Radio România Internațional

Tag: UK

  • UE-UK – intensificarea negocierilor pentru acordul post Brexit

    UE-UK – intensificarea negocierilor pentru acordul post Brexit

    Londra şi Bruxelles-ul au stabilit, săptămâna trecută, să-şi intensifice negocierile pentru stabilirea viitoarei relaţii post-Brexit, care au rămas în impas după ultima sesiune de discuţii, în pofida unui calendar tot mai strâns.

    Principalele divergenţe sunt legate de solicitarea Bruxellesului ca în schimbul unui acord de comerţ liber – fără cote şi taxe vamale – Regatul Unit să aplice în continuare unele dintre normele blocului comunitar, pentru a evita o posibilă concurenţă neloială din partea britanicilor pe piaţa europeană. Un dosar sensibil este şi cel referitor la pescuit.

    ”Pentru a ajunge la un acord, aceste divergenţe vor trebui să fie surmontate obligatoriu în săptămânile următoare”, a declarat negociatorul şef european Michel Barnier, la finalul ultimei runde de negocieri.

    Negociatorul şef britanic David Frost s-a declarat ”îngrijorat” de timpul insuficient rămas pentru surmontarea divergenţelor persistente dintre Londra şi Bruxelles.

    Regatul Unit vrea să ştie până la 15 octombrie dacă va exista un acord comercial cu Uniunea Europeană, întrucât companiile trebuie să se pregătească, susţin autorităţile de la Londra.

    Premierul britanic Boris Johnson consideră că Regatul Unit ar putea să trăiască foarte bine cu un no-deal, dacă negocierile comerciale post-Brexit cu Uniunea Europeană, în continuare în impas, nu vor duce la un acord înainte de finalul perioadei de tranziţie, care este 31 decembrie.

    Uniunea Europeană vrea un nou acord comercial cu Regatul Unit, dar nu cu orice preţ, a declarat preşedinta Comisiei Europene, Ursula von der Leyen.

    Regatul Unit a părăsit oficial Uniunea Europeană la 31 ianuarie, la câteva zile după semnarea Acordului de retragere care includea condiţiile despărţirii.

    Ţara a intrat de atunci într-o perioadă de tranziţie, până la 31 decembrie 2020, timp în care va continua să aplice regulile europene. Bruxellesul şi Londra profită de acest lucru pentru a negocia un acord privind viitoarea lor relaţie, în special legătura comercială, cu speranţa că ar putea intra în vigoare la 1 ianuarie 2021.

    Dacă un asemenea acord nu este convenit, viitoarea relaţie comercială dintre UE şi Regatul Unit va fi guvernată de regulile Organizaţiei Mondiale a Comerţului.


  • April 17, 2020

    April 17, 2020

    GOOD FRIDAY Orthodox believers who are a majority in Romania and Greek-Catholics
    are today celebrating Good Friday, the day marking the death on a cross of our
    Lord Jesus Christ and his burial. Believers have this year been banned from
    attending any outdoor or indoor religious services in order to comply with the
    measures aimed at preventing the spread of the COVID pandemic. Christians will
    be able to watch religious services broadcast live on various TV channels and
    online transmissions.








    PROGRAMME A state-sponsored programme on supporting the small and
    medium-sized businesses to benefit interest-free and commission-free loans has
    today come into effect in Romania. The sum allotted for this programme is 3.1
    billion euros for working capital and investment. Finance Minister Florin Citu
    said this programme is addressing all small and medium-sized businesses in
    Romania, not only those, which have been affected by the pandemic crisis. The
    programme is aimed at kick-starting the Romanian economy and 600 thousand jobs
    will be supported in the programme’s first stage. Companies willing to benefit
    from the programme can register on the platform imminvest.ro.










    MINISTER According to Romania’s Prime Minister
    Ludovic Orban the peak of the coronavirus pandemic has not been reached in
    Romania yet. The Romanian official believes that this peak will be reached in
    early May and has again called on citizens not to leave their homes unless
    necessary. Orban went on to say that the executive’s intention is that students
    take their exams and complete studies at the end of the year as initially
    planned. Schools could reopen after May 15th. Authorities have
    announced 491 new cases of infection and the number of fatalities stands at
    400. Nearly 1000 medical workers have so far tested positive for the virus most
    of them in Suceava northern Romania and in Bucharest. 1508 people have been
    cured and left hospitals. Romania has so far declared 8067 people infected, 22
    thousand have been quarantined while over 50 thousand are in home
    isolation.












    ORDINANCE Authorities in Bucharest have issued another military ordinance,
    number 9. Among other things, the ordinance extends the ban on flights to and
    from 10 countries: The UK, Northern Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey,
    Iran, Italy, France and Germany. Under the same law, sailors are exempted from
    being kept in isolation unless they present Covid symptoms as well as truck
    drivers and plane crews. Under the same ordinance, the export of wheat and
    other derived products is no longer banned as the state reserves have been completed.












