Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian President Klaus Iohannis

December 16-21, 2018

The Romanian Revolution – 29 years on

29 years have passed since the 1989 anti-Communist revolution in Romania that put an end to a nightmare of many decades. On December 17, 1989 fire was opened in the western city of Timisoara on those who dared to protest against dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The anti-communist revolution also saw its first victims in Timisoara: 58 people were shot dead and several hundreds were injured. Monday was a day of mourning in Timisoara, which commemorated the victims of the 1989 revolution. Flags with black ribbons attached to them were flown at half-staff and a commemoration service was held at the Metropolitan Cathedral for the martyrs of the revolution. Also wreathe-laying ceremonies were held that were attended by revolutionaries, local officials and guests.

“It is the duty of all the people of Timisoara to remember the young souls of the victims who craved for freedom, after a troubled night when more than 600 people were arrested. The discontented people of Timisoaras took to the streets but unfortunately the army did not understand the message of the people of Timisoara and opened fire on them in the Freedom Square.”

On Thursday Timisoara marked Victory Day. 29 years ago, after the repression by the Communist authorities that left behind dead and wounded, workers went on strike and the people of Timisoara took to the streets in great numbers. The army withdrew to the barracks and from the balcony of the Opera House in Timisoara the people declared Timisoara the first city of Romania free of Communism. To mark this moment, siren calls were heard in downtown Timisoara at noon. The revolt extended on December 21 to Bucharest and other cities of Romania. Commemoration services were held at cemeteries and memorial crosses erected in memory of the victims. Over one thousand people died and around 3 thousand were injured in the Romanian uprising, the only country in the Eastern bloc where the change of regime was violent and the Communist leaders were executed.

The no-confidence motion against the government failed

The Parliament of Romania Thursday dismissed a no-confidence motion against the Government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and headed by Viorica Dancila. Entitled “Enough is enough! Dragnea-Dancila Cabinet, the embarrassment of Romania!”, the no-confidence vote was initiated by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, and the Peoples Movement Party. The Opposition only managed to get 161 votes out of the 233 it needed in order to dismiss the Cabinet. The initiators argued that the current Cabinet is a threat to Romanias national interests, to its economic and political stability. They also criticized the justice laws, and said the prime minister failed to comply with the governing programme undertaken at the start of her term in office.

In turn, PM Dancila dismissed the accusations in the text of the motion, which she described as unfounded and unserious:

“You continue to prove that you are incapable of respect for anybody, that your actions are only driven by hatred. I am strong enough to keep going.”

In the Opposition, the leader of the Liberal Deputies Raluca Turcan argued:

“Instead of an incompetent and obedient Prime Minister, we could have a responsible and loyal one, able to persuade the young in particular that it is worth studying in this country if you want to be part of societys elite.”

Pension Act, endorsed by Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, the decision-making body in this case, Wednesday endorsed the new Pension Law, after on Tuesday the Deputies had approved an amendment filed by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Initially dismissed by the Labour Committee, the amendment stipulates that people with severe disabilities may retire after one-third of the pension contribution period. The bill also says that a person may receive pension benefits and social security benefits on condition that they have contributed to the pension fund and social security fund for at least 15 years. Eliminating discrimination between people with the same contribution periods, granting the more advantageous benefit to a surviving spouse and the 6-year early retirement option for mothers of 3 children are other novelties introduced by the act, according to the Social Democratic Deputy Olguta Vasilescu, who initiated the bill when she was a labour minister. She explained that further to successive increases, the pension point level will reach approx. 400 euros in 2020.

Austrias Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pays official visit to Bucharest

The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday received the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz whose country is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The Austrian official has symbolically handed over to Romania the presidency of the Council which effectively starts on January 1, 2019. The two officials tackled priority topics on the European agenda such as the future of the EU, the post-2020 budget of the EU, Brexit, the elections for the European Parliament. On Wednesday at a meeting with the ambassadors of the EU states accredited to Bucharest, President Klaus Iohannis stated that Romanias objective as president of the EU Council was to start as soon as possible negotiations related to the future relations between the EU and Great Britain if the Brexit deal is ratified by the British Parliament and approved by the European Parliament. President Iohannis also said that Romania supports a strong Union closer to the European citizens and able to ensure their security and prosperity.

22 December 2018
December 21, 2018 UPDATE

EU COUNCIL – On January 1st, 2019, Romania takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU from Austria, which has been a serious and reliable partner, said on Friday in Bucharest president Klaus Iohannis, in a joint press conference with the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The Romanian head of state stressed the very good collaboration between the two countries institutions and the support provided by Austria in ensuring an effective transition to the Romanian presidency of the Council. Also, Klaus Iohannis hailed the results obtained by Austria during its term. In turn, the Austrian Chancellor thanked the Romanian president for taking care of democracy and the rule of law, stressing that the head of state is a guarantor of the two values. With the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila Sebastian Kurz talked about the main issues on the European agenda, such as the future of the EU and the bilateral relation between Romania and Austria.

1989 REVOLUTION – Ceremonies commemorating the heroes of the 1989 Revolution will be held across Romania on Saturday. In Bucharest, events will be hosted by the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, one of the hotspots of the Revolution, as well as by the Romanian Television and the Telephone Palace. On Friday, Romania commemorated 29 years since the anti-Communist Revolution extended from Timisoara to Bucharest and the whole country. The Revolution culminated on December 22nd with protesters laying siege to the headquarters of the Communist Party and with dictators Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu attempting to flee Bucharest. Over 1,000 people died and some 3,400 others were wounded in the shootings in Romania, the only Eastern Bloc country where the communist regime was toppled violently and where the communist leaders were executed.

MOTIVATION – President Klaus Iohannis failed to fulfill his constitutional responsibilities when he did not acknowledge the resignations of two ministers and the vacancy of the two posts, reads the motivation issued on Friday by the Constitutional Court to the decision under which the Court had ruled that there was a constitutional conflict between the Government and the head of state. Also, the prime-minister cannot reiterate a proposal for a ministers appointment, in the sense that they cannot indicate the same person for the same office, at the same ministry, the motivation also reads. The Constitutional Court of Romania is of the opinion that, in order for the conflict to be settled, the president of Romania should issue immediately the decrees acknowledging these vacancies and to respond, in writing, to the proposals made by the Prime Minister. On December 7th, PM Viorica Dancila announced that the Government had informed the Constitutional Court that the president did not make a decision about the appointment of the ministers of transport and regional development respectively. Previously, Klaus Iohannis had refused the proposals, saying they were inappropriate.

