Radio România Internațional

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  • The decisions of the Country’s Supreme Defence Council

    The decisions of the Country’s Supreme Defence Council

    Often described as the umbrella of Romanian security structures and chaired by President Klaus Iohannis, the Countrys Supreme Defence Council on Tuesday approved Bucharests participation in the European Unions initiative in the field.



    According to the presidents office, the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) will represent an intensified form of collaboration in the areas of security policy and common defence. This will allow member states who fulfil advanced criteria in the field of military capabilities and who wish to take on additional responsibilities to achieve a structured cooperation amongst themselves. Romania is to voice a preliminary intention to take part in a first set of ten projects from among those that have been proposed so far and whose later development corresponds to national priorities with respect to the development of military capabilities.



    A member of NATO since 2004 and of the European Union since 2007, Romania has always had a measured involvement in the two organisations common security projects. It frequently plays host to NATO multi-national exercises, military bases and parts of the US missile defence shield are located on its territory, and Romanian troops have been in Afghanistan since the early 2000s, alongside their colleagues from the US.



    Based on a political pact embraced by all parliamentary parties in Romania, 2% of the countrys GDP goes to defence, as requested by both US president Donald Trump and NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. On the other hand, as experts have pointed out, for tens of years, under NATOs safe umbrella, the Europeans waited for the Americans to protect them from external threats.



    The European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has explicitly called for the creation of a European Union military force, saying this was one of the best ways to defend the Unions values and borders. “Europe’s image has suffered dramatically and also in terms of foreign policy, we don’t seem to be taken entirely seriously, said Juncker after Russias annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.



    Ioan Mircea Pascu, the vice-president of the European Parliament and a former Romanian defence minister during whose tenure Romania was admitted into NATO, has a more diplomatic position vis-à-vis the idea of a common defence policy. He has told Radio Romania that security has become a main concern for European citizens and therefore for the EU structures. He also believes that the defence of the European Union, an aspect that has been neglected for a long time, cannot be ensured, in the event of massive aggression, without support from the American partners.


    (translated by: Cristina Mateescu)

  • Decizii CSAT

    Decizii CSAT

    Calificat,
    frecvent, drept cupola structurilor româneşti de securitate şi condus de
    preşedintele Klaus Iohannis, Consiliul Suprem de Apărare a Ţării a aprobat,
    marţi, participarea Bucureştiului la iniţiativa în domeniu a Uniunii Europene.
    Potrivit Preşedinţiei de la Bucureşti, Cooperarea Structurată Permanentă
    (PESCO) va reprezenta o formă intensificată de colaborare pe dimensiunea
    politicii de securitate şi apărare comună. Aceasta va oferi posibilitatea ca
    statele membre ale Uniunii care îndeplinesc criterii avansate în domeniul
    capabilităţilor militare şi doresc să-şi asume angajamente suplimentare să
    realizeze între ele o cooperare structurată.

    România îşi va exprima intenţia
    preliminară de participare la un set iniţial de zece proiecte din cele avansate
    până în prezent de către statele membre, proiecte a căror dezvoltare ulterioară
    corespunde priorităţilor naţionale privind dezvoltarea capabilităţilor
    militare. Membră a NATO din 2004 şi a UE din 2007, România şi-a dozat
    întotdeauna atent implicarea în programele comune de securitate ale celor două
    organizaţii. Ţara găzduieşte frecvent exerciţii multinaţionale ale Alianţei,
    adăposteşte baze militare şi componente ale scutului american antirachetă, iar
    soldaţii români sunt în Afganistan, încă de la începutul anilor 2000, alături
    de camarazii lor din Statele Unite.

    Graţie unui pact politic la care au
    subscris toate formaţiunile parlamentare, două procente din Produsul Intern
    Brut al României sunt alocate apărării, aşa cum şi-au dorit, deopotrivă,
    preşedintele american Donald Trump şi secretarul general al NATO, Jens
    Stoltenberg.

    Pe de altă parte, însă, aşa cum remarcă experţii, zeci de ani, sub
    umbrela sigură a NATO, europenii au aşteptat exclusiv de la americani să-i
    apere de ameninţările externe. Acum un an, şeful Executivului comunitar,
    Jean-Claude Juncker, pleda explicit pentru înfiinţarea unei forţe militare a
    Uniunii Europene. Aceasta, afirma Juncker, ar fi una dintre cele mai bune
    modalităţi de apărare a valorilor şi graniţelor Uniunii.