    PANDEMIC Since its outbreak in China, the Coronavirus pandemic has killed nearly
    141 thousand people the world over, two thirds in Europe. The United States has
    reported most of the fatalities 35,688 followed by Italy 21,647, Spain 18,579,
    France with 17,167 and Britain 12,868. The crisis’ social and economic impact
    has fueled concern among experts who believe the pandemic will bring the end of
    economy as we know it. OPEC has anticipated for 2020 a sharp drop in the crude
    demand worldwide due to the international economic blockage caused by the
    pandemic. Some pundits believe that Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal are in
    for deep economic recessions. According to European Commission Chief, Ursula von
    der Leyen, Europe needs a new Marshall plan for public and private investment
    and the creation of new jobs.








    (translated by bill)

  • MAE, precizări în legătură cu manifestările xenofobe la adresa românilor din UK

    MAE, precizări în legătură cu manifestările xenofobe la adresa românilor din UK

    MAE, prin Ambasada
    României la Londra, a solicitat Ministerului britanic de Externe şi conducerii
    poliţiei metropolitane londoneze să ia măsurile care se impun pentru a preveni
    şi sancţiona orice formă de manifestare xenofobă la adresa cetăţenilor români
    prezenţi în Marea Britanie.




    Precizările MAE vin ca urmare a informaţiilor conform cărora două
    firme româneşti din Londra au primit scrisori anonime cu conţinut xenofob.


    ”Din dispoziţia ministrului Afacerilor Externe, Bogdan
    Aurescu, MAE, prin Ambasada României la Londra, a semnalat deja această
    situaţie Ministerului britanic de externe şi conducerii poliţiei metropolitane
    londoneze, cu solicitarea de a clarifica aceste incidente şi de a lua măsurile
    care se impun pentru a preveni şi sancţiona orice formă de manifestare xenofobă
    la adresa cetăţenilor români prezenţi în Marea Britanie. De asemenea, cazul a
    fost adus şi la cunoştinţa Reprezentanţei Comisiei Europene în Marea Britanie,
    având în vedere importanţa pe care Uniunea Europeană o acordă principiului
    nediscriminării şi protejării drepturilor cetăţenilor europeni,
    precizează MAE, într-un comunicat transmis miercuri AGERPRES.



    Ministerul Afacerilor Externe condamnă
    ferm orice formă de manifestare xenofobă şi discriminatorie şi, în egală
    măsură, încurajează cetăţenii români care s-ar putea regăsi în astfel de
    situaţii sau care au cunoştinţă de astfel de situaţii să informeze atât
    Ambasada României la Londra, cât şi autorităţile britanice competente, pentru a
    putea fi luate măsurile care se impun,




    MAE subliniază că acest incident nu este reprezentativ pentru
    atitudinea societăţii britanice faţă de cetăţenii români care locuiesc şi
    lucrează în Marea Britanie, comunitatea românească din Regatul Unit fiind bine
    integrată în societatea britanică şi apreciată pentru contribuţia activă la
    dezvoltarea economiei şi societăţii britanice, menţionează sursa citată

  • February 3, 2020 UPDATE

    February 3, 2020 UPDATE

    No confidence motion — The text of the motion of no confidence tabled by the opposition Social Democratic Party- PSD against the Liberal government was read Monday in Parliament. The move was triggered off by the government’s decision to assume responsibility for a bill on electing mayors in two rounds of voting, almost 6 months ahead of the elections. The 208 senators and deputies of the PSD as well as of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who initiated the motion called ‘The Orban/Liberal government — the privatization of the Romanian democracy’ are calling for the dismissal of the current government which they criticize for the modification of the election system ahead of the elections. They also claim that the adoption of these changes is being made without consultations and debates. The Liberals however argue that the new voting system will give mayors more legitimacy and representation. The Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said Monday that the Liberal MPs will have an open vote against the motion of no confidence, claiming that the motion is not supported by enough MPs to pass. 233 favorable votes are needed for the motion to pass and the government to be ousted.



    Coronavuris – Ten days after the Chinese city of Wuhan was closed down, the gigantic Chinese city considered the hotbed from where the new coronavirus has spread to 24 countries, Beijing has reported a death toll of 361 people, of whom 57 died on Sunday alone. The epidemic infected over 17 thousand people in China and more than 170 abroad. In continental China (except for Hong Kong and Macau) the virus has killed more people than SARS (the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which killed 349 people over 2002-2003. The first victim outside China has been reported in the Philippines, according to the WHO. Many countries across the world have increased protection measures. Romania, where no case of coronavirus has been identified, has taken additional measures to monitor and prevent a possible outbreak. The government has decided to buy special protection and isolation equipment as soon as possible, the interior minister Marcel Vela has announced. Also, more medical staff will be dispatched to the Otopeni airport, near Bucharest, where special procedures are in place for the people coming from China.



    Brexit — The EU can offer London a ‘highly ambitious’ trade deal which should include zero tariffs and quotas as well as many services, on condition the UK observed the EU standards now and in the future, said Monday the EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. The document will be the ‘central pillar of the partnership’ with London and aims chiefly at eliminating all customs duties and all quotas on goods traded with Europe, he explained. Barnier presented in Brussels the principles the EU has considered with regard to its future relation with the UK. According to the EU representative, if the UK leaves the single market and the EU customs union, then the goods entering the Union will be subject to regulatory checks. The agreement stipulates that the current period of transition — up to the end of the year- can be extended by one or two years, on condition London asks for it ahead of June 30.