JUDICIARY – Romanias High Court of Cassation and Justice has continued to suspend the serving of prison sentences received by several high-level officials under corruption charges. Among them are the former chief of the anti-terrorism and anti-mafia directorate Alina Bica, who requested asylum in Costa Rica, the former head of the tax authority, Serban Pop, and former Social Democratic ministers and MPs Dan Şova and Constantin Niţă. They have been released, until final rulings are passed on their appeals. The argument put forth for the suspension of their sentences was that the membership of the 5-judge panels passing the rulings had not been set correctly.

DEFENSE – A new session of the Romanias Supreme Defense Council will be held on the 28th of December, to analyze the requests made by the National Defense Minister Gabriel Les, concerning some vacancies in the leadership of the Romanian Army, the Presidential Administration announced on Friday. On Wednesday, Gabriel Les had announced that he would not extend the term of the current Chief of Staff, Nicolae Ciuca, whose contract expires on the 31st of December. The previous meeting of the Council was held on December 19th to approve the 2019-2028 army equipment programme and the means and forces to be deployed next year for missions and operations abroad.

RUSSIA – Romania is open to a dialogue with Russia on topics that do not come in violation of international sanctions, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Radio Romania. He explained that one of the goals of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council is to have the Black Sea area acquiring the status of priority area, both in terms of security and also economically. “Lately, we have been very much concerned about the growing Russian military presence in the Black Sea area and on the eastern borders of the EU and NATO. That is why, one of the topics that Romania will focus on while holding the presidency of the EU Council is the Black Sea area and the fact that this is a priority issue for the EU” Teodor Melescanu has stated.

ICE HOTEL – On December 23, the only ice hotel in Romania will be opened at Balea Lac in the Southern Carpathians. The official inauguration of the entire compound, to also include an ice church and several igloos, will take place next February. The ice hotel, built entirely of ice blocks, is located at an altitude of 2034 meters. This year, the theme that has inspired the hotels decoration is Frozen Love, promoting love and passion for nature, fresh air and trekking in the winter season. A perfume inspired from this theme will also be launched. Bookings for tourists who want to experiment sleeping at minus 2 degrees Celsius were made months in advance, especially by Britons. The Ice Hotel has been built every year, starting 2005.

21 December 2018
December 13, 2018 UPDATE

BRUSSELS – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis is attending in Brussels
the European Council meeting and the Euro Summit. The Council’s agenda includes
negotiations on the future EU budget after 2020, the Union’s Single Market,
migration, climate change and the fight against racism and xenophobia. As
regards the future budget of the EU, Romania’s president pleads for its rapid
adoption, specifying that Romania, while holding the presidency of the Council
of the EU, will act towards ensuring significant progress in the negotiations. Also,
he supports the efforts made by the members states with regard to the external dimension
of migration and an active involvement in the dialogue with the external
partners, the countries of origin and transit. On the sidelines of the summit,
president Iohannis has had a meeting with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
They have discussed the informal summit on the future of Europe to be hosted by
the Romanian city of Sibiu on May 9th, 2019, which will play a major
role in outlining the strategic agenda of the EU for 2020-2024.

COOPERATION – Romania benefits from
the US’s unequivocal support for a quick accession to the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the conclusions drawn
at the meeting in Washington between the Romanian Minister for the Business Environment,
Stefan-Radu Oprea, and the US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The two
officials discussed Romania’s priorities during its term at the helm of the Council
of the EU and boosting investment under the strategic partnership between the
two countries. According to statistics, bilateral trade exchanges stood at a
total 2 billion dollars in the first nine months of the year, 6.8% more than in the same period last year.
Romanian exports to the US grew by 29%, up to 1.15 billion dollars, and imports
from that country dropped by 15%, to 800 million dollars.

NO-CONFIDENCE -
A no-confidence motion against the Government formed by the Social Democratic
Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and headed by the Social
Democrat Viorica Dancila will be filed in the Romanian Parliament on Friday.
The document has been signed by 163 Senators and Deputies members of the opposition National Liberal Party,
Save Romania Union and People’s Movement Party, as well as by non-affiliated
MPs. The initiators of the motion say that this is not a just request from the
opposition, it’s a national emergency, and those who will try and reject it
will carry a historic responsibility on their shoulders. The motion will be
debated and voted on next week.

MOLDOVA – The local and parliamentary elections that are
due in the Republic of Moldova next year pose risks to the economic development
of the former Soviet state, with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population,
according to analysts with the Expert-Grup Center in Chisinau, quoted by Radio
Romania correspondents. In their opinion, a drop in foreign assistance and
budget revenues could increase the internal debt and also fees and taxes. For
2019, experts forecast an economic growth within the 3.5 – 5.2% range. However,
they also warn that decreasing taxes only a few months before the elections
will diminish budget revenues and therefore, after the election, the future
Government might increase other taxes and resort to loans from the internal
market, especially given that foreign financing has been dropping. Business
people are reluctant to investing, waiting for the result of the elections.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for February, and the local ones are due
in June. Opinion polls indicate the pro-Russia Socialists as the favourites,
followed by the pro-European opposition and the ruling Democratic Party.

HANDBALL – On Friday night in Paris, Romania’s national women’s handball
team will face the Russian team, in the semi-finals of the European
Championship hosted by France. In the same stage of the competition, the host
country plays against the Netherlands. The Romanian handballers have also
secured their participation in the World Championship in Japan, next year. The
star and leader of the Romanian team, Cristina Neagu, dubbed the best scorer in
the history of European competitions, has unfortunately sustained an injury and
she will not be able to play.

13 December 2018
President Iohannis rejects Government’s anti-corruption prosecutor nominee

In a move anticipated by supporters and opponents alike, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis rejected, on Wednesday, the appointment of Adina Florea as chief –prosecutor of the Anti Corruption Directorate (DNA), proposed for this post by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. Three other nominations at the top of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) respectively, were also rejected by president Iohannis. “The legal criteria that a prosecutor must meet, in an objective manner, in order to be appointed to a leading position, have not been met,” the presidential administration said in a release. Last month, a judicial advisory panel with the Superior Council of Magistracy issued a negative opinion on Mrs. Florea’s appointment, due to her “reduced stress tolerance and low analytical and synthetic skills,” as well as “deficiencies in relation to values such as honesty and impartiality, attributes that are indispensible to a manager.”

Minister Toader said he was not surprised with the President’s decision, but with the way in which he motivated his decision, namely by invoking the absence of a certificate saying that the nominees did not collaborate with the Securitate, the communist political police. While debates seem to continue in legal and procedural terms, in political terms the President’s decision is seen by some analysts as a counterattack in the endless war against the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.

We recall that in June, the Constitutional Court headed by Valer Dorneanu ruled that President Iohannis had to sack the then anti-graft chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi, as Minister Toader had demanded ever since February. Judges ruled that the President had started a conflict when initially refusing to dismiss her. Kovesi’s eventual dismissal was perceived as a victory by the leftist ruling coalition whom the opposition, civil society and a part of the media accuse of trying to subordinate magistrates and prevent corrupt politicians from being brought to justice.

