Radio România Internațional

Tag: tensions

04.01.2020

Conseil – Le ministère des affaires étrangères
de Bucarest conseille aux citoyens roumains d’éviter les voyages non
nécessaires en Irak, à cause de l’escalade des tensions au Moyen Orient. Ceux
qui se trouvent déjà sur place devraient de ne pas se rendre sur les lieux des
manifestations politiques ou des rassemblements publics. Ils sont également
conseillés d’informer de leur présence la mission diplomatique ou consulaire la
plus proche, afin d’être contactés, en cas d’urgence. Des milliers d’Irakiens,
dont des dirigeants du pays, ont participé, aujourd’hui, à Bagdad, à une
procession funéraire pour leurs compatriotes et pour les Iraniens tués, hier,
dans un bombardement de l’armée américaine, dont le général iranien Qassem
Soleimani, architecte de la stratégie iranienne au Moyen Orient, et Abou Mehdi
al-Mouhandis, l’homme de Téhéran en Irak. Le président américain, Donald Trump,
a justifié l’ordre de tuer Soleimani, considéré comme le deuxième homme le plus
puissant en Iran après l’ayatollah Ali Khamenei, affirmant avoir agi pour arrêterune guerre, et
non pas pour déclencher une autre. La mort du général Soleimani représente une
escalade des tensions entre Téhéran et Washington, les Iraniens promettant de
venger sa mort, informe la BBC.

Bilan – Plus de 21.000 agents du ministère
roumain de l’intérieur ont assuré la sécurité de la population au cours des
trois premiers jours de la nouvelle année 2020, informe un communiqué du
ministère. Aucun incident grave n’a été signalé dans les 180 manifestations
culturelles et artistiques organisés pendant la nuit du Réveillon de la Saint
Sylvestre et auxquels ont participé environ 320.000 personnes. Pour ce qui est
de l’ordre public, les agents du ministère de l’intérieur sont intervenus pour
résoudre plus de 7.300 événements annoncés par le numéro unique d’urgence 112.
Quelque 1.500 agents de la police routière et environ 270 radars mobiles ont
été présents sur les principaux axes routiers. Dans le même temps, une moyenne
quotidienne de 4.000 policiers aux frontières ont assuré la fluidité de la
circulation aux points frontaliers, vu le grand nombre de ressortissants
roumains vivant à l’étranger et de touristes étrangers venus passer les fêtes
de fin d’année en Roumanie.

Incendies – Des dizaines de milliers d’Australiens
ont été évacués de leurs domiciles, aujourd’hui, à cause des incendies qui
ravagent le pays des Antipodes. Les températures très élevées, de plus de 40° Celsius,
et les vents violents ont attisé les flammes, le feu étant hors de contrôle,
par endroits. Depuis le début de la saison des
incendies en septembre, une surface équivalente à deux fois la Belgique a
brulé. Au moins 20 personnes ont perdu la vie, des dizaines d’autres sont
portées disparues,plus
de 1.500 maisons ont été réduites en cendres. Les incendies ont également été
meurtriers pour la flore et la faune,près
de 500 millions d’animaux sauvages, dont des kangourous et des koalas, ont
péri dans les flammes.

Elections – En Croatie, l’électorat est attendu
aux urnes demain, pour le second tour de scrutin présidentiel, qui opposera la
présidente sortante, la conservatrice Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, à un ancien
premier ministre de centre-gauche, Zoran Milanovic. Celui-ci est arrivé en tête
du premier scrutin, le 22 décembre dernier, avec près de 30% des suffrages
exprimés, suivi par Mme Grabar-Kitarovic, avec presque 27%. Kolinda
Grabar-Kitarovic, âgée de 51 ans, a été élue à la tête de l’Etat en 2015, la
fonction présidentielle ayant une dimension plutôt honorifique. Son
contre-candidat, Zoran Milanovic, est un ancien diplomate de 53 ans, qui, à la
différence de la plupart des membres de la classe politique croate, n’est pas
touché par des soupçons de corruption. Tout comme ses voisins des Balkans, la
Croatie se confronte à un exode de sa population. Ce phénomène, qui s’est
accéléré après l’adhésion du pays à l’Union européenne en 2013, et une natalité
en berne poussent le pays à un effondrement démographique, considèrent les
experts.

Sport – La Roumanie prendra part avec 35 sportifs aux Jeux
Olympiques de la Jeunesse (JOJ), prévus du 9 au 22 janvier prochain à Lausanne,
en Suisse. Selon un communiqué remis à la presse par le Comité olympique et
sportif roumain, ils se présentent aux compétitions de biathlon, bobsleigh,
hockey sur glace, patinage de vitesse, luge, sauts à skis, ski alpin, ski de
fond et snowboard, soit à 10 des 16 disciplines sportives au programme. Aux JOJ
de Lillehammer, en Norvège, en 2016, les premières médailles de l’histoire de
la participation roumaine à la compétition ont été remportées par Eduard Căşăneanu
– or en hockey sur glace – concours d’habileté, et Mihaela Hogaş, bronze en
patinage de vitesse, dans des équipes internationales mixtes. Par ailleurs, l’épéiste
championne olympique roumaine Ana-Maria Popescu sera présente à la Coupe du
monde d’épée dames, qui aura lieu du 10 au 12 janvier, à la Havane, à Cuba.

