Radio România Internațional

Tag: Maia

  • The Republic of Moldova is bracing up for snap election

    The Republic of Moldova is bracing up for snap election

    Maia Sandu, president of the Republic
    of Moldova on Wednesday dissolved Parliament in Chisinau and called for early
    election on July 11th. This became possible after the country’s Constitutional
    Court had ruled the state of emergency as unconstitutional, paving the way for
    the dissolution of Parliament, which couldn’t have been dissolved otherwise.




    Maia Sandu: Through this decision we have opened the way for citizens to be able to
    elect a new Parliament to serve their interest and the country’s. The power is
    now in the hands of the people. I trust our citizens and their readiness to
    choose the right way towards a developed democratic state in which people are
    living in peace and prosperity.




    The Parliamentary election
    is the way out of the political deadlock currently affecting the small
    Romanian-speaking state in the east. With an ambitious reform agenda including
    several goals as curbing corruption, streamlining institutions and embracing
    European values, Maia Sandu from the very beginning of her mandate has attracted
    opposition from the Parliament majority made up of the Socialists of the former
    pro-Russia president Igor Dodon. In a bid to block the early election, Dodon
    and his allies made an abortive attempt at changing the members of the
    Constitutional Court. The European institutions and the US Department of State
    have voiced concern over the latest moves by the pro-Russia majority in
    Moldova, describing them as a blatant attack on the country’s democratic norms
    and its Constitutional order.


    Prior to Sandu’s statement, Dodon had
    again lashed out at the Constitutional Court, which he described as a political
    instrument in the hands of some politicians trying to undermine the state
    authority.




    Dodon has also described his
    political opponents as puppets of the West. His political supporter, Moscow,
    has denounced what it calls a direct intrusion of the US and EU in the domestic
    affairs of the Republic of Moldova urging both entities to refrain from such
    moves.




    The anti-Constitutional coup in
    Chisinau has also been firmly condemned by Bucharest. According to Romania’s
    Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, the latest moves involving Parliament in
    Chisinau are proof of the importance that must be attached to the continuous
    observation of the rule of law in the Republic of Moldova as well as the
    importance of avoiding any decisions that might cast a question mark over the
    rule of law in this country.




    In turn, Romania’s Constitutional
    Court (CCR) has expressed disagreement towards the concerted attacks against
    the Constitutional Court in the Republic of Moldova and the constitutional
    crisis in this country. ‘To incite to disregarding the Constitutional Court’s
    rulings is tantamount to incite to breaking the law, the rule of law, to
    cancelling the very essence of democracy’, the CCR says.



  • Strengthening the Romania – Moldova partnership

    Strengthening the Romania – Moldova partnership

    Within a week since Maia Sandu was sworn in as the new president of the Republic of Moldova, her Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis travelled to Chişinău. He was the first foreign high-ranking official received by Maia Sandu, since the latter won the November 15 election, thwarting the pro-Russian Igor Dodons hopes for a new term in office.



    As Romanias Presidency had predicted, the visit occasioned a strong support message for the new president and for Moldovas citizens, in their efforts to strengthen democracy, to implement the rule of law irreversibly and to consolidate both the countrys European accession endeavour and its privileged relations with Romania.



    President Iohannis announced that Bucharest will send the neighbouring state 200,000 anti-Covid-19 shots, 6,000 tones of diesel gas for farmers and at least 250,000 euro to support civil society and the mass media.



    Klaus Iohannis: “I am glad that this visit to Chişinău comes against the background of a massive vote, by Moldovan citizens, in favour of democratic reforms in line with the EU integration values.



    For Maia Sandu, the visit of her Romanian counterpart means the end of the international isolation in which the previous pro-Russian governments had kept the country:



    Maia Sandu: “Im happy that as of today, the Republic of Moldova and Romania return to a natural, brotherly and open interaction. These days, the Republic of Moldova steps into a new era of ending its international isolation and connecting to the European space.



    The 2 presidents signed a joint statement on strengthening the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, reconfirming their special bilateral relation, and Chişinăus commitment to its European accession programme.



