Radio România Internațional

Tag: national mourning

  • National mourning for King Michael I

    National mourning for King Michael I

    Romania’s last king, Michael I, returned on Wednesday to Romania, the country that he loved until his death and where he will be buried. When he first took the throne, at the age of 6, a life of luxury and ease seemed to lie ahead of him, and yet his destiny was immensely tragic. Forced by the communists to abdicate in 1947, he left the country, and was only allowed to return, not without difficulties, only after the 1989 Revolution. As the King put it, himself, in an interview, “many times I have been asked what I felt when I left Romania. The best way of expressing my feelings that I have managed to find is to say that I left with death in my soul.”



    The dethroned monarch worked among strangers, built a family among strangers, and could never forget that he was a foreigner in a foreign country. With his last journey from Switzerland, the country where he had settled and where he died, to Romania, a lifetime of exile ends. Michael I will be buried on Saturday next to his wife, Anne of Bourbon-Parma, in Curtea de Arges, in the south of Romania, where all Romania’s kings are buried. Until then, his body lies in state in the Throne Hall of the Royal Palace in Bucharest, where Romanians can pay their tribute to him. Some have already done so, alongside top-level officials from Romania and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, at the Peles Castle in Sinaia, in the southern Carpathians, where Michael I was born and spent his childhood years.



    The late king is paid homage to, these days, by an entire country, from common people to politicians, diplomats and historians. One of them is the founder of the Institute for the Memory of Romanian Exile, Dinu Zamfirescu, who said:



    “We are losing a Romanian hero, we are losing a model of personal and royal dignity. I believe Romania needs people of this kind, and it is with utmost sadness that I say that at present there are hardly any to be found here. Every time I saw him abroad, he was always interested in what was happening in Romania, in how Romanians were doing. He felt great responsibility for the country and would always ask what he could do for Romania.”



    Expected to attend the funerals on Saturday are, among others, the King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos and Sofia, the latter being a first cousin of the former sovereign of Romania. Also present will be Charles, Prince of Wales, who cares deeply for Romania, King Philippe of Belgium, Europe’s third-youngest monarch, Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria.


    Until Saturday, Romania observes a three-day national mourning.


    (Translated by E. Enache)

  • December 14, 2017

    December 14, 2017

    National mourning — Starting today Romania will observe three days of national mourning to honor the memory of its former sovereign, King Michael I. King Michael’s coffin is now lying in state in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace in Bucharest until Saturday, when the funeral is scheduled. The body of King Michael was brought to Romania on Wednesday, and the coffin was taken for a few hours to the Royal Peles Castle in Sinaia mountain resort, where Romanian and Moldovan officials paid their last respects to the King. Many people lined the route of the funeral procession between the airport and the mountain resort of Sinaia to bid farewell to the last King of Romania who ruled between 1940 and 1947. King Michael died on December 5 in Switzerland at the age of 96. He will be laid to rest at the royal necropolis in Curtea de Arges (in the south). The funerals will be attended by personalities from all over the world. According to the site romaniaregala.ro, attending the funerals, besides the Royal Family of Romania, will be representatives of the Royal Families from Great Britain, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Jordan, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Albania, France, Prussia and Portugal. Also attending the funerals will be representatives of the Imperial Families of Russia, Austria and Germany, the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Princely House de Ligne.



    Brexit — The developments in the Brexit process and the issues caused by migration are the main topics on the agenda of the winter European Council which starts Thursday in Brussels. Romania is represented by President Klaus Iohannis. The EU leaders will look at the progress made in the negotiations with London in three specific domains, namely the rights of citizens, the dialogue with Ireland and the financial commitments of Great Britain to the EU budget. The participants will also adopt the guidelines that will facilitate the passing to the 2nd stage of Brexit negotiations, in the context in which the EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier confirmed that enough progress was reported in the 1st stage. On the sidelines of the European Council, President Iohannis will participate in the Euro+ Summit, which will also be attended by EU countries that are not in the Euro zone. As regards security and defense, the summit will discuss the instrument of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). President Iohannis will reiterate Bucharest’s commitment to making PESCO operational and will show that the implementation of this instrument should lead to a more efficient development of military capabilities and to an increased cohesion among EU states. President Iohannis will also advocate the deepening and extension of EU-NATO cooperation, the presidential administration reports.



