Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian-Italian relations

  • The Week in Review: October 21-27, 2018

    The Week in Review: October 21-27, 2018

    Justice Minister requests the removal of the Prosecutor General




    The Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has initiated the procedure to dismiss Augustin Lazar as Prosecutor General of Romania, following an assessment of his work. Earlier this year, also at the request of the Justice Minister and bound by a Constitutional Court ruling, President Klaus Iohannis had dismissed the chief of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi. Tudorel Toader explained that the same kind of behaviour that prompted Kovesi’s removal was now bringing the downfall of the Prosecutor General.



    According to the Justice Minister, Augustin Lazar has generated 3 judicial conflicts related to the separation of powers, and has made unprecedented accusations against public authorities, parliament and the government. Lazar is also accused of challenging the rulings of the Constitutional Court, of failing to meet his professional objectives, of criticising the justice laws after the constitutionality check had been completed, and of breaking the law by signing protocols with the intelligence services, thus paving the way for a parallel judicial system.



    In response, Augustin Lazar says the Justice Minister’s claims are exaggerations and that freedom of expression must be used against any interference that threatens to affect the independence of prosecutors.



    The Prosecutors’ Section of the Superior Council of Magistracy has scheduled the hearing of the Prosecutor General on November 13, and is to make public an official opinion on the dismissal request on November 21.



    According to President Klaus Iohannis, the Justice Minister’s request to remove Lazar is completely unjustified, and calls on Tudorel Toader to step down. Once again, the head of state says, attempts are being made to persuade people that prosecutors are the enemies of society. The President also urged magistrates not to lose faith in the Romanian society’s ability to withstand a new attack on the rule of law.



    The National Liberal Party, in opposition, believes the request to dismiss the Prosecutor General is groundless and is just an attack against the independence of the judiciary, whereas the leaders of Save Romania Union say Tudorel Toader has removed the chief prosecutors on orders from the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.



    Talks on the rule of law and the justice laws in Brussels and Bucharest



    The head of the Romanian state Klaus Iohannis Tuesday addressed the European Parliament for the first time, presenting Romania’s views on the future of the European bloc. He pleaded for unity, cohesion and solidarity in the effort to strengthen the Union, and rejected the idea of a “multi-speed Europe.” Klaus Iohannis also said Romania is a democratic country, respecting the rule of law and fully committed to the fight against corruption. In fact, on Wednesday in Bucharest he held consultations with the parliamentary parties, precisely concerning the changes to the justice laws operated by the ruling coalition.



    Previously, the Venice Commission had released a report which found that the new justice laws and Criminal Codes undermine the fight against corruption and organised crime. The head of state has said that the justice laws must be rethought, modernised and improved and that the legislative cycle in the field must be resumed. On the other hand, the Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea has said that his party opposes the resuming of the legislative process in the case of the justice laws, because there is already a decree on this matter in Parliament.



    In his turn, the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, has said, after consultations, that a consensus on the justice laws is necessary, but also common premises, such as putting an end to the abuse committed through secret protocols. The National Liberal Party, in opposition, has said that it supports the head of state’s idea of debates being resumed. The leader of the Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, believes that Romania’s presidency could be a very good platform for debate and a real mediation between magistrates, politicians, civil society and Romania’s citizens, who truly want an independent and functional justice system.



    The offshore bill, regulating gas exploitation in the Black Sea, passed by Romanian MPs



    Romanian MPs have adopted the offshore law, regulating gas exploitation in the Black Sea. The Opposition has criticised the lack of some precise calculations to justify modifications to this law, while the Power believes the Romanian state’s interests are protected by this law. Last week, the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats reached consensus over modifications to this law. Thus, it was agreed that 50% of the natural gas production in the Black Sea should be traded on the domestic stock exchange market while the operators’ investment should be deducted from the additional tax within the limit of 30%.



