Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian politics

  • Party leader investigated for corruption

    Party leader investigated for corruption

    The co-president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Vasile Blaga, on Wednesday announced his resignation from this position and said he would also quit his role as the partys campaign manager for the parliamentary elections scheduled for December 11.



    Earlier on Wednesday, anti-corruption prosecutors had announced that Blaga was investigated in a corruption case. The former Liberal leader is suspected of having awarded preferential procurement contracts between 2009 and 2012, while an interior minister and Senate speaker. In exchange for awarding these contracts he allegedly received commissions of 700,000 euros from a businessman and from Gheorghe Stefan, the former mayor of the north-eastern town of Piatra-Neamt, himself investigated in several other criminal cases.



    According to anti-corruption prosecutors, Vasile Blaga got the money for his own use but also for the Liberal Democratic Party (PDL), which was in power at the time and whose secretary general he was. The Liberal Democratic Party, which back then supported the former head of state Traian Basescu, eventually dismantled, and most of its members, Blaga included, opted for a merger with the National Liberal Party, whereas Basescus most die-hard supporters decided to follow him and join the Peoples Movement Party (PMP).



    In a communiqué right after the resignation of their co-president, the Liberals said that Blagas decision to resign proved that he put the partys integrity principles above his political career. The Liberals have scheduled a meeting of the partys National Political Bureau at the end of the week.



    Political commentators expect a tense meeting, given the fact that the two wings of this party are yet to learn to work together. The older Liberals claim that their new colleagues, the former Liberal Democrats, have brought in with them long-standing judiciary problems, which are now a burden for the entire party. In their turn, the former Liberal Democrats say it is their right to appoint a new co-president to lead the party jointly with Alina Gorghiu.



    In another move, the Social Democrats made no effort to hide their satisfaction at the problems facing their competitors. They can afford to do that, given their comfortable lead of the Romanian left wing, while the already divided right wing has just got another blow. Several political analysts say they expect some of the traditional Liberal voters to switch towards new parties, such as the Save Bucharest Union, which, at the local election this summer, did much better in Bucharest than the PNL.

    (translated by: Elena Enache)

  • The Week in Review 16-22 February 2015

    The Week in Review 16-22 February 2015

    The fight against corruption continues to be a top priority of the Romanian judiciary


    Another former Romanian minister, accused of corruption, has been put behind bars earlier this week. Monica Iacob Ridzi, a former rightist Sports and Youth Minister, received a final sentence of 5 years in prison for abuse of office. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, in 2009, Monica Iacob Ridzi, as the main authorizing entity, decided to illegally outsource the organization of Youth Day celebrations to several companies of her choice. In another case, the Chamber of Deputies’ Legal Committee approved, on Wednesday, two new requests for the prosecution and arrest pending trial of former Tourism Minister Elena Udrea. Prosecutors brought new charges against her, in one of the two corruption files opened on her name. On Thursday, Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s brother in law, Iulian Hertanu, was placed under 30-day custody pending trial, following accusations of fraud involving European money. For their involvement in the same case, deputies Sebastian Ghita and Vlad Cosma, both representing Prahova County, are now subject to legal restrictions pending trial. The same decision was made for Vlad Cosma’s father, Mircea Cosma, the president of the Prahova County Council. The damage to the state has been put at 1.7 million euros plus over 550 thousand euros from tax evasion.



    New people at the helm of the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Constitutional Court


    On Thursday Romanian President Klaus Iohannis nominated the Liberal MEP Eduard Hellvig for the position of chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service. Hellving was born in 1974 and studied Political Sciences. He has been a member of the National Liberal Party since 2008, and in 2012 was appointed regional development and tourism minister in Victor Ponta’s government. If endorsed by parliament next week, Eduard Hellvig will become the 5th director of the Romanian Intelligence Service since 1989, taking over the post previously held by George Maior, who resigned last month. While waiting for the Parliament’s vote, Hellvig wrote on his Facebook page that strengthening ways to defend national security and curbing corruption would be his top priorities. Equally important to consolidate democracy is the work of the Constitutional Court judges, who, as of Wednesday have a new colleague. Simona Maya Teodoroiu has replaced Toni Grebla, who is prosecuted for corruption.



