetenkammer, und der Ungarn Verband erhielt 6,21 % im Senat und 6,05 % in der Abgeordnetenkammer. Es gibt keinen eindeutigen Wahlsieger, jedoch haben die Mitte-rechtsorientierten Parteien gemeinsam 50 % der Stimmen, betonte Präsident Klaus Iohannis am Montag. Er kündigte an, in den nächsten Tagen die Partei zu Beratungen einzuladen. Unterdessen legte Ministerpräsident Ludovic Orban sein Amt nieder. Die Rumänen im Ausland konnten an zwei Tagen, am Samstag und Sonntag, ihre Stimmen abgeben, wobei die grö‎ßte Wahlbeteiligung in Italien, der Republik Moldau, Spanien, Gro‎ßbritannien und Nordirland, Deutschland und Frankreich war. Das neue Parlament wird 465 Sitze haben – 136 Senatoren und 329 Abgeordnete. Die Wahlbeteiligung am Sonntag lag bei 27 %, der niedrigsten in den letzten 30 Jahren.

Weitere 3.660 Infektionen mit SARS-CoV-2 und 127 damit zusammenhängende Todesfälle wurden in den letzten 24 Stunden gemeldet, teilte die Gruppe für strategische Kommunikation am Montag mit. Die Gesamtzahl der Infektionen ist damit auf 517.000 angestiegen, während die Zahl der Todesfälle bei 12.447 liegt. 1280 Menschen befinden sich derzeit auf der Intensivstation. 80% der mit COVID-19 infizierten Menschen haben sich erholt. Mehrere Städte und Dörfer in Rumänien befinden sich noch immer in Quarantäne. Im Bezirk Sibiu, wo die Infektionsrate bei 5 pro tausend Einwohner beträgt, haben die Behörden beschlossen, die Quarantäne in Sibiu und 6 Dörfern um eine weitere Woche zu verlängern.

Tausende protestierten am Sonntag in der moldawischen Hauptstadt Chişinău und forderten die Auflösung des Parlaments, das derzeit von einer pro-russischen Mehrheit kontrolliert wird. Das moldauische Parlament stimmte kürzlich dafür, die Vorrechte des Präsidenten einzuschränken und den Status der russischen Sprache zu stärken. Die Kundgebung fand im Anschluss an einen öffentlichen Aufruf der pro-europäischen gewählten Präsidentin Maia Sandu statt. Sandus Aufruf wurde von Anführern parlamentarischer Oppositionsparteien, aber auch au‎ßerparlamentarischer politischer Parteien beantwortet. Die Demonstranten warfen dem Parlament und der Regierung vor, Korruption und die Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder zu fördern, und forderten au‎ßerdem Schnellwahlen. Maia Sandu sagte, dass der Protest am Sonntag keine Ideologie oder politische Partei befürworte, sondern einfach darauf abziele, den Willen des Volkes zum Ausdruck zu bringen, das der Korruption überdrüssig geworden sei und ein besseres Leben wolle. Der amtierende Präsident Igor Dodon,sowie Mitglieder der Sozialistischen Partei im Parlament haben sich geweigert, zu den Vorwürfen Stellung zu nehmen.

Vertreter Grossbritanniens und der Europäischen Union setzen die Verhandlungen in Brüssel fort, um einen Konsens über ein Post-Brexit-Abkommen zu erreichen, dessen Ausbleiben schwerwiegende wirtschaftliche Folgen für beide Seiten hätte. Am Sonntagabend übermittelten die Chefunterhändler divergierende Botschaften über den Fortgang der Gespräche. EU-Beamte sagten, sie seien der Lösung eines der Haupthindernisse im Zusammenhang mit dem Fischereiabkommen nahe, während die britische Seite die Informationen zurückwies. Es wird erwartet, dass der britische Premierminister Boris Johnson und die Präsidentin der Europäischen Kommission, Ursula von der Leyen, heute Abend eine Bewertung der bisher gemeldeten Fortschritte beim Abschluss eines Handelsabkommens vornehmen werden, das sowohl das britische als auch das Europäische Parlament ratifizieren müssen, bevor es am 1. Januar 2021 in Kraft treten kann. Die künftigen Beziehungen Londons zu Brüssel werden voraussichtlich ebenfalls ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung des Gipfels in Brüssel stehen, der am Donnerstag und Freitag stattfinden wird. Gro‎ßbritannien unterliegt nach seinem offiziellen Rückzug am 31. Januar 2020 immer noch der EU-Gesetzgebung.

