Radio România Internațional

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  • Romania ahead of the presidential election

    Romania ahead of the presidential election

    Next month, President Klaus Iohannis will end his second and last five-year term in office according to the Romanian Constitution. The so-called Iohannis decade is already a topic for reviews, in press editorials or in documentary films, and the balance sheet is by no means brilliant. Coordinating the country’s foreign policy is a presidential prerogative, and this is also the area where the worst backlogs have accumulated. Many Romanians still feel like second-class citizens of the European Union, because their country was admitted to the free travel Schengen Area only with the air and maritime borders, not with the land borders. Although the strategic partnership between Bucharest and Washington seems, according to the officials’ statements, to have reached its peak, Romania has not yet been included in the Visa Waiver program, which allows visa-free entry to the United States. The consistent support given by Romania to neighboring Ukraine, invaded by the Russian troops, created major disservices to some local socio-professional categories, from farmers to transporters, who took to the streets to voice their dissatisfaction.

     

    Internally, there are countless complaints against President Iohannis, one of them being that he completely ignored his role as a mediator in society, a role also stipulated in the Constitution. After Iohannis, the feeling remains that anyone can be president, a columnist has recently written. 14 aspirants initially registered in the presidential race. They are leaders of parliamentary parties, representatives of marginal political parties or independent candidates. One of them, the former Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, a candidate of the Force of the Right group on Monday announced his withdrawal from the race and decision to support the head of the Save Romania Party-USR, Elena Lasconi. The teams of the remaining 13 revved their engines in the last days of the election campaign, which ends on the eve of the voting day, on November 23, at 7:00 a.m. Voting in the country will take place on Sunday, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. If at the time of closing the polls, there are voters queuing to cast their vote outside or inside, the president of the polling station may decide on the extension of voting until 11:59 p.m., when the system will close automatically.

     

    Voters can vote only in the locality where they have their domicile or residence, and in Bucharest, only in the sector where they are registered on the permanent lists. The address of the polling station to which the voter belongs can be found on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority. Voters who are in a different locality on the voting day can cast their vote at any section, being registered on the additional lists. Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad can vote either by mail or at any section organized in the country or abroad. The decisive voting round, which will pit the two candidates with the highest number of votes, is scheduled for December 8, a week after December 1, the very National Day, when the Romanians are called to also elect a new Parliament. (LS)

  • The Week in Review 26.06 – 02.07.2023

    The Week in Review 26.06 – 02.07.2023

    Laws on sensitive topics adopted by Parliament



    The Romanian Parliament dedicated this past week of the ordinary session to some bills related, in one form or another, to pensions. On Monday, senators and deputies eliminated the special pensions granted to MPs, thus renouncing a privilege considered immoral by the press and public opinion. Two other sensitive laws were passed on Wednesday. One puts a ban on cumulating pensions with salaries in the public system but exempts from this ban exactly the local elected officials and parliamentarians, which makes the bill controversial. Other professional categories exempted from the rule are the teaching staff and the specialized medical staff, foster carers, as well as employees of the Romanian Academy, the National Bank of Romania and some national agencies. The law that aims to reform the special pensions, which are only partially based on the contribution from the active period and which benefit magistrates, the military, diplomats, parliamentary staff, the Court of Accounts staff or the aeronautics staff, also received a favorable final vote. However, the bill underwent major changes. Actually, the application of the reform was postponed by five years, so that, until 2028, prosecutors, judges and the military can retire under the same conditions as before. The retirement age will increase in stages, and magistrates will be required, in order to retire, to have at least 25 years of experience in the specialty. Pensions that exceed the average net income will be taxed by 15%. The opposition Save Romania Union – USR, which favors the total elimination of special pensions, voted against the bill, claiming that, after its adoption, there will be 210,000 special pensioners in Romania as before. The High Court of Cassation and Justice contested the constitutionality of the law on special pensions and the one on cumulating pensions and salaries in the public system. The reform of the special pensions is a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.



