Radio România Internațional

Tag: MEPs

  • November 2, 2024

    November 2, 2024

    AUDITION The European Parliament’s specialized committees on Monday are expected to commence the audition of the designated European Commissioners. On this occasion the MEPs are going to assess the commissioner’s competences, independence and their attachment to European values, essential elements to serve as members of the new European Commission headed by Ursula von der Leyen. According to the schedule announced by the European Parliament, the auditions are to end on 12 November, a day when the six executive vice-presidents of the future Commission, including Romanian Roxana Mînzatu who holds the portfolio, ‘People, competences, training’, will have to answer a series of questions. The entire European Commission will have to get greenlight from the European Parliament, the vote being scheduled for the plenary session of 25-28 November in Strasbourg. After getting Parliament confirmation, the European Commission will have to be officially appointed by the European Council through voting. The commission must have the yes-votes of 55% of the member states.

     

    FLOOD Rescue teams in Spain are making it to the areas blocked by catastrophic flooding where the death toll has reached 205, including four Romanians. One of the victims has been confirmed by the Romanian authorities while a family with a child has been mentioned by the Spanish press. 16 Romanians are reported missing in Spain and the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest is verifying the information about them. The Romanian Embassy in Madrid and the consulate in Castellon de la Plana are in permanent contact with the Spanish authorities. The region of Valencia, in south-eastern Spain, has been affected by devastating floods, experts have deemed as unprecedented. Spain has declared three days of national mourning.

     

    ELECTION The ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova on Sunday will be seeing the second round of the presidential election. The incumbent pro-European president, Maia Sandu, will be running against the pro-Russian Alexandr Stoianoglo. The first round on October 20 was held concurrently with a referendum on the country’s EU accession and was marked by attempted frauds sponsored by Russia and the runaway oligarch Ilan Şor, who had left the country in an attempt to avoid a prison sentence. The socialist candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo says he wants to put an end to divisions and create an authentic European model, where the state is working for the citizens, and he urged citizens to get united for justice and progress. In another development Maia Sandu accuses Stoianoglo of being Moscow’s puppet and also under the control of oligarch Ilan Şor. The elections in the Republic of Moldova are taking place against the background of a tense election campaign.

     

    WEATHER And now a couple of things about the weather, which is warm for this time of the year in almost the entire territory with isolated showers reported in some regions. The highs of the day are ranging between 12 and 22 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in Bucharest of 18 degrees.

    (bill)

  • The registration of candidates for a new local administration has begun

    The registration of candidates for a new local administration has begun

    The super-election year in Romania, as newspapers have dubbed it, with presidential election in September and Parliamentary election in December, comes with a first on June 9th: the ballot for the European Parliament will be taking place concurrently with the election for the local administration.

    15 political formations have already submitted their lists of virtual MEPs adding to the already known seven independent candidates. Tuesday will also see the registration of those running for the seats of mayors, presidents of local and county councils, and for local and county councilors.

    Political parties, alliances, the citizens’ organizations belonging to national minorities and independent candidates can submit their candidacies at the election bureaus until April 30th.

    The documents, according to a decision of the Central Election Bureau must include a list of candidates, a list of supporters for each candidate, a copy of their ID documents, income and interest declarations, a declaration of accepting the candidacy, an affidavit that they didn’t work for or collaborate with the former political police of the communist regime, known as the Securitate.

    The election campaign for the European Parliament on the public and private radio and TV channels, starts on May 10, zero hour and ends on June 8, at 7 hours. The press expects a noisy and intricate campaign due to the unexpected overlapping elections. Analysts say that this risks to contaminate debates over Brussels’ policies, such as the famous and unpopular Green Deal, which stirred heated debates among the candidates over potholes on certain village roads. According to mass-media, the most bizarre is the situation of the PSD-PNL government coalition.

    When they decided to stage the two elections on the same day, the rulers invoked the idea of cutting expenses and the turnout, which is supposed to be higher when people must vote for their mayors then for MEPs.

