Radio România Internațional

Tag: the Republic of Moldova

  • June 27, 2014

    June 27, 2014

    HISTORIC MOMENT-The Republic of Moldova, a country with a majority Romanian speaking population, and Georgia have today signed in Brussels the EU Association and Free Trade Agreements. Also today, Ukraine has signed the economic component of the bilateral document with the EU. The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barosso, has deemed the signing of the agreements as historic. He has warned however that their success depends on the three former Soviet states’ going ahead with a series of reforms, which bring them closer to the European political, economic and cultural values. In Chishinau, pro-western Prime Minister Iurie Leanca claims that he has prepared the relevant institutions to efficiently implement the Association Agreement, which he considers to be a stage in his country’s EU accession process. In exchange, the Moscow-leaning opposition-communist and socialist- is committed to restoring the partnership with Russia, if it returns to power, following the legislative elections due in autumn. Romania, a fervent and consistent supporter of Moldova’s European integration, is represented at the Brussels Summit by President Traian Basescu.



    MOSCOW– Russia has again threatened to take new measures to protect its domestic market, if it notices that the former Soviet republics’ association with the EU affects its commercial interests. Our correspondent in Moscow quotes a communiqué issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry as reading that the agreements signed in Brussels on Friday by the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia can cause huge damage to the Russian economy, as a direct consequence of halting cooperation in the field of production and of reducing Moscow’s relations with Chishinau, Kiev and Tbilisi, respectively. The Russian Federation’s Aviation Authorities have already announced that they no longer allow the Air Moldova airline to operate the flight between Moscow and Chishinau and back, without however providing an explanation.



    UKRAINE— Four OSCE observers, who were abducted by pro-Russian rebels a month ago, have been released. Last night, they arrived in Donetsk, a fiefdom of the separatists in eastern Ukraine. Separatist leaders, who claim to have control of all paramilitary groups which fight against the Ukrainian forces, blamed the observers’ abduction on a gang. Also in Donetsk, pro-Russian insurgents have announced they seized a Ukrainian military base. In another move, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has expressed his readiness to sign what he called a peace deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in an attempt to put an end to the insurgency.



    ROMANIAN LIBERALS-The National Liberal Party, the main right wing-opposition party in Romania, is today meeting in an extraordinary Congress to endorse the changes brought to the party statute. An ordinary Congress convenes on Saturday to elect a new party leadership. The mayor of the central Romanian town of Sibiu, Klaus Iohannis, stands highest chances of becoming party president. The Liberals should also decide on a merger with the Liberal Democratic Party, the other main party of centre-right orientation in Romania. In another move, the Liberals should also make a decision on their party’s leaving the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE, and joining the European People’s Party, EPP. We recall that in February, the National Liberal Party denounced the ruling alliance with the Social Democrats and joined the opposition.



    TOP-LEVEL SCANDAL– The Court of Appeal in Bucharest is today analysing the appeal made by Mircea Basescu, the brother of the Romanian president, against a court decision which led to his 30-day arrest, pending trial, in an influence peddling file. A week ago, the Bucharest Tribunal decided to arrest Mircea Basescu, at the anti-corruption prosecutors’ request, who accused him of taking a 250,000 Euro bribe, in exchange for trying to influence a favourable ruling in a manslaughter attempt lawsuit, against a ringleader.



    TENNIS– Romania’s 3rd seeded tennis player Simona Halep is today meeting Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko in the second round of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the third largest Grand Slam of the year. Scheduled for Thursday, the match has been postponed because of heavy rain. Halep is the last Romanian woman tennis player left in the Ladies’ Singles, after five of her co-nationals had got eliminated. In the Ladies’ Doubles, Romanian Monica Niculescu and Czech Klara Koukalova will play in the first round against the Spanish pair Garbine Muguruza/Carla Suarez Navarro, and the Romanian-Italian pair Irina Begu – Karin Knapp will meet Russians Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina. In the first round of the Mixed Doubles, the pair made up of Romanian Florin Mergea and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina will meet the pair made up of German Andre Begemann and Ukrainian Olga Savciuk.

  • Historic agreements with the European Union

    Historic agreements with the European Union

    Early this week, American president, Barack Obama threatened Russia with further sanctions unless it took the necessary steps to reduce tension in the east of Ukraine, where it is suspected to have intervened. Previously, Russia had warned that it would adopt protection measures if the association agreements to be signed on Friday between the EU and Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, affected its economy.



    The Republic of Moldova and Georgia will sign association and extensive free trade agreements with the EU while Ukraine will only sign the economic chapters of the agreement, given that the political chapters had already been signed several months before.



    In Moscow, these documents are seen as a ploy by which the three states will come out of its sphere of influence. In Brussels, however, these extremely ambitious agreements are considered historic. Here is the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso:



    “For the EU, these signatures will be a solemn commitment to accompany Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine each step of the way along the road of transforming their countries into stable, prosperous democracies. The Agreements, the most ambitious negotiated so far by the European Union, aim to deepen political and economic relations with the EU and to gradually integrate these three countries in the EUs Internal Market, the largest single market in the world. It is also important to recall once more that these Agreements are for something, not against anyone. We are not seeking an exclusive relationship with these three partners. We believe in open societies and open economies.”



