Radio România Internațional

Tag: Naruhito

  • The Week in Review 20 – 26.10.2019

    The Week in Review 20 – 26.10.2019

    Romania’s Prime Minister designate, Liberal
    Ludovic Orban on Thursday submitted to Parliament proposals for the country’s
    new Executive and the governing programme




    Romania’s
    Prime Minister designate, Liberal Ludovic Orban on Thursday submitted to
    Parliament proposals for the country’s new Executive and the governing
    programme. The future cabinet will have 16 ministries and a Deputy Prime
    Minister. Ensuring the proper conditions for the good functioning of the
    presidential election in November, nominating a European commissioner candidate
    and the draft budget for the next year are among the urgent measures stipulated
    in the governing programme. The investiture vote will be taking place after the
    first round of talks with the Pro Romania party, led by Romania’s former Prime
    Minister Victor Ponta, ended in a deadlock. The cabinet may not rely on support
    from the People’s Movement Party either, as the PMP do not agree with the Prime
    Minister’s decision to forge a single-color cabinet. On the other hand the USR
    and ALDE have announced they have reached a political agreement with the
    Liberals. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) says that
    the cabinet stands good chances to get the investiture vote while the
    representatives of the national minorities have announced their support for a
    PNL government. We recall that the National Liberal Party rallied support from
    the other political parties in opposition to bring down the PSD government led
    by Viorica Dancila on October 10th.




    Where do the Romanians abroad cast their
    ballot in the upcoming presidential election?




    Romania’s Foreign Affairs Ministry
    has published a list and an interactive map of the 835 polling stations where
    the Romanians living abroad can cast their ballot in the presidential election
    of November 10th and 24th. The number is almost three
    times higher compared to the previous presidential election of 2014. Most polls
    will be opened in Spain, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, France, the United States,
    the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Denmark, Austria,
    Greece, Portugal and Switzerland. Overall, 639 polls will be opened in EU
    Member States. Additionally, apart from polls created in theatres of operation
    in Afghanistan, a poling station will be opened this year in Mali, created
    especially for the Romanian military taking part in the UN peacekeeping missions
    in this country. The voting process will be held over the course of three days
    abroad, namely over November 8-10 for the first round and November 22-24 for
    the runoff, between 12 – 9 PM local time on Friday, and between 7 AM and 9 PM
    local time on Saturday and Sunday. All voters who are still in line either
    inside or outside polling stations at 9 PM will be able to cast their votes by
    midnight.




    The European Commission maintains the
    Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Romania




    The latest developments in the
    reform of the judiciary and the process of fighting corruption in the first
    months of 2019 were reasons for serious concern for the European Commission,
    says the latest assessment report with the Cooperation and Verification
    Mechanism released on Tuesday. According to the document, since the previous
    report in November 2018, the Commission has continued to announce the
    authorities in Bucharest about its concerns over the rule of law. The
    key institutions of Romania would need to collectively demonstrate a strong
    commitment to judicial independence and the fight against corruption as
    indispensable cornerstones, and to ensure the capacity of national safeguards
    and checks and balances, a press release from the Commission reads. In
    Bucharest Romania’s Justice Minister Ana Birchall says that Romania is
    ready to assume an active role in consolidating the European construction in
    which justice plays a major role. The minister decided to immediately summon the
    specialized national committee for a joint action plan.







    The Romanian president and
    his wife attended the enthronement ceremony of Japan’s emperor Naruhito




    Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis and his wife Carmen on Tuesday attended emperor
    Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony in Tokyo. Naruhito proclaimed his ascension to
    the throne in the presence of 180 foreign dignitaries, including Prince Charles,
    the heir to the British throne, King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia. In
    Tokyo, the Romanian president had talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
    the Finnish president Sauli Niinisto, and with his
    Latvian counterpart Egils Levits. Emperor Naruhito, who is the 126th
    monarch of his dynasty, took over imperial duties in May this year after the
    abdication of his father Akihito, now known as emperor emeritus.







    Is the Schengen zone expanding?




    The future Schengen accession of
    Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania would make the European Union better equipped for
    protecting this border-free area, Dimitris Avramopulos, the EU Commissioner for
    Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship said in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The
    European Commission decided in Strasbourg on Tuesday that Croatia meets the
    technical conditions for Schengen accession. Avramopulos recalled that at
    present 400 million EU citizens can travel without restrictions in 22 EU
    countries and in four associated non-EU countries. The EU official has
    underlined that the Schengen zone is the largest border-free area in the world.
    Initially scheduled for March 2011, Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to this
    zone has been repeatedly postponed due to opposition from some member states which
    invoked the lack of reforms in the country’s justice system.