    Italian Interior Minister pays visit to Bucharest



    The Romanian Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, met on Tuesday in Bucharest with the Italian deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Bilateral cooperation in the field of security, especially in the context of Romania’s taking over the EU Council presidency in the first six months of 2019 were among the topics tackled by the two officials. The Romanian community in Italy and the Italian community in Romania make the relationship between the two countries even stronger, and contribute to their economic and social development, Minister Carmen Dan has said. In turn, Matteo Salvini has said that the Romanian community in Italy numbers more that 1 million and that the mistakes some of them make should not impact the other members of the community. Also, Salvini has thanked the Romanian authorities for their support in identifying Romanian fugitives in Italy.

  • October 23, 2018 UPDATE

    October 23, 2018 UPDATE

    ADDRESS – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis presented before the European Parliament on Tuesday, Romanias vision of the EUs future. Iohannis stood for consolidating the European project and recalled that the EU had been facing multiple challenges, which put to the test its unity and cohesion such as the migrant and the economic crises as well as the populist political forces coming to power. There is an element that unites us, Iohannis said, namely the European identity, which is based on common principles, values and interests. According to the Romanian President, the European citizens must see that we are working on protecting and consolidating the EU symbols, such as the Euro, the free movement and the Schengen area. Iohannis went on to say that Schengen accession and joining the Euro zone are some of Romanias fundamental goals. In turn, the European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said that without Romania, the European Union is not complete. Juncker also expressed his support for Romanias Schengen accession, but he insisted that consensus on the fight against corruption should be reached at domestic level before Bucharest takes over the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019. The Romanian Presidents visit to Strasbourg comes against the backdrop of a series of debates being held on the prospects of the community bloc, with all the leaders of the EU member countries being invited to attend the talks.




    ROMANIAN-ITALIAN TALKS – Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan on Tuesday held talks in Bucharest with Italian deputy prime minister and interior minister, Matteo Salvini. Bilateral cooperation particularly in the field of security was among the focal points of the talks, against the backdrop of Romanias taking over the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. The Romanian community in Italy and the Italian community in Romania maintain a strong bond between the two countries and contribute to the economic and social development of the two countries, minister Dan said. In turn, the Italian official said the Romanians in Italy are making up a large community, exceeding one million members and he added that the mistakes made by some of these ethnic Romanians should not impact the others. Salvini also thanked the Bucharest authorities for their contribution to identify the Romanian nationals put on a wanted list in Italy. Two months ago, Salvini accused Romania and Bulgaria of sending slaves to Western Europe at the same time calling for measures to curb human trafficking. The leader of the far-right Northern League has voiced readiness to tackle with his colleagues from the two countries a series of measures aimed at keeping at bay organized crime activities.




    EUROPEAN SEMESTER – The Romanian minister delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu, on Tuesday attended in Bucharest a meeting occasioned by the launch of the ECs technical mission, as part of the European Semester. On this occasion, minister Negrescu said Romania pays special heed to the European Semester and intends to boost dialogue and cooperation with the EC as part of this process. From the standpoint of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, the official said Bucharests objective is that the 2019 European Semester unfold in keeping with the roadmap which is to be made public in November. The European Semester, introduced in 2010, provides a framework for the annual coordination of economic policies across the European Union. It allows EU countries to discuss their economic and budgetary plans and monitor progress at specific times throughout the year.




    CIVIL PARTNERSHIP – The Romanian Senators on the legal committee on Tuesday turned down a draft meant to regulate the civil partnership. The draft was aimed at granting legal protection to the couples which do not want to change their marital status, but are ready to officially acknowledge their relation. The senate was the first notified chamber. We recall that in early October a referendum was held in Romania to redefine family in the Romanian Constitution as being the consented marriage between a man and a woman, instead of the current wording, “between spouses. However, the referendum was refuted because of a poor turnout , of only 21%. 91.5% of those who went to the polls stood for changing the Constitution, and only 6.5% stood against the change.



    TENNIS – Romanias tennis player Simona Halep has been on top of the WTA ranking for 51 weeks now. The Romanian athlete now occupies the 10th position in an all time ranking of the worlds best female tennis players on par with Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus. Injuries have prevented Halep from attending the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore but she is to occupy the first position until the end of the year, when she will have held it for 60 weeks. The Romanian has a 15 hundred points advance from runner up Angelique Kerber of Germany who outperformed Danish Caroline Wozniacki. Romania has five other representatives in WTA 100: Mihaela Buzarnescu went up a position and is currently ranking 24th, Irina Begu went down 13 notches and is now 66th, Ana Bogdan ranks 72nd, Monica Niculescu is 82nd and Sorana Cirstea comes in the 85th position. Begu and Buzarnescu rank 23rd and 24th in the doubles rankings.