    Controversial amendments — The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has passed the amendments modifying the justice laws that refer to the organization of the judiciary and the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The bill on the organization of the judiciary provides, among other things, for the setting up of a section for investigating prosecutors and judges and for the possibility of solutions adopted by prosecutors being rejected by their superiors, if the latter consider them illegal or ungrounded. The second bill that was passed, related to the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy, states that the Judicial Inspection, which will remain a part of the institution, is the only body to be able to take disciplinary actions against a magistrate, eliminating from this procedure the justice minister and the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The two bills will be sent to the Senate, which is currently analyzing, in emergency procedure, the bill on the status of magistrates.



    Budget — The joint budget and finance committees in the Romanian Parliament are today continuing debates on the budgets to be allotted in 2018 to the main public institutions, among which the justice, defense and interior ministries. The majority coalition wants to finalize debates and the joint committees’ report by Saturday, so as to be able to debate the draft budget law during Monday’s plenum session. The final vote on the budget and social security bills for 2018 is scheduled for December 21. The budget was based on a 5.5% economic growth rate, with supplementary revenues being distributed among the healthcare, education and investments ministries. The government has also allotted resources for the rise in the minimum salary and pensions. The opposition has contested the budget, claiming that revenues are overestimated. . The two bills will be sent to the Senate, which is currently analyzing, in emergency procedure, the bill on the status of magistrates.



    Drills — Canadian pilots at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in the southeast of Romania are today participating alongside Romanian pilots in an Air Policing drill, which is part of the NATO Plan to strengthen the eastern flank of the Alliance. MiG-21 LanceR and CF-18 Hornet planes carrying missiles are prepared to intercept potential unidentified aircraft nearing Romania’s airspace. The drill is meant for the joint training of military, with a view to meeting NATO’s specific inter-operability requirements and boosting the level of cooperation with the allies. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • The Nation Mourns for King Michael I

    The Nation Mourns for King Michael I

    King Michael I has finally returned home for good. One week after his death at his residence in Switzerland, the body of the last sovereign of Romania was brought back to his country on Wednesday morning, and was laid in state for a few hours at Peles Castle, the royal residence in Sinaia mountain resort, in the Southern Carpathians. The kings acquaintances said that the king was very much attached to the palace, the place where he was born, on October 25th, 1921.



    Ceremonies at the palace were reserved for state officials. President Klaus Iohannis, members of Parliament and Government from Romania and the neighboring Republic of Moldova were the only ones present there to present condolences. Everyone wishing to pay homage one last time to the king may do so at the Royal Palace in Bucharest, where his coffin will lie in state until Friday night, in what used to be the throne room.



    Thousands have already brought flowers and lit candles in front of the palace, which became a veritable place of pilgrimage as of Tuesday, December 5th, when the kings death was announced. King Michael will be laid to rest on Saturday, December 16th, in Curtea de Arges, in the royal necropolis at the Medieval Christian Orthodox church there.



    At final rest there are his wife, Queen Anne, who passed away last year, as well as his three predecessors from the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, Carol I, Ferdinand, and Carol II. This line came to the throne in 1866, laying the foundations of modern Romania. They achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877, and brought together Greater Romania as a country in 1918, when, at the end of WWI, they gathered under the authority of Bucharest all provinces with a majority Romanian population.



    According to the Royal House, the funerals in Curtea de Arges are expected to be attended by about one hundred foreign politicians, royal figures and heads of state and government. The authorities in Bucharest have decreed three days of national mourning for the 14th, 15th and 16th of December. Parliament already held a solemn session on Monday, paying homage to the last sovereign, who took the throne in 1940. He was forced to abdicate and go into exile seven years later under pressure from the communist government and Soviet troops.



