Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila

  • October 17, 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.


  • May 25, 2018 UPDATE

    May 25, 2018 UPDATE

    COOPERATION
    – The first Romanian – Polish intergovernmental meeting was held in Warsaw on
    Friday. On the occasion, the parties agreed to boost political dialogue at all
    levels in preparation for Romania’s taking over the Presidency of the Council
    of the European Union. Consultations were held against the background of both
    countries celebrating their centennial this year. The Romanian Prime Minister
    Viorica Dancila had a meeting with her Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki.
    The Romanian head of government stressed the excellent level of bilateral
    cooperation and Romania’s interest in boosting it, in fields such as
    investments and energy in particular. In turn, the Polish Prime Minister too
    highlighted the excellent cooperation between the two countries, spanning 99
    years of diplomatic ties, in the political, economic and cultural fields.
    Mateusz Morawiecki also stressed the good cooperation within NATO and the EU.
    Also on Friday, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihai Fifor and the Polish Deputy
    Prime Minister Piotr Glinski signed a bilateral agreement concerning the tombs of the
    Romanian and Polish soldiers buried in Polish and Romanian soil respectively.
    The visit to Poland ended with a meeting of the Romanian Minister for Romanians
    Abroad Natalia Intotero with Romanian military and representatives of the
    Romanian community in Poland.






    US
    PARTNERSHIP – The Presidential Foreign Policy Adviser Bogdan Aurescu has held
    talks at the White House with the US National Security Adviser John Bolton,
    focusing on the cooperation between Romania and the US. On the occasion,
    Aurescu reiterated Bucharest’s commitment to enhancing the bilateral Strategic
    Partnership. In turn, Bolton expressed the US’s appreciation for all that
    Romania is doing as part of NATO. Among other things, the two officials
    discussed the relations between the EU and the US, considering Romania’s taking
    over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in early 2019, the NATO
    summit due in Brussels in July and the developments in the Republic of Moldova
    and Ukraine, which are both Romania’s neighbours.






    VISIT
    – The Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu paid a visit to
    Paris on Thursday and Friday. The visit included meetings with the French
    Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau and other French officials.
    According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the officials tackled issues such
    as the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework, Brexit, the EU internal
    security and the functioning of the Schengen area, Romania’s joining Schengen
    and the EU enlargement policy. Also, Victor Negrescu attended a meeting with
    representatives of the Romanian community in France and held a dialogue on
    European issues with students and teachers from the ‘Victor Duruy’ High-School in Paris.






    INFRINGEMENT
    – The European Commission has started the infringement procedure against
    Romania, for the latter’s failure to observe the European Directive on the
    presumption of innocence and the right to be present at the trial in criminal
    proceedings. The directive should have been implemented by April 2018.
    According to the European Directive, people who are being prosecuted are
    presumed innocent until a final sentence is ruled, and the authorities have no
    right to make statements that contradict this state of facts. Action in court
    and means of appeal or remedy which can be used only after the ruling in case
    remains final, including actions before the European Court of Human Rights,
    should not fall within the scope of this Directive.






    PROTEST
    – Taxi drivers in Bucharest have suspended their protest temporarily, after
    negotiations at the Ministry of Development on Friday. They are unhappy with
    the recent proposals announced by the Ministry, relating to the emergency ordinance
    amending the law that regulates their activity. Taxi drivers claim the banning
    of the Uber type applications and have announced they will use all legal forms
    of protest until the elimination of all unauthorized forms of transportation.




    CULTURE
    – The heir apparent to the British throne Charles, Prince of Wales, visited the
    Romanian Cultural Institute in London on Thursday. He watched the exhibition
    associated to the bibliophile volume ‘Transylvania Florilegium’, which
    celebrates the uniqueness and extraordinary diversity of the Romanian natural
    heritage, reads a communiqué issued by the Cultural Institute. Prince Charles
    also attended the launch of the album of the same name, issued by Addison
    Publications. According to the Romanian Cultural Institute in London, the
    guests included part of the 36 artists from across the world that signed the
    124 aquarelles of the exhibition, cultural personalities in London and leaders
    of the Romanian community in Great Britain. This is Prince Charles’s second
    visit to the Cultural Institute, after the one in 2014, when he attended the
    opening of an exhibition of Transylvanian landscapes, compiled, just like
    ‘Transylvania Florilegium’, at his proposal and with his support. ‘Transylvania
    Florilegium’ album, with a foreword signed by the Prince of Wales, will be
    printed in two volumes and will include 124 pictures made over a period of 7
    years, the institute’s communiqué also reads.












    TIFF
    – The city of Cluj-Napoca, in north-western Romania, is hosting, until June 3rd,
    the 17th Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF). This
    year’s edition includes no less than 227 productions: 178 feature films and 49
    short reels from all over the world. ‘The Romanian Film Days’,
    a section of the festival devoted to Romanian directors, comprises 35
    productions, including ‘Touch Me Not’, director Adina Pintilie’s debut film,
    which reaped the Golden Bear Award in Berlin this year, as well as Andrei Cretulescu’s production
    ‘Charleston’. The French actress Fanny Ardant has been chosen to award the
    Transylvania trophy and the honorary guest to this festival is the Romanian opera singer Angela Gheorghiu.








