Radio România Internațional

Tag: mourning

May 20, 2024 UPDATE

VISIT The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, pays an official visit to Turkey, Romania’s most important trade partner outside the European Union, on Tuesday. The visit takes place at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The agenda includes a joint meeting of the governments of the two countries. The parties aim for bilateral trade to exceed 15 billion dollars. A joint declaration will also be signed, concerning the establishment of a Romania-Turkey high-level strategic cooperation council, the equivalent of joint government meetings. The council will be coordinated by the prime minister of Romania and the president of Turkey, and will act as a catalyst to strengthen cooperation in strategic areas. The two countries are also set to establish a bilateral dialogue mechanism between the two foreign ministries. A number of cooperation agreements will be signed on the same occasion, in sectors such as social security, SMEs, tourism, diplomatic missions and town planning.

MONITORING Starting October 1, the Romanian Ministry of the Interior will expand, on a national level, a project on the electronic monitoring of restraining orders against aggressors. The system is currently applied in the capital city Bucharest and in several other counties, and covers only domestic violence cases for which a restraining order has been issued. In another move, an international meeting is taking place in Bucharest, which focuses on domestic violence. Official data show that in Romania, in the first 3 months of this year, around 3,000 provisional protection orders were issued, almost half of which were upheld in court. In the same period, the police intervened in almost 30,000 cases of domestic violence. The number of domestic violence offences has increased, compared to the first 3 months of last year.

MINERS’ RIOTS The former leader of the Valea Jiului coal miners, Miron Cozma, was heard at the General Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, in the case concerning the June 1990 miners’ riots. A number of Romanian officials, including the ex-president Ion Iliescu, the then-PM Petre Roman, deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu and the former chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Măgureanu are charged with crimes against humanity in this case. Military prosecutors say that on June 11 and 12, 1990, the authorities initiated a violent crackdown on the protesters in Bucharest’s University Square, who were peacefully expressing their opposition to the government at the time. Over 10,000 coal miners were brought to Bucharest to restore order. Four people were shot dead, nearly 1,400 were wounded and some 1,250 others were detained.

SHIP The sinking of a ship sailing under the Tanzanian flag in the Black Sea off the Romanian coast this weekend occurred following a collision with another vessel, flying the Comoros flag, the Romanian authorities announced on Monday. After the collision, the second vessel participated in rescue operations, and subsequently left for the Bulgarian port of Varna. Romanian prosecutors ordered a criminal investigation into suspected offences including the destruction or damaging of a sea vessel and leaving the scene of an accident. The sunken ship had a crew of 11 people, 8 of whom were rescued. The other 3 are still missing.

IRAN Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared five days of national mourning after president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash, and appointed the vice-president Mohammed Mokhber as interim president, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reports. When a president dies in office, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic requires the senior vice-president to serve as interim president for a period of 50 days, with the approval of the supreme leader, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran. The announcement of the president’s death opens a period of political uncertainty in Iran, a major player in the Middle East, a region rocked by the war in Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, press agencies note. Ebrahim Raisi had been the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran for almost three years. A hard-line cleric, he was elected in June 2021 in the first round of a vote marked by record-high absenteeism in the presidential elections and the absence of strong competitors. (AMP)

20 May 2024
Reactions to the Queen’s Death

The news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96 and at the end of a 70-year reign, has saddened the entire world. “The end of an era” – this is how the passing of the longest-serving monarch of Great Britain is described. Elisabeth became Queen in 1952, aged 25, following the death of her father, King George VI. The Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time was Winston Churchill, and the Soviet Union was still led by Joseph Stalin. During her reign – one of the longest in European history – the Queen met 13 of the 14 American presidents who were her contemporaries and witnessed events that marked the history of her country and of mankind, from the moment of the moon landing and the end of the Cold War, to the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the exit of Great Britain from the EU.

“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign” said the new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, who was sworn in by the former sovereign just a few days ago. Heads of state and government and personalities from around the world mourned the Queens death and evoked her personality. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, showed that the Queen was extremely admired for the grace, dignity and devotion shown to the world.

Reactions also came from the United States, Britains closest partner. The White House said that “the thoughts and prayers of people all across the United States are with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in their grief.” Also, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote that “our thoughts are with the royal family and all those who mourn Queen Elizabeth II in the UK and worldwide”.

Romania joins the British people and the British Royal Family in mourning the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the authorities in Bucharest say. In his message of condolences, President Klaus Iohannis emphasized that the reign of Queen Elizabeth II represents an exceptional symbol of loyalty and commitment to the public service. And the press office of the Custodian of the Crown of Romania said that that Her Majesty, Margareta, and His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, together with the entire royal family, learned with great pain the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The special connection between the kings of Romania and those of Great Britain began almost a century ago, the grandmother of Queen Marie of Romania being Queen Victoria of Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and the former sovereign of Romania, Mihai I were third-degree cousins. At the same time, King Mihai of Romania and the Prince Consort Philip, who was married to Queen Elizabeth for 74 years, were cousins, born on the same day.

