Radio România Internațional

Tag: Peter

  • June 29, 2024 UPDATE

    June 29, 2024 UPDATE

    OSCE Until July 3rd Bucharest is hosting the 31st annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE. High on the agenda is the Parliamentary prospects regarding the OSCE role in the present security architecture. The participants – MPs from over 50 member states of the organization – are expected to endorse the statement in Bucharest, a document to comprise the resolutions of the general commissions and the additional ones initiated by the members. These will include a resolution on the worsening situation of the human rights in the breakaway region of Transdniester, in the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. Russia and Belarus have been excluded from the Bucharest meeting.

     

    DAY Christians in Romania on Saturday celebrated the holy apostles Peter and Paul, the most important apostles of Jesus Christ. St. Peter disseminated Christianity in Palestine and Rome, while St. Paul founded many churches in the territories presently owned by Turkey and Greece. The two died as martyrs in Rome during the anti-Christian persecutions initiated by the mad emperor Nero in the year 67 a.d. Over 450 thousand Romanians are bearing the names of the two great apostles.

     

    SIBIU Seven artistic celebrities on Saturday were awarded a star on the Star Alley in Sibiu, central Romania, during the International Theatre Festival underway there. Some of these celebrities were the US actor John Malkovich, the French actress, Isabelle Adjani, and the Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, a recipient of the 2023 Nobel Prize in literature. The festival’s schedule included numerous indoor and outdoor performances. The 31st edition of the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu kicked off on June 21st and is due to end on Sunday night.

     

    POLICE According to Romanian police sources, 10 internationally wanted persons, with arrest warrants issued in their names, have been brought to Romania in the past week. The ten criminals who have been flown in from France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain were indicted, among other things, for attempted murder, rape, statutory sexual assault, drug trafficking or theft. The criminals have been taken into custody and are ready to serve their sentences.

     

    WEATHER The weather will remain warm, even hot in the country’s western, southern and eastern regions and isolated in the center with a higher thermal discomfort. The highs of the day will be ranging between 28 degrees Celsius on the Black Sea coast and around 37 in the country’s south. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected in the mountains. The weather remains hot in Bucharest with a comfort index above 80 units. The noon high in Bucharest will be around 37 degrees centigrade.

     

    VOTE The new leader of the opposition USR, Elena Lasconi, on Saturday was designated the party’s candidate in the presidential election. Lasconi, who got more than 94% of the votes, believes the Right is the only solution to prosperity for Romania. In another development Social-Democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has announced he will invite the leaders of all political parties to talks over the presidential election’s schedule. The announcement comes after the ruling PSD and PNL’s failure to agree upon the presidential election date.

    (bill)

  • June 29, 2024

    June 29, 2024

    OSCE Until July 3rd Bucharest is hosting the 31st annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE. High on the agenda is the Parliamentary prospects regarding the OSCE role in the present security architecture. The participants – MPs from over 50 member states of the organization – are expected to endorse the statement in Bucharest, a document to comprise the resolutions of the general commissions and the additional ones initiated by the members. These will include a resolution on the worsening situation of the human rights in the breakaway region of Transdniester, in the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. Russia and Belarus have been excluded from the Bucharest meeting.

     

    DAY Christians in Romania are today celebrating the holy apostles Peter and Paul, the most important apostles of Jesus Christ. St. Peter disseminated Christianity in Palestine and Rome, while St. Paul founded many churches in the territories presently owned by Turkey and Greece. The two died as martyrs in Rome during the anti-Christian persecutions initiated by the mad emperor Nero in the year 67 a.d. Over 450 thousand Romanians are bearing the names of the two great apostles.

     

    VOTE The opposition Save Romania Union is today electing its leading structures and nominating its candidate in the presidential election. Earlier this week, a new leader was elected online, Elena Lasconi, after the former leader Catalin Drula had stepped down amid the poor results obtained by his group in the election of June 9th for the local administration and the European Parliament. Lasconi is one of the three vying for the nomination of the group’s candidate in the presidential election. In another development, the Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu on Friday announced he would invite the leaders of all political parties for talks on the election timetable. The announcement comes after the ruling PSD and PNL, which are forming the ruling coalition in Bucharest, had failed to agree over the election date for the highest position in the state.

     

    SIBIU Seven artistic personalities are today being awarded a star on the Star Alley in Sibiu, central Romania during the International Theatre Festival underway there. Some of these celebrities are the US actor John Malkovich, French actress, Isabelle Adjani, and Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature last year. The festival’s schedule includes numerous indoor and outdoor shows. Tonight on the stage of the Museum of Traditional Civilisation, one of the largest in Romania, the Madrigal choir will be presenting a preview of an extraordinary performance known as ‘Rituals’. The 31st edition of the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu kicked off on June 21st and is due to end on Sunday night.