    FUNERAL – The funeral of the former Romanian football legend, Ilie Balaci, was held on Tuesday in the southern Romanian city of Craiova. Balaci died of a stroke on Sunday, at the age of 62. Considered to be a perfect, complete player, Balaci played his debut match in 1973, with Universitatea Craiova, the team together with which he would later grab three national champion titles and four Romanias Cup titles. He ended his career earlier than expected after sustaining a bad injury. He played 65 times for Romanias national team, including the match against the then world champion, Italy, which brought Romania a 1-0 victory. He was designated best Romanain footballer in 1981 and 1982. As a couch, he won many trophies with his teams in the Arab countries. President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday signed the decree bestowing post mortem the National Order of Faithful Service, in rank of Knight, on Ilie Balaci, in token of appreciation and admiration for the remarkable career of Ilie Balaci. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • October 17, 2018 UPDATE

    October 17, 2018 UPDATE

    JUSTICE LAWS — The European Commission is watching with concern the changes brought to the justice laws made this week by the Romanian Government, through a government ordinance, the spokesperson for the EC, Christian Wigand, said on Wednesday. The Commission will continue the dialogue with the Romanian authorities and will draw the adequate conclusions, if the changes brought to the justice laws, the Criminal Codes and the legislation on the “conflict of interest” and “corruption” does not take these concerns into consideration, Wigand went on to say. In Bucharest, the Superior Council of Magistracy has decided that the emergency ordinance should not be applied retroactively, consequently, the prosecutors of the General Prosecutors’ Office, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and the Directorate For Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism remain on their positions. In another move, also on Wednesday, the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, announced it will table a simple motion against the justice minister Tudorel Toader, and the Save Romanian Union, also in opposition, calls on the Ombudsman to challenge the controversial ordinance at the Constitutional Court. The ordinance stipulates, among other things, that the prosecutors at the main prosecutor’s offices should have at least 10 year experience in magistracy, before getting nominated for a position in the respective prosecutor’s offices. Romania’s Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazăr, has said the new regulations will create numerous functional problems in the system, whereas the justice minister ,Tudorel Toader, the initiator of the ordinance, said he did nothing but correlated the opinions and stands expressed by the European Commission, the Venice Commission and the Superior Council of Magistracy.



    RESHUFFLE – The President of the Social Democratic Party, the senior party in the ruling coalition, Liviu Dragnea, has said there are zero chances for the current membership of the government to remain unchanged. Dragnea, who is also the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, has said the details of the government reshuffle will be established during the future session of the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party. The date of the session will be set together with PM Viorica Dăncilă, Dragnea has announced. Last month, the education minister Valentin Popa stepped down, following a meeting with Dragnea. The portfolio is temporarily held by a caretaker, the current minister for European Funds, Rovana Plumb. That was the second resignation tendered by a member of the Dancila cabinet, after the research minister Nicolae Burnete stepped down in August.



    COOPERATION — Wednesday was the last day of the state visit paid by Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, to Italy. The president had a meeting with the mayor of Naples, Luigi de Magistris, focusing on the Romanian community in Italy, made up of approximately 1.2 million people. Klaus Iohannis hailed the fact that the Romanian community is growing more active, more involved and more capable of doing business, contributing to arts and sciences and to the development of the society that has welcomed them. Previously, he had formal meetings with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella, the president of the Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte, the Senate Speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico. Also, Klaus Iohannis had a meeting with the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, and talked with representatives of the Romanian community in Italy. The Romanian Presidential Administration has recalled that the visit paid by Iohannis to Italy took place against the background of this year’s celebration of 100 years since the Great Union and of 10 years since the ties between Romania and Italy were lifted to the level of consolidated strategic partnership. This is the first state visit paid by a Romanian head of state to Italy in the past 45 years.