    An economist with an MA in public administration at Harvard, former adviser to the World Bank executive director, former minister and PM of Moldova, Maia Sandu, 48, is the first woman president of the R. of Moldova, 3 decades after the country proclaimed its independence from Moscow.



    All analysts agree that the presidents task will be infinitely more difficult than the election in which she defeated Dodon. Maia Sandu is the leader of Europes poorest state, as relevant surveys indicate. She has taken over an administration riddled by corruption and filled with the former presidents cronies, and will have to work with an outgoing Socialist Cabinet and with a parliament controlled by leftists.



    The new presidents most important allies are her countrys citizens, the European Union and, as always, Romania. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • December 14, 2020 UPDATE

    December 14, 2020 UPDATE

    TALKS After a first round of talks on Monday with
    the political groups, which made it to Parliament following the election on
    December 6th, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said the proper conditions for
    the designation of a Prime Minister to form a new government have not been met.
    The Romanian president said that a new round of talks is needed and announced
    he would summon the new Legislature on December 21st. The Social Democrats who
    obtained the largest number of votes in the election, proposed doctor Alexandru
    Rafila for the position of Prime Minister to head a national unity government.
    The National Liberal Party has proposed the incumbent Finance Minister Florin
    Citu, while the USR-PLUS alliance, who came in third, proposed the former
    technocratic Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. The fourth largest group in
    Parliament AUR, proposed Calin Georgescu, who has been described as an
    international expert in sustainable development.










    THANKS Maia
    Sandu, the pro-Western president elect of the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking
    Republic of Moldova held talks with Romania’s ambassador to Chisinau Daniel
    Ionita whom she thanked for the consistent support Romania offered to the
    Republic of Moldova. The Moldovan official stressed out the need for
    re-establishing bilateral cooperation between Romania and the Republic of
    Moldova for the benefit of their citizens. Sandu said the visit to be paid by
    Romanian president Klaus Iohannis late this year is very important and voiced
    hope that this is the first step in a long term productive cooperation.










    UN Romania has been and will continue to be an active
    member involved in the proper functioning of the United Nations, the Minister
    of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, said at the celebration of 75 years of the
    organization’s existence and 65 years of Romania’s UN membership. The head of
    diplomacy considers that Romania has demonstrated a genuine and lasting
    commitment at all levels: maintaining international peace and security,
    sustainable development and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of
    law. The official added that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the
    importance of multilateral cooperation in addressing global challenges. In this
    context, Bogdan Aurescu stressed that there is a need for an efficient
    Organization, able to respond adequately to pre-existing challenges to peace,
    security and human rights, as well as emerging challenges and trends in the
    context of the current pandemic crisis.








    INVESTMENTS In Romania, the Agency
    for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) has so far made payments of 7 billion
    Euros through the National Rural Development Program 2014 – 2020, the degree of
    absorption on this program exceeding 70%, AFIR announced on Monday.
    Beneficiaries were farmers, processors, entrepreneurs and local public
    authorities. The National Rural Development Program 2014 – 2020 provides
    non-reimbursable funds from the European Union and the government for the
    economic and social development of the rural area.






    (bill)

  • October 4, 2020 UPDATE

    October 4, 2020 UPDATE

    MAE Romania’s Foreign Ministry fully
    supports the EU decisions regarding the situation in Belarus, reads a post on
    the Institution’s Twitter page. According to the Ministry, the pressure put by
    the authorities in Minsk on some EU members like Poland and Lithuania to
    withdraw their ambassadors does not help to settle the present crisis, neither
    will it affect solidarity among EU countries. Belarus has recalled its ambassadors
    from Poland and Lithuania and has called on both countries to substantially
    reduce their embassy personnel in Minsk. Brussels has officially adopted sanctions
    against 40 people in Belarus for ‘brutal reprisals against peaceful protesters’
    and election rigging. The list, which provides for asset freezing and travel
    interdictions in the member states, does not include president Alexander
    Lukashenko. Meanwhile, police in Belarus have announced they have operated
    arrests and used water cannons against tens of thousands protesters who took to
    the streets of Minsk on Sunday denounced the rigged election in August.