    Furthermore, in another absolute first, the two ruling parties have drawn a joint list for the EU election, although they are part of different political families at European level, PSD belongs to the Socialists whereas the PNL to the People’s Party. In Romania, however, the Social-Democrats and the Liberals will have their own candidates in city halls and county councils and that promises a cut-throat election race. And although the election campaign hasn’t started yet, political debates on various TV channels are already fraught with mutual attacks between the representatives of the two ruling parties.

    (bill)

  • February 14, 2023

    February 14, 2023

    AMBASSADOR The new US ambassador to Romania, Kathleen Ann Kavalec is today
    presenting her diplomatic credentials in Bucharest. The US diplomat is to be
    received by Romanian president Klaus Iohannis and will be meeting the president
    of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu. Kathleen Ann Kavalec arrived in
    Romania last week, when she was welcomed by the head of the Romanian diplomacy,
    Bogdan Aurescu. Also today, the ambassadors of Turkey, Ozgur Kivanc Altan, of
    Slovakia, Peter Hatiar and of Mexico, Amparo Erendira Aguiano Rodriguez are
    expected to present their diplomatic credentials to president Klaus Iohannis.






    INS According to data released by the National Institute for Statistics, in
    January, the annual inflation rate in Romania went down to 15.1% from a 16.5%
    in December 2022. Prices in food products increased over 22% in December while
    non-food products by 12%. Services also saw a 10% increase in their prices. Romania’s
    Central Bank expects the inflation rate to go down faster than initially
    predicted and reach single digits in the last quarter of the year thanks to the
    latest schemes of capping and subsidizing energy prices. According to the same
    sources, the Romanian economy saw a 4.8% growth last year. The European
    Commission on Monday forecast a 4.5% economic growth for Romania in 2022 and
    2.5% this year.






    RESPONSE The European Parliament has voiced solidarity with the
    victims of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria last week and has issued a
    statement entitled The European Response to the Earthquakes in Turkey and
    Syria’. The document has been presented by the European Parliament president
    Roberta Metsola, who says that the European Civil Protection Mechanism has been
    activated immediately and humanitarian aid dispatched. The EU Commissioner for
    Crisis Management, Slovenian Janez Lenarčič has announced a donors’ conference
    and the MEPs held a minute of silence in the memory of the victims of the disaster.
    In the meantime, rescue teams are fighting to find survivors in spite of the
    small chances 8 days after the earthquake. The death toll has exceeded 31
    thousand in Turkey and 57 hundred in Syria.






    PLANES Two cargo planes of the Romanian Air Forces carrying
    goods for the victims of the earthquake of February 6th are taking
    off today from Bucharest. One of this planes is to touch down in Gaziantep,
    Turkey and the other in Beirut, Lebanon as Syria is still under sanctions due
    to the authoritarian rule of President Bashar al-Asad, which asked for international
    help only a couple of days ago. Romania has also dispatched humanitarian aid to
    Turkey by means of its railway network. The first freight train loaded with
    goods, which left Romania on February 11th, has already reached its
    destination. In another development, a team from the dog training center in Craiova,
    southern Romania, has also left for Turkey, a country Romania is presently helping
    with rescue teams and necessity goods.






    WEATHER Temperatures in Romania are higher than usual for this time of the year
    and the sky is overcast mostly in the northern regions. Precipitations have
    been reported on small areas in the north-east, east, north and the west of the
    country. Moderate breeze has also been reported in some regions and the highs
    of the day range between zero and 10 degrees centigrade. The noon reading in
    Bucharest was 7 degrees.




    (bill)

  • MEPs have called for reinstating the free movement principles

    MEPs have called for reinstating the free movement principles

    Reopening borders even if the pandemic is
    not over yet is necessary, the MEPs believe, who on Friday endorsed with a
    landslide majority a resolution clearly expressing their position. A swift and
    coordinated return to a fully functional Schengen area is of utmost importance
    to safeguard freedom of movement, one of the main achievements of European
    integration, and to ensure the EU’s economic recovery after the pandemic the
    European document reads.