    In 1944, a young King Michael had already written history by taking the country out of its alliance with Nazi Germany and bringing it alongside its traditional allies, Great Britain and the United States. President Klaus Iohannis said that King Michael symbolized the hope of a reborn and free Romania, and he would be remembered as a great statesman.



    The kings first born, Crown Princess Margaret, Custodian of the Crown, said that she and the nation have lost a parent. She promised that the Royal House would continue to support all the fundamental institutions of the state in order to help the country progress.

  • August 5, 2016 UPDATE

    August 5, 2016 UPDATE

    SUBSCRIPTION – The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has announced, at the end of the subscription campaign for the “Centenar” government securities, that the issue has been a success and it has attracted more than 700 million lei from citizens. He has also said that more than 20,000 people participated in the campaign, which could be seen as the start of a process with the help of which Romanians will get familiarized with a set of financial tools. The Romanian Finance Ministry issued government securities for citizens in 2015, for the first time after 10 years, with a nominal value of 1,000 lei. Most investors are from the urban area, with Bucharest on top of the subscription list.



    ECONOMY-The National Bank of Romania has revised downwards this year’s inflation forecast. According to the Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu, inflation will remain negative until the end of 2016, although in May the estimated rate was 0.6%. Isarescu has stated that in 2017 inflation will return to the variation range targeted by the National Bank, and in 2018 it will reach the upper end of the range.



    MOURNING — The President of the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, on Friday signed a decree to declare August 13, 2016 a day of national mourning, “in token of deep regret and grief for the death of Queen Anne of Romania.” The state flags will be flying at half-mast in all towns and cities, as well as at the Moldovan diplomatic and consular missions. The funeral of Queen Anne of Romania is scheduled for August 13, at the Curtea de Arges Monastery, in southern Romania. Princess Anne of Bourbon Parma, known as Queen Anne, 92, the wife of Romania’s last king, Michael I, passed away in Switzerland, after a long suffering.



    TURKEY-The US Secretary of State John Kerry is going to pay a visit to Turkey on August 24th, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has announced. The American official’s visit will take place approximately one month since the failed military coup in Turkey, which rendered bilateral relations rather tense. Ankara has repeatedly called on Washington to extradite preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused by the Turkish authorities of having masterminded the coup. The US has called on Ankara to provide evidence of Gülen’s involvement. On Thursday, a court in Istanbul issued a warrant for the arrest of the former imam, which is the first step in the process of starting a formal request for his extradition. The US Department of State has stated that the US is analysing the new documents submitted by Turkey. Fethullah Gülen, who’s been living in the American state of Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied any involvement in the failed coup.



    FESTIVAL-The Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu has held talks in Bucharest with the director of the EUROPALIA International Festival, Baroness Kristine De Mulder, who paid a visit to Romania over August 2nd – 5th. Comanescu has mentioned Romania’s successful covering of the stages needed for it to be the guest of the 2019 edition of the festival, which is the most important such event in Belgium. Launched in Brussels in 1969, Europalia is a international art biennale, which promotes the heritage and cultural diversity of the guest country. In 2017, the honorary guest will be Indonesia. At the previous editions, the guests have been Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, China, Brazil, India and Turkey.



    MUSIC-“Untold”, the biggest music festival in Romania, continues in Cluj Napoca, central Romania. Until August 7th, the audience will have the opportunity to see over 150 international artists and some of the most en vogue DJs in the world. The organisers of the event estimate that the turnout will stand at some 350,000 people in four days of festival.



    FOOTBALL — Romania’s football vice-champion team, Steaua Bucharest, will face the strong England team Manchester City, in the Champions League play-off round, according to Friday’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland. Steaua will play the first match on home turf, and the return match away from home. If it goes past Manchester City, Romania’s vice-champion team will qualify to the Champions League group stage. Otherwise, Steaua will play in the Europa League group stage. Also on Friday, Romania’s champion, Astra Giurgiu, found out what team it will be facing in the Europe league play-offs: the English team West Ham United. Astra failed to qualify to the Champions League play-off round, after sustaining a 3-0 defeat away from home with Copenhagen FC, and ended the first match 1-1, on home turf.


