Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU

  • January 13, 2019 UPDATE

    January 13, 2019 UPDATE

    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT – The priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the assessment of the Austrian presidency will be on the agenda of the first plenary session of the European Parliament, due over January 14 – 17 in Strasbourg. On Tuesday, the European MPs will discuss with the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila the priorities of the Romanian presidency, focusing on cohesion and common values, security and strengthening Europe as a global actor. Also on Tuesday, Ms. Dancila and the European Parliament President Antonio Tajani will hold a joint press conference. In next weeks session, the European Parliament will debate the state of play on Brexit after the January 15th vote in the House of Commons on the accord agreed upon by PM Theresa May and the EU leaders. The members of the European Parliament will also debate and vote on rules to freeze EU payments to member states which jeopardize the rule of law, by means of actions such as interference with courts, or which do not tackle fraud and corruption.



    BREXIT – British PM Theresa May has warned that if her plan for leaving the EU is not backed by the British MPs and Great Britain remains in the EU, that would be a “catastrophic and unforgivable break of trust in our democracy”, Press Association reports. Just two days before the vote in the House of Commons, the British Prime Minister called on the MPs to do what is best for the country and support her controversial divorce plan. Press Association reports that Theresa May has been pressured by the former conservative Prime Minister John Major to revoke article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which regulates the procedure to be followed by a country that wishes to leave the EU, in order to halt Brexit, because, according to him, a no-deal exit would be “morally reprehensible”.



    COOPERATION – In the past week, Romanian police and partners from the Schengen area have discovered some 600 people in relation with whom alerts had been entered in the Schengen Information System, reads a communique issued by the General Police Inspectorate and made public by AGERPRES news agency on Sunday. The Romanian Police have enforced 25 European arrest warants. Also, some 250 people, wanted by the Romanian authorities, have been identified by foreign partners on their soil, following an exchange of information.



    AMBASSADOR – The new Israeli Ambassador to Bucharest, David Saranga, has called Romania a true friend, on which his country can count within the EU. In his first public speech on Sunday, the ambassador appreciated the significant progress made by Romania in the fight against anti-Semitism and xenophobia. He said that the entire world should recall the dark past and that the Jewish people, in particular, must be a model of tolerance.



    STRIKE – Some 3000 employees of the Oltenia Energy Complex, in the south-west of Romania, are on strike. Among other things, they demand higher salaries, holiday vouchers and a drop in the retirement age. The protests started on Friday, after the administration allegedly proposed an expenditure and revenue budget that included no pay rise and no holiday vouchers for the 13,000 employees of the complex. Company representatives have announced they will start talks with the trade unions on Monday.



    TOURISM – The Vienna Tourism Fair on Sunday hosted a live cooking session, staged by the My Transylvania Association and Slow Food Sibiu. Visitors had the opportunity to taste dishes made from ingredients from the Sibiu area, in central Romania. Sibiu is also participating in the Stuttgart Fair, which is unfolding until January 20th, the largest in Germany, with more than 250,000 visitors last year. At this fair, Sibiu has its own stand, alongside four local travel agencies. This year, the Sibiu area is holder of the title of European Gastronomic Region.



    BAD WEATHER – 12 counties in the north and west of Romania will be under code yellow warning for snow and blizzard until Monday afternoon. Also, the entire country will be affected by mix precipitations and powerful winds until Tuesday. Snow will pile up in many areas and strong gusts will be felt especially in the mountain areas, where the speed of wind will exceed 100km/hour.



    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings, will play against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the inaugural round of the Australian Open, which starts on Monday. Kanepi (70 WTA) defeated Halep last year in the first tour of the US Open. In 2018, Halep played the final in Melbourne, losing dramatically to the Danish Caroline Wozniacki. Another 5 Romanian tennis players will take part in the Australian Open: Mihaela Buzarnescu, who will face the American Venus Williams, Sorana Carstea, who will take on the Swedish Rebbeca Peterson, Irina Begu, playing against the German Andrea Petkovic, Ana Bogdan who will play against the Polish Iga Swiatek, and Monica Niculescu, who will take on Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. In the mens competition, Marius Copil is the only Romanian, and he will play against the Spanish Marcel Granolles.