The Queens eldest son, who has now automatically become King Charles III, fell in love with Transylvania on his first visit to Romania in 1998. Since then, he has constantly returned to Romania, where he owns around 10 properties, the most famous being at Viscri, the Transylvanian village that has become famous throughout Europe thanks to him. The area has acquired a fantastic tourist potential, especially after the release, in 2011, of the documentary Wild Carpathia, in which, the then Crown Prince Charles is a true ambassador of Romania. (LS)

9 September 2022
September 27, 2019 UPDATE

ELECTION The Central Electoral Bureau Friday announced the final list of candidates in Novembers presidential election in Romania, which comprises 14 people. On Saturday the Bureau will draw lots to set the order of the candidates on ballots. October 12 is the first day of the campaign, the first round of the election is scheduled for November 10, and the decisive round on November 24. According to a government resolution, the Romanians living abroad will be able to vote between November 8 and 10 in the first round, and between November 22 and 24 for the runoff.

BREXIT As many as 433,000 Romanian nationals are officially residing in Britain, but the number is very likely higher, the head of the Office for Brexit with the Romanian Foreign Ministry Adina Bădescu said on Friday at a roundtable on the impact of Brexit, organised by the European Parliament office in Romania. She explained that at present Romanians make up the second largest foreign community in the UK. So far, the Romanian official added, 187,000 Romanian citizens have applied for post Brexit status. The British government has repeatedly promised that the rights of European citizens will be protected after the country leaves the EU.

VISAS Romanian citizens may be granted multiple-entry tourist visas for Saudi Arabia, valid for one year, the Ambassador of this country to Bucharest, Abdulaziz Al Aifan said on Friday. He explained that Romania is one of the 38 European countries, out of a total of 49 states worldwide, included in a first stage of Saudi Arabias opening up to foreign tourists. According to AFP, Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that it would issue tourist visas for the first time, in an attempt to diversify its sources of revenue, which rely exclusively on oil extraction at present.

MOURNING The Embassy of France in Romania will open an online book of condolences on its home page, for those who wish to pay tribute to the former president Jacques Chirac, who died on Thursday aged 86. President Emmanuel Macron declared national mourning on Monday, when the flags of the French Embassy in Bucharest will also fly at half-mast. France is mourning Jacques Chirac, a statesman, a great European and friend of Romania, a country that he visited several times, especially for the Francophonie Summit of 2006, reads a Facebook post of the French Embassy in Romania.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

27 September 2019
December 26, 2017

CHRISTMAS — In Romania, Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians celebrate today, on the second day of Christmas, the Synaxis of the Theotokos, which is a celebration of Mary, the Mother of God. This is one of the oldest feast days devoted to Virgin Mary, dating back to the 5th Century. The Synaxis of the Theotokos is the assembly of believers to honour the one through whom the incarnation of God was possible. Also today, Roman Catholic Christians celebrate St Stephen, the first martyr.

HOLIDAYS — Thousands of Romanians are spending their winter holidays in the mountain resorts in Valea Prahovei region in the south, in Maramures in the north-west of the country and in Bucovina, in the north-east. Sinaia and Buşteni, on Prahova Valley, are among the most popular resorts in the country at this time of the year. In Bâlea Lac, in Făgăraş Mountains, at over 2,000 m altitude, the new Ice Hotel, the only one of its kind in Romania, was opened on Sunday. Most of the tourists having booked a room here come from abroad.

ROYAL HOUSE — The Royal House of Romania attended on Tuesday the Christmas service held at the Orthodox church in Săvârşin, the west of Romania. The royals are on 40-day mourning after the death of Romania’s last king, Michael I. He passed away on December 5, aged 96, and was buried on December 16, in Curtea de Arges, southern Romania, where the other 3 monarchs of Romania are also interred. Tens of thousands of people took part in the national funerals of the one they regard as a model of dignity, honour, devotion and love for the country.

CONSULTATIONS — The PM of Romania, Mihai Tudose, has agreed to hold talks tomorrow with representatives of over 40 NGOs involved in the street protests against the controversial changes in the justice laws. The organisations had sent the PM an open letter expressing their willingness to contribute to dialogue, consultation and solutions, in full compliance with the rule of law, democratic principles and fundamental human rights. They say there have been major deficiencies in the dialogue and consultations between lawmakers and society with respect to the justice laws and the changes of the criminal codes. On Friday, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, sent a letter to President Klaus Iohannis, urging him to request an official opinion from the Venice Commission with respect to the legislative reform endorsed by Parliament. Previously, the embassies of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden to Bucharest issued a joint letter calling on all stakeholders in the judiciary reform process to avoid measures that would weaken the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In response, the Foreign Ministry said strengthening the rule of law and fighting corruption are among the priorities of the Government of Romania. In turn, the leaders of ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, Liviu Dragnea and Calin Popescu Tariceanu, respectively, promised that the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, and Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu would inform embassies properly with respect to the legislative changes in this field.