7 December 2020
Sportevents: Boxen (vorolympisches Turnier in London), Fußball

Die rumänischen Boxer Paul-Andrei Arădoaie und Maria Claudia Nechita haben am Sonntag jeweils die ersten Kämpfe für Rumänien im vorolympischen Boxturnier gewonnen, das in London stattfand. In der 81-kg-Kategorie besiegte Paul-Andrei Arădoaie, ein ehemaliger Jugendeuropameister, zum Auftakt Blagoi Naidenov aus Bulgarien durch technischen KO in Runde drei. Am Dienstag tritt der Rumäne gegen den Top-Favoriten Benjamin Whittaker aus England an, der in der ersten Runde ein Freilos hatte.

In der 57-kg-Kategorie der Frauen gewann Maria Claudia Nechita zum Auftakt gegen die Ungarin Szabina Szucs durch technischen KO in Runde drei. Ihre nächste Gegnerin ist die Deutsche Ornella Wahner, die ebenfalls direkt im Achtelfinale antritt. Das Spiel ist für Dienstag geplant.

Ebenfalls am Sonntag verlor Cristian-Razvan Filip in der ersten Runde der 91-kg-Kategorie nach Punkten gegen Emmanuel Reyes Pla aus Spanien. Die drei rumänischen Boxer, die am Samstag, dem ersten Tag des Turniers, antraten, Robert Jitaru in der 57-kg-Kategorie, Daniel Burciu in der 91+-kg-Kategorie und Cristina Cosma in der 60-kg-Kategorie der Frauen, sind ausgeschieden. Um sich für die Olympischen Spiele zu qualifizieren, müssen die Boxerinnen und Boxer der 52-kg-Kategorie bzw. der 69-kg-Kategorie das Viertelfinale erreichen, also mindestens zwei Spiele gewinnen. In der 75- und 81-kg-Kategorie qualifizieren sich die ersten sechs Athleten, d.h. alle Boxerinnen und Boxer, die das Halbfinale und das Viertelfinale erreichen. In den Kategorien 91 und 91+-kg qualifizieren sich die vier besten Boxer, d.h. die Halbfinalisten, für die Spiele in Tokio. Bei den Frauen müssen die Athleten in jeder Kategorie unter die besten 8 kommen.

Am Dienstag entscheidet die UEFA über die Verschiebung der Europameisterschaft 2020, die zwischen dem 12. Juni und dem 12. Juli in 12 Ländern, darunter Rumänien, stattfinden soll. Am Sonntag kündigte der italienische Fußballverband an, dass er wegen der Coronavirus-Pandemie eine Verschiebung des Wettbewerbs fordern werde. Das Eröffnungsspiel für die EURO 2020 war für den 12. Juni in Rom geplant. Der Sunday Telegraph schreibt, dass die UEFA möglicherweise beschließen wird, die EURO 2020 auf Dezember zu verschieben. Die Entscheidung würde es ermöglichen, dass nationale Meisterschaften und vereinsübergreifende Wettbewerbe in ganz Europa im Sommer nachgeholt werden. Diese Option würde sportlich und wirtschaftlich von Vorteil sein, vor allem aus Sicht der Übertragungsrechte für Sportsender.

16 March 2020
December 19, 2019 UPDATE

Activity report – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis said Thursday evening upon the presentation of the activity report of his first mandate as head of state, that there were 5 years of major challenges of which the most serious was Romania’s risking to swerve off its western path. He went on to say that the biggest achievement of his mandate was to keep Romania on the democratic and pro-European path. In relation to foreign policy, Klaus Iohannis said his actions focused on 3 coordinates: boosting Romania’s role within the EU and NATO, expanding and strengthening the strategic partnership with the US. At domestic level he focused on the good functioning of public authorities. He reiterated that in the past 3 years some groups tried to get their hands on Romania and weaken it by attacking the justice system and he, as president of the country, used all constitutional instruments to counteract these undemocratic forces that tried to stop the anti-corruption fight. On Saturday President Klaus Iohannis will be sworn in for his second mandate before the two chambers of Romania’s Parliament.

EP – President Klaus Iohannis hails the passing by the EP, on Thursday, of a Resolution on the commemoration of 30 years since the December 1989 anti-communist revolution, which pays homage to the heroes that died for freedom and democracy. Through this resolution the EP admits that the sacrifice of the then peaceful protesters opened the path for Romania’s transition to democracy. The document mentions that, in the Romanian Revolution, 1,142 people lost their lives, over 3,000 were seriously wounded and several hundreds were illegally arrested and tortured. The EP called on the Romanian state to intensify efforts to find the truth about the 1989 revolution and on the EU institutions and members, Romania included, to do their best to make sure that the crimes made by the Communist regimes will not be forgotten, and to thus guarantee that such crimes will never be committed again. In Romania, commemorations continued on Thursday to honor the heroes of the revolution. 30 years ago in Timisoara, in the west, the workers in the city’s factories went on strike and the first organization of revolutionaries the Romanian Democratic Forum was created before the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. December 19 is also the day when the regime tried to hide the traces of the protesters’ bloody repression. In Sibiu, central Romania, military and religious ceremonies were held to commemorate the revolution’s martyrs.