    At the same time the MEPs have rejected
    any uncoordinated bilateral action of the EU members underlining the principle
    of non-discrimination in the process of reopening borders. They have called for
    a new round of debates over a recovery plan for the Schengen zone including a
    series of measures for emergency situations such a second wave of the pandemic.
    The move comes after the EU countries have started to lift border control and
    travel restrictions they introduced to limit the spread of the novel
    coronavirus.






    According to the MEPs, it’s good news that
    all these restrictions are being lifted, but the way this has been done so far is
    unsatisfactory. They believe that a fully functional Schengen zone is a
    cornerstone of the way towards recovery recalling that mutual trust and
    solidarity are key values of the European Union.




    For Bucharest, Sofia and Zagreb, the
    resolution has a bigger stake, as through this the MEPs are calling on the EU
    Council and the member states to take all the necessary measures for the
    Schengen accession of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.




    The MEPs’ latest appeal comes after a
    similar one by the Committee on Civil Liberties Justice and Home Affairs with
    the European Parliament also being in line with the statement by EU Home
    Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson who recently proposed the three countries
    to join Schengen as the EU needs to update and strengthen this free-movement
    area.




    Long-time
    applicants Romania and Bulgaria should have joined Schengen in March 2011. They
    got the greenlight from the European Parliament a long time ago and this
    position has been constantly reaffirmed by higher EU bodies. However, their
    effective accession has been hindered by countries like the Netherlands, which
    conditioned their accession on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism although
    the community acquis criteria had been checked.




    Croatia,
    the Union’s youngest state, got the greenlight from the European Commission in
    October last year but the final decision regarding their accession needs a
    unanimous vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council.

    (translated by bill)

  • 2019 European Elections

    2019 European Elections

    On May 26, Romanians will elect their representatives in the European Parliament. In the future Parliament, Bucharest will have 33 MEPs, one more than in the current legislature, but only in case the UK leaves the Union after all. The first European elections were held in Romania in 2007, when the country joined the bloc. Traditionally, low voter turnout marks this kind of elections, but this year things may be different, given that a referendum on the state of the judiciary, requested by President Klaus Iohannis, will be held on the same date.



    On the other hand, the 2019 elections are held under the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which could be an incentive for earnest debates on the challenges that require valid medium and long term responses from the European Union. Brexit, migration, social and environmental problems, employment, security and defence and, not least, the threat of sovereignist, Eurosceptic and even Europhobic trends, are just some of these challenges.



    However, the campaign slogans of the main competitors in the Romanian elections hardly suggest that such a debate will take place. Instead, Romanian politicians are more likely to engage in nationalist and populist disputes on the already existing domestic political issues. The Social Democratic Party, the main partner in the ruling coalition, speaks about the patriotism that should govern the future MEP’s performance, and about the fact that Romania deserves more from the EU.



    In turn, their junior coalition partners, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, wants dignity for the country and respect from the Union. “It is Romania’s time” and “Romania first,” the Liberals in Opposition also proclaim. “United in Europe” is what the People’s Movement Party calls for, hinting at the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, with a majority Romanian-speaking population. ProRomania, a party established by former Social Democrats, proudly affirms its dual, Romanian and European affiliation, whereas another alliance in Opposition, made up of Save Romania Union and PLUS, reminds voters that without theft and corruption Romania stands a chance.



    The candidates running in the election are former ministers or experienced MEPs, former prime ministers or mayors, popular journalists and even an ex-president, Traian Basescu, the one who tops the list of People’s Movement candidates. The top candidate of the Social Democratic Party is former minister for European funds Rovana Plumb, the National Liberal Party’s electoral spearhead is journalist Rares Bogdan, while the top candidates of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania are 2 former MEPs, Norica Nicolai and Iuliu Winkler, respectively. The 2020 USR PLUS Alliance is headed by the former prime minister Dacian Ciolos, with another ex-PM, Victor Ponta, opening the list of ProRomania candidates. The same party has 2 other former prime ministers on its candidate list, namely Mihai Tudose and Iurie Leanca.