EU — The German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that if the EU managed to get a smart deal with Britain that governs relations with Europe after Brexit, it could be a model for other countries. The German diplomat added that Turkey and Ukraine are not likely to get full EU membership very soon, which is why the EU should consider alternative forms of closer cooperation. Gabriel also suggested that such an approach could take the form of a closer customs union with Turkey. Although the current situation proves that that country is still rather far from joining the EU, recent moves by Ankara indicate willingness to improve relations with Brussels, the German official also said. Shortly before Christmas, Turkey decided to free a German pilgrim after nearly 9 months of detention, and a German journalist who had spent 7 months in custody over alleged ties with a terrorist organisation.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

26 December 2017
January 22, 2017

FIRE INVESTIGATION – The Romanian authorities have initiated criminal investigations, involving charges of wanton destruction of property, in relation to the fire that Friday night destroyed one of the best known nightclubs in Bucharest, Bamboo. According to the Healthcare Ministry, 44 people received assistance for smoke inhalation injuries, hypothermia, and fractures, but none of the patients reported burns. Only one person is currently in a serious condition. The victims include foreign citizens, most of them from Israel. The causes of the fire that destroyed the building are yet unknown. The owners of the nightclub had not yet obtained the premises license and the fire safety permit for the nightclub. Several witnesses have been heard and fresh inspections have been initiated in all buildings that host activities involving large attendance. We remind you that in October 2015, a fire taking place during a rock concert at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest killed 64 people. The tragedy sparked large-scale protests to denounce corruption in the public administration.

PROTESTS – Fresh protests against the Romanian Governments plans to table a pardons and amnesty law are announced for later today in the capital city Bucharest and other cities in Romania. Rallies are also planned abroad, such as in front of the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the Romanian Embassy in Copenhagen and in Haugesund Square in Norway. On Wednesday night, thousands took to the streets in Bucharest and other Romanian cities, to protest the Governments intention to pass an emergency order granting collective pardon and amending the provisions of the Criminal Code. The protesters fear that the amendments are designed to help influential politicians or public administration officers get away with corruption. Similar accusations were made by the Opposition parties, civil society organisations and magistrate associations. In turn, the Government claims the changes are necessary in order to solve the problem of penitentiary overcrowding and to bring the relevant legislation in line with rulings passed by the Constitutional Court.

MOURNING – Hungary has announced a day of national mourning on Monday, to commemorate the victims of the crash that took place in Italy on Friday night and which killed 16 people and injured another 26. The coach was taking students and teachers from a Budapest high school back home from a ski holiday in France, and near Verona it crashed into a bridge pillar and burst into flames. The causes of the accident are still to be determined.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – The US President, Donald Trump, is to receive the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on Friday, the presidential spokesman Sean Spicer announced on Saturday. This is the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he has taken office. Sean Spicer also announced that the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, will be received by the new President of the USA on January 31. Meanwhile, millions took part on Saturday in anti-Trump protests organised by women organisations around the world. Trump is criticised, among other things, for his anti-immigration rhetoric and sexist statements. In Los Angeles, organisers estimate 750,000 people took part, including dozens of Hollywood stars. 400,000 people took to the streets in New York, 200,000 in Boston, 150,000 in Chicago, and rallies were also held in New Zealand, Japan, Australia and major European cities. The largest protest took place in Washington, where nearly a million people attended the anti-Trump rally, including, among others, the former Secretary of State John Kerry.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (78 WTA) has been outperformed today by Spains Garbine Muguruza Blanco (7 WTA), in two sets, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Also today, the Romanians Horia Tecău and Florin Mergea, playing with separate partners, were eliminated from the eighth-finals of the mens doubles competition in Melbourne. Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 11, were defeated in 2 sets by the Australians Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington. In turn, Florin Mergea and Britains Dominic Inglot, seeded 16, lost in 3 sets to the top seeds of the doubles event, the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

22 January 2017
December 11, 2016

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS – Over 18 million Romanian citizens are called to the polls today, to elect their MPs. Almost 6,500 candidates are running for the 466 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The number of MPs will be lower in the future legislature, after Romania relinquished the uninominal vote and returned to the party list system, which was last used during the 2004 elections.

UPDATE (18.00 hours, local time): The Romanian diaspora will be represented by two
senators and four deputies. The latest data show some 82 thousand Romanians in
the diaspora have already cast their votes. As a first, postal voting has been
introduced for the Romanians living outside the borders of the country. As
another novelty, ballot counting will be video-recorded, and the minutes will
be filled in, in an electronic format, in order to eliminate suspicions of
rigging. Eleven hours after the start of the voting, the turnout at national level
stood at some 34%. The highest turnout was registered in the southern counties,
whereas the lowest in the west and the north. In Bucharest, which is home to a
tenth of the total number of Romanian voters, the turnout stood at over 35%.
Since the start of the voting, dozens of complaints and notifications of possible
contraventions and offences related to the electoral process have been
registered at national level, the Romanian Interior Ministry has announced.
Most complaints and notifications have been registered in urban areas.
According to the Interior Ministry, no major incident disturbing public order
or the unfolding of the electoral process in good conditions has been reported
so far.

MOURNING-Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis and the
Romanian Foreign Ministry have firmly condemned the double bombing which rocked
Istanbul last night and sent a message of condolences to the families of the
victims. Both the Romanian President and the Foreign Ministry reiterated
Romania’s commitment to the world efforts to fight terrorism. The US, Great
Britain and NATO have also condemned the Istanbul attacks. Turkey has declared
a day of national mourning after the two attacks, which made 38 victims, mostly
police officers, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will fight
terrorism to the end. The Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons (TAK), a radical group linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has
claimed responsibility for the attacks carried out in Istanbul.