    PANDEMIC Over 35 million people have been confirmed infected with the
    novel coronavirus worldwide and the death toll stands at more than one million
    people, according to worldometers.
    The US continues to be the most affected with 7.6 million infections and a
    death toll over 214 thousand. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 100
    thousand people in India, which has reported over 6.5 million infections.
    Brazil has a death toll of 146 thousand and 5 million infections. Europe has
    also been affected; Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic have reported a
    growing number of infections, which is also on the rise in Italy, where
    authorities are considering an extended state of emergency until February next
    year.










    COVID-19 1,835 people have tested
    positive for the novel coronavirus in Romania on Sunday; the local authorities
    have also announced 56 fatalities. 598 patients are in intensive care units
    while the death toll since the beginning of the pandemic stands at 5,003.
    Romania has so far reported a total number of 135,900 infections. In spite of
    the growing number of infections, the authorities believe they don’t need to
    impose another state of emergency. They insist on prevention though by
    observing the safety measures already known such as social distancing,
    disinfection and the wearing of masks in public places. According to Raed
    Arafat, head of the Department for Emergency Situations, tougher restriction
    measures could be imposed in certain areas, if the situation worsened.








    ELECTION An election campaign has
    kicked off in the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova for the presidential
    election on November 1st against a recrudescence of the Covid-19
    epidemic. 8 candidates are vying for the presidential seat but only two stand
    chances, the incumbent president, the pro-Russia Socialist Igor Dodon and the
    leader of the Action and Solidarity Party and former Prime Minister Maia Sandu,
    who is seen as pro-Europe. Dodon won the 2016 election by getting a little over
    52% of the votes and experts believe the two candidates are going to be neck
    and neck in the upcoming election.






    RECOUNT The Election Bureau of the city
    of Bucharest (BEM) on Sunday turned down a request for an election recount in
    the city’s District 1. The BEM has deemed the ruling PSD’s decision to contest
    the allegedly rigged local election on September 27th as ungrounded.
    Agerpres news agency recalls the Social Democrats called for an election
    recount after a TV channel had aired footage with people entering a room where ballot
    bags were deposited. Police and the prosecutor’s office have launched
    investigations in two files. The aforementioned institution on Sunday rejected
    a similar request for the city’s District 5, coming from several political
    parties.






    (bill)



  • August 31, 2019

    August 31, 2019

    IMF The International Monetary Fund
    recommends the Romanian authorities to kick off a process of sustainable fiscal
    consolidation to reassess the new pension law, which is to come into effect on
    Sunday and to improve management in state-owned companies. According to an IMF
    report, the Romanian economic growth would stay around 4% in 2019 and slow down
    to 3% on medium term. According to the IMF, against the backdrop of raising
    vulnerabilities the Romanian authorities need to capitalize on the present
    economic progress to kick off a sustainable process of fiscal consolidation. According
    to estimates, Romania’s budget deficit will account for 3.7% of the GDP in 2019
    unless additional measures are taken. Furthermore the IMF experts believe the
    fresh pension law passed in June 2019 needs to be reassessed as it may
    jeopardize the fiscal sustainability.








    FESTIVAL Between August 31st and
    September 22nd Bucharest will be playing venue for the 24th edition of the
    George Enescu International Festival, the biggest edition of this event so far.
    This edition’s central theme is ‘The world in Harmony’ and the festival’s
    artistic director is Vladimir Jurowski. Bucharest and 10 other cities in
    Romania and abroad in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the
    Republic of Moldova are also to be hosting events associated with this
    prestigious international festival of classical music in honor of Romania’s
    greatest composer. The festival is expected to bring together 25 hundred of the
    world’s best musicians who will be performing in 84 concerts and recitals. 24
    concerts will be hosted by Romania’s major cities, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara,
    Iasi, Sibiu, Targu Mures, Bacau, Barlad, Targoviste, Satu Mare and Piatra
    Neamt. The 2019 edition of this festival is expected to include 34 premieres
    and 25 first performances by artists like Marion Cotillard, Kiril Petrenko,
    Mitsuko Uchida as well as nine of the world’s best orchestras. Concerts and
    recitals have been grouped in six big sections: ‘Greatest World Orchestras’,
    ‘Midnight Concertos’, ‘Chamber Music Recitals and Concertos’, ’21st Century
    Music’, ‘Mozart Week in Residence’ and ‘The Composers International Forum’. The
    festival will also include conferences, book and album launches as well as
    other events.












