Radio România Internațional

Tag: talks

  • Developments after Romanian Government Resigns

    Developments after Romanian Government Resigns




    The resignation of the Social
    Democrat Victor Ponta marks the exit from politics of one of the most
    controversial figures in post-communist Romania. In the spring of 2012, he came
    to power as Romania’s youngest prime minister since 1989. Born in 1972, Ponta
    marketed himself as the symbol of a generation unspoiled by the moral flaws of
    communism, and as such he attracted some sympathy and confidence even from
    those who had always disliked the left.




    A former prosecutor, he joined the
    political circles in the early 2000s at the invitation of the Social Democratic
    Party leader of the time, PM Adrian Nastase, later sentenced and imprisoned for
    corruption. Shortly after Ponta was sworn in, a scandal broke out regarding his
    Ph.D. thesis, which experts say was plagiarized. When faced with similar
    accusations, the president of Hungary and a defence minister in Germany had
    immediately stepped down. Ponta did not. Nor did he resign in several other
    circumstances, for instance when his brother-in-law was arrested in a
    corruption investigation, after the poor organization of the presidential
    election last year or even when the National Anti-Corruption Directorate
    charged him with forgery of private documents, being accessory to tax evasion
    and money laundering.




    Post-1989 Romania’s youngest prime
    minister also became its first PM subject to prosecution while in office. Ponta
    only stepped down after, on Tuesday night, tens of thousands of people took to
    the streets to protest the corruption in central and local administration,
    against the backdrop of the overwhelming popular sentiment triggered by the
    Colectiv nightclub fire on Friday night, when more than 30 people died and
    nearly 150 were injured. President Klaus Iohannis said the resignation was
    overdue, and announced consultations with the parliamentary parties in view of
    appointing a new prime minister.




    The co-president of the National
    Liberal Party in opposition, Alina Gorghiu, pleads for early elections: We
    believe the most reasonable thing to do, the most balanced and the one that
    responds the best to the expectations of civil society is the solution of early
    elections, through a political agreement.




    The coalition made up of the Social
    Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the
    Alliance of the Liberals and Democrats, which supported the outgoing
    government, say however that early elections would only extend the crisis.




    The Social Democratic leader Liviu
    Dragnea: We disagree with the Liberals’ proposal to have early elections. This
    would mean that as of today, for several months, we would have an unstable
    government with an interim prime minister, at a time when we are supposed to
    adopt the public budget law, when winter is coming and an unstable government
    cannot keep things under control.




    The consultations and their outcome
    are, according to all analysts, a major test for a political class with a
    severe credibility problem.

  • October 30, 2015

    October 30, 2015

    The former president of Romania, Traian Basescu, may be prosecuted in a case involving the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists in Iraq in 2005, a Bucharest court decided today, citing abuse of office and conflict of interests among the charges. The case was opened after the former leader of Greater Romania Party, Corneliu Vadim Tudor, filed a complaint to the General Prosecutors Office in 2009, accusing Traian Basescu and his former Interior Minister, the current co-president of the National Liberal Party, Vasile Blaga, of having appropriated some of the 4 million US dollars paid by the Romanian state as ransom for the three journalists. Prosecutors mentioned that the probe into Vasile Blaga was closed in 2010, and prosecution was ruled out. Traian Basescu finds the accusations ridiculous and views the case as an offence to Romania.



    Nine central and eastern-European countries will take part in Bucharest on November 4 in a high-level meeting, attended by the deputy NATO Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow. He has recently said that there are risks when Russia gets involved in operations close to NATO territory. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, who will be hosting the summit, announced that the participants will release a joint message regarding the adjustment of NATO to the current security context.



    The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is taking part today, in Ulm (Germany) in the fourth Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, organised by the European Commission. On this occasion, Minister Aurescu will have bilateral meetings with German officials. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is a major European political project launched by Romania jointly with Austria, and the Forum is its central annual event. The project brings together Danube riparian countries, of which 9 EU members and 5 non-members.



    Romania might reach an absorption rate of over 90% by the end of the 2007-2014 National Rural Development Programme, which means that more than 9 billion euros from national and European funds will have been attracted into the sector, said George Turtoi, secretary of state with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This programme is the instrument under which non-reimbursable funds are allotted for private and public investments that ensure the development of villages in Romania. The total funds earmarked under this programme were 9.67 billion euro, which should have been contracted by the end of 2013, but can still be paid until the end of 2015, Agerpres reports.