A spearhead of the anti-corruption fight to some and the leader of an abusive system to others, Laura Codruta Kovesi was frequently dubbed the most powerful woman in Romania. At a debate held at the UN headquarters in New York, shortly before her revocation, Kovesi said that the biggest challenge for Romania was to preserve the independence of judges and prosecutors. In the past five years alone, the Directorate prosecuted 14 ministers and former ministers as well as 53 MPs. Of them, 27 have already received final sentences. In the same period, the National Anticorruption Directorate ordered precautionary measures for assets worth 2.3 billion dollars. According to pundits, the Directorate will have to keep on working as it has before, because, in a mature democracy, institutions work irrespective of who is at their helm.

22 November 2018
November 9, 2018 UPDATE

PARIS – On Saturday and Sunday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will attend ceremonies commemorating the centennial of WWIs armistice. The Romanian head of state, invited by the French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend the centennial ceremony at the Triumphal Arch alongside leaders of the belligerent countries in WWI and also leaders of the states that supported the war efforts. Also, Klaus Iohannis will attend the inaugural edition of the Paris Peace Forum, president Macrons initiative, focused on supporting and striving to improve global governance in the fields of peace and security, environment, development, technological advancement and economy. In Paris, president Iohannis will also meet with Romanian research students. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, the meeting organised at the Romanian Embassy in Paris is devoted to Romanian contributions to the development of science and technology, in the Centenary Year of the Great Union.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu met in Bucharest on Friday with his counterpart from neighbouring Hungary, Peter Szijjarto. On that occasion, the two officials talked about the stage of bilateral relations, laying emphasis on the importance to increase two way trade exchanges and boost cooperation in such domains as energy and infrastructure. Other points on the agenda of talks included the EU enlargement in the West Balkans, security in the Black Sea region and the Eastern Neighbourhood, which are foreign policy issues of utmost importance for the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. In another move, Melescanu told his counterpart that he pays special heed to the way in which the Hungarian authorities are managing domestic and foreign policy issues with a direct impact on bilateral relations, particularly this year when Romania celebrates the Great Union Centennial anniversary. In turn, the Hungarian official said the two countries have the capacity to solve their sensitive files.

DEFENSE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihai Fifor, said on Friday there is a complex security situation in the region, against the backdrop of the Russian Federations aggressive attitude, which manifests itself by increasing the number of troops and dispatching new capabilities in the Black Sea area. The declaration was made during the visit paid by Mihai Fifor alongside his Canadian counterpart Harjit Singh Sajjan to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air-base in south-eastern Romania. The two officials will meet with soldiers from the Canadian detachment deployed in Romania for enhanced air-policing missions, as well as with Romanian Air Force staff. On this occasion, minister Fifor also referred to the importance granted by Romania to the Trans-Atlantic dialogue during the Romanain presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019.

FAC (TRADE) – Romania supports the European Commission in the process of negotiation to reform the World Trade Organisation, the Romanian minister for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Ştefan-Radu Oprea said in Brussels on Friday. The statement was made at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), where EU-US trade relations were also on the agenda of talks. On the sidelines of the meeting, minister Oprea held talks with several counterparts from the EU member states, in the run up to Romanias holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.

TRADE DEFICIT – According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romanias trade deficit grew by more than one billion Euros in the first nine months of the year. Thus, the deficit of the trade balance, which is the difference between the value of imports and that of exports, has reached 10 billion Euros. This year, a big share of both imports and exports has been held by transport machinery and equipment.

HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball champions CSM Bucharest on Sunday plays away from home against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungary, in Champions Leagues Group D. The Hungarian team ranks first, with 6 points, followed by CSM Bucharest with 4, and Kristiansand of Norway and Bietigheim of Germany with 3 points each. The first three highest ranking teams will qualify for the main groups. On Thursday, in the mens competition, the current holder of the national title, Dinamo Bucharest, defeated Ademar Leon of Spain on home turf. Dinamo gained 10 points and now tops the group rankings. The main counter-candidates for play-offs qualification are Ademar Leon, which currently has 9 points, Wisla Plock of Poland and Elverum of Norway, with 8 points each. (Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)

9 November 2018
November 9, 2018

PARIS – On Saturday and Sunday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will participate in events commemorating the centennial of WWIs armistice. The Romanian head of state, invited by the French President Emmanuel Macron, will attend the centennial ceremony at the Triumphal Arch alongside leaders of the belligerent countries in WWI and also leaders of the states that supported the war efforts. Also, Klaus Iohannis will attend the inaugural edition of the Paris Peace Forum, president Macrons initiative, focused on supporting and striving to improve global governance in the fields of peace and security, environment, development, technological advancement and economy. In Paris, president Iohannis will also meet with Romanian research students. According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, the meeting organized at the Romanian Embassy in Paris is devoted to Romanian contributions to the development of science and technology, in the Centenary Year of the Great Union.

COLECTIV – The first 25 witnesses have been subpoenaed to testify today, at the Bucharest Tribunal, in relation to the fire that broke out three years ago at the Colectiv Club in Bucharest. We recall that on October 30th, 2015, during a rock concert, a fireworks show started a fire, which killed 64 people and wounded another 200. The owners of the club and the former district mayor Cristian Popescu-Piedone are being tried in relation to this case. The owners are accused of encouraging and allowing the access of people beyond the clubs admitted limit, especially given that the facility did not have enough emergency exits. Also, they allowed the fireworks show, although the clubs interior arrangements were unfit for such activity. On Thursday, survivors of the fire talked with the health minister Sorina Pintea about implementing in Romania a rapid intervention mechanism in case of accidents that cause third-degree burns.

TRADE DEFICIT – According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romanias trade deficit grew by more than one billion Euros in the first nine months of the year. Thus, the deficit of the trade balance, which is the difference between the value of imports and that of exports, has reached 10 billion Euros. This year, a big share of both imports and exports has been held by transport machinery and equipment.

VISIT – The Romanian and Canadian Defense Ministers, Mihai Fifor and Harjit Singh Sajjan respectively, are paying a visit to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air-base in south-eastern Romania. The two officials will meet with soldiers from the Canadian detachment deployed in Romania for enhanced air-policing missions, as well as with Romanian Air Force staff. A communiqué issued by the Romanian Defense Ministry reads that the Canadian detachment, made up of 135 soldiers and CF-188 Hornet fighters, are carrying out, alongside MiG-21 LanceR aircraft and Romanian Air Force soldiers, enhanced air policing missions under NATO command. According to the same communiqué, jointly deployed Air Policing missions contribute to the development of reaction and deterrence capacity, as well as to the enhancement of interoperability between the Romanian Air Force and the Canadian Royal Air Force.