    The National Recovery and Resilience Plan – PNRR, positive assessment



    With 49 milestones and targets met, out of a total of 51, Romania successfully passed the European Commission’s test regarding the second payment request submitted under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, worth 3.22 billion Euros. The two milestones that were not met are related to energy investments, and because of failing to meet these two targets, Bucharest will lose approximately 53 million Euros. However, nothing is irreparable, because Romania still has 6 months to prove that the two pending milestones have been met. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu says that the Commission’s positive assessment encourages the government to work to meet the targets, and he promises that the two delayed milestones in the energy field will be quickly recovered. Romania benefits from an allocation of over 29 billion Euros for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and has already collected two pre-financing installments with a cumulative value of approximately 3.8 billion Euros.



    New European aid for farmers



    Romania will receive 30 million Euros from the European Commission as support for farmers affected by massive imports of cheap grains from Ukraine. It is the second aid package, and the money comes from the Union Reserve Fund. Of the five EU member states that have a border with Ukraine or are in its vicinity, Poland and Romania benefited from the largest aid packages: Poland, almost 40 million Euros and Romania 30 million Euros. Cumulatively, packages one and two bring Romanian farmers a support of 40 million Euros, and the Romanian Government has the Commission’s agreement to double it.



    Preparations ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius



    Leaders of NATO member states and the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg convened in the Hague for a meeting focusing on the preparation of the upcoming allied Summit, to be held in Vilnius in mid-July. Romanias president Klaus Iohannis also participated in the event. In the Netherlands, Iohannis reiterated that Russia is and will still be the immediate and the most direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security. Consequently, he insisted that the allies will have to be capable and ready to strengthen their position even further and continue to give the required support to Ukraine and to the most vulnerable partners, the Republic of Moldova, in particular. Given its strategic position, Romania is especially interested in further strengthening the Alliances Eastern Flank, through a coherent and unitary approach, Klaus Iohannis also stated. This means, according to him, providing the required forces, structures, capabilities and equipment, as well as the appropriate command and control arrangements. As regards Ukraine, if, in Bucharest, in 2008, the Allies decided that it should become a NATO member state, in Vilnius that commitment will have to be carried further, Klaus Iohannis said.



    Culture and sport


    The headline-grabbing event of the week is the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, which has now reached its 30th edition. Throughout the festival, the central Transylvanian town, still bearing the hallmark if its Saxon heritage, is literally sizzling. Thanks to the Radu Stanca theatre halls, the unconventional spaces, the churches, squares and medieval streets, Sibiu has yet again been the generous host of performing arts. Thousands of artists and hundreds of events literally galvanized the festival, held under the sign of the ‘Miracle, the theme picked for the recently-held edition.


    In sport, the headline-grabbing event this week has been the hearing of the Romanian tennis player Simona Halep by the court judging the doping charges pressed against Halep in October 2022. The past months have been long and costly for the career of the athlete who will be 32 in September. Halep no longer has a place among the worlds top 50 tennis players since she could no longer take part in tournaments. Halep, the former WTA number 1 and two-time winner of a Grand Slam tournament, will receive a final court ruling in July. (LS, EN)

  • Domestic Events of 2022 in Review

    Domestic Events of 2022 in Review

    War in Ukraine, security crisis at Romania’s borders, prompt allied response



    After two years in which it monopolized the newscasts, the novel coronavirus is outclassed, in 2022, by the new Russian imperialism of Vladimir Putin, with the start of Russias illegal and unjustified war against its former vassal from the Soviet period, Ukraine. Together with its European Union partners and NATO allies, Romania firmly condemned the Russian aggression and coordinated its actions with them to face ‘the most serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security in recent decades, as the aggression is described in the declaration adopted at the end of the NATO meeting of the foreign affairs ministers held in Bucharest in November. Russia, the declaration shows, bears the full responsibility for this war, a blatant violation of international law and of the principles of the UN Charter, and its unacceptable actions, energy blackmail and reckless nuclear rhetoric undermine the rules-based international order. Any attack against the Allies will receive a united and determined response, the NATO states renewed their commitment. The actions that followed the Russian invasion were aimed at consolidating the eastern flank, the most exposed, of which Romania is also a part. The United States has boosted the number of troops sent to the territory of its strategic partner. Around 5,000 allied soldiers are currently in Romania, most of them from the USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Canada. A NATO battle group was established a few months after the start of the conflict, by transforming the allied multinational elements within the NATO Response Force, and France took over the role of framework nation.



