Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian troops

  • Romania contributes to the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo

    Romania contributes to the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo

    Romania is expected to deploy an additional infrantry battalion
    to be part of NATO’s strategic reserves in its operations in Kosovo, the
    Defense Ministry announced. The decision was made public after the North
    Atlantic Council authorized the deployment of additional troops to manage the
    situation in the Western Balkans. As a member of NATO and the EU, Bucharest
    pledged to contribute troops and military equipment to allied efforts at
    ensuring a stable security environment in the Balkan region, commonly seen as
    Europe’s powder keg. Alongside Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Slovakia, Romania is
    one of the five members of the EU that don’t officially recognize Kosovo.
    Romanian troops are deployed on the ground as part of an international mission
    designed to maintain a fragile peace in this region. Right now, nearly 330
    Romanian servicemen are deployed to the Western Balkans, of which 250 in Bosnia
    Herzegovina and some 80 in Kosovo.

    Tension has again spiked in Kosovo after at
    the end of September a paramilitary outfit made up of a few dozen men killed an
    Albanian-born police officer and wounded another one close to the village of
    Banka in northern Kosovo. Three members of the commando, all Serbs, where later
    killed in an operation launched by Kosovar law enforcement.

    The deployment of
    Serbian troops on the Kosovar border recalls Russia’s military built-up on the
    Ukrainian border months before invading the country, Kosovo’s Foreign Minister
    Donika Gervalla-Schwarz said. The Kosovar official claims never have so many
    troops been amassed in recent years, while the weapons and tanks they dispose
    of create a bad feeling, because we don’t know how the international community
    will respond, the Kosovar official said. Minister Gervalla-Schwarz called on
    the EU to take action against Serbia and freeze its EU candidate status. Last
    week, the United States announced they were monitoring a concerning build-up of
    Serbian troops alongside the border with Kosovo. Also last week, Serbia’s
    president, Aleksandar Vučić, said he has no intention of ordering his troops to
    cross into neighboring Kosovo, a province that proclaimed its independence from
    Belgrade in 2008. An escalation of the conflict would impact Serbia’s EU
    accession aspirations, the Serbian president said. Following his statement, the
    Serbian Chief of Defense Staff, Milan Mojsilović, said he ordered the
    withdrawal of half of the nearly 8,000 Serbian servicemen deployed to the border
    with Kosovo. (VP)



  • September 16, 2017

    September 16, 2017

    ROMANIAN TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN– The U.S. ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, has hailed the valor of Romanias soldiers in Afghanistan, in a message of condolence to the family of a Romanian military who died on Friday in the line of duty in that country. “ I was saddened to hear of the death of Corporal Mădălin Stoica who was killed during an incident in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and of injuries to other two Romanian soldiers. I would like to extend my personal condolences and those of the United States to the family and friends of Corporal Mădălin Stoica, as well as to his fellow soldiers. I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured soldiers. The valor of Romanias soldiers in the NATO mission in Afghanistan continues to demonstrate the highest commitment to defending freedom and democracy, “ ambassador Klemm writes in the message of condolence. Corporal Madalin Stoica was on his first mission on theatres of operations. Two other soldiers were injured in the incident, but they are stable. In 2017, the Romanian Army is contributing over 620 troops to the NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, 300 other military being deployed to other regions of the world as part of NATO, EU, UN and OSCE-led missions. 29 Romanian military have lost their lives and over 180 others got injured so far, on missions abroad. The security situation in Afghanistan is still unstable, most incidents being reported in the east and the south.



    LONDON – The British Police make “significant arrest in London subway terror attack, claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group. On Friday morning, an explosion at Parsons Green underground station in the west of London injured tens of passengers and led to a terrorist attack being declared. British Prime Minister Theresa May has raised the UK’s terror threat level to critical, its highest level after London was hit by this new terror attack. Critical means an attack is expected imminently and soldiers will be put on the streets to guard key sites and free up police officers.



    FINANCIAL -
    Romania will keep the budget deficit below 3%, as was pledged under the
    Stability and Growth Pact, the finance minister Ionuţ Mişa said in a meeting
    with Valdis Dombrovskis, EC Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue,
    also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets
    Union. The two officials have had a
    meeting on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the ECOFIN Council organized
    by the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, on September
    15 -16. The Romanian official has also
    said the 5.6% economic growth rate in 2017 is based on consumption, an increase
    in the volume of the industrial output and a plummeting unemployment rate.
    According to a preliminary Autumn 2017 Forecast released on Friday by the
    National Prognosis Commission, estimates on Romania’s economic growth in 2017
    have been revised upward from 5.2% to 5.6%.


    VISIT – EU Commissioner
    for the Security Union, Julian King, will pay an official visit to Bucharest on
    Monday, for talks with PM Mihai Tudose, justice minister Tudorel Toader and
    interior minister Carmen Dan. The focal points of the talks, to also be
    attended by members of the relevant parliamentary committees, will be the fight
    against terrorism, the exchange of information and the implementation of the
    recently adopted security legislation. The European Commissioner will also
    visit the Operational Coordination Centre of the Border Police.


    MIGRANTS – The Romanian border police has stopped 19 Iraqi nationals, of which 4 minors, asylum seekers in Romania, upon trying to illegally leave Romania, the line authorities have announced. The Iraqis declared their intention to reach a Schengen country and said they made this choice because they were not holding a valid visa. The number of people trying to illegally cross Romanias western border with Hungary, in the west, has been on the rise over the past year. The number of foreigners trying to illegally cross the border into Romania, by boat, on the Black Sea, has also increased.



    ENESCU FESTIVAL – The highlight of the prestigious “George Enescu International Festival on Saturday is a concert under the baton of the world-famous conductor, Zubin Mehta. Performing is the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, alongside the outstanding Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili. Until September 24, over 3,000 of the most highly acclaimed musicians in the world are performing in Bucharest and seven other cities across the country. Inaugurated in 1951, discontinued by the communist regime in 1971 and re-launched after the fall of communism, the Enescu festival is held every other year.



    TENNIS – In the Davis Cup double tennis match pitting Romania against Austria, Horia Tecău and Nicolae Frunză will be playing Dominic Thiem/Philipp Oswald. Austria leads Romania 2-0 after the first singles played on Friday in Wels, in the first-round playoffs to remain in the Europe/ Africa Group I. On Friday, Gerald Melzer defeated Dragoş Dima, and Dominic Thiem outperformed Bogdan Borza. On Sunday, Dominic Thiem will play Dragoş Dima and Gerald Melzer will face Bogdan Borza. In the direct matches, Romania leads Austria 3-2.