CORRUPTION– The Bucharest Court on Sunday decided to
place paediatric surgeon Gheorghe Burnei under home arrest. The Head of the
Paediatric Surgery and Orthopaedic Clinic at the Marie Curie Hospital in
Bucharest is accused by the prosecutors of having received money from the
parents of the children he has operated on. Burnei had been taken into custody
on Saturday evening. A celebrity in his field of activity, doctor Burnei is
suspected of acts of corruption, after several parents complained he has requested
money from them to perform surgeries and he has reportedly made non-homologated
experiments on children. Also on Saturday, the former manager of the Malaxa
Hospital in Bucharest, doctor Florin Secureanu, was placed in preventive arrest
for 30 days. In one of the most resounding corruption scandals on the Romanian
medical scene, Secureanu is accused of bribe taking and embezzlement in
continued form. The national anti-corruption prosecutors who investigate the
case claim that, in the May 2009 – November 2016 period, the former manager
designed and applied a scheme to illegally cash in sums of money from the
hospitals’ pay office on a daily basis, bringing a prejudice of some 500
thousand Euros.

ROME– The Italian President Sergio Mattarella
received the acting foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni at the Quirinal Palace on
Sunday and asked him to form a new government, after Matteo Renzi stepped down
following the failure of the referendum on the constitutional reform, held on
December 4, the Italian presidency has announced. Paolo Gentiloni, 62, a close of
Renzi’s, will form the cabinet and then will go to Parliament for a vote of
confidence. The Prime Minister designate has mentioned the elimination of the
effects produced by the recent quakes in central Italy and the adoption of a
new electoral law, among its top priorities.

MACEDONIA – Early legislative elections, deemed by both the power and the opposition as a referendum on the future of the country, are held in Macedonia today. According to pundits the ballot should put an end to the political crisis started in the spring of 2014, when the Social-Democratic opposition accused the conservative government of rigging the elections. The international community announced it would closely monitor the electoral process in the former Yugoslav republic, and that by holding correct and democratic elections, Macedonia will come closer to the European Union and NATO.

HANDBALL – Romanias national womens handball team is today facing Hungary, in the first group-stage match of the European Championships, in Sweden. On Saturday evening, the Romanians could not train according to the schedule, because of a fire alert in the sports hall where they were supposed to train. Romania will face the Czech Republic on December 13 and Denmark a day later. In the first stage of the competition, Romania lost 21-23, to the defending European and world champion, Norway, defeated the Olympic champion, Russia, 22-17, and outperformed Croatia, 31-26. Romanias national team is coached by a Spaniard, Ambros Martin, who last month replaced Swedish Tomas Ryde, under whose guidance Romania won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Denmark. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

11 December 2016
September 2, 2016

MOURNING — Today is a national day of mourning in Romania on behalf of the victims of the earthquake in Italy, in solidarity with the Italian people. All public institutions will be flying their flags at half-mast while national radio and television stations, as well as institutions of culture, will run special programs. The body of the eighth of 11 Romanians killed in the quake was returned to the country on Thursday. The last of the Romanians declared missing has been recently found alive. Five injured Romanians are still under hospital care in Italy.

INVESTIGATION — The Romanian Senate on Friday received the official request by anti-corruption prosecutors to start an investigation of Senator Gabriel Oprea, former deputy prime minister and minister of the interior, who is accused of second degree murder in the case of police officer Bogdan Gigina. The officer lost his life in a motorcycle accident while being part of the escort for the then minister. Part of the investigation was establishing if Oprea had the right to an official escort, since at the time he was attending a personal errand. According to the prosecutors, Oprea ordered the official column to run at high speed, in violation of standing procedures. This in turn is seen as leading directly to the accident that killed the escorting police officer. Stay tuned for more after the news.

VISIT — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos meets today in Bucharest the vice-president of the EC, Jyrki Katainen, who is on an official visit to Romania. On Thursday, the two officials took part in a dialog with Romanian citizens. The discussions revolved around current topics on the EU and Romanian agenda, especially the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker plan, which provides at least 315 billion Euro in private and public investment over three years. More after the news.