    According to opinion polls, the favourites to win the election are the Social Democrats and the Liberals, followed by the 2020 USR PLUS Alliance, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and ProRomania. The Democratic Alliance of Ethnic Hungarians and People’s Movement Party also stand chances of sending representatives to the European Parliament. The Romanian election campaign begins on Saturday, April 27, and the ballot is scheduled for May 26.

  • Romania, in the attention of the European Parliament again

    Romania, in the attention of the European Parliament again

    In November 2018 the European
    Parliament passed a resolution that mirrored its concern with the recent
    changes in the Romanian judicial system, changes promoted by the left-of-center
    ruling majority made up of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Alliance
    of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE).






    These changes risk jeopardizing the
    separation of powers within the state and undermining the fight against
    corruption, the resolution said. Six months on, a new debate on the rule of law
    in Romania was held, with no improvement being reported by the country’s
    European partners.






    On the contrary, they warned the power
    in Bucharest again, that they must put the reform process back on track and
    fight against corruption. Romania needs to put the reform process back on
    track and to do it urgently, Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova told the
    European Parliament in Strasbourg on April 15. This means going forward,
    not backwards, and abstaining from any steps which reverse the progress
    accomplished over the past years, she added. Jourova cited very
    real risks of further steps backwards regarding the rule of law and, more
    specifically, the independence of judiciary and the fight against
    corruption.






    What happened during the process of
    appointing the European prosecutor did not make things any clearer, Jurova went
    on saying. The European Commissioner referred to the case of the former anti-graft
    chief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, whose candidacy for the post of
    European prosecutor is strongly supported by the European Parliament but
    equally contested by the Bucharest authorities who did everything in their
    power to prevent her from being appointed, which Brussels couldn’t help
    noticing. Social Democrat MEP, Dan Nica, explains why Kovesi should not be
    European prosecutor:






    Dan Nica: In 2009, Romania’s general prosecutor signed the first secret protocol
    with the Intelligence Services. Surprisingly, that prosecutor was Kovesi. In
    the past two years, a series of secrete protocols signed with the intelligence
    services have been revealed. Romanians have thus been informed that these
    protocols allowed for abominable abuse and injustice.


    Cristian Preda, a Romanian MEP
    representing the opposition, accuses the power in Bucharest of abuse on justice.
    Cristian Preda:






    Cristian Preda: The regime in Bucharest is no longer a rule of law, because the ruling
    majority has been making, as of 2016, huge pressure on judges, prosecutors and
    magistrates, to force them to revise sentences, definitive sentences, and make
    them stop prosecuting corruption deeds.




    Among the foreign MEPs, there were
    voices that criticized the absence from the debate of a representative of
    Romania’s government, given that the country holds the six-month presidency of
    the Council of the EU. Monday’s debate in the European Parliament did not end
    with a resolution, as in the case of the previous debate.





  • An MEP’s Agenda

    An MEP’s Agenda

    Five years ago, several politicians were elected MEPs, in the first European parliamentary elections held in Romania. During their term in office, the Romanian voters heard almost nothing about them, with a few exceptions, as the elected politicians hardly did anything that could make them known in Europe. They simply cashed in their hefty salaries, according to Romanian standards, without doing anything special.



    Once those politicians’ terms in office was over, they unassumingly bowed out. This month’s European parliamentary elections brought along changes, as they were a new test, a fresh selection process for Romania’s representatives at European level. Opening up the lists of the leading parties were people who did a good job in Brussels. Their being re-elected has emerged as the most relevant validation of their political performance. Having won their second term in office, some of the Romanian MEPs say they will continue to promote and reach their major objectives. Opening the Social Democrats’ list, Corina Cretu pledged she would defend the Romanian citizens’ interests, which have recently become the target of the extremist parties’ xenophobic rhetoric.