    LANGUAGE Cultural events staged
    concurrently in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and the Romanian communities
    abroad are today marking the Romanian Language Day. The event, which was
    endorsed by the Romanian Parliament in 2013, is held concurrently with the
    national celebration in the neighboring Republic of Moldova to honour the
    national awakening movement in the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. We
    recall that on August 31st 1989 during the Soviet Union, under the
    pressure of 750 thousand protesters, Parliament in Chisinau declared Romanian
    as the country’s official language choosing the Latin alphabet instead of the
    Cyrillic one imposed by the Soviet invaders after the country’s annexation in
    1940.












    VISIT Maia Sandu, the pro-Western
    Prime Minister of the neighboring Republic of Moldova (an ex-soviet
    Romanian-speaking country), is paying a four-day visit to the United States for
    talks on ways of deepening the strategic bilateral dialogue. According to Radio
    Romania correspondents in Chisinau, Sandu mentioned the visit’s most important
    moment is the meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo but didn’t refer to the
    talks agenda. The Moldovan official is expected to also have talks with
    officials from the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency and
    the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Sandu’s visit to Washington had been
    preceded by the visit the National Security Advisor John Bolton paid to
    Chisinau. Bolton said the USA supports the sovereignty and independence of the
    Republic of Moldova, which has to decide its future without influences from
    abroad. Bolton also said that Washington supports the government’s efforts for
    settling the conflict in the breakaway pro-Russia region of Transdniester,
    which had broken out of Chisinau’s control in 1992.







    (translated by bill)

  • July 9, 2019

    July 9, 2019

    GRECO Romania has made little progress to put in place measures to
    prevent corruption among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors and to
    address the concerns raised by its controversial judicial reform says the
    Council of Europe’s anti-corruption institution GRECO in two reports that it
    has published today. GRECO is deeply concerned
    by the fact that the authorities have disregarded the recommendation to abandon
    the setting-up of the section for the investigation of the offences in the
    judiciary. On the other hand GRECO hails the announcement made by Prime
    Minister Dancila regarding the intention to give up the controversial justice
    reforms. GRECO decides to continue to evaluate Romania’s complying with the
    recommendations included in the two reports and has called on the authorities
    to report back on the progress achieved by June 30th 2020.












    PSD
    Leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the main component of the ruling
    coalition in Bucharest have today begun talks about government reshuffle. These
    talks might take several weeks, during which the activity of ministries is to
    be assessed – the party’s new leader, Viorica Dancila, has announced. After the
    assessment, the Social Democrats will decide which ministers should be
    replaced. According to the Prime Minister, the PSD candidate to the
    presidential election this autumn will be established based on a poll in the
    first half of August. We recall that Prime Minister Dancila went to the helm of
    the party after the coalition’s strongman Liviu Dragnea had been arrested on
    corruption charges. We recall that the PSD also lost the European Parliament
    election to the opposition National Liberal Party while its partner ALDE failed
    to clear the 5% threshold.












    TENNIS Romanian
    tennis player Simona Halep, currently ranking 7th in the world standings, will
    be up against Chinese Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon
    tournament, the third Grand Slam competition of the year. On Monday, Halep
    outperformed the tournamnet’s revelation, 15-year-old US challenger Cori Gauff.
    Halep’s best Wimbeldon performance was in 2014, when she made it to the
    semifinals. Also today, Romanians Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu are playing
    against Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic. In
    the men’s double, Horia Tecau of Romania and his Dutch partner Jean-Julien
    Rojer will be taking on Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Columbia in
    the quarter finals. We recall that Tecau and Rojer won the tournament in 2015.












