Radio România Internațional

Tag: Prince Charles in Romania

  • March 31, 2017 UPDATE

    March 31, 2017 UPDATE


    ROYAL VISIT – The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles of Wales, on Friday ended his second formal visit to Romania at the National Theatre in Bucharest, regarded as a cultural symbol of the country. Previously, he had meetings with Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, with Crown Princess Margareta of Romania, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, and with the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis awarded Prince Charles the “Star of Romania” National Order, in Rank of Grand Cross, in appreciation of his activity in Romania and for helping promote the countrys image worldwide.



    PRESIDENTIAL DECREE – On Monday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will sign the decree on the removal from office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment Daniel Constantin, and the one replacing him with Gratiela Gavrilescu, a former Minister for the Relation with Parliament, the Presidential Administration has announced. The new minister will be sworn in also on Monday. We recall that Daniel Constantin, co-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, lost his position in the Executive because his party, which formed the government together with the Social Democratic Party, withdrew its political support for the minister. Gratiela Gavrilescu used to be a Ministry of the Environment in the Social-Democratic Government headed by Victor Ponta. For the office of Minister for the Relation with Parliament, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats has proposed Senator Viorel Ilie.



    BREXIT – The European Council President Donald Tusk revealed on Friday the EUs negotiation strategy on Brexit. The document, submitted to all the 27 EU members, states that there must be “sufficient progress” as regards withdrawal talks, including a divorce bill potentially running as high as 50 billion pounds, before negotiations on future relations begin. London, which presented its exit strategy on Thursday, wants to start parallel talks on all issues, at the same time. Britain has chosen to leave the Union after 44 years of membership, during which time it has enjoyed a privileged status within the community bloc, pundits say.



    NATO MEETING – On Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu attended in Brussels the meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers, the first such meeting attended by the new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the meeting was the last before the special summit of the heads of state and government due in May 2017. The Romanian Foreign Minister underlined the importance of remaining united within NATO and stressed that responsibilities must be fairly shared, as a prerequisite for strengthening the trans-Atlantic ties. The situation in the eastern flank of the Alliance and the fight against terrorism were among the topics approached at the meeting. The agenda of talks also included NATOs role in the Eastern neighbourhood and the Western Balkans, as well as the situation in Ukraine.



    NATO EXERCISE – Between April 3-5, some 400 Romanian and Turkish navy military personnel will take part in the Starfish exercise, aimed at increasing inter-operability between the two countries navies, reads a communiqué issued on Friday by the Romanian Defence Ministry. The Romanian navy will participate with the “Contraamiral Eustatiu Sebastian” corvette, the minesweeper “Locotentent Lupu Dinescu” and the guide missile ship “Lastunul”. The Turkish side takes part in the exercises with the “Turgutreis” frigate and the guide missile ship “Yildiz”. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, the exercise, just like the ones before, is held as part of NATOs measures aimed at providing joint security to the allies.



    DEBT – In April, Romania has to pay to the EU some 39 million euros in interest and fees, out of the stand-by loan contracted in 2009. In 2017 Romania has to pay a total of 1.26 billion euros to the EU and the World Bank and some 4.7 billion by 2023. We recall that in 2009, in the context of the world financial crisis, Romania got a 20-billion euro loan from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank.



    MEASLES – Romanian authorities confirmed on Friday the 18th death caused by measles. The total number of confirmed cases of measles in Romania has reached 4025, in 37 counties. Most deaths were reported in the counties of Arad, Timis, Dolj and Caras Severin. Physicians say that children aged 9 months to 9 years should be vaccinated, in order to prevent measles from spreading.



    VISAS – All Romanian citizens will be able to travel to Canada without visas starting December 1st. The Canadian Ambassador to Bucharest Kevin Hamilton has said that he wants to separate the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement from the visa issue. In his opinion, these are two complementary but not identical things. Ambassador Hamilton has said that Canadian officials evaluated Romania and saw the progress made with regard to passport and migration regulations. Regarding the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, Kevin Hamilton has said that Romania is positioned to benefit directly from all the agreements fields, whether its goods trade, customs tariffs reduction, intellectual property rights or work force mobility. We recall that Romania and Bulgaria conditioned their signing of the agreement on the elimination of visas for Canada.



    WRESTLING – The Romanian athlete Krista Incze (aged 20) on Friday won the bronze medal in the 63 kg category of the Under-23 European Wrestling Championship underway in Szombathely, Hungary. She defeated the Turkish Sinem Topcu. Incze is a Balkan and European junior champion. At the current edition of the European Championship, she has won the second such medal, after the one won on Thursday by Alexandra Nicoleta Anghel, in the 69 kg category.




  • May 31, 2015 UPDATE

    May 31, 2015 UPDATE

    “Politicians are under a duty to find a solution for diaspora voting as soon as possible. This is a matter of respect, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis said on Sunday in a message sent on the occasion of the Day of the Romanians living abroad, celebrated for the first time this year. The head of state assured the Romanians that he would always be the guarantor of their fundamental rights and liberties, and added that a project has been initiated regarding the establishment of a Consultative Council of the Romanian Diaspora. On the other hand, voting in the diaspora is the main topic of a motion of censure that the Liberal Opposition intends to table against the Government on June 5. In last years presidential election, thousands of Romanians living abroad were unable to cast their ballots because of the flawed organisation of polling stations.