SANCTIONS – The US has announced new sanctions against individuals and entities in relation to the annexation of Crimea and the violation of human rights in the Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia, France Presse reports. Financial sanctions are aimed at preventing such individuals and entities from doing business with Americans and banning them access to the US market. The Washington Administration stated in July it did not recognize the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.

HANDBALL – Romanias womens handball champions CSM Bucharest on Sunday plays away from home against FTC-Rail Cargo Hungary, in Champions Leagues Group D. The Hungarian team ranks first, with 6 points, followed by CSM Bucharest with 4, and Kristiansand of Norway and Bietigheim of Germany with 3 points each. The first three highest ranking teams will qualify for the main groups. On Thursday, in the mens competition, the current holder of the national title, Dinamo Bucharest, defeated Ademar Leon of Spain on home turf. Dinamo gained 10 points and now tops the group rankings. The main counter-candidates for play-offs qualification are Ademar Leon, which currently has 9 points, Wisla Plock of Poland and Elverum of Norway, with 8 points each.

(translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)

9 November 2018
October 14-20

Romania’s President on a visit to Italy and Brussels

Romania’s
President, Klaus Iohannis has had a busy agenda this week, which included a
four-day state visit to Italy and a trip to Brussels where he attended the
autumn session of the European Council. Also, the Romanian president attended
the 12th Asia-Europe Summit. Early this week, Klaus Iohannis paid
the first state visit to Italy by a Romanian president over the past 45 years. With
an estimated value of trade exchanges of over 15.5 billion Euros in 2018, Italy is Romania’s second largest trade
partner and ranks first among foreign investors in terms of the number of
companies doing business on the Romanian market. Organized in the year when
Romania celebrates 100 years since the Great Union and 10 years since
Romanian-Italian relations were lifted at the level of Consolidated Strategic
Partnership, the visit also covered issues related to the significant Romanian
community, of some 1.2 million people, the largest community living outside the
borders of the country and also the largest foreign community in Italy. During
the official talks with the Italian President and Prime Minister, Iohannis thanked
the Italian authorities for the way in which the Romanians are treated and
integrated in the Peninsula. From Rome, the Romanian president went to
Brussels, where he attended the autumn session of the European Council, and
then the 12th Asia-Europe
Summit. The first day of the EU Summit ended without any significant progress
regarding Brexit. President Iohannis said that, in spite of heated
negotiations, Great Britain’s deal has not been finalized so far. Iohannis has expressed hope that at
least a deal on a well planned withdrawal of the UK can be achieved, so that
other steps could be taken. On the second day, the European leaders discussed
issues regarding migration, internal security and strengthening the monetary
union. The
talks on migration focused on future developments, towards boosting cooperation
with third origin and transit countries. As regards internal security,
president Iohannis has underlined that preventing and fighting terrorism
should remain one of the main concerns of the EU member states.

The Romanian Prime Minister’s tour of Turkey,
United Arab Emirates and Kuwait

This
week, the Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă has taken a tour of Turkey, the United
Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The first leg of the tour was Turkey, where the PM
was received in Ankara by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two officials
agreed that Romania will further support Turkey’s European path. The two
countries expressed readiness to further cooperate to develop economic
relations, maintain security and fight against terrorism. The two officials also signed two bilateral
cooperation agreements in the fields of healthcare and education. The tour
continued in the United Arab Emirates. In
Dubai, during the meeting with the Emirati leader, sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Viorica
Dancila also presented the latest
investment opportunities in Romania and encouraged Emirati companies to take
part either in public tenders for projects financed under the existing operational programmes, or in
projects developed though public-private partnerships. Dancila said Romania
will further pay special heed to the EU’s southern neighborhood, the more so as
the country will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council, for six
months. In Abu Dhabi, Viorica Dăncilă also
talked about attracting Emirati investments and boosting two-way trade
exchanges. On Wednesday, the heads of the Romanian and Emirati government
adopted a Joint Declaration on establishing a strategic economic partnership between
the Government of Romania and the Government of the United Arab Emirates.
Trade, investment, agriculture, tourism, research and innovation are only some
of the key domains of cooperation between the two countries’ business
environments. The last leg of the tour was Kuwait.

The 2018 Earthquake Drills

The
population should be ready as much as possible in order to know how to react in
case of disaster, the Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, said during a ceremony marking the
end of a drill simulating a major earthquake in Romania, Earthquake 2018. Raed
Arafat said it was the biggest and most complex such exercise at European level
in the past years, which was an occasion for the Romanian authorities to test
their reaction response and speed, as well as the capacity to intervene and
cooperate in case of a powerful earthquake. Romania is considered to be one of
the most earthquake vulnerable EU countries. In the past two centuries,
Romania was hit by seven earthquake measuring
over 7 degrees on Richter’s scale. During the five-day-simulation, the training
included all structures with responsibilities
in the event of a major earthquake, of 7.5 degrees, followed by tremors,
with multiple victims and which will affect mostly Bucharest. The rescuers were
put to the test, to face limit situations, with thousands of dead and injured
and people left destitute. President Klaus Iohannis decreed the instament of a state of emergency. At its bases, the
Army mounted mobile hospitals, and special camps were laid out on stadiums and
in the satellite localities of Bucharest. State of the art mobile hospitals,
including intensive care units have been brought over from Israel, Italy and Norway,
and ambulances arrived from Austria and Hungary.

Romania’s Under 21 team qualifies for the
final tournament of the European Championships after 20 years

Romania’s
youth football team has qualified for the Under-21 European Championship due
next year, after defeating Liechtenstein
4-0, on home turf, in Ploiesti, on Tuesday, in the last qualifying Group 8
match. With seven wins and three draws out of ten matches, the Romanians ended
the qualification series undefeated, accumulating 24 points and winning a group
also made up of Portugal, Bosnia, Wales and Switzerland. Romania has
thus managed to secure a second qualification
to a European Youth Championship, after that in 1998, when the final tournament
was organised in Bucharest. The U-21 European Championships will be played over
June 16-30, 2019 in Italy and San Marino and will enjoy the participation of 12
teams.