    Sentence — The former speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea was sentenced on Monday by the Bucharest Court to 3 years in prison, in a case in which he was accused of influence peddling. He is accused of having intervened for the appointment of the daughter of a county councilor to a position of under-secretary of state. The defense lawyers claim that there is not enough evidence to prove their client’s guilt. The court’s decision is not definitive and can be challenged at the Court of Appeal. Valerius Zgonea’s case came to the attention of judges on January 2018.



    Resignation — The speaker of the Senate, Teodor Melescanu, resigned his position on Monday. The decision comes after the Constitutional Court admitted, on January 22, that his election to the respective post ran counter to the Constitution. The Court judges had postponed making a decision in this case 6 times, as the notification was made in September 2019 by MPs from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the National Liberal Party, the People’s Movement Party and other non-affiliated senators. (translation and update by L. Simion)



  • Nouvel ajournement du Brexit.

    Nouvel ajournement du Brexit.

    Situation inédite dans l’histoire de l’UE qui à travers le temps a progressé de six à 28 membres, le Brexit s’avère plus difficile à gérer que les vagues successives d’élargissement. Depuis trois ans déjà, le divorce entre le Royaume Uni et l’Union européenne ne fait que paralyser la scène politique à Londres, gêner les responsables de Bruxelles et semer l’inquiétude et la confusion partout. Ce fut le 23 juin 2016 qu’environ 17,4 millions de britanniques, sur une population de plus de 66 millions ont voté en faveur du Brexit. Ils comptaient pour moins de 52% de ceux qui se sont présentés aux urnes.

    La carte du Royaume Uni a prix des couleurs illustrant un clivage majeur. L’Ecosse, l’Irlande du Nord et la métropole londonienne souhaitent rester à l’intérieur de l’UE, alors que les grandes villes industrielles anglaises, les régions rurales et le Pays de Galles souhaitent la quitter. Le premier ministre conservateur de l’époque, David Cameron, membre du camp « remain », mais aussi celui qui a organisé ce référendum démissionne. Il est remplacé par Theresa May, politicienne eurosceptique qui a voté pourtant contre le Brexit. Après avoir essayé, sans succès, à naviguer entre les exigences de Bruxelles et les attentes des Britanniques, elle a passé le relais à l’anti-européen Boris Johnson, un politicien qui, disent les analystes, devient de plus en plus incohérent et tombe dans les sondages.

    Plutôt « mort au fond d’un fossé » que de reporter le Brexit, a-t-il affirmé. « Nous devons sortir de l’UE le 31 octobre, la date prévue pour le Brexit, a martelé Johnson avant que les Européens n’offre lundi, un nouveau report, le troisième, dans une tentative de ne pas permettre à Londres de partir sans un accord. La décision des ambassadeurs des Etats membres de reporter le divorce de trois mois a été rendue publique par le président du Conseil européen, Donald Tusk.

    Selon la correspondante Radio Roumanie à Bruxelles, Tusk invoque l’idée d’une date butoir au 31 janvier, mais avec la possibilité que le Royaume-Uni quitte l’UE au 30 novembre ou au 31 décembre en cas de ratification de l’accord de sortie avant ces échéances. La France, pays le plus réticent à un report long, a donné son accord à cette nouvelle prolongation mais avec des conditions. Du coup, l’accord du retrait n’est pas négociable. Le Royaume Uni se voit contraint à respecter un code de conduite et à permettre aux Etats membres de discuter sur les différents aspects qui les préoccupent, tels le budget européen ou encore le réchauffement climatique. Deuxième condition est que Londres désigne un commissaire européen si le nouvel Exécutif est mis en place avant le retrait britannique. Bruxelles a tenu à rappeler au Royaume Uni qu’il a toujours le droit de révoquer le Brexit.

    Selon les normes européennes en vigueur, Donald Tusk attend à présent le oui de Johnson pour pouvoir déclencher la procédure écrite. Pour sa part, le chef du Parlement européen, David Sassoli, affirme que le report permettra à Londres de se décider sur ce qu’elle veut.

  • Brexit, the final straight before the finishing line

    Brexit, the final straight before the finishing line

    An unregulated Brexit might generate losses of millions of jobs and billions of Euros in the car industry, the European producers have warned. The main European carmakers federations as well as 17 national groups, are drawing attention that a no deal Brexit would mean the reintroduction of customs duties, which will affect the production lines of various components and would bring about additional costs worth billions of Euros. This is not the only fear voiced over a member state leaving the EU, all the more so as these days, when Brexit is imminent, it is not very clear how it will occur.



    The warning has been launched by the car industry representatives from the EU states which employs 13.8 million people, that is 6% of the total work force, but there are uncertainties in all domains of activity. The British PM Boris Johnson wants Brexit to occur on October 31 with or without an agreement, but parliament passed a law that stipulates that if an agreement is not reached in due time, the prime minister should ask for a new Brexit deadline, namely January 31, 2020.