MEETING — Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu is today in Bratislava, attending the informal, Gymnich type meeting of EU foreign ministers. Talks revolve around the recent situation in Turkey, the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on implementing the Minsk Accords, as well as the EU global foreign and security policy. These informal meetings are held twice a year by the country holding the EU rotating presidency, currently Slovakia. Yesterday, the foreign minister was in Potsdam, Germany, attending the informal meeting of foreign ministers from OSCE countries. He said that one of Romanias major priorities is to solve the conflict in Transdnestr while safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football side on Saturday leaves for Cluj, in central Romania, to take on Montenegro in their first match of the World Cup 2018 preliminaries. Romania is part of a group which also includes Poland, Denmark, Armenia and Kazahstan. The game against Montenegro also represents the debut match of a selection with Cristoph Daum at the helm. The German coach is the first foreign national to lead the Romanian national eleven, replacing Anghel Iordanescu. We recall that Romania’s national selection, coached by Iordanescu, ended up at the bottom of group A in the European championship in France, with a single point. Our footballers obtained a one-all draw against Switzerland, and lost to France and Albania.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, 58th seeded, plays today against Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (74th seeded), contending for a place in the US Open eighth finals, the years last Grand Slam competition, with over 22 million dollars in prize money up for grabs. Yesterday, Romanian powerhouse Simona Halep, 5th seeded, qualified to the third round of the tournament after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, 44th seeded. In the next game, Halep faces off against Timea Babos of Hungary, 34th seeded. The Romanian double Irina Begu- Raluca Olaru was eliminated yesterday by the Latvian-German double Jelena Ostapenko- Andrea Petkovic. In the mens doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau/Jean-Julien Rojer went to the second round after defeating the German-Austrian pair Florian Mayer- Julian Knowle.

GAS — Romanian producers and distributors of natural gas, starting next year, will be under obligation to trade on the stock market at least 40% of the quantities they sell. According to Energy Minister Victor Grigorescu, failure to do so will result in high fines, calculated as a portion of their turnover. He announced that amendments will be brought to the law regulating natural gas and electricity, possibly this month. Prices will thus become more transparent, with more players coming on the market, which will result in better prices for consumers, said Grigorescu. According to analysts, this will be a significant reform of the system, considering that right now 98.5% of gas is sold under bilateral contracts, which are already illegal on the electricity market.

(Translated by Calin Cotoiu)

2 September 2016
September 1, 2016 UPDATE

ANTI-CORRUPTION – The Romanian Interior Minister, Petre Toba, resigned on Thursday night, after the National Anti-Corruption Directorate asked the Presidents approval to prosecute him for favouring an offender. Tobă allegedly denied a de-classification procedure for documents requested by investigators in a case in which the former interior minister, Gabriel Oprea, and other Ministry officials are accused of embezzlement. Also on Thursday, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested that the Senate be notified on the prosecution of Gabriel Oprea, in a separate case of manslaughter. A police officer died last year in a motorcycle crash, while a member of the motorcade accompanying Oprea during his term in office. Oprea was apparently traveling for personal purposes at the time, which did not entitle him to use a motorcade.

PARLIAMENT – The Parliament of Romania Thursday convened on its second regular session of the year and the last of the 2012-2016 term. According to the leaders of the main floor groups, the list of priorities includes bills in a number of fields, including economy, healthcare and education. Priorities also include a 5% reduction of social security contributions, a law regulating the lawyer profession, a bill allowing indoor smoking and one on prevention in the healthcare sector. Well have details after the news.

MOURNING – Friday is a day of national mourning in Romania, in memory of the victims of the earthquake in Italy and in solidarity with the Italian people. The national flag will fly at half-mast on all public institution buildings, and national radio and television channels and cultural institutions will adjust their programmes accordingly. On Thursday, the eighth of the 11 Romanians who died in the earthquake was repatriated. Previously, the last Romanian citizen who had been missing was found alive. Five other Romanians are still in hospitals in Italy.

OSCE – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu, takes part on Friday in Potsdam, Germany, in an informal meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers. Organised by Germany, which is currently holding the rotating presidency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the meeting is designed to tackle current security issues, such as the conflict in east Ukraine, migration and terrorism. During the meeting, the head of the Romanian diplomacy will insist on the need to step up the OSCE actions aimed at settling protracted conflicts, and, in the same context, at identifying political solutions to the Transdniester conflict, while observing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

EXPULSION – The Iraqi citizen Hamad Raad Salih Hamad has been denied access to Romania for 10 years, for national security reasons, under a ruling passed on Thursday by the Bucharest Court of Appeals. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Iraqi citizen who arrived in Romania in 2013 on a student visa had radical religious views, was disseminating jihadist messages and was intolerant of Westerners and Shia Muslims. On Tuesday, the Court of appeals ruled the Pakistani Shahzad Ahmed as persona non grata. The decision was made after the Romanian Intelligence Service found that he had been involved in online propaganda for terror units operating in Pakistan, which supported the supremacy of extremist Islam. Further to that ruling, the Pakistani citizen, who was married to a Romanian woman, was taken into custody and is to be expelled from the country.

MIGRATION – Thirteen Afghan citizens, including 8 underage children, and a Pakistani citizen, were caught by Romanian border police trying to cross illegally into Serbia. The migrants had no identity documents. They said they were trying to reach a Western European country. The Romanian authorities have strengthened security measures on the Serbian border, after in August many small groups of migrants attempted to cross it illegally. Meanwhile, illegal migration on Romanias borders has seen a substantial drop in the past seven months of the year compared to the corresponding period of 2015, by over 40%. Illegal entry or exit attempts have been reported, involving both citizens of Middle East or African states, like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan, and from the Republic of Moldova, Russia, Turkey or Albania.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

1 September 2016
August 27, 2016

ITALY QUAKE – A day of national mourning has begun in Italy for those over 290 people who died when a powerful earthquake hit the country’s mountainous central regions. Country officlas will attend state funerals in the regional capital, Ascoli Piceno, for 50 of the victims from the town of Arquata. No survivors have been found since Thursday. Italian authorities say they will continue to search until they are certain everyone is accounted for. Over 1,000 aftershocks have been reported and many of the buildings still standing risk collapsing, which makes rescue operations even more difficult. Most victims were Italian, but several foreigners were among those killed, including 10 Romanians. Also, 16 Romanians are reported missing. A consular team from Bucharest travels today to the affected areas to support the Romanian diplomatic missions in Rome and Bologna, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced.