    In the majority Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, the pro-western government in Chisinau sees the signing of the association agreement with the European Union as a great achievement, believing it is in the nation’s best interest to consolidate its relationship with the Union.




  • June 25, 2014 UPDATE

    June 25, 2014 UPDATE

    BUCHAREST– Romania’s Parliament on Wednesday passed a declaration calling on President Traian Basescu to resign, following his brother’s involvement in a file of influence peddling and corruption. The document, passed with 344 yeas, in the absence of the MPs of the Liberal Democratic Party (in opposition) and of the pro-presidential People’s Movement Party (also in opposition), says that Traian Basescu is no longer entitled to ensure the presidency’s prestige, moral integrity and legitimacy. The MPs of the left majority made up of the Social-Democratic Party, the Conservative Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania, as well as those of the populist Dan Diaconescu Party of the People and of the National Liberal Party, in opposition, stood for the president’s resignation. The declaration passed by Parliament has no legal value. Prior to the parliamentary session, President Basescu said he would not resign since he had not intervened in his brother’s file and was not responsible for his deeds. The initiators have sent the declaration to the EU heads of state and government, who will meet Basescu at the community summit in Brussels on Thursday.



    SEECP– Bucharest on Wednesday hosted the Summit of the South-East European Cooperation Process states, whose rotating presidency is currently held by Romania. European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule attended the summit alongside representatives of the 12 member countries in the region. Romania aims to synchronize the actions carried out within that structure with the efforts of South-East European states for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.



    BUCHAREST- The vice-president of the Social Democratic Party, Ioan Rus, on Wednesday evening became the new transport minister in the Ponta cabinet. Former interior minister 10 years ago, Rus is replacing Dan Sova, who stepped down on Tuesday, to lead the Social Democrats’ campaign for the presidential election due in autumn. Opinion polls credit Prime Minister Victor Ponta with the highest chances of success, although he hasn’t officially announced his candidacy.



    MOLDOVA-The pro-western government in Chishinau on Wednesday decided to set up a company with responsibilities in administering the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline which will convey natural gas from Romania to the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population. Prime Minister Iurie Leanca has announced the pipeline will become operational on August 27th, one year since the start of the construction works and on the day when Chishinau celebrates 23 years since it proclaimed its independence from Moscow. The pipeline is meant to reduce Moldova’s dependence on Russian gas. We recall that on Friday in Brussels, the Republic of Moldova will sign the EU Association and Free Trade Agreements.



    NATO MEETING– NATO has decided not to resume military cooperation with Russia, which it interrupted in April, following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced in Brussels on Wednesday. He went on to say that Moscow had broken rules and shattered the allies’ confidence, but he underlined that NATO leaves the doors open for a diplomatic dialogue with Moscow. Rasmussen made these statements at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, the last of its kind before the NATO Summit due in Great Britain in September. Romania was represented by the line minister, Titus Corlatean, who reiterated the Romanian government’s commitment to gradually increase budget allocations for defence, so as to reach the envisaged level of 2% of the GDP in 2017.



    UKRAINE– Ukrainian defence minister, Mihail Koval, on Wednesday announced that 142 Ukrainian military have been killed since the spring of 2014, when uprisings broke out in the pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. Koval said the death toll includes only members of the armed forces which have been killed since March, when Russia annexed Crimea, until now, when the Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine are ravaged by a separatist uprising. In Moscow, the Federation Council on Wednesday cancelled its resolution of March 1st 2014 allowing President Vladimir Putin to use the armed forces of the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory. The voting took place after President Putin had called on the Federation Council to do that so as to contribute to settling the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The Russian leader has also called for the ceasefire enacted by Ukraine expiring on Friday morning to be extended and to be used for negotiations on the matter between the rulers in Kiev and pro-Russian leaders in Eastern Ukraine.



    IRAQ-The first American military advisers of the 300 meant to aid the Iraqi government troops fight against Sunni insurgents have started their mission in Baghdad, the Pentagon has announced. Their main task is to assess the Iraqi troops, without however fighting with the rebels, who have mounted a quick offensive in the North in the last couple of weeks. According to the UN, over 1,000 people were killed in Iraq over June 5th-22nd. Sunni insurgents led by the radical “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” have mounted a vast offensive seizing several cities, including the second largest city of Mosul.



    TENNIS- The pair made up of Romanian Monica Niculescu and Czech Klara Koukalova has qualified for the second round of the Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles, after defeating Romanian Raluca Olaru- Austrian Sandra Klemenschits 6-1, 6-4. In the Wimbledon’s Gentlemen’s Doubles, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer has qualified for the next stage, after defeating the Finnish pair Henri Kontinen-Jarkko Nieminen in three sets 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (4). In the next round, Tecau and Rojer will meet the pair made up of Spaniard Feliciano Lopez and Austrian Jurgen Melzer. In exchange, the pair made up of Romanian Florin Mergea and Croat Marin Draganja got eliminated from the first round of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, after being defeated in 5 sets, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, by Spaniards Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez. In the Wimbledon Ladies’ Singles, 3rd seeded Simona Halep has qualified for the second round, after defeating Brazilian Teliana Pereira 6-2, 6-2. She will meet in the second round Ukrainian Lesia Turenko. Romanian Irina Begu has also qualified for the second round, after defeating French Virginie Razzano 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. She will meet German Andrea Petkovic in the next round.