20 October 2018
October 14-20

Romania’s President on a visit to Italy and Brussels

Romania’s
President, Klaus Iohannis has had a busy agenda this week, which included a
four-day state visit to Italy and a trip to Brussels where he attended the
autumn session of the European Council. Also, the Romanian president attended
the 12th Asia-Europe Summit. Early this week, Klaus Iohannis paid
the first state visit to Italy by a Romanian president over the past 45 years. With
an estimated value of trade exchanges of over 15.5 billion Euros in 2018, Italy is Romania’s second largest trade
partner and ranks first among foreign investors in terms of the number of
companies doing business on the Romanian market. Organized in the year when
Romania celebrates 100 years since the Great Union and 10 years since
Romanian-Italian relations were lifted at the level of Consolidated Strategic
Partnership, the visit also covered issues related to the significant Romanian
community, of some 1.2 million people, the largest community living outside the
borders of the country and also the largest foreign community in Italy. During
the official talks with the Italian President and Prime Minister, Iohannis thanked
the Italian authorities for the way in which the Romanians are treated and
integrated in the Peninsula. From Rome, the Romanian president went to
Brussels, where he attended the autumn session of the European Council, and
then the 12th Asia-Europe
Summit. The first day of the EU Summit ended without any significant progress
regarding Brexit. President Iohannis said that, in spite of heated
negotiations, Great Britain’s deal has not been finalized so far. Iohannis has expressed hope that at
least a deal on a well planned withdrawal of the UK can be achieved, so that
other steps could be taken. On the second day, the European leaders discussed
issues regarding migration, internal security and strengthening the monetary
union. The
talks on migration focused on future developments, towards boosting cooperation
with third origin and transit countries. As regards internal security,
president Iohannis has underlined that preventing and fighting terrorism
should remain one of the main concerns of the EU member states.

The Romanian Prime Minister’s tour of Turkey,
United Arab Emirates and Kuwait

This
week, the Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă has taken a tour of Turkey, the United
Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The first leg of the tour was Turkey, where the PM
was received in Ankara by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two officials
agreed that Romania will further support Turkey’s European path. The two
countries expressed readiness to further cooperate to develop economic
relations, maintain security and fight against terrorism. The two officials also signed two bilateral
cooperation agreements in the fields of healthcare and education. The tour
continued in the United Arab Emirates. In
Dubai, during the meeting with the Emirati leader, sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Viorica
Dancila also presented the latest
investment opportunities in Romania and encouraged Emirati companies to take
part either in public tenders for projects financed under the existing operational programmes, or in
projects developed though public-private partnerships. Dancila said Romania
will further pay special heed to the EU’s southern neighborhood, the more so as
the country will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council, for six
months. In Abu Dhabi, Viorica Dăncilă also
talked about attracting Emirati investments and boosting two-way trade
exchanges. On Wednesday, the heads of the Romanian and Emirati government
adopted a Joint Declaration on establishing a strategic economic partnership between
the Government of Romania and the Government of the United Arab Emirates.
Trade, investment, agriculture, tourism, research and innovation are only some
of the key domains of cooperation between the two countries’ business
environments. The last leg of the tour was Kuwait.

The 2018 Earthquake Drills

The
population should be ready as much as possible in order to know how to react in
case of disaster, the Head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, said during a ceremony marking the
end of a drill simulating a major earthquake in Romania, Earthquake 2018. Raed
Arafat said it was the biggest and most complex such exercise at European level
in the past years, which was an occasion for the Romanian authorities to test
their reaction response and speed, as well as the capacity to intervene and
cooperate in case of a powerful earthquake. Romania is considered to be one of
the most earthquake vulnerable EU countries. In the past two centuries,
Romania was hit by seven earthquake measuring
over 7 degrees on Richter’s scale. During the five-day-simulation, the training
included all structures with responsibilities
in the event of a major earthquake, of 7.5 degrees, followed by tremors,
with multiple victims and which will affect mostly Bucharest. The rescuers were
put to the test, to face limit situations, with thousands of dead and injured
and people left destitute. President Klaus Iohannis decreed the instament of a state of emergency. At its bases, the
Army mounted mobile hospitals, and special camps were laid out on stadiums and
in the satellite localities of Bucharest. State of the art mobile hospitals,
including intensive care units have been brought over from Israel, Italy and Norway,
and ambulances arrived from Austria and Hungary.

Romania’s Under 21 team qualifies for the
final tournament of the European Championships after 20 years

Romania’s
youth football team has qualified for the Under-21 European Championship due
next year, after defeating Liechtenstein
4-0, on home turf, in Ploiesti, on Tuesday, in the last qualifying Group 8
match. With seven wins and three draws out of ten matches, the Romanians ended
the qualification series undefeated, accumulating 24 points and winning a group
also made up of Portugal, Bosnia, Wales and Switzerland. Romania has
thus managed to secure a second qualification
to a European Youth Championship, after that in 1998, when the final tournament
was organised in Bucharest. The U-21 European Championships will be played over
June 16-30, 2019 in Italy and San Marino and will enjoy the participation of 12
teams.

20 October 2018
October 17, 2018

VISIT – Todays has been the last day of the visit Romanias president Klaus Iohannis paid to Italy. The president has 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 has 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 years 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 visit paid by a Romanian head of state to Italy in the past 45 years.

COOPERATION – The Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila continues her visit to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Yesterday, in Dubai, during the meeting she had with Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Ms. 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 neighborhood of the EU, especially given that our country will be holding the presidency of the EU Council for six months. Trade exchanges between Romania and the United Arab Emirates exceed 366 million Euros. Another 70 million come from exchanges of services. Moreover, there are 70 companies from the Emirates operating in Romania, with a total capital standing at 24 million Euros. Previously, the Romanian Prime Minister had paid a visit to Turkey.

MOTION – The Romanian Chamber of Deputies has today 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 say culture in Romania is in a grave situation, needing urgent solutions for the many problems it is faced with. In turn, minister George Ivascu has stated that the motion included distorted information and superficial accusations, which prove nothing but ill faith. The National Liberal Party has filed another motion today, this time against the Minister of Waters and Forest, Ioan Denes, accusing him of incompetence.

VISIT – The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, starts today a two day visit to the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, aimed at boosting bilateral relations. Besides talks with the president of the country Igor Dodon and the pro-European prime-minister Pavel Filip, a joint strategic cooperation declaration will also be signed. Radio Chisinau reports that Erdogans 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.

FOOTBALL – Romanias under-21 football team has qualified for the UEFA Under-21 Championship due next year, after defeating Liechtenstein 4-nil on Tuesday, on home turf, in Ploiesti. That was its last game in Group 8 of the preliminaries. Romania has thus managed to qualify for the second time for a European Youth Championship, after the one of 1998 when the final tour was held in Bucharest. The European Championship will be hosted by Italy and San Marino in June 2019, with 12 teams participating. The countries that have qualified so far are Italy, Spain, France, England, Serbia, Germany, Croatia, Denmark, Belgium and Romania.