    Brexit “goes against our sense of history and the spirit of Winston Churchill, who in his day supported a United States of Europe”, said the president of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker in an interview to the Spanish daily El Pais. Juncker regrets that “the Commission kept out of the referendum campaign” in 2016 when Great Britain held the referendum on its EU membership and when almost 52% of the British citizens voted for Britain’s exiting the EU. According to Jean Claude Juncker, there was a campaign of lies and fake news ahead of this referendum, and he added that quote: “We at the Commission decided not to intervene, at the request of David Cameron, and that was a big mistake” end of quote. JC Juncker again warned of the danger posed by reinstating strict controls at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Meanwhile, the attempts at concluding an agreement continue, the Irish backstop being the main issue still to be solved.



    Political analyst Iulian Chifu, the director of the Center for Conflict Prevention and Early Warning explains: “That is the biggest problem, because we are speaking of an internal border which is also included in the famous inter-Irish peace agreement. So things are very complicated.”



    The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his new proposals are feasible, but the European Parliament believes these are not solutions to the real problems if the Irish safety net needs to be removed, namely the economy of the entire island, the full observance of the Good Friday Agreement and the single market’s integrity. From Romania’s standpoint, on the other hand, Brexit raises concerns regarding the rights of Romanians living in Britain. The Romanian Foreign Ministry is monitoring the registration process of Romanians in the UK, with a view to getting a new post-Brexit status, and is granting them consular assistance.



    The British Government, however, has constantly given assurances that the rights of the European citizens will be respected no matter how Britain exits the EU — with or without an agreement. In a debate held in Bucharest at the end of September, the head of the Brexit Office with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Adina Badescu, said that the number of co-nationals officially registered in Britain is 433 thousand, but that their number is probably higher.



    Adina Badescu: “The registration process for getting a new status has started in Great Britain, it is unfolding smoothly and, so far, we have over 187 thousand citizens who have applied for a pre-settled or settled status. We expect more people to get a pre-settled status, rather than a settled one.”



    Attending the debate, the Advisor to the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), Lazăr Comănescu, said that the Brexit lesson is that the EU should no longer allow exceptions from its set of rules and formats, because the UK has had a special status within the EU ever since 1973.



    Lazar Comanescu: “A first conclusion — in the future, the construction of the European project should be conducted more rigorously. Rules are for everybody. The second conclusion is that we must learn from the fact that the EU had a voice and stood out as an actor that matters globally there where policies were 100% EU related.”



    If we want the EU to continue to be assertive at global level, the EU should extend the domains in which its policies should be truly common policies, Lazar Comanescu has also said. (translation by L. Simion and E. Enache)

  • June 4, 2019 UPDATE

    June 4, 2019 UPDATE

    REFERENDUM President Klaus Iohannis initiated consultations with parliamentary parties on implementing the outcome of the May 26 referendum on the judiciary. On Tuesday the head of state had talks with the National Liberal Party, Save Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. The Liberals announced they support any other initiatives required for the decision expressed by citizens in the referendum to be put into practice. The Liberal leader Ludovic Orban believes public debates on the justice laws should be resumed. The Save Romania Union leader Dan Barna emphasised that the constitutional reform should be broader, and include additional aspects to the ones covered by the referendum. The head of the Union of Ethnic Hungarians, Kelemen Hunor, also supports amending the Constitution to ban emergency ordinances in this field. On Wednesday, the President will have meetings with the Peoples Movement Party, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, the national minorities group and the Social Democratic Party. Over 80% of the participants in the justice referendum, held concurrently with the EP elections, agreed that corruption offences must no longer be subject to amnesty and pardon, and that the Government must no longer pass emergency orders in the justice field.




    EU The PM of Romania Viorica Dăncilă had talks in Brussels on Tuesday with the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and first vice-president Frans Timmermans about the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU, which comes to an end within a month. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Government, Juncker thanked the Romanian official for the excellent work of the Romanian presidency, which closed over 100 dossiers, including the ones on the European Border Police and Coast Guard, the European Labour Authority, the Copyright Directive and the EU Gas Directive. The two EU officials also appreciated the Romanian Governments commitment not to move on with the controversial reforms in the judiciary and to resume dialogue under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The outcome of the May 26 elections for the European Parliament was also discussed during the meeting.




    AGRICULTURE The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Petre Daea, chaired on Tuesday in Bucharest an informal meeting of the EU agriculture and fisheries ministers. Petre Daea told a press conference at the end of the meeting that research and bio-economy are key priorities in agriculture, because they enable EU farmers to meet the increasingly tough standards introduced by the Common Agricultural Policy, especially in terms of environment protection and climate. In turn, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan says the new CAP will earmark more money for small and medium farms in the EU, and the endorsement of a bio-economy strategy will help create around 1 million jobs in the next 10-12 years in the EU. On Monday in Bucharest Phil Hogan had a meeting with PM Viorica Dăncilă, the agenda including a legislative package aimed to reform the CAP as of 2020. According to Hogan, the European Commission has earmarked 10 billion euros for bio-economy and the development of natural resources for 2021 – 2027.



    VISIT The US President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to London, had talks with PM Theresa May on Tuesday. Trump promised that the UK may get a “phenomenal trade agreement with the US after Brexit, and praised Mays handling of the Brexit negotiations. On Monday the US President took part in a banquet at the Buckingham Palace, given by Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen emphasised the importance of the relations between the USA and Britain, and mentioned the cooperation during World War II, when British and American soldiers fought side by side to free Europe from the Nazis. The visit ends on Wednesday, with Donald Trump scheduled to attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark the D-Day landings, when on June 6, 1944, 160,000 British, American, French and other Allied troops landed in Nazi-occupied Normandy. Donald Trump will then fly to Ireland and France.