    După anexarea peninsulei
    ucrainene Crimeea de către Rusia, după divorţul Marii Britanii de Bruxelles,
    imaginea Europei a suferit dramatic, iar în ceea ce priveşte politica externă
    nu pare să fim luaţi în serios     – recunoştea preşedintele Comisiei Europene.

    Ministru al Apărării în mandatul căruia România a fost admisă în NATO, actualul
    vicepreşedinte al Parlamentului European Ioan Mircea Paşcu are o atitudine
    nuanţată faţă de ideea unei politici comunitare de apărare. El sublinia, pentru
    Radio România, că securitatea a devenit o preocupare principală pentru
    cetăţenii europeni şi, ca atare, şi pentru organismele comunitare. Dar şi că,
    multă vreme neglijată, apărarea Uniunii Europene nu poate fi asigurată, în
    cazul unei agresiuni masive, fără suportul partenerilor americani.

  • October 17, 2017 UPDATE

    October 17, 2017 UPDATE

    PESCO – The Country’s Supreme Defence Council on Tuesday approved Romania’s
    participation in the EU defence initiative. According to the presidential
    administration, Romania intends to participate with 10 projects as part of the
    Permanent Structured Cooperation programme (PESCO), aimed at strengthening
    common EU defence. The Council’s meeting was held two days between the European
    Council meeting in Brussels, whose agenda also includes matters relating to common defence.










    GOVERNMENT – The
    three new ministers proposed by the Social Democratic Party, the main party in
    the ruling coalition in Romania, were sworn in on Tuesday evening, in the
    presence of the head of state Klaus Iohannis. The three are Development
    Minister Paul Stanescu, Transportation Minister Felix Stroe and the Minister
    for European Funds Marius Nica. They have replaced Sevil Shhaideh, Rovana Plumb
    and Razvan Cuc, who have resigned. Shhaideh and Plumb are under investigation
    by the National Anticorruption Directorate in a case of corruption, and
    minister Cuc was accused of underperformance. The Alliance of Liberals and
    Democrats in Romania, the junior partner in the ruling coalition, has announced
    it will not withdraw support for its minister Viorel Ilie, Minister for Liaison
    with Parliament, ho is currently under
    investigation for influence peddling.






    EUROZONE – Romania must have a healthy
    economy in order to join the Eurozone in favourable conditions, said on Tuesday
    the Governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isarescu. He also said that
    becoming one of the Eurozone countries was a strategic goal for Romania, even
    though Europe was faced with challenges regarding its structure and functioning. The
    head of the Central Bank also stated that Romania must be involved in
    establishing the way in which the European construction will look and function.








    ANTICORRUPTION – The head
    of the Anticorruption Directorate in Romania, Laura Codruta Kovesi, attended in
    Brussels on Tuesday a conference organised by the European Parliament. On the
    occasion, Kovesi stated that the prosecutors’ actions can be sustainable only
    if they are completed by preventive actions carried out by institutions with
    responsibilities in the field. She talked, among other things, about some of
    the characteristics of the Directorate and the results obtained by the
    institution in combating corruption, in the past 10 years. The Directorate is
    presented as one of the five best practices at the level of the EU, Kovesi also
    said. The statements were made at the conference titled Learning lesions from
    Romania: exchange of good practices between anticorruption authorities in
    Romania and Ukraine.




    IMMUNITY VOTE – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has
    rejected, through secret voting, the request filed by the National
    Anticorruption Directorate to start the prosecution of the former minister
    delegate for European funds, Rovana Plumb. Only 99 deputies voted in favour
    of lifting her immunity, while the
    other 183 voted against. Plumb is
    accused of complicity to abuse of office while serving as minister for the
    environment and climate change, as part of a corruption case that also involves
    the former deputy prime minister Sevil Shhaideh. The National Anticorruption
    Directorate claims that, through the concerted action of persons holding public
    offices, parts of the Danube’s Belina Island and Pavel Branch were illegally
    transferred from state property to that of the Teleorman county and under the
    management of the Teleorman County Council before being leased, again
    illegally, to a private firm a few days later. Prosecutors argue that the
    property in question belongs to public domain and could not become the property
    of a county council through government order but only by law.