London — Queen Elisabeth II of Great Britain on Thursday presented in Parliament the legislative priorities of the government headed by Boris Johnson. Some of the measures announced are: the finalization of Brexit on January 31, 2020, bigger investments in healthcare, and the implementation of a new immigration system. The bill on Great Britain’s exit from the EU will be debated on Friday in the House of Commons. Another priority is the passing of an immigration system similar to the Australian one which is to be applied as soon as the post-Brexit transition period comes to an end and when the UK will no longer have to abide by the EU regulations, namely as of January 1, 2021. Through this system, Boris Johnson’s government wants to allow entry of foreign workers from the all over the world, not only from Europe, depending on the labor force needs of the British economy. (news update by L. Simion)

19 December 2019
NATO at 70

Meeting in early December in London, the leaders of NATO member countries adopted a joint declaration emphasizing the unity of allied countries, admitting for the first time the challenges posed by the rise of China globally. Also, the document shows that Russias aggressive action is a threat to NATO security, and provides assurances that the alliance is purely defensive in nature, and that its aim is disarmament. However, the document also specifies that the alliance will continue to bolster its ability for deterrence, defending itself with an adequate mix of nuclear, conventional, and anti-missile defense, continuously adapted. Professor Iulian Chifu,head of the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning, believes the summit was a success:

“We had a North Atlantic Council, a final declaration, and documents that are more than encouraging, which reinforce these themes, including that in Article 5, which is profoundly valid, and is embraced by every member of the alliance. It is true that NATO in itself does not have any problems, but that various leaders of it have distinct agendas. They are not necessarily at loggerheads, NATO moves forward, and the principle all for one and one for all is profoundly valid, and embraced by everyone.”

Divergences within the alliance are inherent, but there are common points when it comes to ensuring security, fighting terrorism, or answering Russian provocations, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in London. The declaration specified the wish to start a process of reflection regarding the future of NATO, a decision saluted by French President Emmanuel Macron. He supports the idea that the alliance is brain dead, expressing his concern at Turkeys intervention in Syria and the fact that Ankara purchased a Russian anti-missile defense system. For the first time, NATO leaders discussed Chinas rise internationally. Here is Iulian Fota, a security analyst, detailing the point:

“NATO so far has not discussed China, so this is the first time that NATO takes a position in this regard, which is very interesting. This shows that the discussion is already advancing in this direction, and let us not forget that many experts already say that the future of NATO will be strongly influenced by the way it relates to China. If we were to talk of a rival in ideological terms, maybe even of a security threat towards the west, a very complex medium and long term one, everyone knows that this is China, and not Russia, which is a much weaker country. In spite of all the noise it makes, it does not have the necessary resources to carry through a confrontation with NATO on long term.”

The NATO summit brought a few advantages to Romania when it comes to its interests in the Black Sea. Here is Iulian Chifu once again:

“I believe that we can look at the nine points in the final declaration and well have the essence of a summit 70 years from the creation of the alliance, a special summit. For Romania in particular it has been beneficial in terms of its Black Sea interests, which is a zero level priority for the alliance, since it is a new operational space, in addition to the three conventional ones, plus cyberspace and outer space.”

In this context, Iulian Chifu adds, beyond confirmations and repositioning, as well as defense plans for the northern and southern parts of the eastern flank, there was a reiteration of all categories of threats. In addition, NATO is the international organization that has adapted the fastest to global threats, and this process of adaptation has to be continuing. This was emphasized by NATO Deputy Secretary Mircea Geoana in an interview for Radio Romania:

“We are an alliance that has adapted faster than any other to global changes. The point where a discussion is needed among alliance leaders is the need to have a strengthening of NATO at the political level. If we truly want to be able to adapt to global changes, as institutions of the democratic West, we can only do it by preserving a strong transatlantic relationship, strengthening NATOs European pillar, with a more robust European Union.”

Today the alliance is in impeccable health, even though the world is changing all around, Mircea Geoana believes, and we have to change, because the process of adaptation never stops.

13 December 2019