  • January 13, 2019

    January 13, 2019

    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT – The priorities of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the assessment of the Austrian presidency will be on the agenda of the first plenary session of the European Parliament, due over January 14 – 17 in Strasbourg. On Tuesday, the European MPs will discuss with the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila the priorities of the Romanian presidency, focusing on cohesion and common values, security and strengthening Europe as a global actor. Also on Tuesday, Ms. Dancila and the European Parliament President Antonio Tajani will hold a joint press conference. In next weeks session, the European Parliament will debate the state of play on Brexit after the January 15th vote of the House of Commons on the accord agreed upon by PM Theresa May and the EU leaders. The members of the European Parliament will also debate and vote on rules to freeze EU payments to member states which jeopardize the rule of law, by means of actions such as interference with courts, or which do not tackle fraud and corruption.



    BREXIT – British PM Theresa May has warned that if her plan for leaving the EU is not backed by the British MPs and Great Britain remains in the EU, that would be a “catastrophic and unforgivable break of trust in our democracy”, Press Association reports. Just two days before the vote in the House of Commons, the British Prime Minister called on the MPs to do what is best for the country and support her controversial divorce plan. Press Association reports that Theresa May has been pressured by the former conservative Prime Minister John Major to revoke article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which regulates the procedure to be followed by a country that wishes to leave the EU, in order to halt Brexit, because, according to him, a no-deal exit would be “morally reprehensible”.



    COOPERATION – In the past week, Romanian police and partners from the Schengen area have discovered some 600 people in relation with whom alerts had been entered in the Schengen Information System, reads a communique issued by the General Police Inspectorate and made public by AGERPRES news agency on Sunday. The Romanian Police have enforced 25 European arrest warrants. Also, some 250 people, wanted by the Romanian authorities, have been identified by foreign partners on their soil, following an exchange of information.



    TOURISM – The Vienna Tourism Fair is today hosting a live cooking session, staged by the My Transylvania Association and Slow Food Sibiu. Visitors have the opportunity to taste dishes made from ingredients from the Sibiu area, in central Romania. Sibiu is also participating in the Stuttgart Fair, which is unfolding until January 20th, the largest in Germany, with more than 250,000 visitors last year. At this fair, Sibiu has its own stand, alongside four local travel agencies. This year, the Sibiu area is holder of the title of European Gastronomic Region.



    BAD WEATHER – 12 counties in the north and west of Romania will be under code yellow warning for snow and blizzard until Monday afternoon. Also, the entire country will be affected by mix precipitations and powerful winds until Tuesday. Snow will pile up in many areas and strong gusts will be felt especially in the mountain areas, where the wind speed will exceed 100 km/hour.



    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings, will play against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the inaugural round of the Australian Open, which starts on Monday. Kanepi (70 WTA) defeated Halep last year in the first tour of the US Open. In 2018, Halep played the final in Melbourne, losing dramatically to the Danish Caroline Wozniacki. Another 5 Romanian women tennis players will take part in the Australian Open: Mihaela Buzarnescu, who will face the American Venus Williams, Sorana Carstea, who will take on the Swedish Rebbeca Peterson, Irina Begu, playing against the German Andrea Petkovic, Ana Bogdan who will play against the Polish Iga Swiatek, and Monica Niculescu, who will take on Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. In the mens competition, Marius Copil is the only Romanian, and he will play against the Spanish Marcel Granolles.


  • January 11, 2019 UPDATE

    January 11, 2019 UPDATE

    COUNCIL OF THE EU – Romanias holding for the first time the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union is a good opportunity for Bucharest to reassert its commitment to strengthening the European project, said in Bucharest on Friday Romanias president Klaus Iohannis, during a meeting with the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and members of the College of Commissioners. Also, Johannis said, the Romanian presidency will highlight Romanias desire to have a successful term, targeting concrete results, which would help advance the European agenda, taking into consideration, however, the complex background of the next six months. In turn, Jean-Claude Juncker voiced his conviction that Romania stands very good changes of having a successful presidency, but also stressed that domestic conflicts should not be exported to Europe. The Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU must provide hope, at a difficult time for the EU, so it will go through several stages, Jean-Claude Juncker also said. The EC president also met with the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who said that the ECs initiatives aimed at strengthening the EU and thus benefiting all citizens, are completely in line with the vision and objectives that Romania wants to promote during its term at the helm of the Council of the EU. The members of the EC attended the official take-over ceremony, held on Thursday night a the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest.



    PROTEST – Romanian carriers protested on Friday in front of the European Commission Representation in Bucharest against the latest European regulations in the field. The protest was organized by the National Union of Road Carriers, according to which the medium and long-term effect of such measures would be a division in Europe between the West and the East. According to the protesters, operating costs will grow and taxes and fees will be paid on the territories of the countries that the carriers travel to. The protest coincided with the visit to Bucharest of the EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and members of the College of Commissioners, as protesters wanted to draw European and Romanian officials attention to the danger posed by the new set of regulations. A similar protest staged by carriers from Eastern Europe was held in Brussels on Thursday. As a result, the Transport Committee of the European Parliament has dropped a number of proposals described as discriminatory.



