Award. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
will today receive the Martin Buber Award in The Netherlands presented by the
Euriade Foundation, a Dutch non-governmental organisation promoting youth
education in the spirit of European values. The award is granted each year to a
personality who, through his or her public and private actions, has contributed
to the development of harmonious communities based on humanist values through
authentic dialogue, openness, responsibility and respect for one’s peers.
Before the award ceremony in Kerkrade, president Iohannis will meet over 1,000
young people from different countries taking part in the International Festival
of Dialogue under way in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, on the border between
Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. The award has been granted every year since
2002. Queen Silvia of Sweden, Mikhail Gorbachev, Garry Karsparov and Helmut
Schmidt are some of the recipients of the Martin Buber Award.
Investigations. The former Romanian state secretary Adrian
Sanda and five other persons have been taken into temporary custody for 29 days
as part of an inquiry into the case of fake certificates for revolutionaries
with a decisive role in the victory of the anti-communist revolution of
December 1989. The suspects are accused of abuse of office with aggravating consequences
and peddling in influence. Prosecutors say the latter accepted bribes in
exchange for using their influence to grant these certificates, which secure
their holders a monthly allowance of around 450 euros and other benefits.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, many of the 3,500 revolutionaries
enjoying this status do not meet the legal requirements. 1,100 people were
killed and more than 3,000 wounded in the anti-communist revolution of December
1989 in Romania according to an official report.
Car
insurance. Premiums for the mandatory car insurance have been capped for the
next 6 months starting today. The reduction is considerable in the case of
trucks and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as for motorists who have not caused
any accidents in recent years. The premiums and their ceilings have been
established by the Financial Supervisory Authority following consultations with
carriers associations and insurance companies. The measure comes after road
carriers took to the streets to protest against the exaggerated insurance
premiums, which have even gone up several times in recent years. The National
Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Societies in Romania has complained about
the capping of mandatory car insurance premiums to the European Commission saying
it violates the principle of the free market. The European Commission has
accepted the complaint and the government has 10 weeks to respond.
Barack Obama tour.
Today in Berlin, US president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel
meet French president Francois Hollande and the prime ministers of the UK,
Spain and Italy, Theresa May, Mariano Rajoy and Matteo Renzi, respectively.
Yesterday, Obama and Merkel had talks about EU-US trade agreements and about
Russia. The two leaders agreed to maintain sanctions on Russia and expressed
hope that talks on the transatlantic trade agreement would resume. Germany is
the second country after Greece to receive the visit of US president Barack
Obama as part of his last European tour as president amid fears that his
successor, the right-wing populist Donald Trump, may pose a threat to
democracy. After Germany, Obama travels to Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation Summit. President elect Donald Trump will take office on
the 20th of January.
Book fair. The Gaudeamus International Book Fair
organised by Radio Romania and under way in Bucharest features book launches,
cultural events, debates, recitals, workshops and meetings with authors. The
list of books being launched today at the fair include the volume The Colour of
Paradise by the contemporary Chinese poet Jidi Majia and the book The Wedding
by the Romanian writer and journalist of Polish descent Gabriel Klimowicz.
Radio Romania’s stand today has a programme dedicated to children. The fair,
which comes to an end on Sunday, brings together hundreds are publishers and
more than 850 different events. This year’s guest of honour is China. Gaudeamus
is organised by Radio Romania, the only public radio station in the world to
initiate and develop a programme of such magnitude to support print culture.