Météo – En Roumanie, il fait beau
actuellement et les températures de la mi-journée, supérieures aux normales
saisonnières, se situent entre 2° et 12°, avec 4° et du soleil à Bucarest, à
midi. Par ailleurs, une alerte jaune aux chutes de neige entre en vigueur ce
soir, dans les régions de montagne à plus de 1.700 mètres d’altitudes. Demain
matin, entrera en vigueur une alerte jaune aux vents forts dans l’est du pays.

4 January 2020
June 8, 2019 UPDATE

UN Romania remains “deeply committed to supporting the UN, and the campaign for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council “has strengthened the countrys international profile, reads a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. The statement comes after on Friday Romania, supported by only 58 countries, failed to win a seat in the 2020-2021 Security Council, being outrun by Estonia, which got 132 votes. President Klaus Iohannis blamed the failure on “irresponsible statements by some top officials, which generated reluctance with respect to Romanias candidacy. On the other hand, voices in the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats say the President, as coordinator of Romanian diplomacy, has most of the responsibility. The Security Council includes 5 permanent members with veto rights: the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK. Another 10 members have 2-year terms, after which they are replaced by countries from the same region. Next year 5 seats will be vacant, 2 for Africa, one for Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and one for Eastern Europe. To be elected in the UN Security Council, a country needs the support of two-thirds of the General Assembly members, which means at least 129 votes out of the 193 voting member states.

G20 The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici is heading the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will adopt an official declaration comprising the outcomes of the meeting, the news release also says.

TENSIONS The Government suggests that the National Defence Ministry should take over the administration of the Heroes Cemetery in Valea Uzului and make it an international cemetery. A decision will be made after consultations with all stakeholders, PM Viorica Dăncilă says in a news release. She also calls for respect for Romanias state symbols and for public order, and urges responsibility in all political statements and actions concerning the situation in Valea Uzului, Harghita County. Soldiers of various nationalities, killed in the 2 world wars, are buried here. The Romanian Police opened a criminal investigation concerning the destruction of the access gate to the Valea Uzului graveyard, after on Thursday members of several Romanian organisations forced their way in, to attend a Heroes Day commemoration. According to the gendarmes, tensions were reported, but there were no violent clashes between the Romanian and the Hungarian ethnics in the area or with the police forces, as some Hungarian politicians had claimed.

WHITSUNDAY Roman-Catholic Christians celebrate the Pentecost, which in mostly Orthodox Romania is marked, among other things, through a pilgrimage to Şumuleu Ciuc, attended every year by tens of thousands of Hungarian ethnics. The Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc has become the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in the region. A week ago, it was also visited by Pope Francis, who was on a pastoral visit to Romania.

MOLDOVA The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova Saturday ruled that the appointment of the pro-Russian Socialist Zinaida Greceanyi as Parliament Speaker is unconstitutional. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed. The Socialists and the pro-European right wing voted to appoint Greceanyi after the Court decided that the mandate of the current Parliament ended. The countrys pro-Russian president Igor Dodon postponed signing a decree to dissolve Parliament, and said the republic is on the verge of being destabilised. These developments come after 3-and-a-half months of failed attempts at forming a parliamentary majority. In the February 24 legislative elections, Dodons Socialists won 35 of the 101 seats in Parliament. The ruling Democratic Party, headed by the controversial oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, has 30 MPs, while ACUM bloc, a pro-European right-wing cartel, has another 26. Seven seats were won by the populist party headed by the Mayor of Orhei town, Ilan Shor, a politician sentenced by a court of first instance to 7 and a half years in prison for his involvement in Moldovas billion dollar banking fraud. 3 other MPs are non-affiliated.

FOOTBALL Romanias football team is in Malta, scheduled to play against the host national team on Monday in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Friday Romania drew against Norway, 2-all away from home. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romanias team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

8 June 2019
June 8, 2019

G20 The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici is heading the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will adopt an official declaration comprising the outcomes of the meeting, the news release also says.

UN The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Meleșcanu Friday attended the elections in the UN Security Council held in New York. Romania was a candidate for a non-permanent seat in the Council in 2020 – 2021, but was outrun by Estonia, which won with 132 votes against Romanias 58. The Security Council includes 5 permanent members with veto rights: the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK. Another 10 members have 2-year terms, after which they are replaced by countries from the same region. Next year 5 seats will be vacant, 2 for Africa, one for Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and one for Eastern Europe. To be elected in the UN Security Council, a country needs the support of two-thirds of the General Assembly members, which means at least 129 votes out of the 193 voting member states.

TENSIONS PM Viorica Dăncilă called for respect for Romanias state symbols and for public order, and urged responsibility in all political statements and actions concerning the situation in Valea Uzului, Harghita County. She also emphasised that a political approach of the situation is not likely to contribute to a constructive solution, and criticised attempts at deriving political capital by certain politicians. The Romanian Police opened a criminal investigation concerning the destruction of the access gate to the Valea Uzului graveyard, where military of various nationalities are buried, after on Thursday members of several Romanian organisations forced their way into the war cemetery to commemorate the Romanian soldiers buried there. According to the gendarmes, tensions were reported, but there were no violent clashes between the Romanian and the Hungarian ethnics in the area, as some Hungarian politicians had claimed.

TIFF The Ambassador of France to Bucharest, Michele Ramis, is in Cluj today to attend the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF). This years guest of honour is France, in the context of the France-Romania cultural season. A special programme is devoted to French cinema, including a complete Michel Gondry retrospective, a portrait of director Agnes Varda, music concerts, and the most original French project in TIFF, Uzina de filme (The Film Factory), a film studio where the public can experience a film shooting from scratch. The French Ambassador will also attend a concert entitled Soundtrack of Dreams and will participate in the TIFF closing gala. Established in 2002, TIFF is the first and largest film festival in Romania. Twelve works take part in the official competition this year, but a total of over 200 films will be screened as part of this 18th edition of the Festival.