    Energy crisis, inflation, measures to support the population



    Romania participated, from the very first moment, in the international support effort for Ukraine and continues to advocate for maintaining this support, at all levels. The Romanian authorities were praised for the way in which they acted in relation to the Ukrainian refugees and for the role they played in facilitating the transit of cereals from Ukraine to world markets. On the other hand, the Romanian authorities had to manage internal crises that the conflict generated or amplified. In line and in coordination with the European partners, Bucharest has diversified its energy sources in order to decrease its dependence on Russian gas. The government also adopted measures to compensate and cap gas and electricity bills, as the bills risked becoming unbearable for a population whose incomes were devoured by inflation that rose to 17% and endangered the existence of many companies. The budget for next year maintains the measures for capping energy bills, stipulates aid for the most vulnerable categories and allocates money for increasing pensions and the minimum wage.



    CVM monitoring lifted, Schengen accession postponed



    The European Commission proposed, towards the end of the year, the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism monitoring for Romania, established upon the country’s EU accession in 2007, in order to monitor the reform of the judiciary. The adoption of the justice laws, repaired, to a good extent, after the damage caused to the legislation in the field by the social-democratic government between 2017-2018, had a big say in this decision. The same European Commission found that Romania meets, like Bulgaria, the technical conditions for joining the Schengen free travel area and recommended the EU states to speed up the accession of the two. The European Parliament, for its part, voted a resolution with a similar message. The support of the community institutions and the member states, including the Netherlands, which, in the past, was an intransigent opponent of Romanias and Bulgarias Schengen accession, was, however, blocked by the unexpected and obstinate refusal of Austria. The fact that Romania is not on the route of the illegal migrants flow, which was confirmed by the official data provided by Frontex Agency, and the reports of the Commission, which attest to Romania’s positive results in protecting the Union’s external border and in controlling illegal migration, did not matter. Vienna’s veto in the Justice and Home Affairs Council in December blocked Romanias Schengen accession which had been waited for 11 years. The gesture led to the souring of diplomatic relations between Bucharest and Vienna. Against the background of frustration and indignation, many people, including some leading politicians, called for a boycott of Austrian companies. President Klaus Iohannis called for calm and disagreed with any such boycott. At the last EU summit in 2022, he made an appeal for unity and solidarity, reiterating that Romania deserves its place into the Schengen Area.



    Sentences in the COLECTIVE file



    After almost 7 years since the fire at the Bucharest club Colectiv, which killed dozens of young people who had come to enjoy a rock concert, the court established the guilt and the punishments. The former mayor of the sector where the club that burned down was located received a 4-year sentence for abuse of office, reduced by half compared to the one received in the court of first instance. In his case, the judges eliminated the aggravated element of the crime of abuse of office. The owners of the club received prison sentences between 6 and almost 12 years, and the firefighters from the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations who checked the Colectiv Club without taking the legal measures regarding compliance with fire regulations, were definitively sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in prison. The court decided that some of the convicts should pay compensation of tens of millions of Euros to the families of the victims and the survivors. The latter say that the main culprit for the lost lives is the Romanian state, with its public systems unable to develop antibodies against corruption, indolence and administrative incompetence.