GOVERNMENT – Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has met today in Suceava, north-eastern Romania, with his Polish counterpart, Beata Szydlo. After the meeting, PM Ciolos has said that the relations between Romania and Poland are very intense and that there are excellent premises for them to be strengthened. The two officials tackled bilateral ties in the context of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, and also topics on the European agenda, such as Brexit’s impact on the EU, the EU budget and the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework. Also approached was cooperation in the field of defense and the developments at the EU’s eastern border. The two officials will also have a meeting with representatives of the Polish community in Romania.

MOLDOVA – Romania reaffirms its full support for Moldova’s bid for the European Union and the process of democratic reforms and modernisation of the state, in keeping with the expectations of the neighbouring country, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said in a release on Saturday. Chisinau marks today 25 years since gaining its independence. Ceremonies devoted to this event will be more modest than in previous years, due to the economic crisis the country is going through. On August 27, 1991 the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from the USSR. Romania was the first country to recognise Moldova’s independence.

CELEBRATION – Romania marks today one hundred years since the country entered WWI. At the end of this war, on December 1st, 1918, the process of setting up the Romanian unitary nation state was finalized, following the union of all Romanian provinces with a majority Romanian-speaking population previously included in the neighbouring multinational empires. On August 27, 1916, Romania declared war on Austro-Hungary and the army crossed the Carpathians to Transylvania, which at the time was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Over 330 thousand soldiers died in this war and as many as 76 thousand were crippled. Ceremonies devoted to this day are held in Fundata, in central Romania, where the first Romanian officer was killed, but also in Curtea de Arges, at the tomb of King Ferdinand. On this occasion, the Romanian Royal House conveyed a message that reiterates the role that King Ferdinand played in Romania’s participation in WWI and the setting up the Romanian unitary nation state.

TENNIS – The Romanian-Indian team made up of Monica Niculescu and Sania Mirza, WTA’s seed no. 2 in women’s doubles, defeated on Friday night the Slovenian team Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik in the semi-finals of the tennis tournament in New Haven, the US, with 695,900 dollars in prize money. In the final, Niculescu and Mirza will be up against Katerina Bondarenko of Ukraine and Chia-Jung Chuang of Taiwan. The US Open, the last grand slam of the year, kicks off on Monday. Niculescu, seed no. 57, will play against the Czech Barbora Strycova, seed no. 19. In the first round of the competition, Romanian Simona Halep, no. 5 in the world, will play against Belgian Kirsten Flipkens WTA’s 68th seed, while another Romanian, Irina Begu , seeded 22nd, will be up against Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, seed no. 80. In the same competition, Romanian Patricia Maria Tig, seed no. 129 will be up against Laura Siegemund of Germany, while Ana Bogdan, seed no. 117, will play in the first round against another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, WTA’s 88th seed.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

27 August 2016
Queen Anne, the last homage

Deep silence fell upon the imposing Throne Hall of the Royal Palace in Bucharest, with the motto of the Royal House, ”Nihil Sine Deo”, (Latin for ”Nothing Without God”) shining above the doorframe. Women make a reverence at the catafalque of Queen Anne, some of the men kneel down, children make the sign of the cross, and some of the elderly who lived, part of their lives during the monarchy, shed a tear of grief.

Romanians come to the Royal Palace to bid a final farewell to the wife of Romania’s last sovereign, Michael I, Queen Anne, who died on August 1, in Switzerland. They pay floral tributes, light candles and leave messages of condolences in front of the Royal Palace and then enter the Throne Hall to pay their respects.

A funeral wreath of white lilies has been placed on the coffin, veiled in the royal flag and guarded by military of the “Mihai Viteazul” Honour Guard Regiment. “The royal family is a symbol”, “Monarchy is normality”, “She was a great lady”, “Her passing leaves a gap in our hearts”-are only some of the words expressed by those who come to pay their last respects.

Some of those who bid farewell to Queen Anne have shared their thoughts:

“A pious thought and feelings of regret that Romania didn’t return to monarchy. It is one of the simplest things that a true Romanian can do.”

“I had war veterans in my family, who fought in the Royal Army. Out of respect for them, if not out of greater respect for Their Majesties, we should be here”.

“I think this is a gesture that each person should make, each Romanian who has the possibility to come here should pay their respects to this Lady of Romania and think of what she has accomplished or what she tried to achieve in her lifetime”.

Apart from numerous common citizens, prominent personalities of the Romanian political and public life have paid their last respects to the departed Queen, whose remains were brought to Bucharest on Wednesday evening, from Peles Castle in Sinaia, Southern Carpathians.