    TENNIS
    – WTA no.1 player Simona Halep is up against 105th-placed Alison Riske, of the
    USA, in a match counting towards the second round of the Roland Garros
    tournament, the year’s second Grand Slam Event, due to kick-off of Sunday.
    Simona Halep, who has conceded defeat twice
    in the final, in 2014 and 2017, respectively, is the top-seed at Roland Garros this year. Four other Romanians
    are included in the main draw at Rolland Garros. The first one is WTA
    32nd-placed Mihaela Buzarnescu, who is also among the top seeded players this
    year, as an absolute first. Buzarnescu takes on the American Vania King. Also,
    Irina Begu, ranking 41 in the WTA classification, plays against Slovakia’s WTA
    78th-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. WTA 45th-ranked Sorana Carstea faces
    Australian contender, WTA 24th-placed Daria Gavrilova and 65th-ranked Ana
    Bogdan takes on Czech opponent, WTA 90th-placed Marketa Vondrousova. Another
    Romanian, Alexandra Dulgheru, won in the qualifier matches on Friday, but Irina
    Bara failed. Only one Romanian is included in the main draw of the men’ s
    version at Roland Garros , 97th-ranked Marius Copil, who faces WTA 72nd-placed
    Marco Cecchinato, in the inaugural round of the tournament. (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)













  • March 6, 2018 UPDATE

    March 6, 2018 UPDATE


    IMMUNOGLOBULIN CRISIS – Austria is the first country to respond to Romanias call for immunoglobulin, after Bucharest activated the European Mechanism for Civil Protection. The Romanian Health Minister Sorina Pintea has stated that there is no single dose left in the country, and that is why international help is needed. The Secretary of State with the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat has announced that Romania has also resorted to the NATO Mechanism regarding the provision of immunoglobulins. The Health Ministry has explained that the discontinuity in the supply of immunoglobulin was generated by the withdrawal from the market of producers that were covering more than 80% of the immunoglobulin needs. Romania needs 956 kilograms of immunoglobulins every year.



    COOPERATION – Romanias Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Tuesday had a phone conversation with her Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov, focusing on the organisation of a joint government session. According to a press release issued by the Romanian Government, Mrs. Dancila stressed the close partnership between the two neighbours and the importance of further developing it. The two officials discussed the organisation of a new Romania – Bulgaria – Greece – Serbia top-level meeting. Prime Minister Dancila also congratulated Bulgaria for its presidency of the EU Council.



    EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu stated on Tuesday that preparations for Romanias taking over the presidency of the EU Council were on schedule. According to the Minister, there are several institutions involved in the preparations, including Parliament, the Cabinet and the Presidential Administration. Negrescu made the statements at a conference he attended in the town of Pitesti, in the south, titled : “Romanias EU Council Presidency: Expectations, Challenges, Responsibilities”. Romania is due to hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.



    MOLDOVA – At a press conference in Chisinau on Tuesday, held together with the interim Mayor of the Moldovan capital Silvia Radu, the Mayor of Bucharest Gabriela Firea announced that the two parties agreed to cooperate on outsourcing public services, with the aim of helping ensure an effective use of public money. She added that the two municipalities also intended to collaborate in urban regeneration projects. Firea said that Silvia Radu was very much interested in consolidating heritage buildings and wanted to learn from the Bucharest municipalitys expertise in the field. In turn, mayor Radu said that Gabriela Fireas visit to Chisinau was a step forward towards developing the good relations established in Bucharest on February 14th, when the two municipalities signed a cooperation agreement. Also, Firea announced that the Metropolitan Library in Bucharest will donate 20,000 volumes to the “B.P.Hasdeu” Library in Chisinau.



    ANTICORRUPTION – The Romanian state has one billion Euros to collect from asset seizures decided in cases prosecuted by the National Anticorruption Directorate, the chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi announced on Tuesday. The head of the Directorate stated that when talking about asset freezing, reference is made only to those assets that are on Romanian soil, and its interesting how criminals have found ways of hiding their assets abroad. Its the obligation of the Romanian tax authorities now to enforce the decisions as soon as possible, Kovesi added. In 2017, anticorruption prosecutors froze assets worth more than 200 billion Euros.



    FLU – 82 people have died from flu in Romania, according to the National Centre for Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases. The last case reported is that of an 80-year old man from Bucharest, who had not been vaccinated against the flu and who was suffering from several diseases. According to official statistics, 1700 cases of flu were reported in the past week alone, as compared to only 85 in the same period last year.



    RUSSIAN SPY – The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has stated that London will “respond appropriately and robustly” if the Russian state is found to have been involved in poisoning a Russian spy and his daughter. The two were hospitalised in Salisbury, in the south of England, after being found unconscious on a bench in a shopping center. The former spy is Sergei Skripal, aged 66, a former colonel of the Russian military intelligence service. Accused of espionage for the benefit of the United Kingdom, in 2006, Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in prison, but he got the status of refugee in England thanks to an exchange of prisoners between Moscow, London and Washington. Moscow claims that Sergei Skripal was paid 100,000 US dollars in exchange for providing the British intelligence service MI6 with the names of the Russian spies in Great Britain. 12 years ago, another Russian former spy, Aleksandr Litvinenko, was poisoned in London. Before dying, he said his assassination had been ordered by president Putin himself, but the Kremlin denied any involvement. (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)