RESIGNATION Theresa May Friday stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party and implicitly as a PM, after failing to persuade the Commons to accept her Brexit agreement with Brussels, leading to a postponement of Britains withdrawal from the EU to October 31st. May stays in office until a replacement is chosen, which will likely take place in the second half of July, as the Conservative Party announced. The official campaign is set to begin on Monday, with 11 contenders for Theresa Mays position in the party.

MOLDOVA The pro-Russian president of the Republic of Moldova, Igor Dodon, Saturday postponed signing a decree to dissolve the parliament, because MPs may still reach an agreement. He said the republic is on the verge of being destabilised, which is why he urged citizens not to start or join protests and turbulence. Dodon added that, if necessary, on Monday he will hold consultations on dissolving the national parliament. Moldovas Constitutional Court had ruled that parliament was to form a government by June 7, otherwise the head of state could dismantle parliament. MPs said that since their election had been confirmed on March 9, they have until June 9 to form a government.

FOOTBALL Romanias football team drew against Norway on Friday, 2-all away from home, in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Monday Romania will play away from home against Malta. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romanias team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

8 June 2019
January 6-12, 2019

Romania officially takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

On January 10th, Romania officially took over for the first time the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, in a ceremony held at the Romanian Athenaeum and attended by Romanian and EU leaders.

Twelve years since its accession, Romania undertakes a key role at European level, with the stated goal of contributing to the consolidation of a more cohesive, more united and stronger Europe, the Romanian head of state Klaus Iohannis said in his address. Romania will head the Council of the European Union with dignity, PM Viorica Dancila said in her turn, and added that she would like the Union to be more robust, more united and more interconnected at the end of the Romanian term in office.

The president of the European Council Donald Tusk gave a poignant speech in Romanian. Among others, he said that it was up to Romania to prove whether its politics may be a good example or a harsh warning for a European Union struggling with the rise of populism and nationalism. He also urged Romanians to safeguard the foundations of political civilisation, freedom, integrity, respect for truth in public life, the rule of law and Constitution, in Romania and in Europe.

Romania takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union at a crucial time, the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said. He mentioned that the Union would not be complete without Romania, and that Romania also belongs in the Schengen area. I am counting on the energy and unity of the Romanian nation, in order to decide what we must do and what we can do in the months to come, Juncker concluded.

The launch of the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union was celebrated with a concert at the Romanian Athenaeum given by the European Union Orchestra, which performed George Enescus Romanian Rhapsody no 1 and Beethovens Ode to Joy, which has been the anthem of the European Union since 1985.

On Friday in Bucharest, the European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker had talks with president Klaus Iohannis, PM Viorica Dancila and other Romanian officials. The European officials had meetings with the Romanian Cabinet ministers who will chair working meetings with their EU counterparts in the next 6 months, both in Bucharest and in Brussels.

Romania chairs first General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels

The Romanian minister for European affairs George Ciamba took part in Brussels in the General Affairs Council meeting, the first chaired by Romania since the start of its presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1. Ciamba presented Romanias priorities for its 6-month term in office, highlighting the 4 main directions: Europe of convergence, a safer Europe, Europe – a stronger regional actor, and Europe of shared values.

Talking about the European context in which Romania holds the rotating presidency, which is marked by a number of complex processes such as Brexit, the negotiations on the next multi-annual financial framework, the European Parliament elections due in May 2019, and the reflection on the future of the Union, Ciamba said that now more than ever the Union needs unity and cohesion.

Tension between the Presidency and the Government over appointments

The conflict between the president and the government in Romania carries on. President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday rejected again, for the 2nd time, the appointment of Adina Florea as chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) and Anca Jurma, the interim chief prosecutor, announced she no longer wanted an extension of her term, which led the prosecutor general to make a new nomination. Thus he appointed the deputy chief prosecutor of the DNA Calin Nistor as interim chief prosecutor.

The position remained vacant after Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed by a presidential decree issued on July 9, 2018 by president Iohannis who had to enforce a decision of the Constitutional Court.

Also this week, the PM Viorica Dancila forwarded to president Iohannis the same nominations for the positions of deputy prime minister and minister of regional development and public administration and minister of transports, namely Lia Olguta Vasilescu and Mircea Draghici. According to the PM, the two nominations comply with the conditions stipulated by law and the two persons are compatible with the respective positions.

On Thursday the Romanian president had sent the PM the motivation explaining the reasons why he had previously rejected the two persons nominated.

Romanian economy reported very good results in 2018

Last year Romania reported very good economic results, the PM Viorica Dancila announced in the first government meeting of 2019. She said that in the first 9 months of 2018, Romania reported a 4.2% economic growth rate, two times more than the rate reported by the EU, which was due mainly to industry. The PM also mentioned a drop in the unemployment rate in 2018 as well as an increase in the absorption rate of European funds, of more than 26%.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu, Lacramioara Simion)

12 January 2019
A la Une de la presse roumaine 10.01.2019

Les tensions externes et les déséquilibres
macroéconomiques commencent à produire des effets, croit savoir Ziarul financiar. Le site d’informations Hotnews.ro met en exergue les chiffres publiés mercredi par l’Institut
nationale de la statistique et analyse les tensions apparues entre le ministre des
Finances et le gouverneur de la Banque nationale. Jurnalul national note avec effarement l’arrivée du
grand froid. Libertatea reprend les propos d’un
prêtre orthodoxe qui se confie au
quotidien.