After a two-day public vigil in Bucharest, the coffin with Queen Anne’s remains will be brought into the Palace Square, and the bells of all Orthodox churches and of the “Saint Joseph” Roman-Catholic Cathedral will be tolling. Afterwards, the coffin will be taken to Curtea de Arges Monastery, the final resting place of Romanian royalties, in Southern Romania.

Among the personalities who have announced their presence at Queen Anne’s funeral there are members of the Imperial Families of Russia, Austria and Germany, and of the Royal Families of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, of Baden, Württemberg and Bourbon-Parma. A painful absence will be that of King Michael, who is severely ill and who will be praying in Switzerland for the soul of the woman who stood by his side, far away from the country, in exile, for 68 years.

A day of national mourning has been decreed for Saturday in Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova.

12 August 2016
3 August, 2016

MOURNING — The government in Bucharest discusses today a draft executive order to declare August 13 a national day of mourning. This is the day when Queen Anne will be laid to rest. She was the consort of King Michael I, the last king of Romania. According to the schedule issued by the Romanian royal house, the coffin will first be taken to Peles Caste in Sinaia, the former royal summer residence, then to Bucharest, to the Throne Room of the former Royal Palace. The funeral is scheduled for 13 August at the Curtea de Arges Monastery, the necropolis of Romanian royalty. The royal family has announced they would be in deep mourning for seven days after the funeral, and mourning for 40 days. Three books for mourners will be available for 40 days. One is at Peles Castle, and two in Bucharest. President Iohannis and premier Ciolos, Patriarch Daniel, head of the Orthodox Church, as well as political leaders and public figures, have transmitted condolences. Former president Emil Constantinescu has also sent condolences. Back in 1996, he was the first Romanian leader to issue the royal couple passports.

ECONOMY — Retail in Romania is up 16% in June as compared to the same month in 2015, the highest growth in an EU member country, according to Eurostat. Retail has grown in the EU by 2.4%. At the same time, Romanian banks are among the most profitable in Europe. According to the European Banking Authority, Romanian banks in the first quarter registered an average profitability of 13.5%, as compared to the European average of almost 6%. Economists say this happens because guarantees and interest rates are 50% higher in Romania than in the rest of Europe. Romanian banks have registered profits of over one billion lei in the first three months of the year, the equivalent of 222 million Euro.

TRANSPORTATION — Road transporters in Romania hold talks with the government about insurance costs. Employer associations in transportation have called on the government to freeze rates at the level they were in June, 8,500 lei per year for a truck (around 2000 Euro) and 3,000 lei per year (around 700 Euro) for a coach. If an agreement is not reached, transporters threaten national protests in September. In related news, 155 employers working in two mines in western Romania, which are set to close in two years time, were announced they would be laid off. The miners will receive compensation in various forms for two years, in addition to unemployment benefits.

FOOTBALL – Romanian champions Astra Giurgiu and vice-champions Steaua Bucharest today play their fixtures, which are crucial in the Champions League’s third preliminary round. Astra travel to Denmark for their fixture against FC Copenhagen, following a 1-all draw on home turf, while in Bucharest, Steaua take on Czech contenders Sparta Prague, after a 1-all draw in the first leg of the tie, away from home. In Europa League’s third preliminary round, Pandurii Targu Jiu and Viitorul Constanta sustained severe first leg defeats. On home ground, Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv overpowered Steaua, 3-1, while Belgium’s Gent trounced Viitorul Constanta, 5-nil. Another Romanian squad, CSMS Iasi was ousted from the Europe League’ s second preliminary round by Croatia’s Hajduk Split.

US MEETING — The interim speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, Florin Iordache, and Romanian Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, discussed on Tuesday the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. On this occasion, Iordache said that the partnership, in place since 1997, could expand to cover the economy, cybersecurity and science. The Romanian official said that Romania was a staunch ally of the US, and a pillar of security in the region. The American diplomat saluted Romanias contribution to regional and global security, its economic growth, and the increasingly successful fight against corruption. According to the US Embassy, the two officials have scheduled periodic meetings.

3 August 2016
March 23, 2016 UPDATE

MOURNING – Belgium observes three days of national mourning. One minute of silence was kept in downtown Brussels on Wednesday, in the wake of Tuesdays attacks which left over 30 people dead and some 270 injured. The IS Jihadist group claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks that have been firmly condemned by the international community. The perpetrators have reportedly been previously involved in the Paris attacks in November, which claimed 130 lives and which were coordinated by the French Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in Brussels on Friday. Experts and officials see the recent attacks as proof that the Jihadist networks in Belgium and other European countries are still able to organise large-scale operations, in spite of the pressure coming from security and police forces. The Dutch Justice Minister, Ard van der Steur, has announced an emergency meeting of the EU ministers will be held on Thursday in Brussels, at the request of Belgium. The anti-terrorist alert across that country remains at maximum levels, and the Brussels airport will still be closed on Thursday, while security around the EU institutions and Belgian nuclear power plants was stepped up.