    The Government has proposed a set of fiscal relaxation measures


    The Romanian Government has announced a relaxation in fiscal targets that should be enforced under a new Fiscal Code. Among the new measures is the reduction of the VAT from its current level of 24% to 20% next year and to 18% in 2018. For basic foodstuffs, such as meat, fish, vegetables and fruit, the VAT will be 9% starting in 2016. Effective as of 2017, contributions to the social security fund will stand at 7.5% for employees, as against 10.5% today, and at 13.5% for employers, as compared to 15.8% at present. Also, the flat income tax will be reduced to 14%, starting 2019. The Romanian Finance Ministry has also proposed lower excises on diesel and on lead-free gasoline. On the other hand, according to the new Tax Code, all individuals making income shall pay contributions to the social security and health insurance funds, while taxes on micro-enterprises, just like property taxes, will go up. The new Tax Code will be under public debate for a month, and then submitted to Parliament for approval.



    Consular dialogue with the Romanian Diaspora


    “Dialogue with the Diaspora on consular themes” is a program launched early this week by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. According to the Ministry, the programme is meant to provide Romanians at home and abroad with correct information and full access to modern consular services. The programme sets new guidelines as to the behaviour of consular staff, who are encouraged to be open, friendly and reliable and show concern for the needs of each citizen resorting to their services, as laid down in the Code of Conduct of the Romanian Consular Corps. The programme is carried out in the first half of 2015, with a foreign ministry team travelling to countries with large Romanian communities, where Romanian consular offices are particularly busy, such as Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Belgium and Greece. The Foreign Ministry experts will meet the Romanian communities in these countries and present the new system of computerised consular services, E-cons.



    Romania’s neighbour country, Moldova, has a new Government


    The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova has avoided early elections, by giving its vote of confidence to the government headed by businessman Chiril Gaburici. After November’s legislative elections, no party or alliance had the parliamentary majority required in order to endorse a new prime minister. The Bucharest Foreign Ministry is expecting the new Moldovan Government to continue democratic reforms and strengthen the country’s path towards the EU. In another development, in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, officials from Romania and its southern neighbour, Bulgaria, discussed their joint interests related to energy diversification, the development of transport connections by building new bridges over the Danube, and joining the Schengen area. These topics were approached on Thursday in Bucharest by Romanian and Bulgarian foreign ministers Bogdan Aurescu and Daniel Mitov, respectively on Friday by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Plevneliev.

  • Romanian Politicians and Corruption

    Romanian Politicians and Corruption

    Seen as the most influential person among former president Traian Basescu’s collaborators and supporters, the former Minister of Tourism and Development, Elena Udrea, was released from temporary custody on Tuesday night and will be further investigated under house arrest. Prosecuted for influence peddling, bribe-taking and money laundering, she was arrested last week after making headlines for weeks, both on TV and in newspapers.



    Her return home, however, was again eclipsed by a fresh corruption scandal, with unexpected connections. Prime Minister Victor Ponta’s brother in law, businessman Iulian Hertanu, was detained following accusations of tax evasion and fraud involving European money. One of the companies he is a major shareholder in fraudulently won a contract worth 2 million Euros, from European funds. The contract was about the development of the sewerage system of Comarnic, a town in the southern Romanian county of Prahova. Signed in 2012 and due to be finalized in February 2014, the contract was extended until December, but the works were never completed.



    Moreover, prosecutors say that the delay in the completion of the works blocks another two contracts, also funded with European money, worth 4 million Euros, for asphalt works on the same streets where the sewerage system should have been extended. For their involvement in the same case, deputies Sebastian Ghita and Vlad Cosma, both representing Prahova county, are now subject to legal restrictions pending trial.



    The same decision was made for Vlad Cosma’s father, the president of the Prahova County Council, Mircea Cosma. Already involved in other investigations started by prosecutors with the Anti-Corruption Directorate, the three politicians are now being prosecuted for support granted to organized crime groups. What amplifies the scandal is the fact that, organized or not, the whole group is gravitating around PM Victor Ponta. Both Cosmas, father and son, are heads of the local branches of the Social Democratic party.