10 January 2019
La rétrospective des principaux événements de 2018

Le dossier de l’immigration

« 2018 touche à sa fin et, à jeter un regard en arrière, on pourrait conclure que ce ne fut pas une bonne année ni pour l’UE, ni pour ses voisins », affirme le politologue roumain Cristian Preda, dont le mandat de parlementaire européen sachèvera en mai 2019. A en croire les statistiques onusiennes, 2018 fut la cinquième année de suite quand l’Europe a dépassé le seuil de 100.000 immigrants. A ce chiffre déjà impressionnant s’ajoute un autre: les 2000 réfugiés qui ont péri dans le courant de l’année, dans leurs tentatives de traverser la Méditerranée. Même si le nombre d’immigrants est à la baisse par rapport aux années précédentes, la question de l’immigration continue à influencer la politique communautaire et les sociétés européennes. Interrogés sur la possibilité que leurs pays accueillent encore plus d’immigrants, moins d’un tiers des Européens se sont dit d’accord. Pour le reste, c’est non. Ils sont 82% en Grèce, 72% en Hongrie, 71% en Italie ou encore 58% en Allemagne à espérer même une fermeture de leurs frontières aux réfugiés.

Par crainte d’attentats islamistes, une vague de populisme et de xénophobie a déferlé dernièrement sur toute l’Europe. Les conséquences en sont multiples à commencer par l’installation, à Rome, d’un gouvernement de coalition formé du Mouvement Cinq Etoiles – ni de droite, ni de gauche et revendiquant la démocratie participative – et le parti d’extrême-droite La Ligue du Nord. A Berlin, la chancelière allemande Angela Merkel a décidé de mettre fin à une carrière de deux décennies à la tête de l’Union chrétienne-démocrate, après avoir subi un déficit grave d’image suite à sa politique pro-immigration. Moins de deux ans après son installation à l’Elysée et pendant que les actions des Gilets jaunes se poursuivent, le président français, Emmanuel Macron, a atteint son taux de popularité le plus bas. A Bruxelles, le gouvernement du francophone Charles Michel a démissionné après que les nationalistes flamands ont quitté le gouvernement belge en raison de désaccords sur le Pacte de l’ONU sur les migrants. Controversé et non contraignant, le Pacte a reçu le oui de 150 pays, dont la Roumanie, sur un total de 193. Il recense des principes, tels la défense des droits de l’homme et des enfants, la reconnaissance de la souveraineté nationale – et une vingtaine de propositions pour aider les pays à faire face aux migrations. Le document interdit les détentions arbitraires et considère les arrestations comme solution ultime. Issus principalement de l’Europe centrale et de l’Est, les pays contestataires dénoncent l’absence d’une délimitation claire entre la migration légale et illégale, le renforcement des droits des migrants et l’encouragement de l’immigration par son inclusion sur la liste des droits de l’homme.

Brexit, un divorce compliqué

Prolongées au-delà du calendrier prévu initialement, les négociations sur le Brexit se sont compliquées en raison de la frontière irlandaise et des incertitudes au sein du camp conservateur de la première ministre britannique, Theresa May. La Roumanie soutient l’accord conclu entre l’UE et le Royaume Uni, tout comme la déclaration politique sur le futur cadre de sa relation post-Brexit, a tenu à préciser le ministre roumain des Affaires étrangères, Teodor Melescanu. Et lui d’ajouter que Bucarest envisage de mener une série de négociations bilatérales avec le Royaume Uni dans le cadre de leur partenariat stratégique. Questionné sur le sort des plus de 400.000 ressortissants roumains de Grande Bretagne, M Melescanu a invoqué l’entrevue qu’il a eue avec son homologue britannique, Boris Johnson, lors de laquelle il s’est vu rassurer quant à leur avenir. Si les médecins ou les infirmières de Roumanie travaillant en Grande Bretagne quittent le pays, le système sanitaire britannique en souffrira beaucoup, a tenu à préciser le ministre Johnson lors de cet entretien.

Tensions dans la région de la mer Noire

L’escalade des tensions et l’appétit territorial grandissant de la Russie inquiètent les grandes chancelleries mondiales. Membre de l’UE et de l’OTAN, voisine de l’Ukraine et riveraine de la mer Noire, la Roumanie est fortement préoccupée par ce qui se passe autour d’elle.

Dans une interview sur Radio Roumanie, le chef de la diplomatie roumaine, Teodor Melescanu, a affirmé: «Malheureusement, la Roumanie est de plus en plus préoccupée de voir dernièrement la Russie renforcer sa présence militaire dans la région de la mer Noire et aux frontières orientales de l’UE et de l’OTAN. Bucarest accorde une attention particulière aux manœuvres militaires qui y sont menées, à la mise en place d’une structure militaire très puissante en Crimée, annexée illégalement par Moscou ou encore aux récents incidents qui ont eu lieu dans le détroit de Kertch.»

La région de la mer Noire sera parmi les thèmes majeurs de la future présidence roumaine de l’UE, a encore précisé le chef de la diplomatie roumaine.