    CAR MAKING – The car industry
    in Romania, which accounts for a quarter of the country’s exports, has called
    for transparency from the government. The head of the Romanian-German Chamber
    of Commerce and Industry Dragos Anastasiu told a conference in Bucharest that
    insufficiently prepared fiscal and economic measures can damage the sector,
    with its almost 600 companies and around 200,000 employees. Government advisor
    Florin Vodita said the government has taken measures to stimulate innovation,
    research and development in the sector by exempting companies from paying profit
    tax in their first ten years of activity.



  • 17 October, 2017

    17 October, 2017

    PESCO. The Country’s Supreme Defence
    Council is to meet today in Bucharest to analyse the PESCO programme for the
    consolidation of common defence in the European Union and of the European
    defence industry. The Council will look at recent developments related to the
    activity of this body and its effects as far as Romania is concerned and will
    consider taking a political decision with respect to Romania’s possible
    involvement in the permanent structured cooperation format. The Council’s
    meeting is held two days before a European Council summit in Brussels, whose
    agenda also includes matters related to common defence.




    Government. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis is analysing the proposals submitted
    by prime minister Mihai Tudose for a new cabinet membership, with Paul Stanescu
    proposed to take over the development ministry, Felix Stroe the transport
    ministry and Marius Nica the ministry for European funds. They would replace
    Sevil Shhaideh, Rovana Plumb and Razvan Cuc, who have resigned. Shhaideh and
    Plumb are under investigation by the National Anticorruption Directorate as
    part of a corruption case, while Cuc was accused of underperformance. The
    Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the junior partner in the ruling coalition,
    says it will not withdraw support for its minister Viorel Ilie, who is
    responsible for the relationship with Parliament and who is under investigation
    for peddling in influence.




    Immunity vote. The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest today rejected,
    through a secret ballot vote, a request by the National Anticorruption
    Directorate to start the prosecution of the former minister delegate for
    European funds and Member of Parliament Rovana Plumb. 99 of deputies voted in
    favour of lifting her parliamentary immunity and 183 against. Plumb is accused
    of complicity to abuse of office while serving as minister for the environment
    and climate change, as part of a corruption case that also involves the former
    deputy prime minister Sevil Shhaideh. The National Anticorruption Directorate
    claims that, through the concerted action of persons holding public offices,
    parts of the Danube’s Belina Island and Pavel Branch were illegally transferred
    from state property to that of the Teleorman county and under the management of
    the Teleorman County Council before being leased, again illegally, to a private
    firm a few days later. Prosecutors argue that the property in question belongs
    to public domain and could not become the property of a county council through
    government order but only by law.




    Ukraine education law. The leaders of Romanian cultural associations in the Cernauti area, in
    western Ukraine, plan to hold a rally today in front of the Regional Administration
    headquarters and stage what they called the burial of the Romanian language.
    They will thus protest against Ukraine’s new education law that drastically
    restricts the access of ethnic minorities to education in their languages.
    Under the law, ethnic minority children can only study in their languages up to
    secondary education. Almost half a million ethnic Romanians live in the
    neighbouring state, mostly in the Romanian territories annexed by the former
    Soviet Union in 1940 through an ultimatum and inherited by Ukraine in 1991 as a
    successor state. The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Melescanu, who met his
    Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin last Friday, said Bucharest understands the
    concern and discontent of the Romanian ethnic minority in Ukraine caused by the
    new education law.




    Travel warning. The foreign ministry in Bucharest has issued an alert for the Romanian
    citizens currently in Portugal and Spain or who plan to transit or travel to
    these countries, warning of wildfires. Another warning was issued for Ireland,
    which is affected by Storm Ohelia. Today, Portugal has declared three days of
    national mourning in memory of the almost 40 persons killed in wildfires. 3
    people have also been killed in north-western Spain. In Ireland, Storm Ophelia
    caused the death of 3 people. Wind speeds of up to 150 km/hour were reported in
    the west of the country, felling trees and leading to power cuts.




    Car-making sector. The car industry in Romania, which accounts for a quarter
    of the country’s exports, has called for transparency from the government. The
    head of the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry Dragos Anastasiu
    told a conference in Bucharest that insufficiently prepared fiscal and economic
    measures can damage the sector, with its almost 600 companies and around
    200,000 employees. Government advisor Florin Vodita said the government has
    taken measures to stimulate innovation, research and development in the sector
    by exempting companies from paying profit tax in their first ten years of
    activity.