    WEATHER Meteorologists have extended an alert for unstable weather and heavy rainfalls valid across the country until Thursday night. Thunderstorms and strong wind are also expected, and precipitation amounts will reach up to 25 l per square metre, and up to 50 l per square metre in some parts of the country.



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 24, 2019

    May 24, 2019

    ELECTIONS Eligible voters in Ireland and the Czech Republic are expected in polling stations today to elect their representatives in the European Parliament. The European elections started on Thursday in the UK and Netherlands, with Latvia, Slovakia and Malta holding the ballot on Saturday and the rest of the EU member states, including Romania, on Sunday. In Romania 13 political parties and 3 independent candidates are running for 33 seats. On the same day, a referendum on the judiciary is scheduled in Romania.




    COUNCIL The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will take part on Tuesday, May 28th, in an informal meeting of the European Council held in Brussels, Bucharest announced on Friday. The participants will look at the results of the elections for the European Parliament, held between May 23rd and 26th. The EU leaders will also have a preliminary discussion regarding the candidates for the top posts in the EU institutions.




    POPE The National Bank of Romania will release on Thursday, May 30th, gold and brass collector coins devoted to Pope Francis visit to Romania, while another brass coin devoted to the same event will be in circulation beginning the same date. The gold coin obverse features images of churches and the localities to be visited by the Pope, along with “Romania, “year of minting 2019 and the monetary value of “500 lei. The reverse, which is common to all the coins, features the portrait and emblem of Pope Francis and inscriptions reading “His Sanctity Pope Francis visit to Romania, “May 31st – June 2nd, and the motto of the visit, “Lets walk together!. The Pope comes to Romania on an invitation from President Klaus Iohannis and of the Romanian Catholic Church. He will visit the capital city Bucharest, the largest city in the east of the country, Iasi, the spiritual capital of Romanian Greek-Catholics, Blaj, where he will beatify 7 bishops killed in communist prisons, and the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc. In 1999, Romania was the first country with a mostly Orthodox population to have been visited by a Pope, John Paul II.




    MEDAL The Government of Japan awarded Constantin Chiriac, director of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the Order of the Rising Sun with neck ribbon, the highest awarded by this country to foreign citizens. The medal was handed to Constantin Chiriac in Bucharest by the Ambassador of Japan, Hitoshi Noda, in a press conference that preceded the start of the 26th edition of the Festival, scheduled between June 14th and 23rd. The founder of a cultural event famous around the world, director of the Radu Stanca Theatre in Sibiu and a professor at the Lucian Blaga University, Constantin Chiriac was rewarded by Japan for his contribution to promoting the Japanese culture in Romania and cultural exchanges between the 2 countries.




    BLACKMAIL In Bucharest, the deputy rector of the ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Police Academy, Mihail Marcoci, announced on Friday that he resigned from office, after being placed under court supervision by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. The rector and deputy rector of the Police Academy, Adrian Iacob and Mihail Marcoci, are probed into by the Anti-Corruption Directorate, while under court supervision, for suspicions of having prompted an officer, in April 2019, to send a death threat to journalist Emilia Şercan, in order to force her to halt a journalist investigation concerning the Police Academy rector. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, between March and April this year Emilia Şercan published a series of articles covering the award of Ph.D. titles by the ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Police Academy.




    UK The British PM Theresa May announced on Friday that she will step down on June 7th, in response to calls from the Tories to allow a new leader to try and overcome the Brexit standoff, Reuters reports. The procedures for appointing a new prime minister will most likely begin on June 10th. Depending on the number of candidates, the process might take until autumn, but the Conservative Party is hoping to step up the procedure and to be in a position to announce a new leader by the end of July.




    TENNIS The Romanian Sorana Cîrstea (93 WTA) is playing today against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, no 39 in the world and seed no 1, in the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Nurnberg (Germany). Cîrstea is one of the 4 Romanians taking part in the Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year, which starts on Sunday. She begins with a very difficult match, against the Czech Petra Kvitova (6 WTA). Simona Halep, who won the tournament last year and is currently ranked 3 in the world, plays against the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (47 WTA), Mihaela Buzărnescu (30 WTA) against Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (60 WTA), and Irina Begu (118 WTA) against Lin Zhu of China (108 WTA). In the mens competition, the only Romanian in the singles tournament is Marius Copil (81 ATP), playing against Benoit Paire of France (51 ATP).



    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The European elections are on

    The European elections are on

    Ironically enough, it is precisely the Britons, who 3 years ago chose to leave the Union, are the first to hold the elections for the European Parliament this year. Alongside the Netherlands, the UK holds the vote for its representatives in Brussels on Thursday. And to make the irony even deeper, all polls on voter intentions predict a landslide victory of the anti-European Brexit Party.



    On Friday elections are scheduled in Ireland and the Czech Republic, where the vote will continue on Saturday as well. Slovakia, Latvia and Malta will also have their elections on Saturday, whereas the rest of the member states, including Romania, will hold the ballot on Sunday.



