Radio România Internațional

Tag: Sibiu Summit

  • A review of Romania’s first presidency of the Council of the EU

    A review of Romania’s first presidency of the Council of the EU

    For the first time since its EU accession in January 2007, Romania held the presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2019. It was an energetic and successful presidency, as the president of the European Council Donald Tusk described it, during which Bucharest managed to successfully have 90 pieces of legislation agreed in the last 100 days before the European elections. The first part of Romania’s mandate focused on completing those files, ahead of the campaign for the EP elections held between May 23 and 26, despite the restrictions imposed by a pre-election period.



    Banking union, improving working conditions and social rights, deepening the Single Market, decarbonizing road transport, building a digital Europe and a natural gas directive are some of the pieces of legislation Romania has dealt with. According to the Social Democratic PM Viorica Dancila, these were difficult, complex files that Romania negotiated and brought to completion. Bucharest has been keen on fighting disinformation and on ensuring free and fair elections. Last but not least, Bucharest has contributed to building a safer Europe by promoting pieces of legislation that improve the security of ID cards and reinforce the European border and coast guard. Romania has also been actively involved in the Brexit negotiations, 15 draft laws having been completed and adopted by the Council of the EU which were meant to contain the effects of a possible no deal Brexit in order to protect the citizens and the business environment.



    A special moment of Romania’s presidency of the Council of the EU was the European summit held on May 9 in Sibiu, in central Romania. According to the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, all the people who have got involved in good faith in this effort have contributed to the success of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. He also highlighted the special role of Romania’s team who worked in Brussels, which was also underlined by the Romanian ambassador to Brussels, Luminiţa Odobescu.



    Luminiţa Odobescu: “This has been the immense effort of my colleagues in Brussels, of my colleagues in Bucharest, it has been team work, an immense effort. It has been an effort of the Romanian diplomacy and it’s critical to admit that: the Romanian diplomacy has lived up to expectations, and this has been confirmed by others. It is important to acknowledge well-done things and I would like to thank my team in Brussels. They are young people who have approached this presidency with much enthusiasm, pride and stubbornness. I believe it was stubbornness and determination that helped us obtain good results.”



    Ambassador Luminiţa Odobescu also said that at the end of a country’s presidency one could symbolically assess that country’s maturity and that country enters a new stage in its evolution within the Union. She added that the expertise acquired by all the institutions involved in this process for several years needs to be further capitalized on in order to promote Romania’s interests within the EU. (translation by L. Simion)

  • O mai bună protecţie socială cetăţenilor UE

    O mai bună protecţie socială cetăţenilor UE

    Şefii de stat
    sau de guvern din ţările Uniunii Europene s-au reunit, de ziua Europei, 9 mai,
    la Sibiu, într-un summit informal, pentru a discuta despre viitorul Uniunii    . Summitul
    a avut loc în contextul exercitării de către România a Preşedinţiei Consiliului
    Uniunii Europene şi a reunit şefii de stat şi de guvern ai statelor membre UE, mai
    puţin Marea Britanie, 36 de delegaţii oficiale, 400 de invitaţi de rang înalt. Acestora
    li s-au alăturat preşedintele Comisiei Europene, Jean-Claude Juncker,
    preşedintele Parlamentului European, Antonio Tajani, şi Înaltul Reprezentant al
    UE pentru Afaceri Externe şi Politică de Securitate, Federica Mogherini. Liderii
    europeni au discutat Agenda strategică a Uniunii Europene pentru perioada 2019-2024,
    cu accent pe provocăririle şi priorităţile viitoare ale UE.


    Preşedintele
    Parlamentului European, Antonio Tajani    , a îndemnat la coeziune şi o mai bună
    protecţie a cetăţenilor din statele membre UE, în cadrul conferinţei de presă
    desfăşurate după ce în prima parte a zilei avusese loc reuniunea Consiliului
    European:

    Am spus
    conducătorilor europeni să se transforme din lideri locali, în lideri cu o
    viziune europeană. Instrituţiile europene sunt prea birocratice. Acesta este
    primul lucru pe care trebuie să îl schimbăm: sistemul de gândire. Avem de
    recuperat tot ceea ce putem devenind protagonişti în operaţiunea de a proteja
    mai bine cetăţenii UE. Avem nevoie de acţiuni la nivel european, acolo unde
    acţiunile la nivel naţional nu sunt suficiente. Trebuie să încetăm polemicile
    între statele membre. Trebuie să abordăm problemele în comun. Acesta este
    mesajul pe care l-am transmis în cuvântul meu. Parlamentul European consideră
    că Europa trebuie să fie o Europă politică şi Parlamentul European este
    singurul organism ales democratic. Aşa că Parlamentul European ar trebui să aibă
    dreptul la iniţiativă. Suntem singurul organism la nivel mondial cu acest drept,
    de iniţiativă.


    O Uniune
    Europeană mai apropiată de cetăţeni şi cu o activitate mai eficientă şi mai
    bine înţeleasă este obiectivul susţinut, pentru a combate fenomenul descris ca Europa
    neîncrederii (n.r. ce) înlocuieşte, în mod periculos, Europa speranţei.