SOLIDARITY – The Romanian Government decided that Thursday, March 24, be declared day of national mourning, in memory of the victims of the Brussels attacks. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced that four Romanian citizens were wounded in the Brussels attacks. A mobile unit of the Romanian Embassy in Belgium travelled to the hospitals in Brussels to provide consular assistance. Another diplomatic team was deployed to Brussels to give additional support to the Romanian citizens in that country. In Romania, the terrorist alert remains at the so-called level “Blue (Guarded), but security around diplomatic missions and airports has been strengthened.

DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihnea Motoc, pays an official visit to France until Thursday, at the invitation of his French counterpart Jean-Yves le Drian. According to the Romanian Ministry, the two officials will discuss the recent regional and international security developments and ways to boost bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation between the two countries within the EU and NATO, and will exchange information on key European security and defence policy aspects. The agenda of talks will also include the preparations for the Summit due in Warsaw this July. The Romanian Defence Minister will also make fact-finding visits to a number of military sites.

COOPERATION – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on Wednesday in Ankara that the EU is currently facing a series of challenges, in the context in which Turkey is an important partner. The Romanian President said that Turkey is hosting a very large number of refugees, plays a key role in solving the migrant crisis, both in terms of humanitarian assistance, the control of the migration flow and the fight against human trafficking networks. The statements were made fresh from the talks he had with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Regional security and bilateral economic cooperation were also high on the agenda of the talks. In an interview with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, ahead of the meeting, President Iohannis reiterated Romanias support for Turkeys EU accession. He deplored again Russias interference in Ukraine and Syria and expressed hope that at the NATO summit due in Warsaw in July, measures will be taken to boost security in the Black Sea Area. The visit by Romanias president to Turkey comes to an end on Thursday.

CORRUPTION– Romania loses an annual 15% of its GDP because of corruption, reads a survey commissioned by the European Parliament. According to the report, the figure includes both direct losses, e.g. rigged public procurement bids, and indirect losses, in that other companies are no longer interested in such procedures and competition is therefore distorted. Apart from Romania, the black list of EU corruption also includes Bulgaria, Croatia and Latvia. The survey indicates that the price of corruption at EU level ranges between 179 billion to 990 billion euros per year. The document recommends the extension of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which Romania would like to see lifted as soon as possible, or the establishment of an EU-level online public procurement system that may reduce the annual losses caused by corruption by some 900 million euros. Another 200 million euros could be saved through the establishment of a European Public Prosecutors Office, the report also says.

DETENTION – The mayor of Bucharest‘s District 2, Neculai Ontanu, was taken into custody on Wednesday evening by the prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in a file in which he is accused of bribe taking. On Thursday, he will be taken to the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, the prosecutors calling for 30-day preventive arrest, pending trial. According to the prosecutors, in 2006 and 2007, Ontanu reportedly received a plot of land in Bucharest, as bribe. This is Ontanus fourth term in office as district mayor, and is the interim president of the National Union for the Progress of Romania.

(Translated by Ana-Maria Popescu and Diana Vijeu)

23 March 2016
16 November, 2015

In Bucharest, the cabinet proposed by PM designate Dacian Ciolos are in Parliament hearings pending their endorsement in full session. The 22 proposals include officials with European or civil society experience, and one third are women. The announced platform of the Ciolos cabinet includes reviewing investment projects, as well as education and health reforms, with a view to reducing the exodus of healthcare professionals to western countries. At the same time, the proposed government plans to create a proper framework for future elections.

The French nation is in mourning and held a moment of silence after the terror attacks on Friday in Paris. PM Manuel Valls said today that France should expect more attacks, and that other European nations should as well in the near future. French investigators announced that Fridays attacks were planned by a group based in Belgium, with aid from agents in France. The latest victim toll is 129 dead and 350 injured, some gravely injured. Two Romanians are among the victims, according to the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest. The so-called Islamic State claimed the attacks, and as a result, French assault aircraft bombed targets in the Syrian city of Raqqa, held by the terror organization.

One more person injured in the deadly fire in the Colectiv club in Bucharest has died in a local hospital, bringing the death toll to 56. The Health Ministry said that 55 people who sustained injuries in the fire are still in Bucharest hospitals, 12 of them in a critical state. 28 people are under treatment in other countries. The fire was started at a rock concert by fireworks, sustained by sound insulation, which caused most of the victims to be affected by poisonous inhalations, in addition to burns.

Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau, alongside Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, at the Champions Tournament in London, will today be taking on the Polish-Serbian pair made of Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjic. Tecau and Royer are first-seed in the Fleming/McEnroe group and second seed in the competition. This past Sunday the pair made up of Romanian Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna defeated American twins Mike and Bob Bryan, 6-4, 6-3. The Champions Tournament, with seven million dollars prize money at stake, brings together the top eight tennis players of the season, as well as the worlds top eight pairs in the doubles competition.

In Antalya, Turkey, the G20 summit continues, with the main emphasis on the fight against terrorism. According to an AFP release, G20 countries will attempt measures against the circulation of terrorism, with measures to bolster border and air security. G20 countries also emphasize the need to tackle the financing of terror groups and their propaganda, especially in view of the recent attacks in Paris. President Barack Obama met Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ISIS situation.

Translated by Călin Coţoiu

16 November 2015