    (Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)

  • October 31, 2015 UPDATE

    October 31, 2015 UPDATE

    NATIONAL MOURNING -
    The Prosecutor’s Office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice on
    Saturday carried out the first part of the investigation into Friday night’s
    fire, which broke out in a club in downtown Bucharest. The death toll stands at
    27 people dead and some 150 injured. The Romanian government has decreed three
    days of national mourning, to be observed on October 31st, November
    the 1st and 2nd, in -what is being considered- the second worst tragedy to strike Romania since 1989. The death toll could go up,
    because some of the injured are in a critical condition. Four foreign nationals
    are among them: two Spaniards, a German and an Italian. Between 300 and 500
    young people were attending a rock concert when the fire broke out. Romania’s
    President, Klaus Iohannis, has expressed grief but also revolt that such a
    tragedy could occur in downtown Bucharest, most likely against the backdrop of
    laws and norms in the field being ignored. The President of the European
    Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, has sent a message of condolences to the
    families and friends of the victims of the tragic accident that occurred on
    Friday night. In turn, the European Commissioner for Regional Policies, Corina
    Cretu, has expressed her deep sorrow and shock at the news of the tragedy in
    Bucharest. The Embassies of the United States of America and of the Russian
    Federation in Bucharest, respectively, have also sent messages of condolences.



    PLANE CRASH – All 224 people on board the Airbus321-200 passenger jet belonging to the Russian airline “Metrojet, which crashed on Saturday morning in Egypts Sinai Peninsula, lost their lives, the Egyptian government and the Russian Embassy in Cairo have confirmed. According to France Presse, the Egyptian wing of the Islamic State Jihadist group claimed responsibility for the crash on Tweeter, in retaliation for Rusias intervention in Syria. However, the Egyptian authorities say there is no clear evidence confirming an attack scenario. The Russian chartered plane was en route from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. President Vladimir Putin decreed a day of national mourning on November 1.




    SUMMIT- Representatives of nine Central and East European countries, alongside NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow, will attend a summit in Bucharest, on November the 4th. The NATO official has recently said a series of risks might appear when Russia gets involved in operations unfolding very close to NATO territory. Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, the host of the summit, has said the participants will launch a common message on NATOs adjustment to the current security conditions.




    CHISINAU – The Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the non-affiliated MPs in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet country, with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, on Friday had a first meeting for the formation of a new ruling coalition, Radio Chishinau has announced. The meeting was not attended by the Liberal Democratic Party, which has announced a decision will be made in the following days on whether or not it participates in the formation of a new alliance. The politicians have said a new pro-European majority is needed and invited the Liberal-Democrats to join the talks. We recall that the pro-European cabinet led by Liberal Democrat Valeriu Strelet was dissolved by Parliament on Thursday, following a censure motion initiated by the Socialists and the Communists, and backed by the Democratic Party, one of the members of the ruling coalition. Liberal Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Brega has been designated interim prime minister by Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti.



    TRADE UNIONS – Romanian trade unions affiliated to the SED LEX Federation will make a decision early next week on having a reaction at national level on the governments decision to increase the salaries of some of the state sector employees. SED LEX says the 50% increase in the basic salaries of people working in the financial system, as of November the 1st, is applied only to those working in central structures. Consequently, only 3,000 employees of the Finance Ministry and of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, ANAF, will benefit from pay-rises, and not the 23,000 people working in the territorial structures of the public finance system. The Finance Ministry announced on Friday that approximately 5,700 employees of ANAF and the line ministry will benefit from an average 22% increase in their basic salaries. The ministry claims the measure is justified by the complex activities carried out in the aforementioned institutions and the urgent need to ensure the stability of the specialised staff.