    All in all, over 400 million European citizens are invited to polling stations to elect the 751 MEPs for a 5-year term in office. These MEPs will adopt the EU legislation applicable in all member countries after having been ratified by each national parliament. The European Parliament also decides, together with the Commission, on the Union budget, it elects the president of the European Commission and then approves the list of European commissioners.



    A first discussion on the topic is scheduled to take place in Brussels on May 28, shortly after the election concludes, in an informal meeting of European leaders called by the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk.



    According to the most recent turnout estimates, over one-third of the European voters are certain they will cast their votes, whereas another one-third are still undecided. In the previous election, the overall turnout was 42%.



    In Romania, taking part in the race are 13 political parties, in Power or in Opposition, represented in the Romanian Parliament or not, on the left or the right side of the political spectrum. Adding to these are 3 independent candidates. Romania will have 33 members in the new European Parliament makeup, but according to a European Council decision, one of these seats will only be assigned to a Romanian after Brexit has taken effect.



    The Romanians living abroad will be able to vote in 441 polling stations, most of them in Italy and Spain, each of them home to around 1 million Romanians, and in the Republic of Moldova, a country with mostly Romanian-speaking population.



    Concurrently with the European election, Romania also holds a referendum on the judiciary, initiated by President Klaus Iohannis. Essentially, citizens will be asked whether they agree to no longer have amnesty or pardons for corruption-related offences, and to prohibit the Government from passing emergency orders in the field of crime, punishments and the organisation of courts.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Brexit delayed

    Brexit delayed

    The UK leaving
    the EU was scheduled for March 29, but British Prime Minister Theresa May has
    called for postponement for June 30. After nearly seven hours of talks, the
    heads of state and government from EU member states decided to give the UK not
    one, but two deadlines for Brexit, neither of which is slated for the end of
    June.






    According to the
    first scenario, if the withdrawal agreement negotiated with the EU is approved
    next week, despite being rejected twice already, the European Council has
    agreed to postponing Brexit for May 22.






    In the second
    scenario, if the agreement falls through, the Council proposes a postponement
    for April 12, by which date Great Britain must make a decision. In other words,
    all options are on the table by April 12: the British Government can organize
    elections for the European Parliament and then ask for a new delay of Brexit,
    Britain can withdraw without an agreement or option number three, it can move
    to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit altogether. From Romania’s perspective,
    a no-deal Brexit is a lose-lose scenario.






    President Klaus Iohannis: The agreement is good, we all contributed to
    its elaboration, it was negotiated by our team and it’s the best possible
    version. A so-called ‘hard Brexit’ poses many problems, first to Great Britain
    and then to us, because we want to build for the future and it’s best we start
    on the right foot.






    In the event
    Parliament rejects the agreement a third time, Brussels has contingency
    measures set in place to protect its citizens and the interests of the EU, says
    European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.






    A number of 19
    legislative proposals have been adopted aimed at dealing with the effects of a
    no-deal Brexit, concerning citizens’ rights, air and road transport and fishing
    sector.




    As regards Prime
    Minister Theresa May, she claims delaying Brexit is an opportunity for the
    British Parliament to finally accept the withdrawal agreement and thus put an
    end to uncertainty once and for all. A source of political turmoil at home,
    Brexit has also had a powerful emotional impact on the British population.






    Four in ten
    British adults said they have been left angry, powerless or worried by Brexit
    in the past year, according to a recent poll. Only 9% of respondents said
    Brexit made them feel hopeful. As for European citizens, they never cease to
    wonder if the effort is worth the hassle.



  • November 14, 2018

    November 14, 2018

    VISIT — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is today paying an official visit to the UK. Iohannis will discuss, in London, with PM Theresa May about the stage of Brexit negotiations, Romania’s priorities at the helm of the EU Council, cooperation in the field of security and defence and the regional agenda. The Romanian head of state will also attend, at the invitation of Queen Elisabeth, the reception and dinner organised on the occasion of Prince Charles’s 70th anniversary.




    BREXIT – The European Union and Britain have agreed on a draft text of a Brexit withdrawal agreement which Prime Minister Theresa May will present to her ministers Wednesday, after more than a year of negotiations. If the British government rejects the text, then Brexit, scheduled for March 2019, might take place in the absence of an agreement. If Mays cabinet approves the text EU leaders could meet on November 25 for a summit to seal the Brexit deal. Less than five months until Britain leaves the EU, the Northern Irish border was the main issue that held up the deal.




    ECONOMY – The economic growth rate reported by Romania in the first nine months of 2018 was 4.2% as compared with the same period of 2017, according to data made public by the National Statistics Institute on Wednesday. The National Commission for Prognosis has revised downwards, to 4.5%, estimations regarding the economic growth this year, from the 5.5% forecast in July. In its turn, the European Commission has significantly revised downwards estimations regarding Romania’s economic growth in 2018, from 4.5% to 3.6%. The IMF has also revised its forecast on Romania in October to 4% in 2018, by 1.1% less than estimated in spring.