    Popovici, the new star of world swimming



    2022 in sports was a good year, with successes in rowing, kayak-canoeing, table tennis, athletics and weightlifting. However, in 2022 Romanian sports gave much more, namely a name for history, David Popovici. The high school student from Bucharest was the winner of the Junior and Senior World and European Championships in the 100m and 200m long course swimming events, and in Rome he set a new world record in the 100 meter freestyle. The sports press talks about the Popovici phenomenon, and the famous Swimming World magazine designated him the swimmer of the year. Instead, a former world number one, the Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, received, in 2022, the news of a provisional suspension after she was detected positive in an anti-doping control carried out at the US Open. The double grand slam winner, considered a model of integrity in sports, began, according to her own words, the most difficult match of her life, one for the truth, in which she struggles to prove that she is innocent. (LS)

  • Government presents 6-month review

    Government presents 6-month review

    Until recently sworn political enemies, the National Liberal Party and
    the Social Democratic Party were forced to form a government together 6
    months ago. Together with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania,
    they set out to synchronise their doctrines and form a coalition able to run
    the country until the forthcoming parliamentary elections.


    It took lengthy and careful negotiations to assign the seats in the
    government, and they agreed, among other things, that until the end of November
    2023 the prime minister will be the Liberal Nicolae Ciucă, who will be replaced
    by a Social Democrat for the remaining period until the general elections of 2024.


    The context in which the two parties have to work together is not at all
    easy: the effects of the pandemic, the Russian invasion in neighbouring Ukraine
    with all the problems it entailed, the skyrocketing energy prices triggering increases
    in the price of all products and services and generating record-high inflation,
    with severe repercussions on people’s lives.


    With the parliamentary election still a long way down the road, the
    cooperation between the Liberals and the Social Democrats is smooth, at least
    for the time being. Still, the 2 parties presented a review of their 6 months
    in power in separate meetings.


    The Liberal PM Nicolae Ciucă said the government was gradually drawing
    closer to meeting all the goals listed in the governing programme. He added
    that the ministries worked hard not to waste the unique opportunities the
    country has at this point.


    Romania has the biggest economic growth rate in the EU, and over EUR 90 billion
    available for development and modernisation, as well as the most important
    security guarantees ensured by the EU and NATO membership, Nicolae Ciucă argued.


    In turn, the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu focused on the
    social and economic measures to support citizens and the business environment
    in the first 6 months in government. He mentioned the raise in minimum wages,
    pensions and child benefits, the winter financial aid granted to low-income pensioners
    and the extension of furlough benefits.


    The opposition sees things differently. After leaving the government
    they had formed together with the Liberals, Save Romania Union now argues that
    Romania is headed for disaster: the government is borrowing money from the
    capital market for the highest interests in the past 20 years, government debt
    is over 50% of the GDP, the inflation rate is record-high, prices are out of
    control, citizens are growing poorer while party clients are getting richer.


    In turn, the nationalist party AUR believes the Social Democrats and the
    Liberals have pushed Romania into bankruptcy by doubling fuel prices and
    selling the natural gas to be extracted from the Black Sea.


    But it is the Romanian voters who will give a final verdict at the
    election in 2024. (AMP)

  • The Week in Review (6-12.12.2021)

    The Week in Review (6-12.12.2021)

    The state of alert has been extended in Romania, but sanitary measures have been eased for the winter holidays period



    The state of alert instated in Romania in the context of the coronavirus pandemic has been extended for another 30 days as of December 9th, but the government has eliminated several restrictions against the backdrop of a lower number of contaminations. Therefore, protective masks are no longer mandatory in open, uncrowded spaces, and access to enclosed premises will be also allowed to unvaccinated people who present a negative Covid test result. Also the ban on people’s movement at night after 11 p.m. has been lifted. On Christmas and New Year’s Eve, restaurants will be open at half of their capacity but only for the vaccinated people, those who have had the disease or who have a negative test result. In another development, the vaccination rate remains low. Since the onset of the vaccination campaign on December 27, 2020, more than 7.8 million people have been vaccinated, of whom 7.6 million are fully vaccinated.