     

    WEATHER The weather is hot in most parts of Romania, especially in its south, which has seen a lot of hot days this month, quite unusual for this time of the year. The comfort index is expected to clear the 80 unit threshold. The highs of the day are ranging between 28 and 30 degrees centigrade in most of the regions expect for the south where they will rise up to 35 degrees. The sky is overcast and showers and even thunderstorms are expected in the north, west and in central Romania. Hail is expected on isolated areas and the noon reading in Bucharest stands at 32 degrees Celsius.

    (bill)

  • Security in the Black Sea area

    Security in the Black Sea area


    The conference once again emphasized the need for NATOs capabilities to be strengthened in the Black Sea, an area still affected by frozen conflicts and latent tensions, because any flaw, any vulnerability in the Black Sea region will have its negative effect on the structure of the Alliance as a whole.



    Is the North-Atlantic Alliance prepared to face such challenges? This was the main question asked by Romanias president Klaus Iohannis during the talks. Iohannis pleaded for a unitary presence of the Alliance, which should also be a consolidated and coherent one, all along NATOs eastern flank. With details on that, here is president Iohannis himself.



    Klaus Iohannis: “Security in the Black Sea area and along the eastern flank has its direct influence on Euro-Atlantic security. Any flaw, any vulnerability at the Black Sea becomes a vulnerability of the Alliance as a whole, simply inviting hostile action. Is the Alliance prepared to face such challenges? So far it has demonstrated it is, proof of that being the measures taken and implemented beginning 2014 and all through to 2016, at the summit in Warsaw, and then at the summits in Brussels, in 2017 and 2018. That is not enough though. The Black Sea area requires an articulate and coordinated approach in political and operational terms, also addressing the capabilities aimed at restoring balance and deterring hostile action.”



    Romanias president Klaus Iohannis emphasized the fact that a strategic approach to that was vital. From an operational point of view, such an approach entails the permanent monitoring of regional developments, the strengthening of NATOs position and the Alliances capabilities as well as enhancing the resilience of NATOs partners, Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova.



    According to Bucharest, a unitary, consolidated and coherent presence of the Alliance, from the Baltic to the Black Sea is mandatory, so that NATO may build up an efficient position for deterrent and defense purposes. During the talks it was pointed out that the EUs increased defense capabilities are in NATOs best interest and that the programmes and operations need to be complementary.



    James Appathurai, the NATO Secretary Generals Deputy Assistant for Political Affairs and Security Policy, explained that, given the current security context, NATO and the European Union need to stay even closer to one another. According to him, the process of these two entities getting closer to one another, which was caused by a deteriorating security environment because of terrorism but also because of the instability caused by Russia, is necessary for the security of all member states.



    “A Europe more capable defense-wise will be able to take more responsibilities and also handle a bigger part of the shared burden. That would also be to the benefit of NATO, since the member states are owners of the capabilities they can make available to the Alliance as a whole. The close and strengthened partnership between the European Union and NATO as well as the trans-Atlantic relationship remain crucial as a means to respond to threats and security risks targeting both organizations”. This is also the official stance of the European External Action Service, which is an institution of the European Union officially launched on December 1st, 2010. Its role is to assist the European Unions High representative for foreign affairs and security policy.



    In Bucharest, the European External Action Service was represented by its Assistant Secretary General Jean Christophe Belliard who emphasized the need for the European Union to take greater responsibilities as regards its own security, but on a complementary and not a competitive basis with NATO. A US expert in Transatlantic defense and energy security and also a coordinator with the Center for European Policy Analysis, Peter Doran attended the conference in Bucharest.



    Specifically referring to the strengthening of the Trans-Atlantic ties, Peter Doran said that his organization dedicated its activity to a better understanding of the way the US ties with its allies can be strengthened especially here, in the Black Sea area. For the US official, there are three domains where such cooperation could be implemented. One is cooperation in the field of security and defense, then there is the field of energy, while the third domain of cooperation is what Peter Doran termed an indestructible connection, namely freedom. According to him these are the ties bringing Romania and United States closer to one another.



    Romania was especially interested in security against the backdrop of the recent evolution in the region, according to the Romanian Foreign Ministry Teodor Melescanu. The Romanian official explained that it was not by chance that security was the second most important issue of Romanias presidency of the Council of the European Union after cohesion.



    Melescanu went on to say that with respect to a lot of key issues in our region, for instance in the West Balkans, a strategic convergence has always existed between the activity of NATO and that of the European Union. The Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister has also added that there are a lot of precious lessons to learn regarding strategic coordination and the development of interoperability. According to him Romania has been a staunch supporter of the European Union – NATO partnership and of the Trans-Atlantic relationship as one of the main pillars of European security.