    Ghita, recently excluded from the party because of his temper, has been and still is one of the premier’s closest friends. They spent together a therapeutic holiday in Dubai, after Ponta lost the presidential race in November. His brother in law’s going to prison adds to Ponta’s headaches, as he has always been regarded as one of the politicians very keen on the concept of extended family. His wife, Daciana Sarbu, is a member of the European Parliament. His father in law, Ilie Sarbu, is the head of the Social-Democratic group in the Romanian Senate. One of his cousin’s husband, Robert Cazanciuc, is the Minister of Justice.



    The best man at his previous marriage, Gabriel Oprea, is Minister of the Interior, and the best man at his second marriage, George Maior, was until last month the director of the Romanian Intelligence Office. Pundits say that the Prime Minister is now with his back against the wall, especially given that last summer he called for Basescu’s resignation, after the latter’s younger brother, Mircea Basescu, had been arrested for influence peddling to favour a leader of the gipsy mob in Oltenia, in the south of the country.

  • Political Prospects in Romania

    2015 is not a big election year in Romania. After the local and parliamentary elections of 2012 and the presidential elections of 2014, this year will only see a number of by-elections for the seats of senators and deputies that have become vacant as their occupants have resigned, died or been sentenced for corruption. Prosecutors have also wrought havoc among the local administration, with many mayors and county council presidents now under arrest. Under the circumstances, commentators say the local political scene will be dominated this year by clarifications, repositioning and account settling within each party.



    The senior member of the ruling coalition for the last two and a half years, the Social Democratic Party is also the biggest party in Romania and the party with the biggest internal problems. The party’s shocking defeat in the presidential elections, something no opinion poll had predicted, has not yet been digested by its members. The last time the left wing won the presidential elections in this country was 14 years ago, with Ion Iliescu. As they did in 2004 with Adrian Nastase and in 2009 with Mircea Geoana, the Social Democrats are again expected to rid themselves of the man who lost the elections, their leader and the country’s prime minister Victor Ponta. According to his own statements, Ponta is not sure he will run for a new term as party president at the Social Democrats’ Congress in March.



    The Conservative Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition, has not had a good start in 2015, either, following an open conflict between its current president and agriculture minister Daniel Constantin and the founder of the party, the media mogul Dan Voiculescu, who is serving 10 years in prison for corruption. The media have speculated that the row between the two may cause a split within the party, between the members who are loyal to Voiculescu and the more pragmatic members who are pinning their hopes on the “young wolf”.



    In its turn, the right wing, in opposition, has not been very able to manage the happy outcome of the presidential elections, which its candidate Klaus Iohannis won in November. The latter has been accused, albeit not openly, of pushing for his protégé, the young and inexperienced Alina Gorghiu, to win the leadership of the National Liberal Party to the detriment of Ludovic Orban, one of the party’s oldest and most pugnacious members. This has led to additional complications for a party priding itself that freedom of expression always prevails over monolithic unity.



    Another big challenge for the Liberals this year is the painstaking completion of their merger with the Liberal Democrats to form a big right wing party affiliated to the European People’s Party. The merger will be all the more difficult as for the last 25 years, the Liberals and the Liberal Democrats have more often been at odds with each other than on the same side.



    Finally, 2015 is the year when two relatively new parties have the chance to consolidate their position: the Reformist Liberal Party, in the ruling coalition, which was founded by the former prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, and the People’s Movement Party, in opposition, which outgoing president Traian Basescu is expected to head.

  • The Week in Review 15-20 December

    The Week in Review 15-20 December

    Romania’s President-elect Klaus Iohannis will be sworn in on Sunday



    Romania’s president-elect Klaus Iohannis will take the oath of office on Sunday, during a solemn Parliament session, one month after winning November’s elections. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis resigned from the leadership of the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party, leaving the party’s helm in the hands of parliament member Alina Gorghiu, a 36-year-old lawyer who had been the Liberals’ spokeswoman during the elections. Gorghiu, the first female president of the National Liberal Party, will be interim president until 2017, when a congress that will make official the fusion of the Liberals and Liberal Democrats is held. Until then, Alina Gorghiu will lead the party alongside the Liberal Democratic Party leader, Vasile Blaga.