    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions, CFR Cluj will today be playing FC
    Astana of Kazakhstan in an away game counting towards the first preliminary round
    of the Champions League. On Thursday in the first preliminary round of the
    Europa League, FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharest, will be up against
    Milsami Orhei of the neighboring Republic of Moldova in a home match, while CSU
    Craiova will be playing in an away fixture FK Sabail of Azerbaijan. The return
    games are due next week. Romanian Cup holder, Viitorul Constanta, will be
    playing directly in the Europa League’s second preliminary round against
    Belgian side FC Anvers, coached by former Romanian international Ladislau
    Boloni.












    PROSECUTOR The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet,
    Romanian-speaking country might today launch procedures to revoke its chief
    prosecutor Eduard Harujen, accused of having carried out the political orders
    of the former government. Appointed in 2006, the former chief prosecutor
    prosecuted political files upon requests coming from the country’s former
    ruling Democratic Party headed by the controversial tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc.
    The country’s new Prime Minister Maia Sandu has announced she would like a
    European Prosecutor to take over Harujen’s job adding that she has conveyed an
    invitation in this respect to the former head of Romania’s Anti-corruption
    Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi. However, the country’s pro-Russia president
    Socialist Igor Dodon is not comfortable with the idea of having a European
    prosecutor in Chisinau. We recall that Kovesi is presently running against
    French Jean-Francoise Bohnert for the position of chief of the future European
    Prosecutor’s Office, which might become operational next year.












    PROPOSAL Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has proposed the former
    MEP Social-Democrat Ioan Mircea Pascu for the position of interim commissioner
    for regional policies to replace Corina Cretu, who was elected MEP on May 26th.
    The move comes after the EU Council has rejected a proposal by the head of the EU
    Executive Jean Claude Juncker that other commissioners should take over positions
    left vacant after the elections for the next four months that remained from the
    mandate of the present commissioners. The main argument invoked by the European
    Commission was that referring to budget expenses. ‘We regret the Council’s
    decision not to accept the proposal, but the responsibility on this is now
    entirely with the Council’, a spokesperson for the Executive told our
    correspondent in Brussels. A veteran leftist politician who got involved in the
    country’s political life shortly after the anti-communist revolution of 1989,
    Pascu, 70, was Defence Minister in 2004 the year of Romania’s entry into NATO
    and an MEP when the country joined the European Union in 2007.








    (translated by bill)

  • June 23, 2019 UPDATE

    June 23, 2019 UPDATE

    INVESTMENT According to a report published by the Foreign Investors Council,
    foreign investment in Romania amounts to a total of 75 billion euros, being
    comparable in size with the European funds. 90% of foreign investment in
    Romania comes from EU members, Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands. Investment
    has been made in all sectors of Romania’s economy, mainly in industry. Foreign
    investment reached its climax around Romania’s EU accession, when it stood somewhere
    around nine billion euros a year. At present foreign companies in Romania boast
    around 1.3 million employees, who account for 25% of their total number.












    FOOTBALL
    Romania’s Under-21 football
    side will be up against France on Monday in Group C of the European Under-21
    Football Championship underway in Italy and San Marino. The Romanians started
    off on the right foot on Tuesday with a 4-1 win against Croatia and later
    clinched a 4-2 victory against England. This is Romania’s second participation
    in a final tournament after the one it hosted in 1998. Winners of the three
    groups as well as the best side on the second position will qualify for the
    semifinals. The first four sides will qualify for the 2020 Olympics.












    DELEGATION A European Parliament delegation is to arrive on Monday in
    Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country, for
    an opinion exchange with the country’s fresh government. Made up of four MEPs,
    the delegation, which is headed by David McAllister, Chair of the European
    Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, is going to hold talks with the country’s
    Prime Minister Maia Sandu, President Igor Dodon, Foreign Minister Nicolae
    Popescu, Interior Minister Andrei Nastase and Parliament Speaker Zinaida
    Greceanii. In another development, the new head of diplomacy in the Republic of
    Moldova will be paying a visit to neighboring Romania on July 1st -
    the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has announced. Nicolae Popescu already talked
    on the phone with his Romanian counterpart Teodor Melescanu on Friday; the
    latter gave assurances on Bucharest’s readiness for a tight cooperation in the
    spirit of the Strategic bilateral partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s
    European integration. Sworn in by Parliament on June 8th, Moldova’s
    new government took over its prerogatives a week ago upon the political
    deadlock caused by the former centre-to-left executive controlled by tycoon
    Vladimir Plahotniuc who refused to step down.