    The mayor of the north-eastern Romanian city of Iasi, Gheorghe Nichita, and a well-known businessman are to find out today whether they will be placed under custody pending trial for 30 days. The two are subject to investigation in a case involving the award of an EU-funded contract amounting to 15 million euros.



    The European Union announced it was closely monitoring the political developments in the Republic of Moldova, after the Parliament in Chisinau Thursday dismissed the Cabinet headed by Valeriu Streletz through a no-confidence motion. In a press release issued by the office of the EU foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, Brussels urges the politicians in Chisinau to form a new and stable government as soon as possible, considering that the Republic of Moldova is experiencing a difficult period in all respects – economic, political and social. The new Cabinet will have to carry on efforts to fight corruption, to solve the banking crisis and to negotiate a new agreement with the IMF, which is vital to ensuring macroeconomic stability, reads the press statement.



    Talks are held in Vienna today between the foreign powers that back the rival parties in the Syrian civil war. According to the BBC, the goal is the bridge the differences between the US and its allies, which support the rebels, and the key supporters of the Syrian regime, Russia and Iran. This is for the first time that Iran takes part in such talks. Recently, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, urged the participants in the Vienna talks to prove “flexibility. The war, which has been going on for four years, started out as a rebellion against the President Bashar al-Assad, and has so far killed 250,000 people, forcing half of the countrys population, nearly 11 million people, to leave their homes.

  • October 18, 2015 UPDATE

    October 18, 2015 UPDATE

    The Social Democratic Party, the largest partner in the ruling coalition in Romania, Sunday elected, in a special congress, its new National Standing Bureau, after having validated Liviu Dragnea as party president. After winning the party election last Saturday, he proposed a new leadership structure for the Social Democratic Party, with a smaller National Standing Bureau having slightly different powers. Liviu Dragnea had been the interim president of the Social Democrats since July, when incumbent PM Victor Ponta stepped down as president of the party, further to a corruption scandal in which he is tried for forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering. Liviu Dragnea was also sentenced, in May, by a court of first instance, to one year in prison for frauds perpetrated in 2012, during the referendum on the impeachment of the ex-President Traian Băsescu.



    The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is making an official visit to Israel on Monday and Tuesday, and is to meet the PM and Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the agenda of the visit also includes meetings with the head of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, and with other members of the Israeli government. The talks focus on strengthening bilateral political and diplomatic relations, on diversifying the economic cooperation in the field of energy, tourism, agriculture, research and development, culture, education and healthcare. International issues and regional developments will also be approached, particularly the prospects of the Peace Process in the Middle East and the situation in Syria. Aurescu will also have meetings with researchers from the Yad Vashem memorial museum and with members of the community of Israeli citizens born in Romania.



    Switzerland elected on Sunday the members of its two-chamber Parliament, in a vote in which the immigration issue was the main concern. Voting by post, available to most citizens, was opened two weeks ago. According to exit polls, right-wing parties are likely to see their weight in the Swiss Parliament increased further to this ballot. The Socialist Party is also expected to stay firm and preserve its runner-up position. Smaller parties and the Greens will likely lose seats as support for the right wing is growing.



    The President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan Sunday said other EU member countries, like France, UK, or Spain, should also support Turkeys bid for EU accession. Previously, in a joint press conference with PM Ahmet Davutoglu, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin was ready to help step up Turkeys EU accession process, in exchange for Turkeys help to stem the influx of migrants into Europe. Turkeys PM Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara was willing to work with Germany on illegal migration, but said that without a solution to the conflict in Syria the migrant crisis cannot be solved. The EU Thursday agreed on an action plan in this respect with Turkey, which is currently the gateway into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants. Brussels wants Turkey to strengthen security on its border with the Union. In exchange, Europe will provide financial support and stronger ties, including the prospect of easier travel visas for Turkish citizens.



    The Romanian mens handball champions HCM Minaur Baia Mare Sunday defeated at home, 21-20, the team Metalurg from Skopje, Macedonia, in a Champions League Group D match. This is the second victory for the Romanian team in this competition. Meanwhile, CSM Bucharest qualified on Saturday into the third preliminary round of the EHF Cup, although they lost, 23-22, away from home, the game against the Austrian team Bregenz Handball. In the first game CSM Bucharest had won at home, 28-24. CS Dinamo, from Bucharest, also qualified into this stage of the competition.