    Preşedintele
    Parlamentului European, Antonio Tajani, a subliniat, de asemenea, importanţa
    implicării statelor UE în rezolvarea problemelor ce există la nivel mondial    ,
    astfel lucrând şi la reducerea provocărilor cu care se confruntă Uniunea. Pe
    plan economic, dezvoltarea ţărilor emergente, în special China, pe plan
    climatic, încălzirea globală sau pe plan politic, crizele africane, ce conduc
    la continuarea fenomenului migraţiei.


    Conceput ca o
    demonstraţie de unitate, Summitul de la Sibiu anticipează summitul decisiv
    programat la sfârșitul lunii iunie, unde sunt așteptate adevăratele decizii, de
    la cine va conduce Uniunea în perioada 2019-2024, până la cum vor fi abordate
    probleme precum clima, statul de drept, locul UE în lume, apărarea și
    securitatea.


  • The Week in Review – May 6-10

    The Week in Review – May 6-10

    EU Summit in Sibiu



    The highlight of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union this semester was the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government hosted by Sibiu. 36 official delegations, 400 high-ranking officials, some 900 journalists and 100 interpreters came to Sibiu for the two-day summit. The event expressed the unity and determination of EU leaders to continue European integration, President Klaus Iohannis, the host of the event, said. Participants adopted the so-called Declaration of Sibiu, a manifesto expressing the unity of Member States as the underlying principle for building the future of Europe.



    EU leaders pledged to protect the European way of life, democracy and the rule of law, observe fairness on the common labor market, in welfare and in the economy. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in turn said the unity expressed on the sidelines of the summit is not just for show, but real and robust. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, also said he wants the nominations for the new EU leadership to be announced before June, which is why he has called a meeting of EU leaders on May 28, just after the European Parliament election. He continued his speech in Romanian to congratulate the organizers:



    Donald Tusk: “When we met in January, at the beginning of your Presidency — when I spoke with such conviction, and so emotionally about Romania — I was speaking with confidence, because I know that you are truly remarkable. You have organized an exceptional summit and you can be proud of your work, just as Europe is proud of you. I have fallen in love with Sibiu, the whole of Europe has fallen in love with you”.



    Pundits argue the effects of the message of unity and optimism conveyed in Sibiu will become visible only in two weeks, when the results of the European Parliament election will either conform or disprove opinion polls, according to which euroscepticism and anti-European sentiment are gaining momentum in several member states.



    Cold shower in Brussels



    The European Commission has this week downgraded its economic growth forecast for Romania to 3.3%. In January, the Commission expected the economy to grow by 3.8% of the GDP, as against the 5.5% estimate based on which the state budget for 2019 was built. GDP growth eased considerably starting last year, EU experts show. Private consumption remains the main engine of growth, driven by the increase in public wages, of effects of which were however offset of a significant hike in prices. The Commission’s forecast also shows that the uncertainty and unpredictability of public policies may also have a negative effect on consumption and investment, hampering growth.



    The 1990 miners’ raid again in the spotlight



    The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania has decided to send the so-called miners’ raid case of 13th to 15th June 1990 back to the prosecutor general’s office. The raid put an end to a large demonstration against the leftist government that had come to power after the fall of the communist dictatorship. Preliminary chamber judges said the military prosecutors’ investigation was not valid and returned the file. The interim prosecutor general Bogdan Licu has appealed the court’s decision. Two years ago, the military prosecutor’s office indicted the former president Ion Iliescu, the former prime minister Petre Roman, the former deputy prime minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and the then director of the Romanian Intelligence Service Virgil Magureanu.



    They were accused of masterminding and directly coordinating, including by bringing the miners from Jiu Valley to Bucharest, the attack against the demonstrators in the University Square who were peacefully expressing their political views, which were at odds with those of the majority in power at that time. 1,300 were wounded, more than 1,000 arrested abusively and at least six were killed in those most dramatic days in the country’s post-communist history. Five years ago, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling obliging Romania to continue investigations into the miners’ raid of the June 1990.



    Romanians in the world



    Foreign minister Teodor Melescanu has requested president Klaus Iohannis to call back Romania’s ambassador to Washington George Maior. A ministry press release reads that the proposal came after an analysis of Maior’s term and whose actions no longer allow him to promote in a credible way Romania’s interests in the United State, a strategic partner of Bucharest. In April, a specialist parliamentary committee accused Maior that before being sent to Washington, in the almost ten years in which he ran the Romanian Intelligence Service, he used the service for personal interests and gravely harmed the rights and fundamental liberties of the Romanian citizens and the country’s interests.



    The ambassador said he was shocked by the accusations made against him and called for the full declassification of the hearings in the parliamentary committee for the control of the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service. Also expected back in Romania is the former Social Democrat mayor of Constanta, the biggest port on the Romanian Black Sea, Radu Mazare, who was arrested in Madagascar. In February, he was wanted internationally after being convicted to 9 years in prison in a case concerning fictitious land returns, one of the many corruption cases he was involved in the 15 years he was mayor of Constanta, a period in which he won four terms.