    Starting on June 1, in Romania the value-added tax on foodstuffs is cut from 24 la 9%. The measure is also applicable to non-alcoholic beverages and food services. The authorities estimate that the impact on the state budget this year will be roughly 1.1 billion euro. So far only the VAT on bread and pastry products has been 9%, since September 2013. Analysts believe that in the short run the reduction of the VAT for foodstuffs will have a positive effect, encouraging consumption, which is the main driving force of the economy. In the long term however, they warn that prices may gradually go up, generated by possible rises in the costs of utilities and fuels.



    The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, intends to have a meeting on Monday with the Ambassador of Russia to the EU, to get explanations with respect to the so-called “black list of Europeans whose access to Russia has been banned. According to Radio Romanias correspondent in Brussels, Martin Schulz described Moscows measure as unacceptable and said it further hinders the efforts for a constructive dialogue aimed at finding a peaceful and long term solution to the current geo-political crisis. The list includes 89 names of former heads of government, senior defence officials and MEPs who were critical of Russias policy regarding the Ukrainian crisis and of Russias annexation of Crimea. Five of the 89 black listed officials are Romanians. Bucharest said it would request explanations in this respect as well.



    Romania won two bronze medals at the European Rowing Championships after Sundays finals held in Poznan, Poland. In the womens double sculls final, the Romanians came out third, after Great Britain and the Netherlands. Romanias womens eight team also won third place, with the gold won by Russia and the silver by the Netherlands.

  • May 31, 2015

    May 31, 2015

    May 31 marks the celebration of the Day of Romanians living abroad. On this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis assured the Romanians, in a message, that he would always be the guarantor of their fundamental rights and liberties. He has added that a project has been initiated regarding the establishment of a Consultative Council of the Romanian Diaspora. Moreover, a law that guarantees that all Romanians in the Diaspora will be able to vote remains a priority and a constitutional obligation of the political class, the Romanian President added. On the other hand, voting in the diaspora is the main topic of a motion of censure that the Liberal Opposition intends to table against the Government on June 5. In last years presidential election, thousands of Romanians living abroad were unable to cast their ballots because of the flawed organisation of polling stations.



    Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians around the world, including in Romania, celebrate the Pentecost or Whitsunday, marking the foundation of the Christian Church. Trinity Sunday celebrates every year the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the 12 Apostles, who were thus able to spread the word of God in languages they had never spoken before. On the same day, thanks to an inspired speech, St. Peter the Apostle converted 3,000 people to the Christian faith. This was the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of what was to become the Christian Church.



    The President of Romania receives this afternoon in Bucharest the Crown Prince of Britain, Charles. He comes frequently to Romania, where he owns real estate property. The Prince is interested in the Saxon medieval architecture in central Romania – citadels, fortified churches and houses built by the German settlers who came to Transylvania in the Middle Ages, whose descendants also include President Iohannis.



    The EU continues to harshly criticise the Russian authorities over the “black list that denies access to Russia for 89 Europeans, including former heads of government, senior defence officials and MEPs. Five Romanians are on that list: Adrian Cioroianu, a former Foreign Minister, Iulian Chifu, a former state adviser, Tiberiu Liviu Chondon, chief of staff of the Naval Forces, Gheorghe Haţegan, deputy manager of Transgaz, and Eugen Tomac, a former secretary of state for the Romanian diaspora. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said the Romanian Embassy in Russia received a list of people whose access to Russia is banned, and will request explanations in this respect. The list was made public in the context of the sanctions applied by the EU against Russia after its annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea last March. Romania has always voiced support for neighbouring Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity and has criticised Moscows involvement in this issue.



    Italy holds local elections today in 7 of the countrys 20 regions. The ballot is a test for the left-of-centre PM Matteo Renzi. The candidate lists include 50 Romanians, but most of them on positions that are not eligible. In a statement to the Radio Romanian correspondent in Italy, one of the candidates said the interest in this election among the Romanian community in Italy is rather low, because most Romanians hope to be returning to their home country and are not interested in the administration of the towns and villages where they live. Italy hosts the largest Romanian community abroad, with more than 1 million people.



    The Romanian tennis player Andreea Mitu (no. 100 WTA) is playing today in the eighth-finals of the French Open against the Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck (no. 93 WTA). In the same tournament, the Romanian – Slovenian pair Horia Tecău / Katarina Srebotnik faces, in the mixed doubles quarter-finals Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain). In the mixed doubles Round 2, Florin Mergea (Romania) / Michaella Krajicek (the Netherlands) are playing against Marcin Matkowski (Poland) / Lucie Hradecka (the Czeck Republic). The Romanians Horia Tecău (together with the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer) and Florin Mergea (with the Indian Rohan Bopanna) will be facing each other in the mens doubles eighth-finals.