Radio România Internațional

Tag: multi-speed Europe

Debates on the Future of the European Union

Euroscepticism seems to be growing along with the promotion of the idea of a multi-speed Europe. East-Europeans are afraid that such prospects might trigger a split that would mark the future development of the EU in a negative way. The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the one who set fort the idea of a multi-speed Europe, has given assurances that this would not build another iron curtain between the West and the East. He made the statement at the summit held on Thursday and Friday in Brussels in the 27-member formula, without the UK, where the participants discussed the future of the EU.

The EU leaders would like to see a re-launch of the Union after Brexit, as provided in the so-called White Paper which is to be adopted at the summit due in Rome on the 25th of March. In Brussels, Romania was represented by President Klaus Iohannis, who stated that a multi-speed Europe for an indefinite period of time is not a good solution, as it might actually lead to the splitting of the Union. However, he has also stated that Romania should not be worried about a Europe running at various speeds, provided every member state can choose its own speed for a while.

Klaus Iohannis: “We should not be afraid of the projects that entail various operating speeds, as it is, for instance, the European prosecutor. So, 17 members have signed, including Romania, others have not signed yet. Some will come later, others may not come at all, but this does not mean we should not go forward, this is not a multi-speed Europe, its just a project that some are willing to join sooner, others later. This is acceptable, but stating that there are countries in Europe that move forward and others that lag behind, that we cannot accept.”

In turn, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has stated that the two-speed Europe formula will not be adopted officially, because such an idea would be opposed by many countries, including Romania.

Teodor Melescanu: “I am very glad that, regarding this issue, which is of utmost importance to Romania, as a member of the EU, our stands are very clear: we are against adopting principles or rules pertaining to the idea of a two-speed running or variable geometry. We are aware that, even today, there are structures in Europe that we are not part of, such as the Eurozone. The EU has several speeds anyway as there are countries that are part of the Eurozone, others that have not been included, countries that are part of Schengen, others that are not.”

(Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)

13 March 2017
March 11, 2017 UPDATE

EUROPEAN COUNCIL– The EU leaders have made public their intention to re-launch the Union after the Brexit, and a document on the Unions future, the so-called White Paper, is to be adopted at a meeting due in Rome on March 25. The joint declaration and the prospective inclusion in the text of the concept of a multi-speed Europe have been among the issues discussed at the Brussels summit, where Romania was represented by President Klaus Iohannis. He said he had told some of his peers attending the Council meeting that a multi-speed Europe for an indefinite period of time is not a good solution, because it might lead to the Unions split. Romania shouldnt however have fears relative to multi-speed projects, such as the one regarding the European Prosecutor, the president also said. The European Council President, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, have explained that the formula “a multi-speed Europe has been misunderstood. Donald Tusk has said that everything can actually be reduced to the formula “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, we go together.

UNIFIED PAY LAW – Fresh talks will be held in Bucharest next week between the government and trade unions on the unified pay law for state sector employees. The draft is to be finalised by the end of the month. So far, the government has held talks with trade unions in the education, healthcare and social assistance, with those in the domain or public order and safety, with representatives of cultural institutes as well as with trade unions with the Labour Ministry. The first to benefit from pay-rises will be doctors and nurses. Some of the novelties included in the draft law include granting the equivalent of two minimum national wages per year, to buy foodstuffs, to all state sector employees and a so-called holiday gift voucher.

EXERCISE – An extensive international intervention exercise in case of heavy flooding is unfolding until Sunday in Timis County, western Romania. The exercise enjoys European financing and the participation of trainers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Attending are also support teams from several countries like Austria, Germany, France and Latvia. According to the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, the exercise is like a test to see whether teams from several countries can cooperate to intervene in case of disaster.

COMMEMORATION – Spaniards on Saturday commemorated the victims of the terror attacks of March 11, 2004, in Madrid, which killed 191 people, among whom 16 Romanians, and left some 2,000 others injured. On the same day, several bombs went off in 4 commuter trains in the stations of Atocha, El Pozo and Santa Eugenia. The masterminds of the attacks are still unknown to the present day. The trial came to a close in 2007, with the victims relatives and the survivors saying the sentences were much too easy. It was the severest terror attack in Spain which led to the withdrawal of Spanish forces from Iraq. After this bloody attack, the European Parliament declared March 11 the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism.

RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team on Saturday defeated Belgium, 33-17, in the fourth round of the Rugby Europe Championship, a competition which, as of this year, replaces the former European Nations Cup, the second most important continental rugby tournament, after the Six Nations Tournament. In the matches played so far, Romania defeated Russia away from home, outperformed Spain on home soil, but it surprisingly lost to Germany, away from home. In the world classification, Romania ranks 16th and Belgium 27th.

JUDO– Romanian woman judoka Larisa Florian has won the gold medal in the 52 kg category, at the Grand Slam tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to the official site of the Romanian Judo Federation. After grabbing a bronze medal in Dusseldorf, Germany, Larisa Florian manages to score a new exceptional result, thus joining the Top 10 of the best athletes in the world in the 52 kg category. Larisa Florian is among the Romanian young talents considered to stand high chances to get a medal in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

11 March 2017
March 11, 2017

EUROPEAN COUNCIL– The EU leaders have made public their intention to re-launch the Union after the Brexit, and a document on the Union’s future, the so-called White Paper, is to be adopted at a meeting due in Rome on March 25. The joint declaration and the prospective inclusion in the text of the concept of a multi-speed Europe have been among the issues discussed at the Brussels summit, where Romania was represented by President Klaus Iohannis. He said he had told some of his peers attending the Council meeting that a multi-speed Europe for an indefinite period of time is not a good solution, because it might lead to the Union’s split. Romania shouldn’t however have fears relative to multi-speed projects, such as the one regarding the European Prosecutor, the president also said. The European Council President, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, have explained that the formula “a multi-speed Europe” has been misunderstood. Donald Tusk has said that everything can actually be reduced to the formula “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, we go together.”

UNIFIED PAY LAW — Fresh talks will be held in Bucharest next week between the government and trade unions on the unified pay law for state sector employees. The draft is to be finalised by the end of the month. So far, the government has held talks with trade unions in the education, healthcare and social assistance, with those in the domain or public order and safety, with representatives of cultural institutes as well as with trade unions with the Labour Ministry. The first to benefit from pay-rises will be doctors and nurses. Some of the novelties included in the draft law include granting the equivalent of two minimum national wages per year, to buy foodstuffs, to all state sector employees and a so-called holiday gift voucher.

ATTACK THREAT — A mall in the Western German city of Essen has been closed today, because of an attack threat, the local police has announced, without however providing details on the source and type of the threat. In December 2016, 12 people were killed in Berlin by a truck which rammed into a Christmas fair crowd. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group and was not the only one carried out in Germany and blamed on that Jihadist group. The German intelligence services estimate there are some 10 thousand radical Islamists on German soil, 1,600 of whom being likely to resort to violence.

RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team is today meeting Belgium in Brussels, in the fourth round of the Rugby Europe Championship, a competition which, as of this year, replaces the former European Nations’ Cup, the second most important continental rugby tournament, after the Six Nations Tournament. In the matches played so far, Romania defeated Russia away from home, outperformed Spain on home soil, but it surprisingly lost to Germany, away from home. Romania ranks second in the group, after Georgia, with Belgium on the last position. In the world classification, Romania ranks 16th and Belgium 27th.

JUDO— Romanian woman judoka Larisa Florian has won the gold medal in the 52 kg category, at the Grand Slam tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to the official site of the Romanian Judo Federation. After grabbing a bronze medal in Dusseldorf, Germany, Larisa Florian manages to score a new exceptional result, thus joining the Top 10 of the best athletes in the world in the 52 kg category. Larisa Florian is among the Romanian young talents considered to stand high chances to get a medal in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Translated by D. VIjeu)

11 March 2017
Romania opposes a multi-speed Europe

Romania does not want a multi-speed Europe, because such a reform of the EU would lead to the collapse of the European project, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday during his meeting in Bucharest with Joseph Muscatta, the Prime Minister of Malta, a country currently holding the six-month rotating presidency of the EU. President Iohannis made the announcement shortly after European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented his so-called White Paper on the future of the European Union after Brexit. The document outlines 5 possible scenarios, looking at the changes Europe will undergo over the next 10 years, from the social impact of new technologies and jobs, uncertainty linked with globalization, security threats and the rise of populism.

According to one scenario, the EU will continue to implement the current agenda of reforms as stipulated by the Bratislava Declaration of 2016. A second scenario shifts the EU’s focus solely on the single market, meaning that member states will no longer tackle issues such as migration, security and defense with shared decision-making. The third scenario proposes a two-gear Europe allowing individual member states to cooperate in specific policy areas depending on the level of progress. The Schengen Area in this respect is a case in point.

Scenario number four envisages a Europe that focuses on a number of priorities, such as security, the fight against terrorism or telecommunications so as to obtain faster results. Finally, under the heading “doing much more together”, the final scenario seeks to deepen European integration. The White Paper has already sparked heated reactions amongst MEPs.

Romanian Social-Democrat MEP Victor Bostinaru has criticized the multi-speed EU format: “We are against a two-gear or multi-speed Europe, which is a dangerous concept. The timing of it being brought to the table couldn’t have been worse. This proposal is bound to generate further tension, concerns, frustration and even humiliation, including in societies that truly believe in the European project, such as Romania, and which are willing to fully cooperate for the consolidation of the EU”.

In turn, EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici has warned that the White Paper provides for the possibility to dismantle the EU altogether, an option that must be given due consideration just as the rest. The document will be transmitted to EU leaders at the Summit in Rome, on March 25, marking 60 years since the foundation of the European Union. The White Paper marks the beginning of a process by means of which the 27 countries that will remain in the EU will decide upon the future of the Union.

2 March 2017