Radio România Internațional

Tag: the UK

  • January 29, 2019 UPDATE

    January 29, 2019 UPDATE

    DIPLOMACY – President Klaus Iohannis has said, at a meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions in Bucharest, that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the values of the rule of law, of liberal democracy and of an independent and efficient judiciary are not affected. The president vowed that, regardless of the very dynamic domestic political situation, all decision makers will join efforts to ensure the proper fulfilment of Romania’s role as holder of the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. He reiterated that Schengen accession remains a priority for Romania. Also, according to the head of state, Bucharest’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council is quite strong. As for strengthening the strategic partnership with the US, Klaus Iohannis said this remains a foreign policy priority for Romania.



    EUROPEAN AFFAIRS — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Meleşcanu, said in an interview with the France Press News Agency made public on Tuesday that there shouldn’t be any relation between European funds and the rule of law. Whereas Brussels and Washington have criticized the legislative overhaul in the Romanian justice system over the past two years, which- in their opinion — poses a threat on democratic institutions, Teodor Meleşcanu has referred to a reform carried out transparently. The Romanian Foreign Minister also gave assurances that Romania is a stable and solid democracy. On January 16, the European Parliament debated and voted on rules to reduce pre-financing or suspend EU budget payments to member states which interfere with courts or which do not tackle fraud and corruption. This proposal, launched by the European Commission will be a point on the agenda of negotiations with the Council of the European Union. Romania is currently holding the rotating presidency of this Council.



    BREXIT — Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă and the British ambassador to Bucharest, Andrew Noble, held talks in Bucharest on Tuesday on Great Britain’s leaving the EU, against the backdrop of Romania’s holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Viorica Dăncilă and Andrew Noble underlined the very good stage of bilateral relations, the common role in securing and defending Europe, as well as the tighter economic and social ties between the two countries. The Romanian Prime Minister reiterated that Romania pays special heed to the need to protect the rights of the Romanian citizens living in the UK, and, in her turn, she gave assurances that Bucharest will make everything necessary at domestic level for the protection of the rights of British citizens in Romania.



    CORRUPTION -Transparency International Tuesday presented its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 countries by their public sector corruption levels as decided by consulting experts and business communities. According to the 2018 report, Romania ranks 61st in the world, with 47 points, down 2 places since 2017. Transparency International’s index uses a 0 to 100 scale, with 0 standing for extremely high corruption and 100 for no corruption at all. Out of the 28 EU member states, Romania is 24th. The top positions in the global ranking are held by Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland.



    FINANCIAL — The Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, on Tuesday declined the invitation for hearings in the Economic Committee of the Romanian Senate on the way in which the “Romanian Interbank Offer Rate” ROBOR is set and on the severe depreciation of the Romanian national currency, the leu, in recent times. The invitation to answer some questions in Parliament has been extended to Mugur Isărescu against the backdrop of accusations levelled very more and more often by the ruling parties as well as by some experts and journalists, according to whom the ROBOR index is allegedly set following an illegal understanding between the commercial banks, which the National Bank knows of, without intervening on the market. The central bank is also accused of doing nothing to defend the national currency. The Spokesperson for the National Bank of Romania, Dan Suciu, has said it is important that talks in the Economic Committee of the Senate do not to start from ungrounded, fake news.



    EURO 2020 — The City Hall of Bucharest on Tuesday marked the countdown to EURO 2020 which kicks off in 500 days time, by mounting an exhibition with the T-shirts worn by prominent Romanian footballers such as Gheorghe Popescu, Gheorghe Hagi, Ioan Andone, Dudu Georgescu, Helmuth Dukadam, Miodrag Belodedici and Bogdan Stelea. Romania has been chosen to organise four matches on the National Arena in Bucharest. The capital city will host three Group C matches and a match in the eighth finals. Consequently, the National Arena will venue these matches on June 14, 18, 22 and 29, 2020. (Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)

  • The Brexit Agreement

    The Brexit Agreement

    EU leaders met in Brussels for an extraordinary summit and accepted the terms of Great Britains withdrawal from the European Union and adopted a political declaration defining the EUs forthcoming relations with London. This marks a crucial step after 17 months of negotiations and two years after Britons voted in a referendum to break with the community they have been a part of for nearly half a century.