    VISIT – The Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Wednesday continued her visit to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Dancila visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. During the talks she had with the Emirati officials, Dancila mentioned the ethnic and religious diversity in the UAE and hailed the efforts made by the Emirati authorities to integrate religious minorities in that country. Dancila has also said that in Romania, mainly in the south-eastern region of Dobrogea, in the south-east, but not only there, religious communities, including the Muslim one, have been coexisting peacefully and in harmony for hundreds of years. On Tuesday in Dubai, during the meeting she had with Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Dancila presented the latest investment opportunities in Romania and encouraged the companies in the Arab Emirates to participate in tenders organized either for projects funded from the existing operational programmes, or for public-private partnership projects. She stated that Romania will keep paying special attention to the eastern neighbourhood of the EU, especially given that our country will be holding the presidency of the EU Council for six months. Previously, the Romanian Prime Minister had paid a visit to Turkey.



    MOTION – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday rejected the simple motion filed by the opposition National Liberal Party against the Minister of Culture, George Ivascu, after debates held on Monday. The Liberals said culture in Romania is in a grave situation, needing urgent solutions for the many problems it is faced with. In turn, minister George Ivascu stated that the motion included distorted information and superficial accusations, which prove nothing but ill faith.



    VISIT – The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday started a two day visit to the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, aimed at boosting bilateral relations. The agenda of the visit includes talks with the president of the country Igor Dodon and the pro-European prime-minister Pavel Filip, and the signing of a joint strategic cooperation declaration. Radio Chisinau reports that Erdogan’s visit is taking place against the background of a recent scandal concerning the detention and expulsion from Moldova of seven teachers from the Moldovan-Turkish High-School, accused of being members of the network headed by the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen is accused by the power in Ankara of having organized the attempted coup in Turkey, two years ago.



    OLYMPIAD – Romanian pupils have won five medals — two gold, on silver and two bronze — at the International Astronomy Olympiad, held over October 6-14 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The competition brought together 80 contenders from 18 countries. Romanian pupils have had great results this year in other competitions as well: 9 prizes at the International French Language Olympiad in Ohrid, Macedonia, 5 medals from the International Physics Olympiad in Lisbon, 4 medals from the Central European Olympiad in Informatics and 4 medals from the International Earth Science Olympiad in Warsaw. (Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)

  • October 12, 2018

    October 12, 2018

    EU TALKS – The Secretary General of the European Commission, Martin Selmayr, and Clara Martinez Alberola, Head of Cabinet of the EC President, Jean-Claude Juncker, are today being received in Bucharest by president Klaus Iohannis and the Speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, Liviu Dragnea and Calin Popescu Tariceanu, respectively. On Thursday, the European officials met with PM Viorica Dancila. Talks focussed on the larger context in which Romania takes over the rotating presidency of the EU Council, on January 1, 2019. The PM expressed Romanias readiness to ensure an efficient and pragmatic presidency of the EU Council. During the six month term, elections for the European Parliament will be held, Great Britain will leave the community bloc and negotiations will be held on the future multiannual budget of the EU.



    ROMANIAN-ITALIAN RELATIONS – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, will travel to Italy, between October 14th and 17th, on the first visit by a Romanian president to that country over the past 45 years. According to a communiqué issued by the Presidential Administration, Klaus Iohannis is due to meet his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, PM Giuseppe Conte, and the Speakers of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati and Roberto Fico, respectively. The agenda of the visit also includes meetings with representatives of the Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman-Catholic religious denominations as well as with representatives of the Romanian community, the largest outside the borders of the country. The visit is paid against the backdrop of celebrations marking the Great Union Centennial and 10 years since Romanian-Italian relations were raised at the level of Consolidated Strategic Partnership, the communiqué also reads.