    A decision to
    appoint Laura Codruta Kovesi, Romania’s former anti-corruption chief prosecutor
    as head of the future European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) was signed at
    the European Parliament










    A decision to appoint Laura Codruta Kovesi, Romania’s former
    anti-corruption chief prosecutor as head of the future European Public
    Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) was signed by European Parliament President David
    Sassoli and by the Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen on
    Wednesday. The idea for setting up the aforementioned institution has been
    launched and promoted by another Romanian, former minister and MEP, Monica
    Macovei. The EPPO is expected to become operational at the end 2020 as an
    independent institution in charge of investigating and prosecuting crimes
    against the EU budget, such as fraud, corruption or cross-border fraud with
    over 10 million Euros in VAT.









  • October 22, 2019 UPDATE

    October 22, 2019 UPDATE

    CVM Romania’s Justice Minister Ana
    Birchall says the CVM report is of great importance and pledged to summon the
    specialized national committee for a common action plan shortly. The latest
    developments in the reform of the judiciary and the process of fighting
    corruption in the first months of 2019 were reasons for serious concern for the
    European Commission, says the latest assessment report with the Cooperation and
    Verification Mechanism released on Tuesday. According to the document, since
    the previous report in November 2018, the Commission has continued to announce
    the authorities in Bucharest about its concerns over the rule of law. The key institutions of Romania would need
    to collectively demonstrate a strong commitment to judicial independence and
    the fight against corruption as indispensable cornerstones, and to ensure the
    capacity of national safeguards and checks and balances, a press release from
    the Commission reads. The Commission regrets that
    Romania did not engage with the recommendations made, supported unanimously by
    the Council and fully in line with the resolution of the European Parliament.
    The European Commission will continue to monitor the situation in Romania
    through its Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, the report also says. We
    recall that Romania’s justice and home affairs have been monitored since the
    country’s EU accession in 2007.










    SCHENGEN The future Schengen accession
    of Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania would make the European Union better equipped
    for protecting this border-free area, Dimitris Avramopulos, the EU Commissioner
    for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship said in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The
    European Commission decided in Strasbourg on Tuesday that Croatia meets the
    technical conditions for Schengen accession. Avramopulos recalled that at
    present 400 million EU citizens can travel without restrictions in 22 EU
    countries and in four associated non-EU countries. The EU official has
    underlined that the Schengen zone is the largest border-free area in the world.
    Initially scheduled for March 2011, the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to
    this zone has been repeatedly postponed due to opposition from some member
    states which invoked the lack of reforms in the country’s justice system.








    KING Romania’s president
    Klaus Iohannis and his wife Carmen Iohannis on Tuesday attended emperor
    Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony in Tokyo. Naruhito proclaimed his ascension to
    the throne in the presence of 180 foreign dignitaries, including Prince
    Charles, the heir to the British throne, and King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen
    Letizia. President Iohannis also attended the imperial banquet in honour of the
    enthronement. On Monday, the Romanian president had talks with the Japanese
    prime minister Shinzo Abe and the Finnish president Sauli
    Niinisto, and met his Latvian counterpart Egils Evits on Tuesday. Emperor
    Naruhito, who is the 126th monarch of his dynasty, took over
    imperial duties in May this year after the abdication of his father Akihito,
    now known as emperor emeritus.








    DRILL More than 1,000 servicemen
    and nine war ships of the Romanian navy and NATO allies are taking part in Fall
    Storm 19, one of the most important exercises carried out in south-eastern
    Romania, including the Black Sea territorial and international waters. The
    exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability and the planning and management
    of forces at multinational and inter-institutional level. Fall Storm 19 also
    involves Romanian air and ground troops and will come to an end on the 27th
    of October.






    (translated by bill)

  • October 20, 2019 UPDATE

    October 20, 2019 UPDATE

    CORONATION Romanian president Klaus
    Iohannis will be attending the coronation ceremony of Japan’s new emperor
    Naruhito in Tokyo on Monday and Tuesday. According to the Romanian presidency,
    on the sidelines of this event, the Romanian official will be having a series
    of bilateral talks. Naruhito will thus become Japan’s 126th emperor
    after the decision to abdicate the chrysanthemum throne of his father, the
    country’s emperor emeritus, Akihito.












    ELECTION Romania’s Permanent Election
    Authority (AEP) announced in a communiqué on Sunday that upon suggestions
    coming from diplomatic missions and consulates it approved 835 polling stations
    abroad for the presidential election in Romania in November. These suggestions
    had been conveyed in several stages by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest and
    approved through successive AEP decisions. According to the Foreign Ministry,
    the countries with the largest number of polling stations are Spain, Italy,
    Germany, Great Britain, France, the USA and the Republic of Moldova. According to the same sources, besides the
    polling stations in operation theatres in Afghanistan, a new polling station
    will be added this year for the Romanian troops serving in UN peace-keeping missions
    in Mali.