    Romanian Government undergoes reshuffle


    Romania has a new government, the 4th one headed by the Social Democrat Victor Ponta. The new coalition government is made up of the Social Democratic Party, the Union for the Progress of Romania, the Conservative Party and the Reformist Liberal Party. The latter, a center right party, is a dissident faction of the National Liberal Party, in opposition, that replaced the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania which left the government. As many as 8 new ministers are part of the government’s new line up while 14 others have kept their seats. PM Ponta has given assurances that the new government will maintain all those measures that render the private business environment stable and predictable, that is the 16% flat tax, the tax exemption for reinvested profit, the decrease in the employers’ social security contribution and the proposal to further decrease the VAT for certain categories of farm products. High on the Government’s agenda, are, according to Prime Minister Ponta, the projects related to European funds, the transport infrastructure, the judiciary, education, agriculture and the environment.


    JINGLE


    Romania’s 2015 budget, on Parliament’s agenda


    The budget bill and the social security bill for 2015 have been for a whole week on the agenda of the Bucharest Parliament, after being passed by the country’s legislative body last Friday. According to PM Ponta, the 2015 budget does not provide for any increase in taxes and duties. The new budget has taken into account a 2.5% economic growth, an annual inflation rate of 2.2% and a budget deficit of 1.8%.



    The Government’s emergency ordinance, sanctioning political party switching, declared unlawful by the Constitutional Court


    The Constitutional Court of Romania has ruled that the law by means of which Parliament adopted the Government’s emergency ordinance, sanctioning political party switching, goes against the Constitution. Adopted last year in September, the ordinance allowed numerous local officials to change parties, seeking personal interests. At present the situation of those officials who switched parties in the 45 days when the law was effective is till unclear. The Opposition believes the ordinance has encouraged political party switching, particularly in the context of November’s presidential election.



    Romania marks 25 years since the 1989 anti-communist revolution


    Romanians have commemorated 25 years since the anti-communist revolution of 1989. Timisoara is the city where the Romanian Revolution started, on December 16 that year. The protest movement spread throughout the country and the revolutionary movement culminated with the fall of Ceausescu’s regime on December 22. Over 1000 people died in Bucharest, Timisoara and several other cities. The events of December 1989 were evoked in the capital city Bucharest, in a special session of Parliament.



    The helicopter crash in eastern Romania rekindled the debate on the effectiveness of the emergency intervention system.


    The helicopter crash in southeastern Romania, which killed four people, has raised new doubts regarding the activity of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations. A helicopter of the Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication (SMURD) crashed in Siutghiol Lake, northern Constanta, merely 500 meters from the bank. At the time of the crash the helicopter was on its way back from a medical mission. Doubts emerged over rescue operations, which were carried out with great difficulty and delay. None of the people onboard was saved. Military prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation for second-degree murder. The head of the Constanta County Inspectorate for Emergency Situations was sacked, while the Constanta County prefect was also relieved of his duties. The Government believes the Department for Interventions in Emergency Situations needs to undergo an external audit regarding the training level of people in the system and the procedures involved in such cases.



    Traian Basescu attended his last European Council summit as president of Romania


    Romania’s president Traian Basescu attended the last meeting of the European Council during his current tenure. EU leaders decided to set up the European Fund for Strategic Investments, based on contributions from Member States worth 315 billion euros. Regarding the developments in Ukraine, heads of state and Government decided to continue their support for the reform process in this country. At the same time, the acting president of the European Council Donald Tusk of Poland pointed out that Brussels needs a long-term strategy on Russia. European leaders did not agree on additional sanctions on Moscow, a country currently undergoing a severe financial slump. Instead the EU adopted a new series of measures regarding Crimea, in order to highlight Europe’s opposition towards the “illegal annexation” of the peninsula by the Russian Federation.

  • A Romanian in the European Commission

    A Romanian in the European Commission

    Social Democrat MEP Corina Cretu was confirmed as Romania’s candidate in the new European Commission, whose membership, approved by the European Commission president-elect Jean-Claude Juncker, is to be validated by the EU Council. Although her exact position is yet to be announced officially, PM Victor Ponta and deputy PM Liviu Dragnea said she might be in charge with regional development.



    This is quite an important field in terms of the budget it disburses, and for that reason it is quite appreciated by the Romanian politicians. The same was true in the previous legislative cycle, when Romania’s Dacian Ciolos served as Agriculture Commissioner. But since Juncker decided his team would only include new members, Ciolos, highly appreciated as the mastermind of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, had to step down.