    FRANCOPHONIE – Romania further assumes the role of flagship country of the Francophone Movement, Romanian deputy prime minister Ana Birchall, said during the Conference of heads of state and government of the Francophone countries, held in Yerevan, Armenia, between October 10 and 12. Ana Birchall gave a speech in her capacity as head of the Romanian delegation, underlining Bucharests commitment to Francophonie and its values. The agenda of talks also covered issues related to the adoption of documents and resolutions concerning the Francophone area, electing the Secretary General of the Francophonie for the 2018-2022 period, debates on crisis situations in the Francophone area and accepting new members of the International Organisation of the Francophonie. Talks also covered such issues as the importance of culture, education and research for the development of countries in the whole Francophone area. On this occasion, the Romanian deputy PM signed an agreement regarding the headquarters of the Regional Bureau of the International Organisation of the Francophonie for Central and Eastern Europe, concluded by the Romanian Government and the International Organisation of the Francophonie.



    POLL – Almost two thirds of the Europeans say they are not convinced that their lives would be worse without the European Union, a poll carried out by a polling institute in Brussels, Europes Friends shows. The poll was conducted in September, among 11,000 interviewees, from all member states. According to the poll, 64% of the Europeans are not convinced that their lives would be worse without the EU, and almost half of the respondents said the Union is irrelevant. The poll underlines that over 30% of the North Europeans, the French and the Germans want to promote values and democracy in the EU, whereas over 40% of the citizens in Southern Europe and the Vishegrad Group, namely the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, believe the main objective of the European bloc should be economic growth.



    FOOTBALL – Romanias national team Under 21 is meeting this evening on home soil, in Cluj, north-western Romania, the team of Wales, on the last but one game in the preliminaries for the European Championship due next year. On Tuesday, on home soil, in Ploiesti, southern Romania, the Romanian team will play the last qualifying match, with Liechtenstein. Ranking first in the group is Bosnia, with 18 points, followed by Romania with 18 points but a match still to be played. Romania failed to qualify for Under 21 final tournaments in the past 20 years. On Thursday evening, the seniors defeated Lithuania, away from home, 2-1, in a Group 4 C Series match of the newly created Nations League. In the same group, Montenegro-Serbia ended their match,0-2. Leading the group is Serbia with 7 points, followed by Romania with 5 points and Montenegro with 4. Lithuania has failed to win any point. Romania will face Serbia and Lithuania- Montenegro on Sunday.

  • Italian Prime Minister visits Bucharest

    Italian Prime Minister visits Bucharest

    Romania and Italy are strategic partners that support the idea of a united and powerful Europe animated by solidarity, these are the conclusions of the meeting between the Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni and the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, hosted by Bucharest. Talks focused on bilateral relations, which both sides consider privileged, on economic cooperation, which is excellent, and on the role of Italians’ and Romanians’ emigration. President Iohannis appreciated the situation of the Romanian citizens in Italy, saying that they are not only accepted but also well integrated.


    Klaus Iohannis: “We are both very happy and content that the Italian and Romanian communities alike are not only accepted but also very well integrated. The Italian citizens are very welcome to Romania and they have integrated well into the Romanian society. They form a large business community. The Romanian community in Italy numbers 1,300,000 people, it is an equally well integrated community and very well accepted in Italy.”



    Klaus Iohannis appreciated the very good relation between Romania and Italy in many domains, and mentioned the two countries’ almost identical views on European policy. The two officials also tackled the future of the community space as well as the future Romanian presidency of the EU Council to start on January 1, 2019. The Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni underlined that managing migration should be one of the EU’s top priorities. According to Paolo Gentiloni, Europeans should insist on continuing on the community path and approach the migration issue in a coherent manner, and he believes that Italy has done its part in this regard. Italy has made a great effort, and this should be one of the EU’s top priorities, so as to be able to gradually deal with this phenomenon, the Italian PM added.



    Paolo Gentiloni also met with PM Viorica Dăncilă and discussed mainly the positive economic trends in the two countries and the need to give a new impetus to bilateral relations. The Romanian PM said that Italy is a strategic partner for Romania, as the volume of bilateral trade exchange reached almost 14 billion Euros in 2017, which is a record level for the past 10 years. Also, Italy is interested in investing in Romania in such domains as agriculture, technological innovation, energy and defense.



    They also talked about the Romanian community in Italy and the Italian community in Romania. The two prime ministers have agreed that, following the formation of the new Italian government, a common meeting should be held at government level, which might consolidate and diversify cooperation in important fields such as security, defense, economy, energy, the environment, healthcare and others.