    New rules on entering Romania to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus variant, Omicron



    The Romanian authorities have adopted stricter measures for those who enter Romania, to prevent the spread of the new virus strain, Omicron. As of December 10, people coming to Romania from outside the EU will have to provide a negative PCR test result not older than 48 hours. The unvaccinated people and those who have not had the disease but do provide a negative test result will be quarantined for 10 days. If they fail to provide the test, the quarantine period will be 14 days. Rules are different for people coming from EU countries. Just as before, they need to present the green certificate attesting that they are vaccinated, have had the disease in the past 180 days or have a negative PCR test result obtained 72 hours before the trip at the most. These rules apply to both Romanian and foreign citizens. The measures will be applied until January 8, at midnight.



    Authorities are drafting Romania’s 2022 budget



    Romania’s state budget for 2022 will be drafted without introducing new taxes and any changes to the taxation system will be made in a predictable way following dialogue with the private business environment, said the finance minister Adrian Cârciu. In turn, the labor minister Marius Budăi announced that he signed and sent for approval two emergency decrees which are to be approved soon by the governing coalition made up of the PNL-PSD-UDMR. The first decree provides for an increase in child allowances and the second for an increase in the pension point and the minimum pension, which will thus go up from 800 lei to 1,000 lei (about 200 Euros). The governing coalition intends to forward the 2022 draft budget to Parliament by December 24.



    NATO and the eastern flank



    NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on the Allies, at the Aspen forum in Bucharest, to invest in critical infrastructure and diminish dependance on the resources coming from states that are potential adversaries. Jens Stoltenberg has labelled Russia and China the main global actors that undermine the world order which is based on rules, and that are both acting in areas that have become essential for the security of the democratic space. The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has spoken in favor of boosting the NATO military presence on the eastern flank and of fully equipping the Alliance to be able to face challenges coming from Russia. Klaus Iohannis and the other European leaders that are part of the B9 format have had consultations with the American President Joe Biden who has shared the results of his recent talks with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Klaus Iohannis considers it necessary to boost the NATO and US military presence in Romania and the Black Sea region. In turn, the White House leader promised additional military capabilities to the NATO members in Central Europe and clearly highlighted his commitment to Article 5 in the Alliance Treaty, which stipulates that an attack against an ally is considered an attack against everybody.



    The Moldovan PM Natalia Gavriliţa visits Romania



    The PM of Moldova, an ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population) Natalia Gavriliţă on Thursday paid a visit to Bucharest where she was received by President Klaus Iohannis. He reiterated Bucharest’s commitment to granting its full support to the Republic of Moldova in the processes of transformation, modernization and implementation of reforms in such domains as energy, transports, information society, green transition, justice and education, in the spirit of the Strategic Partnership for European integration. Previously, the Moldovan PM had met her Romanian counterpart, Nicolae Ciucă, who announced that the two parties wanted to conclude, as soon as possible, a new agreement on granting non-reimbursable financial assistance to Moldova, after the expiry of the former agreement this year. Natalia Gavriliţă believes that a better economic, commercial and infrastructure integration of Romania and Moldova is the guarantee to an accelerated integration of Moldova into the EU.



    Ana-Maria Popescu, the Romanian fencer with the biggest number of titles announced her retirement



    The Romanian fencer Ana-Maria Popescu, Olympic vice-champion in Tokyo, has announced her retirement after a career of 20 years. Aged 37, Ana-Maria Popescu was chosen by the International Fencing Federation, at the end of November, the best woman fencer of the world for the fifth time, which is a record. She received this title in the seasons 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2012-2013, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. Ana-Maria Popescu has three Olympic medals (one gold and two silver), seven world medals (2-2-3) and 13 European medals (7-4-2), alongside numerous World Cups, being the Romanian fencer with the biggest number of titles. (LS)

  • The Week in Review 15-21.07.2019

    The Week in Review 15-21.07.2019

    Overview of Romanias presidency of the Council of the EU in the European Parliament


    Romania will continue to support the European project and will equally focus on completing its integration, said the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila on Tuesday in the plenum of the European Parliament, where she presented an overview of Romanias presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2019. The Romanian PM underlined that Bucharest managed to show that the European institutions are working in the interest of the citizens and to provide prospects for the future. Europe should not have more speeds, PM Dancila told the MEPs, and there should be no gaps among member states, given that progress is going to be thorough and benefits for the citizens measurable if countries work together, cohesion being one of the strongest binding forces of the European project. The PM also added that Romania was at the helm of the Council of the EU in a period of challenges, in the context of Brexit and the EP elections but it still managed to finalize 90 pieces of legislation related to copyright on the Single Digital Market, to amending the directives on natural gas, to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and to improving reaction to cyber attacks. During its presidency of the Council of the EU Romania proved its capacity to bring added value to the EU, PM Dancila also said.



    A Romanian in NATOs leadership


    NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has decided to appoint Mircea Geoana from Romania as the next Deputy Secretary General. Mr. Geoana will take up his post in mid-October 2019. According to Mr. Stoltenberg Mircea Geoana, the first Romanian to hold this senior office, is a staunch advocate of the transatlantic bond and will bring long experience as a statesman and diplomat to this post. So far, the highest position held by a Romanian within NATO was that of Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. The post was held between 2013-2017 by Sorin Ducaru, who was the head of the Emerging Security Challenges Division. Mircea Geoana is the founder and president of the Aspen Institute Romania and he previously served as President of the Romanian Senate, Foreign Minister, and Romanias Ambassador to the United States. After the announcement made by Jens Stoltenberg Mircea Geoana wrote on a social network that his appointment was a huge challenge and an opportunity to represent the interest of the Alliance, which ensures the security of more than 1 billion people. The Romanian diplomacy has hailed Mircea Geoanas appointment to the post and considered the decision a special moment for Romanias NATO membership, which acknowledges Romanias important contribution within NATO 15 years after its accession to the Alliance.



    The Constitutional Court and reviewing the Constitution


    Proposals to amend the Constitution that would forbid pardoning or amnesty for acts of corruption run counter to the law, as ruled by the Constitutional Court on Thursday in Romania. The proposals were made after Romanians went to the polls on May 26, in a referendum called by the president. They voted to turn down proposals made by the ruling coalition for changes to the penal code that would have drastically reduced penalties for acts of corruption; the changes were planned under the form of government orders, but were challenged in the highest courts. President Klaus Iohannis called the referendum to stop what he referred to as the assault of the ruling coalition on the entire judicial system. The court’s argument was that outlawing pardoning or amnesty would violate the principle of equality before the law, and would be paramount to a suppression of human dignity. At the same time, the other proposals for amending the Constitution submitted by the coalition in power and the opposition have been declared constitutional. One such proposal provides that citizens who have been sentenced to definitive terms in jail for premeditated violations would be barred from running in parliamentary, local, European Parliament, and presidential elections. Also, according to the same bills, there will be an end to abusing government orders, and they will be available for a constitutionality review which the president will be able to call. The reviews can also be called by the Constitutional Court, 50 deputies or 25 senators, as well as by the Ombudsman.



    Romanian triumph at Wimbledon


    Romanian tennis star Simona Halep won her first Wimbledon title in the singles, and the first for her country, facing off against super-champion Serena Williams. This is what she said in the aftermath:



    Simona Halep: “I am happy with how I played, and the way in which I reacted to such an important event and such a great day. I reached a high level, and I feel much more confident. I never thought I would become number one and that I would win a Grand Slam, but this has been the dream, and that is why I worked so much every single day. As I keep saying, Romanians are very talented, but we lack confidence in ourselves. We should try to improve, believe in ourselves, and see things in a more positive light.



    Back in the country, she presented her trophy on the National Arena stadium for tens of thousands that came to share in her joy. It is Simona’s second Grand Slam, which she won in Roland Garros last year.


