Radio România Internațional

Tag: Poroshenko

  • The Week in Review 18 – 24 April

    The Week in Review 18 – 24 April

    Romanias Schengen accession might take place in two stages


    The European Commission supports Romanias and Bulgarias Schengen accession, as both countries have clearly met all accession criteria. The statement was made by the EC President Jean – Claude Junker in Strasbourg, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in response to a question raised by a Romanian MEP. According to diplomatic sources quoted by the Radio Romania correspondent in Strasbourg, the accession might take place in two stages, starting the second half of the year. Initially planned to take place in March 2011, Romanias joining the border-free area has been postponed several times, as some of the EU member states have voiced reservations about this countrys effectiveness in reforming the judiciary and fighting corruption. In the meantime, Bucharest authorities have repeatedly stressed that Romania fully meets all technical accession criteria.


    The     new Romanian labour minister is faced with many challenges


    The salary law in the budget sector and the enforcement of the new provisions of the law on child-rearing leave and benefits are the main challenges facing the new labour minister Dragos Paslaru. A former economic adviser to Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, the 40-year-old minister Paslaru has replaced Ana Costea, who resigned following discontent voiced by trade unions with regard to the draft emergency law on salaries in the public sector. On Friday, at a stakeholders meeting, Prime Minister Ciolos explained that the salary law would not be changed for the time being and the Government would come up with a new proposal, aimed at making up for the inequities in the public salary system, in particular with regard to low salaries. Paslaru must also find solutions for the application of the new provisions of the law on child-rearing leave and benefits, which has been recently promulgated by the head of state. Under the new provisions, there will be no cap for the monthly child benefits, which used to stand at approximately 760 Euro. From now one, benefits will account for 85% of the incomes and are to be granted for a period of two years. The parents who decide to go back to work earlier, are entitled to an incentive of 50% of the minimum guaranteed benefits.




    Trade unionists in the health-care, mining and energy sectors are protesting against the current financial situation



    In Romania, trade unionists in the health-care sector have this week picketed prefects offices in several county seats and the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, asking for the elimination of unfair wage distribution in the medical system and a proper funding of the system. Protesters demand rules for the functioning of medical offices in schools and the allocation of 6% of the GDP for health. Equally disgruntled, dozens of miners and employees of the Oltenia Energy Complex, in southwestern Romania, marched 300 kms to Bucharest to voice their discontent. The energy minister Victor Grigorescu has stated that the government will find solutions to salvage the company. He has talked with management and employee representatives and together they have come up with a planned aimed at rendering the company more effective and restructuring the personnel scheme.



    The liberals keep appointing candidates for the office of general mayor of Bucharest



    Liberals, the main right-wing force in Romania, have just issued their fourth nomination for the general mayor candidate. The new candidate is the current leader of the partys Bucharest branch, former justice minister Catalin Predoiu. The previous proposals were the MEP Cristian Busoi, followed by the first-vice-president of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban, who renounced and also resigned from all party positions, as a result of him being investigated for corruption. The third nomination, that of Marian Munteanu, a former leader of the students movement during the anti-Communist revolution of 1989, was not too happy a choice either. Munteanu stepped back, rejecting however the allegation that he had collaborated with the former political police, the Securitate.





    Ukrainian president Petro Porosenko pays a visit to Romania


    On Thursday, Romanian authorities reiterated their support for Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, on the occasion of the visit paid to Bucharest by the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. The Kiev leader met with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Ciolos. The two heads of state discussed, among other things, security developments in the Black Sea area. Poroshenko said Ukraine would join the initiative for the creation of a Black Sea fleet, which would strengthen NATOs presence in the area and would help increase security in the region. The two presidents also discussed the setting up of a Romanian – Ukrainian – Bulgarian brigade, after the model of the one set up by Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. The Ukrainian president also met with PM Dacian Ciolos, who said that the formation of the new government in Kiev was a fresh opportunity for speeding domestic reforms and stabilizing the neighboring state. Two agreements were signed on the occasion, one on bilateral cooperation in the military transportation field and another one on joint patrolling along the border between the two countries.



  • Romania supports Ukraine’s European path

    Romania supports Ukraine’s European path

    The Romanian Parliament, Government and Presidency have unanimously condemned the annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea as well as the pro-Moscow armed rebellion in Donbas (east) and have reiterated their support for the observance of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.



    The avowed pro-western orientation of the current administration in Kiev has been the focus of the recent bilateral dialogue on Ukraine’s European integration aspirations. On a visit to Bucharest, on Thursday, the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko received assurances from his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, that Romania was ready to support Ukraine in the process of reforms necessary for complying with the commitments made upon signing the association and free trade agreements with Brussels in 2014.



    The Romanian President believes that Ukraine’s European and euro-Atlantic path is a solid basis for making substantial progress also in the bilateral relation.



    Klaus Iohannis: “I have assured the Ukrainian President of Romania’s staunch and consistent support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Romania is ready to support Ukraine in the process of internal reforms necessary for complying with the commitments made in the process of political association with the EU”.