17 October 2018
October 12, 2018 UPDATE

EU TALKS – Romanias vision within the EU is strongly pro-European, and the motto of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council is cohesion, which reflects the need for unity and cooperation among the member states. The statement was made by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea during the meeting he had on Friday in Bucharest with the Secretary General of the European Commission Martin Selmayr and Clara Martinez Alberola, Head of Cabinet of the EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. On Friday, the EU officials also had talks with the Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, about Romanias stand on the main European issues and its priorities as president of the EU Council as of January 1st, 2019. Tariceanu said that Romania will be holding the rotating presidency against a very complex background, marked by many challenges that impact citizens and governments.

EUROPEAN ISSUES – The Romanian Minister of the Interior, Carmen Dan, stated on Friday that Romania, as the country holding the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019, will pay close attention to the phenomenon of radicalisation. The Romanian official also stated that Romania was not faced with a direct and imminent terrorist threat or violent extremism, but was concerned about the development of such phenomena in the past years. The Romanian official made these statements at the High-Level Conference of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), held in Luxembourg, occasioned by the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council held on Thursday and Friday.

ANTI CORRUPTION – Prosecutor Adina Florea, a candidate for the office of head of the National Anticorruption Directorate, demonstrates poor resistance to stress and also a low capacity of analysis and synthesis, reads the opinion of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The Council also noted that, during the interview, the candidate could not prove honesty and impartiality, which are a must for a good manager. On Monday, the Council gave a negative opinion on the proposal set forth by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. The opinion is however advisory. The decision to appoint the new head of the Directorate lies with the president of the country, Klaus Iohannis. We recall that the post became vacant in July, when Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed by president Iohannis, who had to enforce a ruling issued by the Constitutional Court, although the dismissal was not endorsed by the Superior Council of Magistracy.

JUSTICE LAWS – On Friday, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law on the status of magistrates, the last of the three justice laws, after the bill had been challenged at the Constitutional Court several times. On July 19th, the head of state notified the Court with regard to the changes brought by Parliament to the law on the status of magistrates, motivating that the extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies, during which the bill was voted, had not been legally convened. In another move, also on Friday, the Constitutional Court admitted in part the notifications submitted by the Supreme Court, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and president Iohannis concerning the bill amending the Code of Criminal Proceedings, as well as the one amending the judicial organisation law. According to magistrates, the laws include unclear provisions, while the opposition representatives say now the law favours criminals.

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 in 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 will keep playing the role of flagship country of the Francophone Movement, the 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.

12 October 2018
October 10, 2018

BILL – The Romanian Government
is today debating the public pensions system bill, endorsed by the Finance
Ministry. The document is under public debate since August and has been
modified following talks with the main stakeholders. The new law is aimed at
increasing pensions and eliminating inequities in the system. Among other
things, the bill stipulates that pensions will be paid only in keeping with
each individual’s contribution, and those whose seniority is the same, but retired
in different moments in time, will get the same amount. The future law would be
implemented in stages until 2021, benefiting more than 5 million Romanian
pensioners. Some 150 pensioner representatives from across the country have
protested today in front of the Government building, claiming an increase in
the pension point up to 45% of the average gross salary as of 2021.

MOTION – The
simple motion filed by the opposition National Liberal Party and Save Romania
Union against the Economy Minister Danut Andrusca has been dismissed today
by the Chamber of Deputies, following Monday’s debates. The National Liberal
Party claims that the minister’s incompetence, proven by the evolution of the
main economic indicators, is bringing Romania to bankruptcy. According to the
Liberals, in nine months of office, Danut Andrusca has made no progress in
solving the main problems of his ministry, carrying out an activity described
as ‘catastrophic’. Also on Monday, the Liberals filed a simple motion against
the Culture Minister George Ivascu, whom they accuse of failing to properly manage
the celebrations due on December 1st 2018, marking 100 years since
the Great Union.

INFLATION – According
to the National Statistics Institute, in Romania, the annual inflation rate
reported in September dropped to 5.03% from 5.1% in August, against the
background of prices going up. This year, the highest rate was registered in
May: 5.41%. This is the highest level since February 2013, when the increase in
consumption prices was 5.65%. In early August, the Romanian Central Bank
revised downwards to 3.5% the inflation forecast for the end of this year. We
recall that in August Romania registered an annual inflation rate of 4.7%,
the highest in the whole of the EU, for
the seventh consecutive month.

DEBATE – On October 23rd
in Strasbourg, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will take part in a debate on
the future of Europe, hosted by the European Parliament. The Romanian
president’s intervention is one in a string of events of this type organized between
heads of state and government and MEPs, concerning the future of the European
Union. Among those who have participated in the debates are the Irish Prime
Minister Leo Varadkar on January 17th, the Croat and Portuguese
premiers Andrej Plenkovic and Antonio Costa on February 6th and
March 14th respectively, and the French president Emmanuel Macron on
April 17th.

ASSASSINATION -
A new suspect has been arrested near the city of Hamburg in relation to the
killing of the Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova. The suspect, described
as a young Bulgarian aged 20-30, was detained in Germany, where he is living
with his mother, after leaving Bulgaria on Sunday. According to the Bulgarian
media, the DNA found at the crime scene is identical to that of the young man. Previously,
the police had detained an ethnic Ukrainian from the Republic of Moldova, who
also has Romanian citizenship, but
released him for lack of evidence. The dead body of the Bulgarian journalist,
aged 30, was found on Saturday in a park
on the bank of the River Danube, in Ruse. She had been raped and then killed. On her last show on
September 30th on a TV station in Ruse, Viktoria Marinova had held a
talk with two journalists, Dimitar Stoianov from Bulgaria and Atiila Biro from
Romania, who are conducting an investigation into cases of fraud with EU
money, involving business people and
officials. Investigators are trying to find the motive for the assassination, without
excluding a connection with the journalist’s professional activity.

SPORT – Romanian athletes have
won another three medals – one gold, one silver and one bronze – at the Youth
Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. The gold medal was won by the female weightlifter
Sabina Baltag, in the 53 kg category, with a total of 177 kg. Florin Arteni -
Fintinariu and Alexandru Laurentiu won silver in the male canoe double. Tabita
Maftei and Alina Maria Beletchi won
bronze in the two women’s canoe event. In the rankings by medals, Romania ranks
5th, on a par with Colombia, each with 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2
bronze. Romania’s youth team is made up of 34 athletes, 21 women and 13 men,
competing in 14 events.

10 October 2018
October 2, 2018 UPDATE

BUCHAREST – According to
President Klaus Iohannis, Romania supports a close cooperation between the EU
and Great Britain after Brexit and Bucharest is interested in an agreement on
foreign security. Also with regard to Brexit, the president has stated that
Romania firmly supports the importance of negotiating an ambitions regulation
framework regarding citizens’ mobility, by observing the principles of
reciprocity and non-discrimination. The statements were made during the meeting
in Bucharest with the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Barnier stated in
turn that Romania, as holder of the presidency of the EU Council in the first
half of 2019, will play a major role in ensuring the necessary institutional
framework that would ensure an ordered withdrawal of the UK and also the smooth
running of negotiations on the future relations between the EU and the UK. Also
on Tuesday, Barnier met with the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who
stated that Romania was interested in having all Romanian citizens residing in
Great Britain continue to live, work and study as before.