    There is no winner to this deal, EU leaders say, highlighting the agreement is the best version, one which is fair and balanced for all. I believe we have created a diplomatic work of art, Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel said, referring to the document that lays the foundation for an “orderly divorce. The German official went on to say that the remaining 27 Member States will have a close relationship with Great Britain. This is a serious moment for the Union, French President Emmanuel Macron said, saying that Brexit shows the EUs fragility and need to redefine itself.



    Although Brexit is only months away, there are still very difficult stages to cover. Prime Minister Theresa May is faced with powerful opposition, including in her own party. The Labour Party as well as Northern Irelands Unionist Party, a ruling coalition partner, have announced they would vote against Mays Brexit deal in the British Parliament, which complicates things significantly. Faced with rising criticism in Parliament, the Prime Minister presented the Brexit deal to the wide public, saying that its purpose is to please both the supporters and the opponents of the UKs leaving the community bloc. Prime Minister May says that next Marchs Brexit will be a moment of renewal and reconciliation for her country.



    In Brussels, despite skepticism voiced by British MEPs, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker expressed confidence that the British Parliament will endorse the agreement.



    The text of the agreement is of paramount importance, because it also stipulates the manner in which Romanian citizens residing in the UK will be treated, President Klaus Iohannis has said: “If it takes effect, the agreement will protect Romanians and all the other Europeans in Great Britain. Their current rights will be guaranteed. They will be able to work, study and earn their pensions. We were adamant about these things and succeeded in making sure that they are all clarified in this phase. We also insisted that the upcoming political declaration makes no discrimination between member states.



    For instance, one demand is that Britain should apply no visa requirements to Romanians who want to subsequently travel to the United Kingdom.

  • November 2, 2018 UPDATE

    November 2, 2018 UPDATE

    PRESIDENCY -The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will have a meeting on November 14th in London with the British PM, Theresa May, at the latters invitation, official sources told AGERPRES news agency on Friday. On the same day, Klaus Iohannis will attend a reception at Buckingham Palace, in honour of Charles, Prince of Wales 70th birthday, at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.



    GOVERNMENT- The PM of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, said in Varna on Friday, that at the 4-party meeting between Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian officials she had underlined that more must be done for Europes energy security, especially by diversifying supply sources and stepping up the interconnection process. In the field of transport, she reiterated Romanias interest in the building of new motorways and bridges across the River Danube. Attending the meeting were the PMs of Bulgaria and Greece, Boiko Borisov and Alexis Tsipras, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Prior to the talks, Dǎncilǎ and her Israeli counterpart agreed on the organisation of an economic forum, ahead of the joint meeting of the 2 countries governments. PM Dăncilă presented to her Israeli counterpart the changes operated on the legislation regulating public-private partnerships, which have made the Romanian investment climate more attractive. The Romanian official also reconfirmed Romanias interest in strengthening and deepening relations with Israel in energy and cyber security, healthcare, research and innovation. The 2 prime ministers also discussed means of cooperation between Romania and Israel, in the context of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council as of January 2019.



    BUDGET -The leaders of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, which make up the ruling coalition in Romania, convened on Friday for talks on this years budget adjustment and on 2019 budgetary projections. Attending the meeting was also finance minister Eugen Teodorovici. The agenda also included plans for setting up a Sovereign Development and Investment Fund and the companies that should be part of this fund, personnel downsizing measures in certain ministries and governmental agencies, and a possible increase in minimum salaries as of December 1.



    EU FUNDING -The European Commissioner for regional development Corina Creţu reiterated that Bucharest has so far submitted no funding applications for any major project that could be financed by the European Commission, except for the M6 underground line which is currently being analysed. We are long past the deadlines Romania has set itself for applying for EU funds for regional hospitals, for 3 motorways, for the Braila bridge and for the Bucharest ring road, Corina Creţu says. In a social network post, the European Commissioner dismisses the accusations made against her after she had repeatedly warned that the EU fund absorption by the Romanian Government has slowed down. Darius Vâlcov, adviser to PM Viorica Dăncilă, claimed on Thursday that the funding provided by the EU only accounts for 10% of the costs of building a regional hospital, and that the balance must be supplied by the Romanian state.