  • Nachrichten 23.06.2017

    Nachrichten 23.06.2017

    Präsident Iohannis hat im Rahmen einer Pressekonferenz nach dem Europäischen Rat in Brüssel die wichtigsten Gesprächsthemen des Gipfels zusammengefasst. Zur Sprache gekommen seien für Europa extrem wichtige Themen, wie etwa die gemeinsame Verteidigung, die interne und externe Sicherheit, die Migrationsfrage, die Digitalagenda, die Wirtschaft und der Klimawandel, so Iohannis. Ferner sei beim Rat die PESCO-Strategie gebilligt worden, die eine strukturierte und ständige Zusammenarbeit im Bereich Verteidigung anvisiert. Die Sanktionen gegen Russland wurden für weitere sechs Monate verlängert. Darüber hinaus habe der Europäische Rat eine engere Kooperation mit der Online-Industrie beschlossen, berichtete der rumänische Präsident. Sozialnetzwerk-Betreiber wurden aufgefordert, Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Hassreden im Internet zu treffen. Auf den Brexit angesprochen erklärte Iohannis, dass sowohl die EU der 27 als auch Großbritannien sich auf die Notwendigkeit einer bereichsorientierten Verhandlung geeinigt hätten. Zuerst sollten heikle Themen wie die Staatsbürger, Finanzen und Irland zur Debatte stehen. Erst nachdem in diesen Bereichen erhebliche Fortschritte erzielt seien, müsse man auch die zukünftige Zusammenarbeit nach dem Austritt Großbritanniens in die Verhandlungen einschließen. Im Namen Rumäniens plädierte Staatschef Iohannis für eine enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen allen Mitgliedsstaaten der Union in allen Sicherheitsfragen. Außerdem sprach er sich gegen den Vergleich mit der NATO und gegen EU-Parallelstrukturen zum Militärbündnis aus.



    Präsident Klaus Iohannis hat sich am Freitag in Brüssel mit seinem französischen Gegenüber Emmanuel Macron getroffen, der zum ersten Mal an einem EU-Gipfel teilnimmt. Die beiden Staatschefs diskutierten über die Aufnahme Rumäniens in Schengen, den Stand und die Perspektiven der bilateralen Beziehungen, sowie die innenpolitische Lage in Bukarest.



    Trotz Brexit bleibt Großbritannien ein Freund und Partner Rumäniens, versicherte der britische Botschafter in Bukarest, Paul Brummell. Das Jahr 2017 sei das intensivste aus der Sicht der militärischen Partnerschaft zwischen den beiden Ländern. Rumänen, die in Großbritannien leben, arbeiten und studieren, sind willkommen, sagte Brummell, der besonders die Fachkenntnsse der rumänischen Ärzte in seinem Land lobte. Der amtierende rumänische Außenminister Teodor Meleşcanu wies seinerseits darauf hin, dass der gemeinsame Handel letztes Jahr bei vier Milliarden Euro lag.



    Der strategische Dialog zwischen der Moldau und den USA ist in Chişinău 25 Jahre nach Aufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen wieder angelaufen. Die Ankündigung machten der moldauische Außenminister Andrei Galbuş und die stellvertretende Assistentin des US-Staatssekretärs, Bridget Brink, im Rahmen einer Pressekonferenz in der moldauischen Hauptstadt. Die Zusammenarbeit soll sich auf die Gründung gemeinsamer Arbeitsgruppen stützen. Die Situation in der Republik Moldau sollte nach Auffassung der deutschen Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel von den Institutionen der EU aufmerksam im Auge behalten werden. Merkel hatte sich am Rande eines Treffens der EVP in Brüssel mit der moldauischen Spitzenpolitikerin und früheren Präsidentschaftskandidatin Maia Sandu getroffen, die die Wahlen gegen den prorussichen Sozialisten Igor Dodon verloren hatte. Ebenfalls in Brüssel wies der rumänische Europaabgeordnete Andi Cristea jüngste Erklärungen Dodons als unverantwortlich zurück – der moldauische Präsident hatte erklärt, dass die Hälfte der EU-Gelder für die Moldau in Chişinău gestohlen werden. Dodon will eine Aufkündigung des Assoziierungs- und Freihandelsabkommens zwischen seinem Land und der EU und eine stärkere Annäherung zu Russland.