Radio România Internațional

Tag: Teodor Melescanu visits Croatia

  • March 10, 2018

    March 10, 2018

    CONGRESS — Bucharest on Saturday is playing host to an extraordinary congress of the main ruling coalition party in Romania, the Social-Democratic Party. The Congress will occasion elections for the positions of executive president, secretary general and vice-presidents. The office of president, currently held by leader Liviu Dragnea, is not subject to vote, as all Social-Democratic branches across the country have expressed support for Dragnea. Running for the position of executive president of the party is Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who enjoys the support of the Bucharest-Ilfov regional organization and that of party leader Liviu Dragnea. On Friday, the party’s National Executive Committee validated all the 24 candidacies submitted. Attended by 4,000 delegates from all over the country, the Congress is also expected to see the adoption of several governance resolutions.



    VISIT — Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu met in Zagreb with high-ranking officials, agreeing to boost bilateral relations between the two countries. Minister Melescanu attended the opening ceremony for the Romanian Honorific Consulate in Split, which will help support the Romanian community in the area and all Romanian citizens visiting Croatia. The Romanian official told Radio Romania that Bucharest and Zagreb agree on several topics of EU interest, such as identifying a viable solution that should ensure the proper functioning of the EU post-Brexit.



    MILITARY – Over 1,700 Romanian and foreign troops are taking part until March 15, in a large-scale multinational exercise, organized by the Romanian Navy, in Dobrogea (south-eastern Romania) and in the international waters of the Black Sea. Spring Storm 18 is based on a unique training concept which brings together the navy, air and land forces, as part of a NATO immediate assurance action plan adopted at the 2016 Summit. Romanian troops are training jointly with fellow military from the US, France and Bulgaria, and from partner countries like Georgia and Ukraine.



    FLU — The Romanian National Public Health Institute announced another two people died to the flu virus, raising the death toll to 90 across Romania. Health Minister Sorina Pintea says there is no reason to declare an epidemic at this stage.



    BOOK FAIR — Romania is guest of honor at the International Book Trade Fair in Leipzig, Germany. Attending the events are writers Mircea Cartarescu, Nora Iuga, Andrei Plesu and Varujan Vosganian. The Ministry of Culture and National Identity is organizing some 60 events at Romania’s pavilion under the motto “Romania. Zoom In”, including a concert by Ada Milea, with lyrics translated into German by Herta Muller, the Romanian-born winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009. The International Book Fair in Leipzig started on Friday and will close on Sunday and is aimed at promoting contemporary literature.



    TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the world’s no. 1 player, qualified to the third round of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, US, after defeating Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Simona will next play Caroline Dolehide of the United States. Another Romanian, Irina Begu, was knocked out in the second round by Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 7-6, 6-1. Sorana Cirstea will also play Venus Williams of the US in the second round.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • March 7, 2018 UPDATE

    March 7, 2018 UPDATE

    ROMANIA AND THE EU — Romania has made limited progress as regards the implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations over 2017-2018, reads a Commission report made public on Wednesday. Bucharest will have to increase its efforts to fulfil its fiscal and tax-collection obligations, so as to achieve the mid-term budget objectives. Moreover Romania needs to curb black market labour. Another pending recommendation is the adoption of legislation to balance the retirement age for women and men. Romania also needs to improve access to quality education, especially for children in rural areas. In the field of healthcare, Romania will have to continue to combat informal payments and favour outpatient treatment. Over the coming period, Brussels will hold bilateral meetings with each EU Member States and will issue a new set of recommendations in May.



    MEETING — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday is meeting his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, who is paying an official visit to Bucharest. According to the Presidency, the two officials will discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation at political, economic and sectorial level. Talks will also focus on Bucharest support for Serbia’s EU accession process, ahead of Romania’s holding the European Council presidency in 2019. Iohannis and Vucic will also tackle the issue of the two countries’ national minorities, topics of mutual interest regarding cooperation in the Western Balkans and the developments in Kosovo.



    PROTESTS — The SANITAS Trade Union Federation has warned the Government that ignoring the demands of healthcare unionists could lead to further protests. Representatives of unions have called on Parliament in a public letter to support the amendments pushed to the law on public sector salaries and to end discrimination against certain professionals in the fields of healthcare and social assistance. Trade unions claim that as of March 1, certain healthcare employees, such as pharmacists, biologists, psychologists and nurses, have stopped receiving some of their benefits. Authorities say that starting March 1 salaries of medical and auxiliary staff have gone up tantamount to the salary cap provided in the salary grid for 2022. In another development, the last shot of immunoglobulin was used in Romania, and the only solution to deal with the shortage was to call for the EU and NATO for help. Health Minister Sorina Pintea has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism in an attempt to cover the necessary 10,000 shots for the next two months.



    MOLDOVA — Moldovan President Igor Dodon on Wednesday accused Romania of fuelling the unionist movement in Moldova, which may pose risks to the country’s statehood. Dodon threatened to notify the UN and the Council of Europe so as to put an end to this development. According to our correspondents, Dodon expressed concern with the unionist rallies scheduled for late March. The accusations follow as the number of local authorities that have passed symbolic declarations for reunification with Romania has exceeded 100. Recently Dodon accused Romania’s consul in Balti, Mihail Baciu, of corrupting local officials and political bias. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest says the accusations have an election stake, ahead of the Parliamentary elections scheduled for late 2018 in Moldova.



    SEARCHES — Romanian prosecutors on Wednesday conducted searches in Timis and Arad counties to bring down a wide network of immigrant traffickers. According to a press release of the anti-mafia directorate (DIICOT), a think tank was set up jointly with German authorities so as to dismantle the network. Set up in 2017, the group was ensuring the transit of illegal immigrants from Turkey to Germany via Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Hungary and Austria. The illegal migrants were put up in guesthouses in Timisoara, signed up for political asylum in Romania, and were eventually taken to Hungary.



    COLLEGE — The Romanian Intelligence College, a school unit subordinated to the Romanian Intelligence Service, will be disbanded, sources with the Service have told the media. According to the National Intelligence Academy, for the time being activity at the College has been suspended in the wake of an internal affairs investigation triggered by the October 2017 public declarations of acting Social-Democrat Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, who claimed to have graduated the college with zero attendance. The Academy’s Press Office further states it will withdraw Teodorovici’s degree. A large number of politicians have graduated the college, including former Prime Ministers Sorin Grindeanu and Mihai Tudose.



    VISIT — Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu on Thursday is paying a two-day official visit to Croatia. His agenda includes the opening of Romania’s Honorific Consulate in Split, meetings with local authorities and the Economy Chamber Chairman, Luka Burilovic. On Friday Melescanu will hold talks with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric, with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic. Melescanu’s agenda includes a visit to the Romanian Orthodox Church in Zagreb and meetings with members of the Romanian associations in Croatia.



    POLO — The Romanian men’s polo team was drawn in Group D at the European Championships in Barcelona alongside the defending champions Serbia, Russia and Slovakia. The tournament will take place over July 14-28. Romania’s team qualified after grabbing a double-leg win against the Czech Republic in the playoffs, 20-5 on home turf and 17-6 away from home. (Translated by V. Palcu)