    VISIT – Over May 31st – June 2nd, Pope Francis will pay an apostolic visit to Romania, a country with a predominantly Christian Orthodox population, the Vatican and the Romanian presidential administration announced on Friday. The pope will visit Bucharest, the cities of Iasi and Blaj and the Marian sanctuary in Sumuleu Ciuc. A press release issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference in Romania reads that the visit will be mainly pastoral, but it will also carry a significant ecumenical message, under the motto Lets Walk Together!. Catholic bishops in Romania hope that the Popes visit will inspire Romania into gathering together everything that is good and valuable, for the benefit of the country and the common good, and will encourage dialogue between the Christian churches, based on the principle of otherness.



    EUROPE CARES – Europe CARES was launched on Friday, an initiative by means of which parents of children with disabilities from 7 member countries, including Romania, have decided to have their voices heard and their childrens right to inclusive education observed. Currently, the EU does not have any specific legislation on education for people with disabilities, which causes problems, such as exclusion and segregation. Also lacking are measures to help disabled students integrate into the mainstream education system. In Romania, in the past eight years, the European Centre for the Rights of Children with Disabilities has helped more than 1,000 children have access to education. Currently, in Europe there are more than 70 million persons with disabilities.



    BAD WEATHER – Over the past few days, Europe has been hit by massive snow falls and severe frost. Bulgarian authorities have announced that two snowboarders died on Friday in an avalanche in the Pirin Mountains, in the south-west of the country. Albania, too, has reported a fatality, caused by snow. 20 people have died in the past week because of bad weather. Emergency measures have been taken in Serbia, after heavy gusts of wind gathered huge piles of snow on several roads and blocked access to several towns and villages. Montenegrin meteorologists have stated that the first ten days of January were the coldest in decades. In Bosnia, snow storms cut off electricity and telecommunications. In Germany and Austria, heavy snowfalls caused avalanches, blocked roads and isolated villages, and several flights had to be postponed or even cancelled.


    (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)



  • December 22, 2018 UPDATE

    December 22, 2018 UPDATE

    SUMMIT – The Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila spoke in Belgrade, at the Romania – Serbia – Bulgaria – Greece summit, about the countrys priorities during the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, focusing on the cohesion policy. “During the presidency of Romania, starting January 2019, we must respond to many challenges, perhaps unique challenges for the EU, and I am convinced that together we will be able to draw a future that is closer to citizens”, the Romanian official stated. Also, the Romanian Prime Minister highlighted the support given to the European integration of the Western Balkans. The four prime-ministers discussed in Belgrade cooperation in fields such as energy, infrastructure, tourism and sport.



    ORDINANCE – The Romanian Government, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, adopted in Fridays session an emergency ordinance on the fiscal measures recently announced by the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici. The measures are contested by the countrys president, Klaus Iohannis, by banks and big energy and communications companies. The Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the coalition, says though that the measures will boost Romanian economy. The measures adopted under the emergency ordinance include, among other things, capping the price of gas and electricity for the next three years for domestic consumers and lowering commission to private pension funds from 2.5% to 1%. Another measure concerns taxation of financial-banking institutions according to the evolution of ROBOR, the reference indicator used by banks in lending, which, at least in the past year, has fluctuated to the detriment of both companies and natural persons. Also, the Romanian Government has approved the setting up of an investment and development fund, which will provide funding for local community and university development projects, with a budget of approximately 10 billion Euros. As of January 1st, all employees will receive two minimum wages per year in the form of food allowance.



    STOCK EXCHANGE – The Financial Supervisory Authority has announced the commencement of an analysis of the transactions carried out at the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Wednesday, as there are suspicions of abuse. If the investigation concludes the law was broken, the Authority will take measures that will be made public. On Wednesday, the Bucharest Stock Exchange registered a record low. The biggest losses were registered by the shares of banks and energy companies. The plunge occurred after the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici had announced a number of measures, which in the meantime have already been adopted by means of an emergency ordinance.