BREXIT – British PM
Theresa May announced on Tuesday new regulations for migration in the UK, to
come into effect after Brexit, favoring qualified workers. Details will be
provided in a speech to be held on Wednesday at the Conservative Party congress
in Birmingham. According to the new regulations, people who want to settle in
Great Britain will have to have a minimum level of income in order to guarantee
they would not take jobs away from British citizens. Student visas are not
subject to those regulations. EU citizens are right now free to move to the UK,
which will no longer be the case after Brexit, planned to come into effect in
2020.

RULE OF LAW – Romanian PM
Viorica Dancila and Justice Minister Tudorel Toader will attend in Strasbourg on
Wednesday the debates in the European Parliament regarding the rule of law in
Romania. On Monday, the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament
was the venue for debates between Euro MPs of various political parties and the
First Vice-President of the EC Frans Timmermans. The latter said that the changes made by
the authorities in Bucharest in terms of the judiciary worried not only
Romanians, many of whom took to the streets to protest, but the entire EU.
Frans Timmermans said that if the EC concluded that European common rules were
violated, it would not hesitate to bring the Romanian Government to court.

VAT – The European
Commission will support Romania in combating VAT fraud, given that the country registers
a 36% collection deficit, said on Tuesday the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen
Teodorovici. The statement was made after the meeting Teodorovici had in
Luxembourg with Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economic and
Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs. At the meeting, Teodorovici assured
the EU official that the Romanian presidency of the EU Council will promote the
solving of VAT-related cases, with focus on the reform of VAT quotas. In
another move, Commissioner Moscovici accepted the invitation extended by
Teodorovici to pay a visit to Romania in November.

MOTION – On Tuesday, the
Romanian Senate rejected the simple motion filed by the opposition National
Liberal Party and Save Romania Union against the Transport Minister Lucian
Sova. The signatories accused him of mismanagement of the country’s roads and
railroads. A similar vote will be held in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday,
this time against the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici. According to the Liberals,
Teaodorovici must answer for the failure of the fiscal and taxation strategy.

APPOINTMENT – On Tuesday,
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis signed the decree appointing the Minister of
European Funds, Rovana Plumb, as interim Minister of Education. The holder of
the office, Valentin Popa, announced his resignation last week, after a meeting
with the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea. That was the
second resignation in the cabinet headed by Viorica Dancila, after the one of the Research
Minister Nicolae Burnete.

NOBEL – The US scientist
Arthur Ashkin has won the Nobel Prize for physics, alongside Gerard Mourou of
France and Donna Strickland of Canada, for research into laser physics, which
the Swedish Royal Academy of Science deemed revolutionary. This year’s Nobel
Prize season opened on Monday with the announcement for the Nobel Prize in
medicine. US researcher James P. Allison and Japanese researcher Tasuku Honjo
were granted the prize for new cancer therapies. On Wednesday, the prize for
chemistry will be announced, while on Friday the Nobel Peace Prize will be
awarded. The prize for literature will not be awarded in 2018, for the first
time after almost 70 years.

HEALTHCARE – The month of
October is dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. Organizations all
across the world are encouraging education and research regarding this danger. The
Romanian Health Minister Sorina Pintea has stated that almost 9,000 cases of
breast cancer are diagnosed annually in the country, of which 3,000 fatal.
According to the minister, many of them could be prevented through regular
check-ups.

2 October 2018
September 27, 2018 UPDATE

Resignation. The Romanian Education Minister Valentin Popa announced his resignation on Thursday, after a meeting with the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea and against talks about a potential government reshuffle. Also on Thursday, Valentin Popa stated that Romania and the Romanian language are not negotiable and all children in Romania must know Romanian, for them to be able to live and work in the country. A few days earlier, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania had announced it suspended cooperation with the governing coalition until the issue of the Romanian language taught in primary schools with teaching in minority languages was resolved. This is the second resignation in the Cabinet headed by Viorica Dancila, after that of the Research Minister Nicolae Burnete.

Ordinance. The Romanian Government on Thursday adopted an emergency ordinance that changes the legislation regarding insolvency. The new provisions are aimed at putting an end to some abusive practices and at providing equal chances for business development. Currently, more than 6,000 companies, with some 65,000 employees, are insolvent, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said at the end of the meeting. Also on Thursday, the Government took several measures to support certain categories of the population exposed to poverty and social exclusion and decided that Romanian language in primary minority schools will be taught by the teachers of the respective classes.

UN. A Romanian delegation headed by the countrys president Klaus Iohannis is attending the 73rd UN General Assembly session. Romania will promote an open approach to migration based on identifying consensual solutions among EU member states during its presidency of the EU Council in the first six months of next year, president Klaus Iohannis said during a meeting in New York with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. At the UN, Iohannis pleaded for Romania to be elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in the 2020-2021 period. In his address before the UN General Assembly, he said Romania would be a responsible partner in promoting the UNs common agenda. He also said that Romania, as a holder of the EU Council presidency, would consolidate the Unions partnership with the United Nations.

Rule of law. The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament announced on Thursday that the vote on the resolution regarding the observance of the rule of law in Romania was postponed until the November plenary session. The vote should have taken place in the second plenary session in October, when the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is invited to give a speech on the future of Europe. Next week, in Strasbourg, the meeting will only include a debate on the situation in Romania, with the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila attending. PM Dancila already held talks with leaders of the main parliamentary groups in the European Parliament in Brussels early this week.

Investigation. Colonel Ionut Catalin Sindile, the interim head of the Romanian Gendarmerie, appeared before the General Prosecutors Office on Thursday in connection to the intervention of the riot police during the antigovernment protest on August 10th in Bucharest. He is under criminal investigation, alongside other gendarmerie officials, for complicity to abuse of office and complicity to abusive behaviour. Military prosecutors have opened a criminal case into the brutal way in which the gendarmes acted on August 10th. The General Prosecutors Office says 770 criminal complaints have been filed against the reaction of the security forces, who used tear gas and water canons to disperse the crowds. The protest was treated as a potential risk to public order and the security forces intervention was legal, said the interior minister Carmen Dan.