    LABOUR- Switzerland will lift all labour market restrictions for Romanian workers in May next year. The announcement was made during a visit to Bucharest on Thursday by the president of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, who was received by President Klaus Iohannis. Alain Berset said, on the other hand, that Switzerland supports Bucharests bid for OECD membership, and that, although it is not an EU member, it will stand by Romania during the countrys presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019.



    PROSECUTOR GENERAL – Romanias Prosecutor General, Augustin Lazăr, has demanded in court the suspension of procedures to remove him from office, started by the Justice Minister, Tudorel Toader. Lazar had earlier filed a complaint at the Justice Ministry against the assessment report drafted by Tudorel Toader. On October 24, the line minister started the procedure to remove Romanias Prosecutor General from office, mentioning 20 points against Lazar, among which signing a secret protocol with the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2016 and hiding the truth about this protocol.



    DEFENCE –Romanian defence minister Mihai Fifor said on Friday that Romania has reached the objectives set for this year in terms of the Armys endowment. The official claims that from this point of view, and not only, Romania is one of NATOs trustworthy partners. Mihai Fifor has recalled that this is the second year in a row that the Romanian Government allots 2% of the GDP for defence. The line minister has also said the Romanian military are still present on theatres of operations, and are also dispatched to Poland, under a partnership within NATO.



    VETERINARY The Romanian Veterinary Board has organised a rally at the Government headquarters on Friday, in order to draw attention to the major problems facing this profession and jeopardising public health. Veterinary physicians demand the immediate amendment of the law regulating their profession, which must be brought in line with a ruling of the EU Court of Justice. Otherwise, the protesters warn, public health is at grave risk in Romania, where anybody may open a veterinary dispensary and sell medications, without the need for veterinary physician supervision, and anybody may purchase such medication and give it to animals.



    FARMING Hundreds of companies from 25 countries are taking part in Bucharest, until Sunday, in the international farming trade fair INDAGRA, the largest of this kind in Romania. As part of the trade fair, the Rural Investment Financing Agency has organised a national conference on “Rural Development: A fundamental element of economic competitiveness and cohesion at EU level. Taking part in the conference was the Minister for Agriculture and rural Development, Petre Daea. The participants discussed the elements supporting the transformation of Romanian agriculture and rural communities, so as to be able to contribute to the competitiveness of the national economy.



    PROTEST – Over 100 workers from the ArcelorMittal Hunedoara steelworks in south-western Romania protested on Friday against the delayed negotiations on pay-rises. The protesters claim that most of them will earn next year the national minimum wage, if the Government increases this wage. The president of the “Steelworker Trade Union, Petru Vaidoş, said the trade union will brief the ArcelorMittal European Enterprise Committee, that will convene in Luxembourg next week. This is the second protest started by the steelworkers from ArcelorMittal Hunedoara, after that organised on October 18. The company based in Hunedoara has some 700 employees. (Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)

  • Prince Charles visits Romania

    Prince Charles visits Romania

    There are few famous strangers Romanians seem to have taken a liking to, perceiving them as one of their one. Among them, the British Crown Prince Charles, who for the last two decades has been frequently visiting Romania, a country where he also holds a few estates. A keen enthusiast of the nature and architecture of Transylvania, Prince Charles set up a foundation promoting national heritage buildings, such as houses, citadels and fortified churches built by the Saxon settlers who migrated here in the Middle Ages.



    On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis awarded Prince Charles the “Romania Star” National Order, in Rank of Grand Cross, in token of appreciation for his activity in Romania and for helping promote the country’s image worldwide. Prince Charles hailed the good relations between the two countries and again spoke of his deep appreciation for Romanians. “All I’ve ever tried to do in the last 20 years while I have been visiting Romania was to help Romanians and make them remember the distinctiveness of their culture, their architectural legacy and, above all, their potential today”, Prince Charles said.



    During his meeting with Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu, Prince Charles discussed what will happen to Romanians living in the UK after Brexit, about political and military relations between the two countries, both members of NATO, and about taking a common approach to foreign policy issues. An admirer of folk traditions, Prince Charles also visited the National Village Museum in Bucharest, where he expressed his delight with the old peasant houses and traditional customs.



    Prince Charles even joined a circle dance to the tunes performed by a folk ensemble, he sat down and talked to master craftsmen, taking an interest in their craft and the materials they use. In front of a traditional household typical of the Danube Delta, Prince Charles was received by the several-time Olympic and World champion rower Ivan Patzaichin, who gave the Prince an oar bearing his signature.