    In turn, President Poroshenko said that they had to make the best of the opportunities offered by the free trade areas between Ukraine and the EU, while continuing talks on energy interconnection, which would diminish Kiev’s dependence on Russian gas. He also talked about the efficiency of the anti-corruption fight in his country, an essential prerequisite for the country’s rapprochement to the West.



    Petro Poroshenko: “We have proved to have a firm approach of the fight against corruption and have taken decisive steps in this regard. The European Commission decision regarding the visa waiver for the Ukrainian citizens proves that Ukraine has already implemented 140 points on the list of reforms, which was a sine qua non for making such a decision, and a great part of these reforms were related to the anti-corruption fight. I am convinced that the efficiency of the anti-corruption fight in Ukraine is critical for businesses, for the reform of the judiciary as well as for other domains that help the state develop”.



    At bilateral level, the two heads of state have signed an agreement stipulating the re-launch of the proceedings of the joint presidential Committee and the boosting of economic relations. At the same time, President Iohannis has recalled that 60 thousand Ukrainians who live in Romania benefit from financial aid provided by the state, worth 1.6 million euros per year, and underlined that Kiev had to pay more attention to the wishes of the almost 500 thousand Romanians living in Ukraine.


  • April 20, 2016

    April 20, 2016

    Official visit – The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, will be on an official visit to Romania on Thursday. He will have meetings in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis and with PM Dacian Cioloş. In February, the two presidents had a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich International Security Conference. The talks highlighted the progress made in several bilateral areas and the willingness of both sides to make headway in implementing the ongoing joint projects. The last high-level meeting took place on March 17, 2015, when Klaus Iohannis travelled to Kyiv.




    Eurovision – Romania risks being excluded from the Eurovision, unless it immediately pays over 9 million euros to the European Broadcasting Union, the organiser of this European song contest. The Romanian public television corporation, which is experiencing severe financial difficulties, has accrued debts of nearly 15 million euros since 2011. Recently, the management of the public broadcaster announced the Romanian authorities that apart from Eurovision there are other major competitions, such as the forthcoming European football championship in France or the Rio Olympics, which might not be covered because of the debts and under-financing. According to its annual report, in 2015 the Romanian television corporation had losses of over 5 million euros. This year Eurovision will be held in Stockholm, between May 10 and 14. Romania, which has been taking part in the competition since 1994, is to be represented by Ovidiu Anton, with a song called “Moment of Silence.



    Judicial cooperation – The Romanian Justice Minister, Raluca Prună, and her Spanish counterpart, Rafael Catala Polo, discussed on Wednesday in Bucharest the efficiency of the judicial systems of the two states, the organisation of courts, the strengthening of the prison infrastructure. The two officials also discussed aspects related to the judicial cooperation in criminal and civil matters. On Tuesday, Rafael Catala Polo had a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu. They discussed the situation of the Romanians who live in Spain and apply for dual citizenship and the two countries joint project regarding the establishment of an International Court against Terrorism.



    Judiciary – Romanias former right-wing president, Traian Băsescu, has been charged with a continuing offence of money laundering in a case prosecuted by the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to judicial sources, the case is related to land transactions in the Bucharest area. In 2000, when he was mayor general of Bucharest, Traian Băsescu purchased a substantially under-priced plot of land, which he subsequently sold for a lot more money. The ex-president confirmed, on his Facebook account, that he had been notified by the Prosecutor General of his being a suspect in a money laundering case. He mentioned however that in 2012 the criminal charges against him had been dropped. The case was re-opened in 2015.




    Stock Market – The Bucharest Stock Exchange, jointly with various brokerage firms, promoted Romania as an investment destination to the global investors taking part in the annual conference in New York. These efforts are aimed at improving knowledge of the Romanian capital market and at attracting new capital flows into the national economy. Taking part in the New York conference were 45 investors, representing 31 investment funds which manage a combined 1,100 billion US dollars. A total of 15 companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange had separate meetings with fund administrators.




    Defence – The defence ministers of Romania, Bulgaria and Greece have recently agreed in Luxembourg that their countries should take steps to strengthen cooperation in the field. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. The three ministers also discussed aspects related to the migration crisis and to the security structure, and agreed that joint action is required in order to handle the inflow of refugees.




    NATO-Russia – NATO and Russia today resume ambassador contacts after two years of tensions generated by the Ukrainian crisis and Moscows annexation of Crimea in 2014. The Alliances Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said the talks would tackle the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements, regarding the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, as well as means to prevent future incidents between NATO member countries and Russia, such as the recent one in the Baltic region, when Russian planes were too close to American vessels and aircraft. At Moscows request, terrorism was also included on the agenda.




    Media Freedom – World press freedom declined in all regions in 2015, particularly in the two Americas, according to the annual report made public by Reporters without Borders today. Romania ranks 49. The country with the highest press freedom rates are Finland, the Netherlands and Norway. At the opposite pole are Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea. The World Press Freedom Index covers 180 countries, has been published since 2002 and takes into account aspects like pluralism, mass media independence, self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency, infrastructure and abuse.