    EVACUATION — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced that on Tuesday night three Romanian citizens and one Yemenite citizen, a member of the Romanian family, have been safely evacuated from Yemen via Egypt and Turkey, towards Romania. Representatives of the Romanian diplomatic mission in Cairo and of the consular office in Istanbul, together with the Romanian Foreign Ministry’s crisis cell and the support of the honorary consul of Yemen in Romania, have assisted the Romanian citizens with a view to repatriating them. The Romanian Foreign Ministry continues efforts to safely evacuate Romanian citizens in Yemen.




    GAUDEAMUS – The 25 edition of the Gaudeamus International Fair, a landmark of the book market in Romania, an event organized by Radio Romania opens has opened its doors today. Gaudeamus 2018 will unfold under the auspices of a triple anniversary: the Great Union Centennial, 9 decades since the first broadcast aired by Radio Romania, one of the oldest radio stations in Europe and the 25th edition of the Gaudeamus Fair.

  • Nachrichten 30.09.2018

    Nachrichten 30.09.2018

    In Rumänien hat die Beförderung von Personen auf der Stra‎ße im ersten Halbjahr von 2018 im Vergleich zum selben Zeitraum von 2017 um 14% zugenommen. Rund 7,5% mehr Passagiere als im Vergleichszeitraum beförderten Luftfahrtunternehmen. Mehr als 86% der fast zehn Millionen Fluggäste entfielen auf den internationalen Verkehr. Schlechter geht es dafür der Bahn. Das Passagieraufkommen ging um 2,7% zurück. Um über 23% brach der Transport von Passagieren auf den Binnenschifffahrtswegen ein — nur 49.000 Fahrgäste wurden in den ersten sechs Monaten dieses Jahres befördert.



    Die britischen Konservativen suchen bei einem Parteitag in Birmingham seit Sonntag nach einem Ausweg aus der Brexit-Sackgasse. Ein halbes Jahr vor dem geplanten EU-Austritt Gro‎ßbritanniens stehen sich das Lager von Premierministerin Theresa May und die innerparteilichen Kritiker ihrer Pläne unversöhnlich gegenüber. Mays Hauptwidersacher Boris Johnson kritisierte die Regierungschefin am Sonntag erneut scharf. In einem Beitrag für die “Sunday Times” nannte der Ex-Au‎ßenminister Mays Pläne “völlig grotesk”. Am Freitag nannte er die Pläne eine “moralische und intellektuelle Erniedrigung” für Gro‎ßbritannien. Zugleich legte er seine eigenen Konzepte für den Brexit vor, die auch ein Freihandelsabkommen mit der EU nach dem Vorbild des europäisch-kanadischen Abkommens enthalten.



    Rumäniens stärkste Tennisspielerin Simona Halep ist am Sonntag bereits in der ersten Runde des mit 8,3 Millionen Dollar dotierten Turniers von Peking ausgeschieden — sie warf das Handtuch, nachdem ihre Gegnerin, die Tunesierin Ons Jabeur, den ersten Satz mit 6-1 gewonnen hatte. Halep, Nummer eins der internationalen Rangliste, plagen seit längerer Rückenschmerzen. Sie stand letztes Jahr in Peking im Halbfinale.

  • August 28, 2018 UPDATE

    August 28, 2018 UPDATE

    JUDICIARY – The US government does not comment on the opinions or conclusions of private US citizens, the spokesperson of the US embassy in Bucharest, Donald Carroll said today. In a comment to Agerpress news agency, he emphasised that until recently, Romania had shown remarkable progress in combating corruption and building an efficient rule of law. This reaction comes after Rudolph Giuliani, a former district attorney and mayor of New York and currently part of Donald Trump’s legal team, sent a letter to president Klaus Iohannis and other Romanian officials recommending the assessment of the protocols between the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Romanian Intelligence Service and calling for an end to what he described as pressure on the judges. The General Prosecutor’s Office said that in December 2016, it signed two perfectly legal collaboration protocols with the Romanian Intelligence Service which were in place for three months. One of them was of a public nature and was concerned with the conditions to access technical systems of the National Centre for the Interception of Communications, while a second, secret, protocol, dealt with cooperation for crimes against national security, namely terrorism and crimes committed by military staff of the Romanian Intelligence Service. Against the backdrop of these debates, the justice minister Tudorel Toader recently announced he would begin an evaluation of the managerial activity of the prosecutor general, Augustin Lazar. On Tuesday, Toader added that the decision to assess the work of the prosecutor general did not rely exclusively on recent circumstances, but added that protocols between judicial institutions and intelligence services are “unnatural in a country governed by the law.



    SWINE FEVER – The largest pig farm in Romania and the second largest in Europe, located in Braila County, south-eastern Romania, Tuesday initiated the slaughtering of all its 140,000 animals, because of the African swine fever virus. A similar operation is under way in another farm in the same county, where some 35,000 animals are being killed. The Agriculture Minister Petrea Daea said on Tuesday that all the farmers who have incurred damages because of the swine fever will receive compensations, after the forthcoming budget adjustment. He added that Romania will receive funding from the European Commission to fight the epidemics. Daea also explained that he requested support from experts from other European countries having faced this situation. One-quarter of Romanias counties are affected by the African swine fever epidemic, with over 700 hotbeds identified by authorities in the south-east and north-west of the country. The authorities estimate that around 300,000 animals will be killed.