    Corina Cretu: ”During these trying times, when almost 30% of the EP structure is made up of extremist parties, who have turned Romanian citizens, Romanian workers, Romania, into their target, we should defend these people’s rights.”



    A staunch supporter of European security, Liberal Norica Nicolai vowed she would further be a member of the European Parliament’s Defense Committee, where she would support the drafting of a common policy in the field.



    Norica Nicolai: ”The Union should take into consideration the opportunities provided by the Lisbon Treaty. There are two clauses enabling the Union to draft a common defense policy. We could all see how frail we are before any possible risk. In a global world, we can no longer live on our own, as far as regional policies are concerned. We need everyone’s participation, we need to put together competences and skills.”



    MEP Iuliu Winkler, a member of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania says he would have liked Romania to have a political say, in keeping with its demographic and territorial status.



    Iuliu Winkler: “We keep saying we are the European Union’s seventh largest country, but right now we have failed to fill that position, considering the influence or the power to capitalize on the country’s interests in the European Parliament and the European institutions. So we also need to make some progress, to that effect.”



    Also affiliated to the European People’s Party, Cristian Preda, a member of the People’s Movement Party intends to carry on with his activity in the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.



    Cristian Preda: “I intend to reach all the goals I set during the campaign, such as Schengen accession, joining the Eurozone, Romania’s participation in the European economy’s consolidation process. ”



    Elected for a second term in office or first-timers, the Romanian MEPs have no other choice than be very careful about grading their performance, so as to meet the Romanian voters’ and their parties’ expectations, and to comply with the community legislator status, analysts say.


  • European Parliament Election Campaign – coming to an end

    European Parliament Election Campaign – coming to an end

    In Romania the campaign for the European Parliament elections due on May 25th is drawing to a close. There has been nothing spectacular about this campaign and the political parties have failed to increase the public’s interest in these elections. This is strictly their fault as they treated these elections as a warming up for the presidential elections due in November. In this context, the results anticipated by opinion polls are unlikely to undergo dramatic changes.



    According to a survey run by the Centre for Political Studies and Research between May 12th and 14th on a group of 1,800 people with an error margin of 3.1%, the electoral alliance made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservative Party, a leftist alliance that also dominates the government majority, ranks 1st in the Romanians’ preferences with 41% of voters’ choice. It is followed by center-rightist parties: the National Liberal Party with 15%, the Liberal Democratic Party with 12% and the pro-presidential party the People’s Movement Party with 9%.



    The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in the governing coalition, is credited with 6% of the voting intentions. An analysis made by the non-governmental body the Institute for Public Policies shows that almost half of the mandates Romania is likely to obtain will reach the socialists group to which the Social Democratic Party is affiliated. According to the aforementioned analysis, the European People’s Party will win the votes obtained by the Romanian Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and most likely the People’s Movement Party.



    According to current estimates, the 3 Romanian parties could send to the European Parliament 9 MEPs. The Institute for Public Policies shows that this election campaign has not fundamentally changed the voters’ political options, either at European level or at national level. The organization says it has taken into consideration the most credible surveys made across Europe and the estimated results for the European Parliament elections remain very tight, with 28% of the votes going to the European People’s Party and 27% to the Socialists.



    Under these circumstances, the Institute for Public Policies believes that the new structure of the European Commission will be decided only through close cooperation of the two winning groups and also of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe to which the Romanian National Liberal Party is affiliated.



    The Socialists and the European People’s Party are expected to share the 3 main positions in the European Executive, namely the presidency of the European Commission, the presidency of the European Council and the position of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in a 2+1 format, depending on the results obtained in the elections. On the other hand, the Institute for Public Policies estimates that the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the 3rd largest group, alongside the Conservatives and the Greens, are expected to lose most seats. As regards the group of Euro skeptics and radicals, it maintained the same popularity rating in the voters’ preferences as before the European Parliament election campaign.