    SINGAPORE – Czech tennis player Petra Kvitova has qualified for the finals of the WTA Tournament of Champions, in Singapore, with 7 million US dollars total prize money up for grabs. She managed to defeat Russian Maria Sharapova in a two set match played on Saturday. World number five Petra Kvitova will face, in the finals, Polish Agnieszka Radwanska, WTA no.6 ranked player, who defeated in the semi-finals second-seeded Spanish Garbine Muguruza.

  • October 31, 2015

    October 31, 2015

    NATIONAL MOURNING – The Romanian government, meeting in an emergency session today, has decreed three days of national mourning, after 27 people died following a powerful fire, which broke out on Friday night during a rock concert in a nightclub in Bucharest. The authorities warn the death toll could go up because some of the 146 people who are being treated in hospitals are in a critical state. When the fire broke out, between 300 and 500 people were attending a rock concert. Hundreds of people answered the appeal launched by the authorities to donate blood at the transfusion centres in Bucharest. The investigation into the case has been taken over by the Prosecutors Office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice. Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, went to one of the hospitals treating the victims and then to the site of the tragedy. He has expressed grief but also revolt that such a tragedy could occur in downtown Bucharest. According to the Romanian President, there is information leading to the conclusion the event might have occurred against the backdrop of laws and norms in the field being ignored. The President of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker, has sent a message of condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the tragic accident which occurred on Friday night. He expressed sadness at the loss of so many young lives, who had such a tragic end. In turn, the European Commissioner for Regional Policies, Corina Cretu, has expressed her deep sorrow and shock at the news of the tragedy in Bucharest. She called on her Romanian co-nationals to stay united in such difficult times.



    PLANE CRASH – Egyptian search and rescue teams which arrived at the site of the crashed Airbus-321 passenger jet belonging to the Russian airline “Kogalymavia managed to extract at least 100 bodies from the wreckage of the plane, Reuters and Tass quote a representative of the Egyptian security services as saying. According to the local media, no survivors of the 224 people on board have been found so far. Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed a day of national mourning on November 1, 2015. The administration of the airport in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh said all crew-members and passengers on board the plane were Russian nationals. The plane, en route to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, crashed north of the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday morning.



    SUMMIT- Representatives of nine Central and East European countries, alongside NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow, will attend a summit in Bucharest, on November, 4. The NATO official has recently said a series of risks might appear when Russia gets involved in operations unfolding very close to NATO territory. Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, the host the summit, has said the participants will launch a common message on NATOs adjustment to the current security conditions.


    TRADE UNIONS – Romanian
    trade unions affiliated to the SED LEX Federation will make a decision early
    next week on having a reaction at national level on the government’s decision
    to increase the salaries of some of the state sector employees. SED LEX says
    the 50% increase in the basic salaries of people working in the financial
    system, as of November the 1st, is applied only to those working in
    central structures. Consequently, only 3,000 employees of the Finance Ministry
    and of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, ANAF, will benefit from
    pay-rises, and not the 23,000 people working in the territorial structures of
    the public finance system. The Finance Ministry announced on Friday that
    approximately 5,700 employees of ANAF and the line ministry will benefit from an
    average 22% increase in their basic salaries. The ministry claims the measure
    is justified by the complex activities carried out in the aforementioned
    institutions and the urgent need to ensure the stability of the specialised
    staff.


    CHISHINAU – The Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and
    the non-affiliated MPs in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet country,
    with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, on Friday had a first
    meeting for the formation of a new ruling coalition, Radio Chishinau has
    announced. The meeting was not attended by the Liberal Democratic Party, which has
    announced a decision will be made in the following days on whether or not it
    participates in the formation of a new alliance. The politicians have said a
    new pro-European majority is needed and invited the Liberal-Democrats to join
    the talks. We recall that the pro-European cabinet led by Liberal Democrat
    Valeriu Strelet was dissolved by Parliament on Thursday, following a censure
    motion initiated by the Socialists and the Communists, and backed by the
    Democratic Party, one of the members of the ruling coalition. Liberal Deputy
    Prime Minister Gheorghe Brega has been
    designated interim prime minister by Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti.