Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian-Bulgarian cooperation

  • June 29, 2017 UPDATE

    June 29, 2017 UPDATE

    Government validation — The government proposed by the Prime Minister designate, Social Democrat Mihai Tudose, was validated on Thursday by Romania’s Parliament. Also on Thursday the members of the new executive were sworn in in the presence of the President Klaus Iohannis. Among the objectives of the new cabinet, PM Tudose mentioned increasing the budget revenue collection rate, attracting foreign investors, boosting investments in infrastructure and a higher rate of absorption of European funds. The creation of a position of deputy-prime minister without portfolio to coordinate inter-ministerial activities is the only change in the structure of the cabinet. The new government’s membership includes 16 ministers from the previous cabinet led by Sorin Grindeanu that was dismissed after a no-confidence vote initiated by the main ruling party itself, the Social Democratic Party.



    Romanian Bulgarian cooperation — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev took part today in the opening of a business forum, which they said was meant to stimulate economic cooperation. On Wednesday, the two heads of state had already discussed increasing relationships in the economy, especially in areas such as energy and transportation. Iohannis told his counterpart that Romania was ready to share with Bulgaria its experience in combating corruption. In turn, President Radev said that a secure external EU border needed Romania and Bulgaria within the Schengen space. The two presidents analyzed more concrete means of promoting common EU interests and objectives, considering that Bulgaria and Romania will be holding the half-year presidency of the European Council, in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Iohannnis and Radev have spoken in favor of a strong transatlantic relationship, and have shown concern for security in the Black Sea area.



    ISIS propaganda – A 39-year-old man suspected of propaganda for Islamic State and the intention to stage an attack on a military base in Romania has been detained by prosecutors in Arges county, in southern Romania. According to the anti-terror prosecutor’s office, the suspect, known as ‘Ibrahim’, has posted and distributed on social networks photos with the logo of the Islamic State terrorist group, as well as footage of attacks and executions, through beheading and shooting, with the intention of promoting it and attracting supporters capable of committing similar acts. Moreover, he has repeatedly voiced the intention to go to Syria and join the Islamic State. Previously, he had carefully searched the surroundings of a military base in Romania. According to the Romanian Intelligence Service, the suspect has been under monitoring for two years, since he joined a radical Islam movement while on the territory of another EU member country, where he got in contact with members of a jihadist group.



    Weather -In Romania, the heat wave is intensifying, and will cover most of the country. The heat index will be over 80 in the west, south and east of the country. Skies will be mostly clear. Maximum temperatures will reach 39 degrees Celsius. The National Meteorology Administration said that this might be the hottest July on record. A code yellow alert for very hot weather is in effect in almost all of Romania’s counties, and several counties in the southwest are under code orange alert. For Friday and Saturday, meteorologists are considering a code red alert for the south and southwest. Interior Minister Carmen Dan has said 840 ambulances and 270 special vehicles will be available for emergencies nationwide.



    Cyber attack — The massive cyber attack that Tuesday affected big companies all over the world proved that the fight against cyber crime needed to be intensified, said Thursday, the European Security Commissioner, Julian King. He announced that the EC would allot further funds for 14 EU members and that unity against cyber crime within the Europol would be increased. Commissioner King added that in September the EC would revise its strategy regarding cyber crime. Tuesday’s attacks also targeted companies and institutions from Romania.



    Climate change — European leaders on Thursday stated that they would cooperate to promote their opinions regarding climate change and trade freedom at the G20 summit to be held next week in Hamburg. According to Reuters, they will make clear, though, that they are not trying to isolate the US President Donald Trump who has different views on both issues. The German chancellor Angela Merkel said the European countries wanted to convey a message of determination while trying to work out common solutions with Washington. In turn, the French president Emmanuel Macron expressed hope that the US would become rational again, after announcing its withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. He added that Europe had many things in common with the US, including the views on approaching terrorism. (news translated and adapted by L. Simion)

  • June 27, 2017 UPDATE

    June 27, 2017 UPDATE


    Romanias Cabinet – The Social Democrat Mihai Tudose has been designated by President Klaus Iohannis to form the new government in Romania. The membership of the future Cabinet is to be validated on Wednesday by the Social Democratic Partys executive committee. After nominating Tudose as PM, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis asked the parliamentary parties to urgently draft an agenda that should allow the finalization of parliamentary procedures this week. He argued that the current political crisis seriously affected Romanias economy and image. The Tudose cabinet will replace the Grindeanu government, which was removed following a no confidence motion filed by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.



    Cooperation – The Bulgarian President Rumen Radev will pay a formal visit to Romania on Wednesday and Thursday, when he will meet with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. The aim of his visit is to deepen political dialogue between Romania and Bulgaria on the main issues of common interest on the bilateral agenda, as well as other European and international issues. The talks will focus on economic relations and cooperation in such domains as energy and transports, in the context in which Romania is Bulgarias 3rd largest trade partner in the EU. The two presidents will also look into concrete ways of coordinating the promotion of common interests and targets within the EU. Bulgaria and Romania will hold the presidency of the European Council in the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019 respectively. High on the agenda of talks are also cooperation within NATO and security challenges in the Black Sea area, the Eastern Neighbourhood and regional cooperation.



    Case closure – The file concerning the alleged rigging of the 2009 presidential election has been closed, following a decision by the Prosecutor Generals Office. The Office has decided that no element could be found leading to the assumption that fraud was attempted. The case had been opened in April, following statements made by the Romanian journalist and former political adviser Dan Andronic, who said that back then, heads of major state institutions, including the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Prosecutor Generals Office influenced the result of the voting to benefit Traian Basescu. We recall that in 2009, Traian Basescu won the second presidential term after a tight battle with Mircea Geoana. The 2009 presidential elections are also the object of a parliamentary investigation.



    King Mihai– The health condition of the former King of Romania, Mihai I (who ruled between 1940 – 1947) is fragile but stable, the Royal House of Romania has announced. Crown Princess Margareta of Romania and Prince Radu are on a family visit to Switzerland as of Monday. They will spend a few days with the king at his private residence. After undergoing cancer surgery, King Mihai I announced his withdrawal from public life on March 1, 2016. He also announced that his first born of his 5 daughters, Princess Margareta, who is the Crown Princess, would represent him and carry out all his public duties.



    Immigration – Some 90 Iraqi and Syrian citizens, including 30 children, were found by the Romanian border police at a crossing point on the border with Hungary. They were hiding in a truck registered in Turkey and were attempting to illegaly reach a state in the Shengen area. The Iraqi and Syrian citizens will be investigated for attempting to cross the border illegally.



    Cyber attack – The well-known Romanian internet security software company Bitdefender has announced that companies and institutions in Romania and in other countries in the region, including Russia and Ukraine, were affected by a large-scale cyber attack on Tuesday. According to Bitdefender, the program used by attackers, GoldenEye, encrypts users data and then asks for a ransom. Ukraines government, National Bank and biggest power companies all warned of cyber attacks on Tuesday. Also, the Russian oil giant Rosneft and steel producer Evraz confirmed they were hit too.



    Google – Google suffered a major blow on Tuesday after the European Commission fined the search giant a record 2.4 billion Euros for unfairly favouring some of its own services over those of rivals. As the EU official in charge of competition policy, Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison shopping service in its search results, and demoting those of competitors.



    Handball – Romanias national womens handball team is part of Group A at the World Championship hosted this year by Germany, alongside France, Spain, Slovakia, Angola and Paraguay. The Romanian squad, trained by the Spanish Ambros Martin, has qualified for the final tour, which is to be held in December. At the previous edition of the World Championship, in 2015, Romania won the bronze medal. Romania is the only country that has participated in all 23 editions of the World Championship.




  • June 27, 2017

    June 27, 2017

    PM designated in Romania — The Social Democrat Mihai Tudose, designated by President Klaus Iohannis to form the future government, will establish the government membership, which is to be validated on Wednesday by the Social Democratic Party’s executive committee. After nominating Tudose as PM, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis asked the parliamentary parties to urgently draft an agenda that should allow the finalization of parliamentary procedures during this week. He argued that the current political crisis seriously affects Romania’s economy and image. The Tudose cabinet will replace the Grindeanu government, which was removed following a no confidence motion filed by the majority coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.



    King Mihai — The health condition of the former King of Romania, Mihai I (who ruled between 1940- 1947) is fragile but stable, the Royal House of Romania has announced. Crown Princess Margareta of Romania and Prince Radu are on a family visit to Switzerland as of Monday. They will spend a few days with the king at his private residence. After undergoing cancer surgery, King Mihai I announced his withdrawal from public life on March 1, 2016. He also announced that his first born of his 5 daughters, Princess Margareta, who is the Crown Princess, would represent him and fulfill all his public duties.



    Tennis — Three Romanian women tennis players are today playing in the 2nd round of the tennis tournament on grass court of Eastbourne (Great Britain) which has prizes up for grabs worth 750 thousand dollars. World’s no. 2, Simona Halep, will take on the Chinese player Ying-Ying Duan, Monica Niculescu (51 WTA) will play against Ţvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria (149 WTA) while Sorana Cîrstea (62 WTA) will face British Johanna Konta (7 WTA). In the first round, Cîrstea on Monday defeated Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic (39 WTA) in two sets. The grass court tournament in Eastbourne is the last preparation stage ahead of the Wimbledon tournament, the year’s 3rd grand slam tournament.



    Strasbourg — The draft law on the modification of the election system in the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) will continue to be submitted to public debate, and the authorities will take into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission in order to pass the best possible law – the Moldovan PM Pavel Filip promised at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg. According to the Venice Commission, the modification of the election law and the adoption of the uninominal voting system for half of the Parliament members were inopportune. Analysts say that replacing the current, party-list voting system with the uninominal voting system, would be to the advantage of big parties, namely the pro-western Democrats of PM Filip and the Socialists of the pro-Moscow president Igor Dodon. Also in Strasbourg the Moldovan PM thanked neighboring Romania for the constant support it provided to the Republic of Moldova.



    Romanian- Bulgarian cooperation — The Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev, will pay an official visit to Romania on Wednesday and Thursday, when he will meet with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. The aim of his visit is to deepen political dialogue between Romania and Bulgaria on the main issues of common interest of the bilateral agenda, as well as of the regional, European and international agenda. The talks will focus on economic relations, as well as on sectoral cooperation in such domains as energy and transports, in the context in which Romania is Bulgaria’s 3rd trade partner in the EU. The two presidents will also look into concrete ways to coordinate the promotion of common interests and targets within the EU. Bulgaria and Romania will hold the presidency of the European Council in the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2019 respectively. High on the agenda of talks are also cooperation within NATO and the security challenges in the Black Sea area, the Eastern Neighborhood and regional cooperation.



    File closure — Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office has closed the file regarding the adoption of the emergency government decree no. 13, which brought several amendments to the Criminal Codes. Prosecutors motivated their decision by saying that it was not their prerogative to establish the legality and appropriateness of passing that ordinance, as the issues that could not be part of a criminal trial, according to a decision by the Constitutional Court of Romania. The decree was considered an attempt to relax the anti-corruption legislation and was repealed by another emergency decree following massive street protests. (translation by Lacramioara Simion)