Comptabilité et politique

L’Union européenne a déboursé d’une manière inadéquate presque 3,3 milliards d’euros, ce qui se traduit par un trou de 2,4% dans son budget pour 2017, relève un rapport sur 2018 de la Cour des comptes européenne. La façon dont cet argent a été dépensé contrevient aux normes communautaires, peut-on lire dans le document. La Cour des comptes européenne a noté pourtant de nets progrès concernant la justesse des dépenses de l’UE, dans son rapport 2018, après que les dépenses inappropriées se sont montées à 3,1% du budget en 2016 et à 3,8% en 2015. Les analystes remarquent pourtant que ce document intervient dans un moment critique pour l’Union quand l’euroscepticisme risque de donner le vent en poupe aux partis populistes aux futures élections européennes de l’année prochaine. (Trad. Ioana Stancescu)

29 December 2018
A la Une de la presse roumaine 03.09.2018

Le pouvoir et l’opposition ont
profité du week-end pour mettre au point leurs stratégies pour la session
parlementaire d’automne qui démarre ce lundi. La presse en parlait longuement
dans la matinée. En même temps, les journaux constatent que tout n’est pas rose au sein du principal parti
politique de Roumanie, c’est plutôt la guerre en fait entre ses principaux membres. Autre info : le parlement européen va créer « la police » du double standard
des aliments, alors que le
coût par heure de la main d’œuvre est à la hausse en Roumanie.

3 September 2018
A la Une de la presse roumaine 08.05.2018

Ce mardi, la presse électronique de Bucarest sintéresse aux tensions qui samplifient entre le chef de lEtat, la chef du gouvernement et le chef du Parti social-démocrate, principal parti au pouvoir, en Roumanie. Elle explique aussi la victoire inattendue gagnée par une mère célibataire contre un système qui ignore les familles monoparentales.

8 May 2018
Romania, again without a prime minister

In December 2016, under the leadership of Liviu Dragnea, the Social-Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections, with a 45% historic high record and thus became the main party in the ruling coalition, set up alongside the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats in Romania, ALDE. The first choice for the position of Prime Minister, Sevil Shhaideh, could have been the first woman head of government in Bucharest, if President Klaus Iohannis hadn’t rejected her nomination. Married to a Syrian national, with close relations with the dictatorial regime in Damascus, Mrs. Shhaideh was regarded, back then, as a liability to national security. Therefore, the position of prime minister went to the then president of the Timis County Council, Sorin Grindeanu, a former minister, a party member for more than 20 years, boasting a victory in the local elections in a traditional right-wing fiefdom.

Last summer, tensions between Grindeanu and Dragnea mounted so high and the prime minister’s refusal to step down was so firm that the Social-Democrats resorted to an unprecedented gesture in the post-communist Romanian democracy: they toppled their own government by a censure motion, involving a no-confidence vote in parliament. Thus, it promoted at the helm of the government another old-time Social Democrat, considered to be one of the party’s devoted soldiers, the Social-Democrat deputy from Braila, south-eastern Romania, Mihai Tudose. On Monday, however, the Executive Committee of the Social-Democratic Party met in an emergency session, at the request of the party president, Liviu Dragnea, and decided to withdraw the prime minister’s political support. Shortly afterwards, the prime minister tendered his resignation. Mihai Tudose:

“The party decided that another government with a different approach is needed. There is always room for the better. I may also to blame. This is what the party has decided and just as I said in the beginning, I take responsibility for the entire thing, it was the Executive Committee that nominated me, it was also the Executive Committee that said there’s room for improvement”.

Tensions reached high levels last week, when the prime minister pleaded for the restructuring of the Government, a method the media believes was intended to remove Dragnea’s loyalists from his cabinet. Furthermore, against the backdrop of a paedophilia scandal within the Police, Tudose called for the resignation of Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, herself considered to be one of Liviu Dragnea’s protégées. Shortly after the emergency session of the Executive Committee, Liviu Dragnea said:

“It seems I have been unfortunate in my choices, not just my nominations for the position of prime minister. I will not make any nomination, as I’ve just told my colleagues: I will vote the proposal resulting from the debates. I’ve told them that we will stay here, in a meeting of the National Executive Committee, until white smoke pours from the chimney”.

In opposition, the main right-wing party, the National Liberal Party, says a new crisis proves the Social Democrats’ incapacity to govern the country and it calls for holding early elections. President Iohannis will again invite the parliamentary parties to hold consultations for the designation of a new prime minister, as it is not mandatory for the president to nominate the candidate of only one party. Actually last year, shortly after Grindeanu stepped down, the president warned that, if the Tudose cabinet is also toppled, he will seriously think whether or not he will entrust the Social Democrats with the mission of forming a new government. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

16 January 2018
14.01.2018

Visite – Le premier ministre japonais Shinzo Abe est attendu mardi pour sa première visite en Roumanie, dans le cadre d’une tournée diplomatique en Europe, comprenant aussi les trois pays baltes ainsi que la Bulgarie, la Serbie. Cette visite intervient alors que le Japon s’efforce de multiplier les soutiens à sa politique de fermeté envers la Corée du Nord. A Bucarest, Shinzo Abe aura mardi des pourparlers avec le président roumain Klaus Iohannis qui seront suivis par des déclarations de presse, lit-on dans un communiqué de l’administration présidentielle roumaine. L’agenda des discussions comprend le stade et les perspectives de renforcement des très bons rapports du Partenariat renouvelé entre la Roumanie et le Japon, au niveau politique, économique, culturel, sécuritaire et des relations inter humaines, a précisé l’Administration présidentielle. Des sujets tels la coopération du Japon avec l’UE, les évolutions au niveau régional, avec un accent sur le dossier nord-coréen, respectivement la coopération roumano-japonaise au niveau multilatéral seront abordés aussi. Shinzo Abe est accompagné par une délégation d’hommes d’affaires, activant entre autres dans le commerce et l’IT, dans une tentative d’élargir les opportunités d’affaires dans les pays européens qu’il visite. C’est la première visite d’un premier ministre japonais et elle a lieu dans le contexte de la célébration de 5 ans depuis que le Partenariat renouvelé entre la Roumanie et le Japon a été convenu, en 2013.