    1989 REVOLUTION – Events commemorating the heroes of the December 1989 anti-Communist Revolution were held on Saturday in Bucharest and other cities across Romania. 29 years ago, protesters laid siege to the headquarters of the Communist Party, and dictator Ceausescu fled Bucharest on board a helicopter. In the capital, commemoration events started at the monument in the Revolution Square and continued at the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, the Romanian Television and the Telephone Palace. The participants included revolutionaries, relatives of those who died, people who were in the army in 1989 and were called to defend the public institutions from what officials back then termed as terrorists. All orthodox churches in the country and abroad held a commemoration mass to honour the heroes who sacrificed themselves in December 1989. More than 1000 people died and some 3,400 were wounded in the shootings in Romania, the only country in the Eastern Bloc where the regime was toppled violently and the communist rulers were executed.



    MARCH – On Saturday, more than one thousand people gathered in Victoria Square in Bucharest for a manifestation announced in the social media as 22 December – Our Revolution. The crowed marched towards the University Square and the Revolution Square. According to the organizers, the main goal of the event was to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Revolution. “They believed in freedom at a time when Romania was going trough the darkest of times” said the organizers.



    UNEMPLOYMENT – In November, the unemployment rate in Romania stood at 3.3%, lower than in the previous month and under the value registered in November 2017. According to the National Employment Agency, the total number of unemployed individuals, in late November, was 289,000 people, of whom 57,000 were receiving unemployment benefits. Most of the unemployed were aged 40 to 49.



    EUROBAROMETER – 52% of the Romanians have a positive image about the EU, as compared to 43% , which is the European average. According to a Eurobarometer survey, the number of Romanians who have a positive image about the EU is on the rise and above the European average. Half of the Romanians trust the EU and believe that their voice counts in the EU, 56% of the Romanians have a positive view of the situation of the European economy, and 48% of Romanians are optimistic about the labour market situation. The survey also shows that most Europeans believe, for the first time, that their voice matters in the EU. Moreover, 20 years since the introduction of the single currency, support for the economic and monetary union and the Euro remains at a record high, with three quarters of the respondents in the Eurozone in favour of the single currency. On the other hand, immigration remains the main concern at EU level. It is mentioned twice more often than terrorism.



    TRAVEL – Over the past few days, traffic at the Romanian border crossing points has intensified, as many Romanians who have settled or are working abroad are coming back to the country for the winter holidays. Also, many Romanians have planned a holiday abroad in the coming period. The General Border Police Inspectorate has reminded citizens that, by accessing the on-line application Average waiting times at border crossing points open to international traffic, they can visualize all border crossing points and the traffic situation, differentiated in various colours. The Romania Police too have announced that more than 8,500 police officers from public order and safety structures will be on duty across the country in the coming period. In another move, the Romanian Railway Company has increased the number of trains leaving from Bucharest to the big cities and mountain resorts in the country, until January 6th, 2019.


  • Romania takes over the presidency of the GAC

    Romania takes over the presidency of the GAC

    On Tuesday, Romania took over the presidency of the General Affairs Council of the European Union. The office was taken over by the Minister Delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba, at the end of a meeting with his counterparts, held in Brussels. Special attention was paid at the meeting to the 2021-2027 multi-annul financial framework, in preparation for the debates to be held by the European leaders at the European Council due on December 13-14.



    In his speech, George Ciamba appreciated the efforts made by the Austrian presidency with regard to this file. At the same time, he stressed the fact that Romania was ready to maintain the same pace of discussion, which should lead to consistent progress during its term. Also, the Romanian official stressed the need for an ambitious but also balanced budget, to reflect both support for growth and convergence objectives, and the need for an effective response to the current challenges. The substantial progress of negotiations on this matter largely depends on the constructive commitment of all the member states and European institutions, George Ciamba also said.



    Also in preparation for the meeting of the European Council, the European Affairs ministers approached other topics on the European leaders agenda, in particular the Internal Market, migration, the Economic and Monetary Union and the EUs external relations. As regards the agenda of the European Council, the Romanian minister George Ciamba stressed the importance of the European Councils strong support for strengthening the Internal Market. Also, he highlighted the principles underlying the formulation of a post 2020 vision of the Common Market. They include the upholding of fundamental rights, the elimination of barriers and boosting the capacity to respond to digital threats.



    The need to carry on efforts to ensure a comprehensive approach to migration was also stressed by minister Ciamba, who mentioned Romanias availability to carry on the efforts made by the previous presidencies in this matter. Also, he stressed the importance of talks on the recent developments in the Sea of Azov, and on the measures taken to combat disinformation. The latter aspect is a priority on the agenda of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, which Romania is holding in the first half of next year.