    The director of the Village Museum, Paula Popoiu, told us more about the visit: “Prince Charles visited the Village Museum and told me, before departing, that the museum is magnificent and he would return to visit it again. I find it truly remarkable for a man of such importance as him, who’s helping Romania so much, promoting our traditions, to visit our museum and deem it ‘magnificent’”.



    The agenda of Prince Charles’s official visit also included a meeting with the Patraich of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, and a family dinner with his cousin once removed, Princess Margareta of Romania, steward of the Romanian Crown. The eldest of King Mihai I’s five daughters, Princess Margareta has been fulfilling royal duties on behalf of his majesty who last year withdrew from public life due to his old age and health problems. (Translated by V. Palcu, edited by D. Vijeu)

  • June 25, 2016

    June 25, 2016

    ROMANIANS IN THE UK – The minister for the relation with the Romanian Diaspora, Dan Stoenescu, has assured the Romanians in Great Britain that there is no imminent change in their situation and nothing will change in the interaction between the two states in the ensuing period of time. He underlined that, during the forthcoming negotiations, Romania will take into consideration several elements, among which: the social dimension and the impact this referendum will have on the rights and freedoms of Romanian citizens, economic and trade-related issues, the possible effects on Romanian exports as well as indirect effects on the European economy. Romania will be holding the presidency of the EU Council in 2019 and will have a say in the Brexit process, Stoenescu went on to say. He urged the Romanians willing to leave the country to work abroad to carefully analyse each offer and to accept a job based on an employment contract with clearly set out terms.



    LONDON– Representatives of the six EU founding member states have today met in Berlin, following the Britons decision to leave the European community block. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are discussing the process and the speed at which the Brexit enforcement procedures will unfold. Ahead of the meeting, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said its of utmost importance to stay calm. Following Great Britains decision to leave the EU, we cant go into recession or enter a period of inactivity, the German official said. The UKs possible financial costs generated by the decision to leave the European Union have repeatedly been underlined and warnings to that end have been issued. Moody’s rating agency claims that Great Britain is facing a long period of uncertainty, accompanied by plummeting confidence and a decrease in investments which might lead to a decrease of the economic growth rate. The agency downgraded the current AA1 rating prospects for governmental bonds. The Eurogroup president has said a restricted access to the EU is the price Great Britain should pay, and Brexit might prompt some companies to leave the City of London, the BBC correspondents report. The leaders of the EU founding states will meet to discuss Great Britains separation from the union. The first meeting, without British representation, will be held on Wednesday.



    EXCHANGE RATE– In Bucharest, the national currency, the leu, has lost ground against the Euro, which stands at 4.53 lei, the National Bank of Romania announced on Saturday. The impact is lower than expected, against the backdrop of turmoil on financial markets, following Brexit, economic analysts say. The depreciation of the leu against the dollar is considerably higher, a dollar being traded for 4.70 lei. The result of the British referendum has also led to an increase in the ROBOR index, which is used to calculate interest rates for credits in lei, with a three-month maturity. The reference index stands at 0.85, as compared to a constant level of 0.75 in the past months.



    ARREST – Relu Fenechiu, former transport minister, and Ion Krech, former director with the Justice Ministry, on Friday evening got temporarily arrested for 30 days. The ruling is not final. Fenechiu is accused of influence peddling and money laundering, after he reportedly received 620,000 Euros, between 2012 and 2014, from a software company, that is a 15% quota from two contracts promoted by the Justice Ministry.



    REYKJAVIK – A historian with no experience in the domain of public administration, Gudni Johannesson, might become the new president of Iceland, following todays presidential election. The Icelanders will elect a new president, to replace Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson who has held this position since 1996. The election comes at a time of growing disappointment over the political elite, against the backdrop of the “Panama Papers disclosures on certain politicians who own accounts involving off-shore companies. Prime Minister Sigmundur Davís Gunnlaugsson had to step down, following the scandal, the BBC correspondents report.



    FOOTBALL– Three matches are being played today in the eighth finals of the European Football Championships underway in France: Switzerland-Poland in Saint-Etienne, Wales- Northern Ireland in Paris and Croatia – Portugal, in Lens. This is the first edition in the history of the European Football Championships with 24 teams playing in the group stage.


    (Translated by Diana Vijeu )