    FESTIVAL Over 50 cultural events were scheduled for Sunday, the last day of
    the 26th edition of the International Theatre Festival (FITS) hosted by Sibiu,
    a city in central Romania. This year’s edition unfolded under the motto The
    Art to Give and also included circus performances, music, book launches and
    other related events. The Walk of Fame in Sibiu on Saturday was added more
    stars to honour celebrities from the local and international showbiz, including
    Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern, Italian director and actor Pippo Delbono,
    and the director of the Theatre de Ville and the Autumn Festival in Paris,
    Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. This year’s edition of FITS, which kicked off on June 14th,
    included roughly 540 events held in 75 performance areas, and has been attended
    by 33 hundred artists and invitees from 73 countries. FITS, which has Radio
    Romania among its co-producers, has been described as the largest and most
    complex event of this kind in Romania and even Europe.














    FOOTBALL
    Romania’s Under-21 football
    side will be up against France on Monday in Group C of the European Under-21
    Football Championship underway in Italy and San Marino. The Romanians started
    off on the right foot on Tuesday with a 4-1 win against Croatia and later
    clinched a 4-2 victory against England. This is Romania’s second participation
    in a final tournament after the one it hosted in 1998. Winners of the three
    groups as well as the best side on the second position will qualify for the
    semifinals. The first four sides will qualify for the 2020 Olympics.






    (translated by bill)

  • June 23, 2019

    June 23, 2019

    WEATHER
    Orange and yellow warnings for
    unstable weather have been issued for the entire Romanian territory, its
    south-western regions being the most affected. Heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms
    and hail are expected but this unstable weather is going to be over soon and
    Romanians are bracing for a new wave of extremely hot temperatures. Flood
    alerts have also been issued for rivers in 23 Romanian counties. The highs of
    the day are ranging between 25 and 34 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in
    Bucharest of 27 degrees.












    DELEGATION A European Parliament delegation will on Monday go to Chisinau,
    the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country, for an opinion
    exchange with the country’s fresh government. Made up of four MEPs, the
    delegation, which is headed by David McAllister, Chair of the European
    Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, is going to hold talks with the country’s
    Prime Minister Maia Sandu, President Igor Dodon, Foreign Minister Nicolae
    Popescu, Interior Minister Andrei Nastase and Parliament Speaker Zinaida
    Greceanii. In another development, the new head of diplomacy in the Republic of
    Moldova will be paying a visit to neighboring Romania on July 1st -
    the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has announced. Nicolae Popescu already
    talked on the phone with his Romanian counterpart Teodor Melescanu on Friday;
    the latter gave assurances on Bucharest’s readiness for a tight cooperation in
    the spirit of the Strategic bilateral partnership for the Republic of Moldova’s
    European integration. Sworn in by Parliament on June 8th, Moldova’s
    new government took over its prerogatives a week ago upon the political
    deadlock caused by the former centre-to-left executive controlled by tycoon
    Vladimir Plahotniuc who refused to step down.












    NATO Saber Guardian 2019, the most important
    multi-national NATO exercise in Romania is due to end on June 24th.
    The exercise has as its main objective the deepening of cohesion, unity and
    solidarity of the allied and partner countries with a view to repelling any
    aggression by means of the rapid mobilization and deployment of troops anywhere
    in Europe. In order to raise the effectiveness of training in an international
    context, Saber Guardian 2019 is carried out in connection with a series of
    national and multi-national exercises so that the total number of participating
    troops amounts to 13,500, out of which 7,600 are Romanian. 14 allied and
    partner countries are being represented in these exercises.