PSD – Les leaders du Parti Social-Démocrate, principale formation de la coalition au pouvoir, se réuniront lundi à Bucarest, dans le cadre d’une séance demandée par plusieurs leaders d’organisations, afin de trouver une solution aux tensions existant au sein du parti. Cette réunion survient sur la toile de fond d’un conflit entre le premier ministre Mihai Tudose et la ministre de l’Intérieur, Carmen Dan, qui est soutenue par le leader social-démocrate Liviu Dragnea, alors que le premier ministre demande sa démission. Mihai Tudose et Liviu Dragnea ont des positions différentes aussi en ce qui concerne la restructuration du gouvernement. Le chef de l’Exécutif souhaite réduire le nombre de ministères, il risque toutefois de perdre son soutien politique pour cette initiative.

Fake news – Les groupe de travail des experts consultés par la Commission Européenne en vue de lutter contre les fausses nouvelles (fake news) se réunit lundi dans le cadre de sa première séance. La Commission se propose d’établir des mécanismes et attributions afin de répondre à ce phénomène, tout en respectant la liberté d’expression et le droit des citoyens d’avoir accès à des informations variées et correctes. Une quarantaine de personnes – spécialistes hautement qualifiés, représentants de la société civile, de plateformes de socialisations, de médias, journalistes et professeurs – ont été choisis pour faire partie du groupe d’analyse qui conseillera les responsables européens. Parmi eux figure aussi une Roumaine, docteur Alina Bârgăoanu, professeur des universités, doyenne de la Faculté de communication et relations publiques de l’Ecole nationale d’Etudes politiques et administratives de Bucarest.

Handball – La sélection nationale masculine de handball de Roumanie s’est qualifié au barrage du Championnat du monde de 2019. Elle a fait un match nul – 26 à 26, samedi à à Bolzano, en Italie, avec la sélection ukrainienne, dans le troisième groupe des préliminaires de la compétition qui sera accueillie par l’Allemagne et par le Danemark. Vendredi, la sélection de Roumanie, entraînée par l’Espagnol Xavier Pascual, a vaincu les Iles Féroé, score 28 à 20 et jeudi, elle a eu raison de l’Italie, score 34-24. Grâce aux 4 points obtenus, la Roumanie détient la suprématie dans son groupe. Seulement les équipes premières classées de chacun des six groupes préliminaires se verront qualifier au play-off du tournoi final d’Allemagne et du Danemark.13 équipes européennes participent au Championnat du monde. Trois y sont déjà qualifiées : la France (la championne en titre), et les pays hôtes – l’Allemagne et le Danemark.

Tennis – La joueuse de tennis roumaine Alexandra Dulgheru s’est inclinée devant la Chinoise Lin Zhu, score 6-4, 6-4, dimanche à Melbourne, dans le dernier tour des qualifications au tableau principal de la compétition de simple – dames de l’Open d’Australie, le premier tournoi du Grand Chelem de l’année. La Roumaine Simona Halep, n° 1 mondiale, en est la principale favorite. Outre Simona Halep, la Roumanie aura cinq joueuses au tableau principal : Sorana Cîrstea (37e WTA), Irina Begu (40e WTA), Mihaela Buzărnescu (44e WTA), Monica Niculescu (85e WTA), Ana Bogdan (107e WTA), mais aussi un représentant dans la compétition de simple messieurs – Marius Copil (93e ATP).

Météo – Le temps continue à se refroidir partout en Roumanie où les maxima iront ce dimanche de -7 à 3 degrés. Il neige par endroits sur le sud du territoire et en montagne. Dans le département de Constanta, au bord de la Mer Noire, les rafales de vent ont entraîné la mise en place d’une série de restrictions pour le trafic maritime et fluvial dans tous les 4 ports. Nous avions -2 degrés à midi à Bucarest.

14 January 2018
January 12, 2018 UPDATE

TENSIONS The Romanian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that PM Mihai Tudoses statements concerned the responsibilities that central and local authorities in Romania have with respect to the enforcement of the law, and had no anti-Hungarian implications. According to the Ministry, the Prime Ministers statements had to do with the need to comply with constitutional order and the rule of law in Romania, which is a sovereign and indivisible state. Romanias Ambassador to Budapest was invited on Friday to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, following statements made by PM Tudose concerning the self-proposed autonomy of the Szecklers, an ethnic Hungarian group in Transylvania. As the Romanian official put it, “should the Szeckler colours fly on the public institutions there, everybody will fly with them. Budapest views the statement as unacceptable and unworthy of European values and the values of the 21st Century, said the Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. Hungarys Foreign Ministry said it was waiting for explanations and excuses from the Government of Romania in this respect. Romanian authorities and political parties see the demands of the Hungarian community and political representatives, who want local autonomy for the regions in Transylvania where most of the ethnic Hungarians live, as coming against the constitution of Romania.

