Radio România Internațional

Tag: peacekeeping

  • January 10, 2020

    January 10, 2020

    EU The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is taking part in Brussels today in a special meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, convened by the vice-president of the European Commission Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy in the wake of the recent developments in the Middle East. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, European officials will exchange opinions and assessments on the situation in Iraq and will identify ways for the EU to contribute to easing the tensions in the region. The developments in Libya will also be tackled.




    ELECTIONS In Bucharest, PM Ludovic Orban announced after todays talks with President Klaus Iohannis, that together they decided to initiate procedures for early parliamentary elections. The PM added that a work group has been put together to handle negotiations with the parliamentary political parties for support in this initiative. Ludovic Orban said that the Social Democratic Party, which has a relative majority in Parliament, hinders the Governments initiatives and that the only solution is to have snap parliamentary elections as close as possible to the local elections scheduled this May. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats are considering a motion of no-confidence.




    UN Romanias representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Ion Jinga, addressed the Security Council as part of a ministerial debate on “Maintenance of international peace and security upholding the UN Charter. The Romanian diplomat mentioned that 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the UN, which remains the most adequate platform for collectively tackling threats to international peace and security, and that the UN Charter remains the reference document in this respect. He emphasised that the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa prove once again the responsibility of the international community in facilitating political solutions able to support long-lasting peace. Ambassador Jinga also spoke about Romanias contribution to peacekeeping, proven among other things by its participation in 2019 in 10 UN peacekeeping missions.





    AIR CRASH The USA, Canada and Britain said that information from multiple sources indicates that the Ukrainian aircraft that crashed on Wednesday near Tehran has been taken down by Iranian armed forces. 176 people died. Iran may have accidentally shot down the plane in which 63 Canadian citizens were traveling, among other nationals, Canadas PM Justin Trudeau said. The US president Donald Trump and British PM Boris Johnson confirmed the hypothesis. All parties now ask Iran to initiate a detailed and thorough investigation. The Iranian authorities dismissed the latest intelligence as ridiculous and part of an American psychological manoeuvre. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev crashed shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport, just hours after Iran had launched ballistic missiles against 2 US military bases in Iraq, with the Iranians subsequently on alert for prospective American retaliation. According to American intelligence, the infrared signature from two suspected missile launches was identified, followed shortly afterwards by the infrared blip from the burning Boeing 737-800. On Thursday Irans Civil Aviation Organisation said the 3-year old plane faced technical problems shortly after take-off.



    HANDBALL Romanias mens handball team plays tonight in Benevento, Italy, against Georgia, in its first match in Group 3 of the qualification phase for the 2021 World Championship in Egypt. On Saturday Romania will play against Kosovo, and on Sunday they will take on the host country. The group winner qualifies into the second qualification phase, scheduled for mid-April. Manager Rares Fortuneanu, who also coaches Saint Raphael, in Frances top handball league, says he is confident Romania can qualify into next years final tournament, the first with 32 teams taking part. In the womens competition, Romania reached the main groups of the World Championship held last month in Japan.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 30 March 2019, UPDATE

    30 March 2019, UPDATE

    Energy. The European
    commissioner for climate action and energy Miguel Arias Canete will be in
    Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday, according to the European Commission Representation
    in Romania. On Monday, he will attend a meeting on the regional cooperation
    initiative in the field of energy in Central and South-East Europe, an event
    bringing together ministers and senior representatives from EU states and the contracting
    parties of the Energy Community. On Tuesday, Miguel Arias Canete will attend the
    first informal meeting of the energy council. The first energy ministerial
    meeting between EU member states and the Eastern Partnership states will also
    be held, with a view to consolidating regional energy cooperation.




    Quadrilateral meeting. The prime
    ministers of Romania, Viorica Dancila, Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov, and Greece,
    Alexis Tsipras, and the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, adopted a
    joint declaration at the 4-way meeting held at Snagov Palace, near Bucharest.
    According to a government press release after Friday night’s meeting, the four
    countries say in the declaration that they agree that the EU enlargement
    process, which is a priority of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the
    EU, remains an opportunity to demonstrate the European Union’s transformative
    power at a time when the Union is faced with difficult challenges. Romania,
    Bulgaria and Greece have hailed the efforts and progress made by Serbia’s
    government in the EU accession process and encouraged Serbia to maintain the
    pace of reforms. The four leaders meeting in Bucharest also reiterated support
    for regional projects of common interest, particularly in the area of
    transports, energy, information technology and communications, as well as youth
    and sports, in order to promote the development and overall connectivity of the
    region.




    United Nations. The
    Romanian foreign minister Teodor Melescanu has reiterated in New York Romania’s
    commitment to supporting the United Nations’ peace-keeping activities. He attended
    a UN ministerial meeting on uniformed capabilities, performance and protection.
    According to a foreign ministry statement published on Saturday, the Romanian
    official briefed UN members on the cooperation between the Department of Peace
    Operations and Romania’s Mihai Viteazul Gendarmerie School of Applications. On the
    sidelines of the meeting, Teodor Melescanu met the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and expressed an interest in Romania’s expanding cooperation
    with the United Nations in its capacity as current holder of the presidency of
    the Council of the EU.




    Measles. The number of measles cases
    has grown in Romania despite the fact that more children are being vaccinated.
    More than 80 new cases have been confirmed this week. Since the end of 2016,
    when the measles epidemic broke out, around 16,300 cases have been reported,
    including 60 deaths. More than 15,300 of those who got the virus had not been
    vaccinated. Measles is a contagious disease which often leads to complications.
    Doctors have emphasised the importance of vaccination, especially of children.
    The health ministry has been running vaccination campaigns in underprivileged
    areas. While in 2017 Romania had the highest number of measles cases in the
    European Union, last year it fell to 10th place.






    Education. New tests for elementary
    school children in years 3 and 7 and different types of baccalaureate exams are
    some of the changes to the education system proposed by the education minister Ecaterina
    Andronescu, who has launched a project to this effect. She wants to introduce
    four types of baccalaureate exams: science, socio-humanistic, vocational and
    technological. She also proposes that children are consulted about their future
    careers beginning in year 7 of elementary school and that year 4 classes should
    also have teachers specialised on various subjects besides a generalist
    teacher. These proposals will be subject to public discussions with teachers,
    trade unions and parents.