    FESTIVAL Over 50 cultural events have been scheduled for today, the last
    day of the 26th edition of the International Theatre Festival (FITS) hosted by
    Sibiu, a city in central Romania. This year’s edition unfolded under the motto
    The Art to Give and also included circus performances, music and book
    launches and other related events. The Walk of Fame in Sibiu on Saturday was
    added more stars granted to celebrities from the local and international
    showbiz, including Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern, Italian director and
    actor Pippo Delbono, and the director of the Theatre de Ville and the Autumn
    Festival in Paris, Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. This year’s edition of FITS, which
    kicked off on June 14th, included roughly 540 events held in 75
    performance areas, and has been attended by 33 hundred artists and invitees
    from 73 countries.




    (translated by bill)

  • June 11, 2019

    June 11, 2019

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side on Monday night clinched
    a 4-0 win against the selection of Malta in group F of the 2020 European
    Football Championship preliminaries. On Friday Romania ended their away game
    against Norway in a 2-all draw but in March they lost to Sweden in Stockholm
    2-1. Our footballers have also secured a 4-1 home win against the Faeroe Islands.
    Spain tops the table with 12 points followed by Sweden and Romania, each with 7
    points. The preliminaries are to resume in September when Romania will be up
    against Spain in Bucharest. The first two sides in the group will book tickets
    for the final tournament whose lots are to be drawn in Bucharest on November 30th.
    The Romanian capital is to host four matches of the final tournament, three in
    the group stage and one in the round of 16. We recall that also this month,
    Romania’s Under 21 football selection will be playing in the European
    Championship in Italy and San Marino. Romania is part of group C together with
    England, France and Croatia.












    EXPLANATIONS Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has today been
    invited to the Chamber of Deputies upon a request from the opposition National
    Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union to speak in the ‘Government’s Hour’.
    Also on Tuesday the Senate is debating upon a simple motion tabled against the
    Foreign Minister on the situation during the May 26th election when many
    Romanians abroad had difficulty in casting their ballot. The opposition MPs are
    calling for Melescanu’s resignation. On Monday the Foreign Minister again asked
    the Romanians abroad to forgive him but said that the Ministry had fulfilled its
    legal obligations. Melescanu has announced that talks are to be held at the
    embassies where voters faced difficulty during the elections in order to find
    the culprits and see to it that the situation will not repeat.












    FILE The Prosecutor General of the Republic of
    Moldova, an ex-Soviet Romanian-speaking country, has opened a file on the
    possible funding of the Socialist Party of president Igor Dodon by the Russian
    Federation. In another development, Dodon has announced that he cancelled the
    decree signed by Pavel Filip on dismantling Parliament and staging snap election
    on September 6th. On June 9th the Constitutional Court in
    the Republic of Moldova suspended Dodon from the position of president and
    appointed Prime Minister Pavel Filip as the country’s interim president. The
    Democratic Party of controversial businessman Vlad Plahotniuc believes the
    legal government is that led by Filip. The first meeting of the new cabinet led
    by pro-European Maia Sandu, which enjoys the Socialists’ support, in spite of
    the Constitutional Court’s invalidation took place on Monday. Sandu has given
    assurances the government will succeed in unblocking foreign funding,
    especially from the EU. The meeting was held on the Parliament premises as the
    new cabinet was denied access to the government building, which is controlled
    by the executive team of Filip. The Democratic Party has invited all the
    Parliament parties to identify solutions for overcoming the political deadlock.
    Andrei Nastase, one of the leaders of the ACUM bloc, has answered favorably,
    saying these talks must take place.














    CONFERENCE Romania’s Foreign Ministry is today staging
    an international conference on the strategic partnership relations between the
    EU and China. The event, which is held under the auspices of Romania’s
    presidency of the EU, is aimed at promoting an inclusive dialogue platform for
    the relations between the EU and China. High on the agenda are talks about the
    future strategic EU-China partnership, the Europe-Asia connectivity and the
    cooperation between the EU and China in a multilateral format. The event has
    brought together representatives of the foreign ministries and the academic
    world from the EU members and China, as well as representatives of the European
    institutions.




    (translated by bill)