ANTI-CORRUPTION The head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruţa Kövesi, will be subject to a disciplinary procedure conducted by the Prosecutors Division of the Higher Council of Magistrates, after the judicial inspection corps moved against her over professional misconduct. Following transcripts of audio recordings made public in June 2017, Kovesi is accused, among other things, of conduct detrimental to the honour and professional probity of prosecutors and to the image of the judiciary. According to judicial inspectors, she used dismissive and aggressive language with fellow prosecutors, which is unacceptable by the basic ethics code of the magistrate profession. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate headed by Laura Kövesi has been constantly praised in European Commission reports on the Romanian judiciary.

DEFENCE A contract was signed in Bucharest on Friday for the purchase of 227 Piranha armored fighting vehicles. Under the contract, the first 30 vehicles are to be delivered from Switzerland and the rest will be produced in Romania. The total cost of the purchase stays around 895 million euros. These vehicles offer the highest protection to personnel and can be equipped with various weapons. They are mainly used as personnel carriers but can be adjusted for medevac or other specific missions. The Defence Ministry is to also purchase 173 trucks that will be used as troops carriers or to provide logistics support.

DIPLOMACY Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Friday left Tokyo on a diplomatic tour to Central and Eastern Europe, which takes him to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. The Japanese official is trying to rally support for Tokyos firm stand against North Korea, France Press reports. This is the first such visit paid by a Japanese Premier to the region. The Japanese official is to be received by president Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest on Tuesday. The agenda of the talks includes the stage and prospects in the process of strengthening the very good relations under the Renewed Partnership between Romania and Japan at political, economic and cultural level as well as in terms of security and human relations, the Romanian presidency has announced. Other issues, such as the cooperation between the EU and Japan, regional developments with an emphasis to the North Korean file, as well as the Romanian-Japanese cooperation, are also to be tackled. This is the first visit to Romania by a Japanese Prime Minister and comes against the background of celebrating five years since the 2013 Renewed Partnership between Romania and Japan.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu Friday defeated the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals of the WTA tournament in Hobart, Australia with 225,000 dollars in prize money. Mihaela, who on Monday is to join the worlds top 50 players for the first time in her career, will be playing Belgian Elise Mertens (WTA 36) in the finals. Australian Open, the years first Grand Slam tournament is to commence on Monday with the worlds best player, Romanian Simona Halep, as the odds-on favourite. The Romanian will be playing Australian Destanee Aiava in the competitions first round. Besides Halep, the women singles main draw has another five players from Romania: Sorana Cirstea, Irina Begu, Mihaela Buzarnescu, Monica Niculescu and Ana Bogdan. Marius Copil (ATP 93) will be representing Romania in the mens singles.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

12 January 2018
The judicial overhaul

Three justice laws have been amended and are to come into force urgently, as intended by the Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the ruling coalition in Bucharest: the status of magistrates, the judicial organisation, and the activity of the Superior Council of Magistracy. The adoption of these laws has been rushed for a number of reasons, the government says, citing the fact that they haven’t been revised for the last 13 years, have given rise to anomalies related to the career of magistrates and have allowed for abuses by some prosecutors and judges, who, protected by impunity, have given verdicts that have later been overturned by the European Court of Human Rights, with the Romanian state forced to pay huge damages.

The right-wing opposition and some of the professionals working in the judiciary agree that the three laws need to be amended, but criticise the haste with which they have been passed, the lack of transparency in the drafting of the laws and the lack of comprehensive debates, given the importance of this legislation. Sections of civil society are also discontent and people have again taken to the streets to voice their outrage at the decisions taken by the ruling coalition.

Let’s hear from one of the people who protested on Wednesday evening near the Parliament building: “They are counting on the fact that people don’t understand what the independence of magistrates really means. The truth is that people understand exactly what it means. What they are doing through these hypocritical and perverse amendments is to put indirect and psychological pressure on magistrates.”

Fiercely criticised, one important amendment to the law on the status of judges and prosecutors is that Romania’s president is allowed to refuse only once the appointment of a proposed prosecutor general and the heads of the main prosecutor general offices. Secondly, judges and prosecutors are to be held accountable for any possible errors if they acted in bad faith and with negligence. As far the law on judicial organisation is concerned, its most controversial provision is that on the creation of a department that can investigate all crimes committed by magistrates.

The Social Democrat senator Adrian Tutuianu explains why the law on the organisation and functioning of the Superior Council of Magistrates had to be amended: “In these 13 years, the Superior Council of Magistracy has failed to fulfil its role, that of guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and self-regulating the judicial system. Secondly, Law no. 303 from 2004 stipulates the separation of the decision-making competencies related to the career of magistrates, judges and prosecutors and this also requires the amendment of Law no. 317 from 2004. We also had to put into application several rulings of the Constitutional Court, some of which were issued 3 or 4 years ago.”

The amendments to the justice laws have come to the attention of the Council of Europe, that has called on Romania to offer clarifications on the controversial draft laws, after the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has for the first time activated a procedure for exceptional circumstances.

President Klaus Iohannis, who is yet to sign these three laws, has warned the political class on the consequences of these changes with respect to Romania’s relationship with the European Union. He said calling a referendum on the subject of the overhaul of the judicial system is not the only ace up his sleeve.

21 December 2017
A la Une de la presse roumaine 05.12.2017

Les tensions de plus en plus visibles
dans les rangs des sociaux-démocrates roumains et leurs effets plus ou moins visibles, les chiffres inattendus du projet de budget pour 2018 ou encore la construction de lieux de cultes en Roumanie occupent les pages des éditions en ligne des principaux quotidiens roumains.