    HANDBALL Romania’s handball champions Dinamo Bucharest on Sunday
    ended in a 26-all draw their away game against Polish side Orlen Wisla Plock in
    the Champions League. In the women’s competition, SCM Ramnicu Valcea of Romania
    lost their away match 23-19 to Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro and is
    currently ranking third in group C. Vice-champions CSM Bucharest secured a
    35-19 home win against Polish side Perla Lublin and are currently topping the
    Champions League group B. The first three sides of each group will qualify for
    the competition’s next stage.








    TALKS Romania’s designated Prime Minister Ludovic Orban will be
    holding talks with representatives of civil society and state institutions on Monday
    and Tuesday. Orban is expected to have a second round of talks with political
    parties in the next two days to get support for the new cabinet to be sworn in.
    The Prime Minister has already held a round of political talks. In order to be
    sworn in the new cabinet needs 233 votes out of a total 465. On Sunday Orban
    and several high-ranking members of his party came up with a strategy meant to
    enable the new cabinet to commence activity as soon as possible. After the
    meeting Orban said he hoped to be able to present the new cabinet in the next
    four-five days. We recall that the PSD minority government led by Viorica
    Dancila was sacked through a no-confidence vote.










    BREXIT The EU ambassadors who convened in Brussels on Sunday have
    been briefed upon the letters sent in by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
    and have decided to carry on the ratification procedures negotiated last week
    and approved by the European Council. We recall that after the House of Commons
    had postponed their endorsement of the agreement, the British Prime Minister
    was forced to call for a delay to Brexit. Prime Minister Johnson sent three
    letters to the EU officials. The first one contained a legally mandated request
    for a three-month delay to Brexit, which Johnson didn’t sign. It was followed
    by a letter from Britain’s ambassador to the EU, which explained the point of
    the first letter. And in the third letter the British premier explained that he
    didn’t want an extension but he was forced by the law to ask for one. According
    to our correspondent in Brussels, European leaders are to make a decision after
    the situation in the British Parliament has clarified. For the time being, the
    ambassadors decided to send the Brexit agreement to the European Legislature
    for approval.






    (translated by bill)

  • 20.10.2019 (mise à jour)

    20.10.2019 (mise à jour)

    Couronnement – Le chef de l’Etat roumain, Klaus Iohannis, entamera lundi une visite de deux jours au Japon, pour participer à la cérémonie du Couronnement de l’Empereur Naruhito. A cette occasion, le numéro un de Roumanie aura une série d’entretiens bilatéraux. Pour mémoire, l’Empereur Naruhito a succédé à son père, l’empereur Akihito, le 1er mai 2019, suite à la décision de ce dernier d’abdiquer.

    Gouvernement – A Bucarest, le premier ministre désigné, le libéral Ludovic Orban, rencontrera lundi et mardi des représentants de la société civile et des institutions publiques, avant de poursuivre mercredi et jeudi ses négociations avec les partis parlementaires en vue de l’investiture du nouveau gouvernement. Un premier round de consultation a eu déjà lieu. Le nouveau cabinet a besoin de 233 voix sur 465. Dimanche, Ludovic Orban a rencontré les membres de la direction du PNL avec lesquels il a mis en place une stratégie censée permettre au futur gouvernement de démarrer son activité le plus vite possible. Lors des pourparlers, le chef de file du PNL a déclaré espérer pouvoir annoncer la composition de son cabinet dans les 4, 5 jours à venir.

    Elections – L’Autorité électorale permanente de Roumanie a annoncé dimanche avoir approuvé la mise en place, à l’étranger, de 835 bureaux de vote, au total, pour le scrutin présidentiel de novembre prochain. La décision a été prise sur demande des missions diplomatiques et consulaires, avec l’appui du Ministère roumain des Affaires Etrangères. Sur l’ensemble des pays à forte communauté roumaine et qui se verront donc dotés du plus grand nombre de bureaux de vote notons l’Espagne, l’Italie, l’Allemagne, le Royaume Uni, la France, les Etats-Unis et la République de Moldavie. A part les bureaux de vote qui seront mis en place, sur les théâtres d’opération d’Afghanistan, cette année, un nouveau bureau sera ouvert, en première, au Mali pour les militaires roumains qui participent aux missions sous l’égide de l’ONU.

    Brexit – Réunis dimanche matin à Bruxelles, les ambassadeurs des pays communautaires ont pris note des lettres envoyés par le premier ministre britannique, Boris Johnson, et ont décidé de continuer le processus de ratification de l’accord sur le Brexit négocié la semaine dernière et approuvé par le Conseil européen. Samedi, le Parlement britannique a reporté le débat au sujet de l’accord ce qui a poussé M. Johnson à demander, malgré lui, le report du divorce de son pays de l’UE. Il a donc envoyé trois lettres aux responsables européens: la première non signée, demandant une prolongation de trois mois; la deuxième, signée, pour dire qu’il ne veut pas de ce délai et enfin une troisième, de l’ambassadeur britannique auprès de l’UE, pour préciser que le report n’a été demandé que pour se plier à la loi. Selon le correspondant Radio Roumanie sur place, la décision des leaders européens sera prise une fois que la situation sera réglée au sein du Parlement de Londres. A l’heure où l’on parle, les ambassadeurs ont décidé de renvoyer l’accord sur le Brexit sur la table de l’Assemblée législative européenne.



    Handball-
    Le club champion de handball masculin de Roumanie, Dinamo Bucarest, a fait
    match nul, dimanche, en déplacement, contre les Polonais d’Orlen Wisla Plock, lors
    d’un match au tableau de la Ligue des champions. Dans la compétition féminine,
    le club champion de handball féminin, SCM Ramnicu Valcea s’est incliné devant
    les Monténégrines de Buducnost. Les Roumaines occupent la troisième place au
    sein du poule C. Dans le poule B de la
    même compétition, le club vice-champion de Roumanie, CSM Bucarest, a surclassé
    à domicile le club polonais MKS Perla Lublin et se classe dorénavant en
    première position.

    Météo – Le temps demeure beau et chaud pour cette période de l’année, avec des températures plus élevées que la normale saisonnière, presque partout en Roumanie. Le ciel sera bleu et les températures minimales iront de 5 à 16 degrés, tandis que celles maximales iront de 20 à 27.

  • April 30, 2019 UPDATE

    April 30, 2019 UPDATE

    MAY DAY This year, Romanians are celebrating May Day – the International Workers Day, immediately after the Orthodox Easter. The Black Sea coast resorts are the destination of choice for many Romanian tourists, alongside the Danube Delta and the rural regions of Maramures in the north-west. Other Romanians have chosen foreign destinations as well. Interior Ministry staff have been mobilised in particular in the places where major public events are organised.




    VISIT The PM of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, will be on a visit to Poland on May 1 and 2. On Wednesday, she will take part in Warsaw in a conference of the heads of state and government of the Central and East European countries having joined the EU since 2004: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. On Thursday, the Romanian official will take part in the International March of the Living, an annual educational event in which participants walk the distance between the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Viorica Dăcilă will also attend a commemoration ceremony in Birkenau, alongside government officials, religious leaders, student and children organisations.




    JUDICIARY The Deputy Prime Minister and interim Minister of Justice Ana Birchall suspended on Monday the procedures to select a new Prosecutor General in Romania, as well as that for selecting the deputy prosecutor with Eurojust, the agency dealing with criminal cooperation between EU member states. She said that the procedures will resume soon. On April 10, the Justice Ministry announced new procedures for selecting the Prosecutor General, after Minister Toader turned down all 4 candidates. Interviews under the new procedure were scheduled for May 7. Under the law, the Justice Ministers proposal for prosecutor general has to be approved by the Higher Council of Magistracy, and by President Iohannis. Augustin Lazars term in office ended on April 27, with Bogdan Licu appointed as interim prosecutor general.




    EP ELECTIONS The campaign for the European Parliament elections, scheduled for May 26, continues in Romania. 13 political groups are running: from the ruling coalition, the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, as well as the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, which has a collaboration protocol with the coalition. From the opposition, taking part are the National Liberal Party, the USR-PLUS Alliance, the Peoples Movement Party, and ProRomania, a Social Democratic splinter. From outside Parliament, in the running are the UNPR, the National Unity Bloc, United Romania, PRODEMO, the Romanian Socialist Party, and the Independent Social Democratic Party. Three independents have also announced their candidacy. Romania will have 33 members in the new European Parliament. The 33rd MEP can only take office after Brexit comes into effect. Romanians abroad can go to 441 polling stations, most of them in Italy, Spain, and neighbouring Moldova. On that same day, Romanians will also vote in a referendum on the judiciary, called by President Klaus Iohannis.




    ABDICATION Emperor Akihito of Japan, aged 85, Tuesday ended his 30-year reign, being the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in over 2 centuries. As of May 1, Japan enters a new imperial era, called Reiwa, corresponding to the rule of Akihitos son, Naruhito (59). “I sincerely wish that the Reiwa era will be a stable and fruitful one, and I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world, Emperor Akihito said in his abdication address. Akihito took over the throne on January 8, 1989, at the age of 55, after the death of Hirohito, under whose rule Japan fought in WW II. Japan has the oldest monarchy in the world, and the Japanese imperial family is the longest hereditary dynasty, going back 2,600 years.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)