    (translated by: Lacramioara Simion, Calin Cotoiu)

  • The Week in Review, January 13-19

    The Week in Review, January 13-19

    Romania presents in Strasbourg the priorities of its term at the helm of the Council of the EU


    Two weeks after Romania took over, for the first time, the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila went to Strasbourg, to present the priorities of Romania’s six-month term. Brexit and negotiations over the 2021-2027 EU budget are among the most complicated files that Romania will have to manage in the coming period. In all, 257 files will be debated in the first months, as elections for the European Parliament are due in May.



    The focal point of the Romanian agenda is cohesion, as the Prime Minister stressed: “Political cohesion, illustrated by the need for unity of the member states, economic and territorial cohesion, with a view to reducing development gaps between the member states and the regions, and social cohesion, aimed to preserve the four freedoms of the EU single market.”



    Governance of the Energy Union, a coherent management of migration, through cooperation between the origin and the transit countries, as well as enhancing the responsibilities of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office are among the priorities of the Romanian term, alongside more attention to be paid to the Western Balkans. This week, the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council has concluded its first file, regarding the protection of personal data. The new rules provide for fines applied in case of abusive use, by political parties, of personal data, with the aim of influencing voters’ behaviour.




    Romania’s stand on the situation in Great Britain


    The Romanian Government hopes that London will soon come up with concrete solutions, so that Britain’s withdrawal from the EU will not affect either citizens or the business environment. Bucharest believes that a deal would provide a solid legal foundation, which would contain the negative effects generated by Brexit. Due to take effect on March 29th, Britain’s exit would take place during the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has stated that British Parliament’s decision on the Brexit deal is regrettable, also stressing that the procedures that might still lead to the approval of a deal have not been exhausted. More than 400,000 Romanians are living in the UK, forming the largest community of foreigners in that country. After the defeat sustained on Tuesday by the British PM Theresa May in the House of Commons, which rejected the Brexit deal, negotiated with the EU, the Conservative Cabinet survived on Wednesday night a no-confidence motion filed by the Labour opposition, and, on Monday, Theresa May is to present a new plan, which will be debated and voted upon, on January 29th.




    The Pope will make a visit to Romania


    Pope Francis will make a 3-day apostolic visit to Romania from 31st March to 2nd June, at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis and the Catholic Church in this country, official sources from Bucharest and the Vatican have announced. Under the motto “Let’s Walk Together”, the Pontiff will travel to the capital Bucharest, Iasi, the biggest city in the east of the country and home to a sizeable Roman-Catholic community, Blaj, in the centre, the spiritual capital of the Romanian Greek-Catholics, and the Marian shrine in Sumuleu Ciuc, in the centre, in an area with a majority ethnic Hungarian population. The Pope has always urged for the rejection of egoism and for the centrality of the common good. He comes to Romania to foster unity and confirm the faith, according to the press office of the Holy See. In 1999, Romania became the first majority Orthodox country in history to receive the visit of a pope.




    Romanian Culture Day


    On the 15th of January, the birth date of Romania’s greatest poet Mihai Eminescu, National Culture Day was celebrated in Romania. This is the 9th consecutive year that the Romanian Academy, the Writers’ Union and the local and central authorities staged numerous events in Romania and the European capitals. A festive event was held at the Romanian Athenaeum attended by president Klaus Iohannis, academics, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the education and culture ministers. The president of the Romanian Academy Ioan-Aurel Pop said in his address that there are several fundamental characteristics that belong to the Romanian national culture. Thus, the national culture can only be conceived of in its world and European context. It also has a historical dimension without which it cannot exist. The head of state recalled that 2019 is the year of the Romanian-French cultural season, of the George Enescu Festival and the Europalia Festival, all of which are opportunities to promote Romania as a place of artistic achievement. In a separate event, the Romanian Academy has launched an app that allows access to the entire work of Mihai Eminescu and which is available free of charge to smart phone users.