5 December 2017
Europe and the Catalan referendum

Last year’s referendum on Brexit, which resulted in the ongoing divorce between London and Brussels, seems to have opened a real Pandora’s box. Perceived as a unitary whole, a space of common values, democracy, prosperity and accord for decades on end, Western Europe is currently devastated by a separatist trend which on Sunday swept over Catalonia and the whole of Spain. The regional government in Barcelona has announced that 40% of the electorate, that is less than two and a half million voters, participated in Catalonia’s independence referendum and 90% of them voted for the region’s breaking away from Spain.

So, far from having reasons of exultation, the separatists were backed by not even half of the electorate. In turn, the Spanish government, which had long before declared the referendum as illegal and violating the Constitution, has been sharply criticized by the European partners for the great show of zeal made by the police officers deployed to block voting in Catalonia’s independence referendum. They injured hundreds of secessionists, forcefully entered schools and other public buildings including polling stations, seized electoral materials and took control of the center where the votes were to be counted.

Both political and economic analysts say that the split between Barcelona and Madrid would be followed by an expensive partition for all. Catalonia, an autonomous region with a population of seven and a half million people is the most prosperous, as well as the most indebted region of Spain. Its public debt of 44 billion Euros should be paid if Barcelona no longer enjoys backing from Madrid. On the other hand, over 40% of Spain’s exports of electronic products and vehicles come from that region, also providing 12 of the 60 billion Euros the country annually gets from tourism.

The European Commission has urged the Spanish government to “move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue” and has denounced the use of violence during the referendum. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced it regrets Sunday’s incidents triggered by non-compliance with Spain’s constitutional order and has reiterated Romania’s firm support for that country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

A press release of the Foreign Ministry says that Spain “is an important ally and strategic partner of our country, a relationship reflected both bilaterally and within the EU and internationally”. The press release further says “the legitimacy of any process or action pertaining to the internal order of a state consists of its observance of the Fundamental Law and of the rule of law in the respective state. That is why, Romania reiterates its consistent stand for the observance of international law, which does not allow for territorial changes to be made without the agreement of the state concerned.” (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

3 October 2017
September 6, 2017 UPDATE

Tensions – Any educational institution in Romania must observe the Romanian law without exception, as the law is not applied in a discriminatory manner on ethnic, religious or any other criteria, has said the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) after Hungary criticised the closing down of a high school in Targu Mures, in central Romania. According to MAE, any attempt to present the situation at the Roman-Catholic High School in Targu Mures as a violation of the rights of national minorities is false, given that there are numerous examples of educational institutions that confirm the fact that the Romanian state ensures, to the largest extent, the Hungarian minority’s right to education in their native language. Earlier on Wednesday the Hungarian Foreign Ministry summoned Romania’s Ambassador in Budapest, Marius-Gabriel Lazurca. State Secretary with the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Levente Magyar, has announced that the Government in Budapest decided to withdraw indefinitely its support for Romania’s candidacy to various international organisations such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The high school’s activity was suspended due to the fact that, following a final Court decision, the high school no longer exists.

Approval – The US Congress has approved the sale of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and related support and equipment to Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. Romania will purchase 54 such devices to equip three battalions. In the upcoming period talks are to be held on transferring the devices to Romania and also on ways to involve the national defense industry in supplying the equipment needed for the system’ maintenance, the Romanian Foreign Ministry also announced.

Visit — The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, will pay an official visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday. The visit’s agenda includes meetings with Prime Minister Mihai Tudose, Senate Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea. Cretu will take part in a conference dubbed “Dialogue with the citizens”. The European Commissioner will also meet with deputy PM Sevil Shhaideh, Transport Minister Razvan Cuc, Minister Delegate for European Funds Rovana Plumb and Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu.

Report — The report of the Romanian Parliament’s inquiry committee into the 2009 presidential election, adopted on Wednesday, found that in 2009 the presidency and government took concrete action to rig the elections, thus helping Traian Basescu win another mandate. The Liberal MPs, in opposition, withdrew ahead of the vote on the report, arguing that debates were first needed. The Prosecutor’s Office had also opened a case in the same matter, which was eventually closed. Initially, the case had been opened following statements made by the journalist and former political adviser Dan Andronic, who claimed that high-ranking officials had allegedly influenced the result of the 2009 presidential election.

Motion — The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union have filed a simple motion to the Chamber of Deputies, against the justice minister Tudorel Toader. The signatories to the document say the amendments to the justice laws, initiated by Tudorel Toader, are an attack to the independence of the judiciary and an attempt to cancel the progress made in the field. Vehemently criticised by the opposition, civil society and the media, the draft amending the justice laws stipulate, among others, that the country’s president will no longer nominate the chief prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, that the judicial inspection unit will be subordinated to the justice ministry and also provides for increasing the number of years to be promoted as magistrate. The Chamber of Deputies will discuss the motion next Tuesday. In another development, MPs with the National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union have announced that also next Tuesday they will file a simple motion against the Education Minister Liviu Pop whom they consider responsible for a number of problems that affect the start of the new school year.

REP OF MOLDOVA — The pro-western government of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet country with a Romanian speaking population, on Wednesday approved a decision on the participation of Moldovan troops in a military exercise in neighbouring Ukraine. Prime Minister Pavel Filip has said international institutions will cover 80% of the costs with the participation of Moldovan troops in such exercises. The government made the decision after the pro-Russian Socialist President Igor Dodon, the supreme commander of the armed forces, has forbidden the participation of the Moldovan troops in the manoeuvres in Ukraine, without however explaining his refusal in any way. Earlier, Dodon has opposed to the participation of Moldovan military in an exercise unfolding in Romania.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

6 September 2017