African swine fever. The Romanian agriculture minister Petre Daea has held talks in Brussels about the compensations to be granted to Romania by the European Commission for the African swine fever epidemic. According to official data, the Romanian state has awarded compensations to more than 4,000 of the 6,000 cases approved, amounting to around 15 million Euros. Since the outbreak of the virus, some 900 hotbeds have been reported in a number of counties. On the other hand, the simple motion filed by the National Liberal Party against Petre Daea was rejected on Wednesday by the Chamber of Deputies. The Liberals criticised the way in which the situation was handled, while the agriculture minister said the Romanian authorities have taken the standard measures established at European level.

Appointment. The Superior Council of Magistracy has postponed for the 8th of October an interview with prosecutor Adina Florea, who was proposed by the justice minister Tudorel Toader to take over the leadership of the National Anticorruption Directorate. The Councils opinion, which is advisory, will be submitted to the minister. Later, the proposal will be sent to president Klaus Iohannis. In her application, Adina Florea said that, apart from good things, the activity of the anticorruption prosecutors also contained considerable deviations from the rule of law. Adina Florea, who formerly worked with the Prosecutors Office of the Court of Appeal in Constanta, has been proposed as head of the National Anticorruption Directorate after a second selection round. The post had become vacant in July, when Laura Codruta Kovesi was sacked by president Klaus Iohannis in keeping with a Constitutional Court ruling.

Industrial action. The Sanitary Solidarity Federation is to begin consultations with trade union members about a programme of wide-scale protests going all the way to a general strike, given that the government has not signed the collective employment agreement for the sector, the Federation has announced. Healthcare trade unions have a list of ten demands, including the awarding of the salary increases corresponding to 2019 beginning in January for all categories of employees who have not benefited from an increase in the basic salary. They also demand taxing the food benefit in the same way as meal vouchers.

27 September 2018
September 24, 2018

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY – 130 heads of state and government are attending in New York the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. Romania is represented by president Klaus Iohannis. On Wednesday, in the speech he will give during the assemblys general debates, the Romanian head of state will stress the importance of an effective response to the main challenges to international peace and security, alongside with identifying the causes of this crisis-generating conflicts. Also, the Romanian president will participate alongside the other world leaders in the opening of the top level debate segment, themed Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies. At the end of the debates the participants will adopt a resolution.

VISIT – Over September 24-28, the Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor is paying a formal visit to the US, where he will meet at the Pentagon his American counterpart James Mattis. The agenda of talks includes subjects concerning defense cooperation, both bilateral and within the North Atlantic Alliance. Today, Mihai Fifor is participating in a forum organized by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), based in Washington. Established in 2005, CEPA is an American non-profit, public policy research institute, whose activity is focused on the study of European states and societies. The visit to the US also includes meetings with the governor of the State of Alabama, Kay Ivey, and representatives of the US Congress, on which occasion the officials will tackle priority issues on the defense agenda.

PSD – The top leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the senior partner in the left-wing Government in Bucharest have gathered today for a meeting of the National Standing Bureau. The meeting was convened after on Friday the Executive Committee of the party decided to keep supporting their president Liviu Dragnea, whose resignation had been requested by a few Social Democratic leaders.

OFFSHORE BILL – The specialized committees of the Romanian Senate are today presenting a joint report on the offshore bill, following a request for reexamination made by president Klaus Iohannis. Also today, the document, which establishes the rules under which companies can exploit gas in the Black Sea, would have to get a vote in plenary session. On July 9th, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the bill regarding several measures needed for the implementation of oil operations by owners of agreements on offshore oil perimeters. On August 2nd, president Klaus Iohannis sent back to Parliament for reexamination the offshore bill, saying that it had to be reviewed in terms of long-term stability and predictability of the legal framework applicable to this sector and in order to avoid any potential negative effects.

MOLDOVA – The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet republic with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, has today decided to temporarily suspend the prerogatives of the pro-Russian president Igor Dodon, after the latter refused to sign the decrees for the appointment of two new ministers in the cabinet headed by PM Pavel Filip. According to the Courts ruling, Parliament President Andrian Candu or the prime-minister will sign the decrees appointing the new ministers of agriculture and health. Dodon has twice refused to sign the decrees, in breach of the constitution. This is the fourth time that president Dodon has been suspended.

KIDNAPPING – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the kidnapping of a Romanian sailor in the attack on a ship under Swiss flag, which occurred on the 22nd of September, in the Nigerian waters. A crisis cell has been activated within the ministry upon order by the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu. The diplomatic representatives of Romania in Bern and Abuja have already acted together with the local authorities. 12 of the 19 crew members were kidnapped in the attack.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings, as of Tuesday takes part in the Wuhan tournament in China, with 2,750,000 dollars in prize money. Qualified straight to the second round, Halep will first face the Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. In the first round, Cibulkova defeated 2-nil another Romanian player, Monica Niculescu.

24 September 2018
Romanian-Indian Bilateral Ties

The Indian Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu has recently travelled to Bucharest to meet with Romanias President Klaus Iohannis. The two officials have tackled a number of topics, among which Romanias prospective support for a rapprochement between India and the EU. In the first half of 2019, when it will be holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, Romania will explore means to bring India closer to the EU, Klaus Iohannis said after the meeting with Venkaiah Naidu, who has travelled to Romania accompanied by a delegation of business people.

President Klaus Iohannis: “During our meeting, I encouraged the consolidation of economic ties and Indian investment in Romania. We have agreed that it is useful to give priority to collaboration in culture, education and tourism, fields that have proven, throughout the long history of the Romanian-Indian traditional ties, genuine friendship bridges.”

In turn, the Indian official has talked about boosting and diversifying the relations between the two countries. He has also met with the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila, who has pointed out that there are numerous sectors in which the two countries can cooperate, and which have a real potential for development, such as transport, infrastructure, agriculture, food industry, health and IT&C and also promising perspectives in other sectors, such as digitization, smart cities and cyber security. The two parties have decided to focus on strengthening cooperation in the fields of culture, education and tourism. PM Dancila has also said that Romania is interested in attracting Indian investors.

PM Viorica Dancila: “I have voiced Romanias interest in attracting more Indian investment, including through public-private partnerships. I have told vice president Venkaiah Naidu that Romania will continue to support the consolidation of the relations between the EU and India.”

A memorandum of understanding has been signed in Bucharest between the Romanian and Indian tourism ministries, on cooperation in the field. One of the objectives of this cooperation is to attract investment for the development of Romanian tourism. In the past years, Romania has become a tourist attraction for Indian visitors, whose number is on the rise. During his visit to Bucharest, the Indian official has also attended the opening of the Romania-India Economic Forum, organized by the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

India is at present Romanias second largest partner in Asia, after China. In 2017 the value of trade exchanges between the two countries stood at 642 million dollars. The Indian officials visit to Romania took place in the context of the celebration of 70 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between Romania and India and of 5 years since the signing of the extended partnership agreement between the two countries.

(translated by Elena Enache)

20 September 2018