    Back in the country, the nomination of his successor was turned into another game of thrones, with the President and the Prime Minister once again at odds with each other over the nomination procedure. But in spite of the divergences between Power and Opposition, nothing seems to stand in Corina Cretu’s way to a European Commissioner seat.



    This post would complete her political career. Having had no major position in the central administration and no extensive media coverage, Corina Cretu, an economist by training, is at her third term in office in the European Parliament since Romania’s EU accession in 2007. She will have no easy job in the Commission, however, because the performance of Dacian Ciolos has set rather high standards for his successors.

  • Ordinance on Party Switching

    Ordinance on Party Switching

    The low approval rates reported for the Romanian politicians in all national public confidence surveys are neither surprising, nor ungrounded. Over the past few years, anti-corruption prosecutors have brought to Court politicians of all political affiliations and from all administrative levels, going from mayors and local councilors to MPs and ministers and culminating with the former Social Democratic PM Adrian Nastase.



    The public distrust is fueled not only by politicians breaking or bending the law, but also by their generally low moral standards, reflected in the primacy of personal and party interests over the nation’s well-being, or in shady dealings between private companies and public institutions.



    One of the most heavily criticized practices among politicians is party switching, which is so common in the Romanian Parliament that it helped form or bring down governments. This is precisely why, political analysts say, the Government of Romania, made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the Conservatives and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, further stained its image when it passed an emergency ordinance that gives local elected officials 45 days to change their party affiliation without losing their offices.



    The Cabinet claims that in many cases the activity of local authorities gets stuck because of the reorganization of parties and of political and electoral alliances.



    The piece of legislation is strongly opposed by the National Liberal Party and the Liberal Democrats, which have recently formed the Christian-Liberal Alliance. They announced a censure motion on this topic, on grounds that the ordinance paves the way for political proselytism attempts. Other observers also share the view that the Social Democratic Party will try to manipulate budget allocations so as to win over as many mayors as possible, who would then support PM Victor Ponta’s presidential candidacy in November.

  • The Race for Romania’s Presidency

    The Race for Romania’s Presidency

    President Traian Basescu is at the end of his two constitutional terms in office as president of Romania. A self-proclaimed champion of anti-corruption with a younger brother behind bars, seen by some as the arch-enemy of Romanian democracy and by others as its redeeming angel, Traian Basescu is losing his appeal to most Romanians, who are more interested these days in his possible successor.



    According to opinion polls, the most likely to win November’s election is the Social Democratic PM Victor Ponta. The leader of a well-ordered party that controls most of the administration, Ponta has a major logistic advantage, reinforced by a generally good image and strengthened by the thirst for revenge of the Romanian Socialists, who haven’t won a presidential election since 2000. Aged 42, by Romanian standards Ponta is unusually young for a virtual president. His opponents claim he is not mature enough for office, and some of his public appearances have fueled this perception.



    Whereas the left wing pins its hopes, along with its resources and energy, on one candidate, the dramatically fragmented right wing has an exasperatingly large number of candidates. The main opposition parties in Parliament, the National Liberal and the Liberal Democratic parties, which have recently joined forces in the Christian Liberal Alliance, nominated Klaus Iohannis as their candidate.



    A German ethnic and long-time Mayor of the city of Sibiu, Iohannis, with his unimaginative sternness, is the complete opposite of the Prime Minister’s often unsuitable gaiety. Supported by urban voters, particularly in his native Transylvania, Iohannis is also the beneficiary of Romanians’ fascination with the myth of German efficiency. Sociologists point out that the majority of Romanian voters are not prepared to accept a Protestant leader of a country where the Orthodox Christian community accounts for 80% of the total population. Still, opinion polls indicate Iohannis will qualify in the runoff, as Ponta’s challenger.



    The other right-wing competitors have one-digit support figures, and virtually no chances in the race. A former PM and leader of the National Liberal Party, Calin Popescu Tariceanu is the candidate of a so-called reforming Liberal dissidence. Abandoned by her own party, the Liberal Democratic MEP Monica Macovei seeks the presidency on grounds of alleged spiritual affinities with the iconic freedom fighter Nelson Mandela. Finally, the race has prompted the most fiery debates in the pro-presidential People’s Movement Party. Already nominated as presidential runner, former minister Cristian Diaconescu is heavily contested by his own party leader, the less popular Elena Udrea, who believes she is the only one able to stand up to Ponta.

  • The Week in Review, 20-27 July

    The Week in Review, 20-27 July

    Candidacies for the presidential elections


    Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the leader of the main ruling party, the left-wing Social-Democratic Party, announced on Thursday he will be running for president in the upcoming elections of November. Victor Ponta announced that in next week’s meeting of the National Council he would officially seek his party’s support. Ponta added that the Conservative Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the Social Democrats’ allies in the ruling coalition, have also rallied to support his candidacy. Also this week Sibiu Mayor Klaus Iohannis, the leader of the National Liberal Party in opposition, has been designated as the party’s candidate in the presidential elections. The National Liberal Party has decided to merge with the Liberal-Democratic Party, also in the center-right opposition, and to designate a joint candidate in the elections. Klaus Iohannis will have to compete for the nomination with the Liberal-Democrat candidate, Catalin Predoiu. Kelemen Hunor will be running for the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, while Cristian Diaconescu will be the candidate of the People’s Movement Party.



    Economic measures


    A delegation of the International Monetary Fund was in Bucharest this week to discuss the first budget adjustment in 2014. The Romanian authorities and the International Monetary Fund agreed on a budget deficit level of 2.2% of the GDP. According to official data, although budget returns increased in the first five months of the year, they are lower than expected when the budget was first drafted. Moreover, the government must also address the drop in budget returns as a result of a 5% cut in the amount of social security contribution paid by employers, planned for October. President Traian Basescu sent the bill in question back to Parliament for reexamination saying he did not have a problem with the bill as such, but that his objections had to do with how the resulting pension fund deficit would be financed. According to the prime minister, the measure, which costs the state 4.8 billion lei per year, may be covered by the additional returns resulting from the social contributions paid for the newly created jobs, additional VAT returns following new potential investments, the recovery of debts from insolvent companies and lower tax evasion.



    The situation in Ukraine


    Romania wants the NATO military resources not to be reduced on the Alliance’s eastern flank. The statement has been made by Romanian President Traian Basescu, who has described the situation in northern Ukraine as a hybrid war. According to President Basescu, responsibility for the latest developments in Ukraine lies with the separatists, but also with Moscow, which has been supporting them. Traian Basescu has taken part this week in Warsaw in a meeting of heads of NATO states in central and eastern Europe, which focused on the regional situation, with an emphasis on the crisis in Ukraine and preparations for the NATO summit in the UK in September. The crisis in Ukraine topped the meeting’s agenda. The EU has added 15 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and 18 entities to its sanctions list, for their role in the Ukrainian crisis. In another development, the Netherlands has started the process of identifying the bodies retrieved after the plane crash in Ukraine. All 298 people on board, including 193 Dutch citizens, lost their lives. Pro-Russian separatists are considered to be guilty of downing the plane, by using a missile supplied by Russia, while Moscow accuses the Ukrainian army for the crash.



    Romanians repatriated from Gaza


    As many as 19 Romanian citizens and their families have been repatriated this week from Gaza, following an escalation of violence in the region. Last week, another 84 Romanian citizens were repatriated together with their families. The conflict in Gaza, which started on July 8th, has already caused the death of hundreds of Palestinians, most of them civilians, and tens of Israelis. Major European and American airlines cancelled their flights to Tel Aviv for security reasons. Other air companies, including the Romanian Tarom, have resumed flights after a temporary halt.



    Russia imposes embargo on Moldovan products


    Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin reiterated their commitment to supporting the Republic of Moldova – a former Romanian province with a mostly Romanian-speaking population – in order to help it face the economic sanctions imposed by the Russian Federation. Russia has banned fruit and vegetable imports from Moldova, after previously doing so with meat and wine. The Russian embargo follows Moldova’s ratification, in June, of the association and free trade agreements with the European Union. The decision, although anticipated by analysts, is nevertheless inexplicable according to Moldova’s PM Iurie Leanca. Russia motivated its decision by saying the Moldovan products are infested. The exports banned by Russia will most likely reach the EU market, and also Arab and Belarusian markets.