    AMBASSADOR – Brexit will not have a negative impact on Londons relations with Bucharest or on the life of the Romanians who work in the UK, said the new British Ambassador to Bucharest, Andrew Noble. In his first press conference, he said Britain and Romania are working on a new strategic partnership, able to respond to the current concerns. The British official returned to Romania after nearly 30 years. According to Radio Romania Current Affairs, between 1983 and 1986 Andrew Noble worked as a secretary in the British Embassy in Bucharest.



    EMERGENCY NUMBER – Romanias National System for the 112 Single Emergency Number will be modernised using non-reimbursable European funds. The Romanian Minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb and the head of the Special Telecommunications Service Ionel-Sorinel Vasilca Tuesday signed a financing contract for the amount of 47.6 million euros. The project will be implemented in 36 months and consists in the upgrading of hardware and software components to ensure a quicker response of emergency agencies to citizens calls. Special telecoms experts will improve the precision of call tracing, will ease the access of people with disabilities, and the waiting time will be reduced by 5 seconds, to 54 seconds. Rovana Plumb said that during its 13 years of operation, the 112 emergency telephone number received more than 64 million calls.



    MOLDOVA – The Romanian Foreign Ministry is monitoring with close attention and concern the situation at Romanias border with the Republic of Moldova and, in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation that defines the relationship between the two countries, it requested explanations as to why some Romanian citizens were denied access to the country. A news release issued by the Foreign Ministry mentions that the Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Bucharest was invited for additional clarifications. Also, the Romanian Embassy to Chisinau took measures to ensure that the rights of Romanian citizens are respected, as is normal for a country associated to the EU and for a strategic partner of Romania. The Foreign Ministry adds that the Moldovan border police Monday sent back from Albita checkpoint a group of Romanians taking part in the Union March, on grounds that they have disturbed public order in the border area.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 30, 2018 UPDATE

    March 30, 2018 UPDATE

    DIPLOMACY – The Prime Minister of Romania Viorica Dăncilă Friday took part in a meeting of the heads of EU diplomatic missions in Bucharest. The Prime Minister presented the priorities of her Cabinet in 2018, including the modernisation of the national economy, the introduction of measures to prepare the Eurozone accession and the preparations for the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. Of the topics currently on the EU agenda, the participants discussed the future of the Union, the security of the bloc and the EU multi-annual budget. The meeting was organised by the Embassy of Bulgaria, the country that is holding the EU presidency at the moment.




    TENSIONS – The Romanian Foreign Ministry Friday confirmed that a Romanian diplomat accredited in Russia was declared a persona non grata, after Romania adopted a similar measure in solidarity with the UK. Previously, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu had said the decision was a means for Romania to express its solidarity in the wake of the grave incidents in Britain. Meanwhile, the expulsion of 60 US diplomats and the closing down of a consulate in Russia marks a further deterioration of the US-Russia relations, the White House said after Russias move on Thursday. The Kremlins decision was a tit-for-tat response to Washingtons measures against Russia, in a show of solidarity with Britain after a former Russian double agent and his daughter had been poisoned. The US expelled 60 Russian diplomats and ordered the closing of Russias consulate in Seattle. The spokesperson for the US State Department Heather Nauert said Washington is now reviewing all its options.




    CONDOLENCES – Russias Embassy in Bucharest has thanked all the Romanian citizens who expressed their condolences and sympathy for the families of the victims of the tragic incident in Kemerovo. On Thursday and Friday a condolences book was opened at Russias diplomatic office, to honour the 64 victims, including 41 children. On Wednesday, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, sent a message of condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 11-16

    March 11-16

    IMF
    recommendations for Romania


    The International Monetary Fund recommends a
    balanced mix of monetary and fiscal policies and support for investment, so
    that Romania may be able to uphold the growth pace reported last year. An IMF
    mission visited Bucharest this week. Fund officials met with Prime Minister
    Viorica Dancila, highlighting the need to step up tax collection and maintain
    public spending within sustainable limits. The Prime Minister said the economic
    and fiscal measures adopted by the Government are viable, estimating an
    economic growth of 6.1%, mostly based on investments made with EU funds. For
    nearly two weeks the IMF made a comprehensive analysis of Romania’s economy, a
    process that must be seen through every year in every EU Member State that has
    no ongoing agreement with the IMF. Fund officials met with authorities,
    representatives of political parties, trade unions, business associations,
    academia and banks.



    Fickle
    weather across the country


    The heavy rainfall and the massive snow
    meltdown triggered by the unexpectedly soaring temperatures across the country
    have caused a rise in the flow of several rivers in Romania. According to the
    Interior Ministry, floods affected dozens of villages in various areas, the
    most serious of which were reported in central Romania. Line Minister Carmen
    Dan went to personally ascertain the damages, trying to convince the locals to
    leave their homes until the danger has passed.



    Regional
    meetings in Bucharest


    Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu
    received his Bulgarian and Greek counterparts in Bucharest, Ekaterina Zaharieva
    and Nikos Kotzias, respectively. The three held talks during the
    Romania-Bulgaria-Greece trilateral meeting and discussed issues of strategic
    regional relevance, such as the developments in the Western Balkans, the
    eastern neighbourhood, the Black Sea area, the Danube Strategy and the
    prospects of the Middle East peace process . The three ministers agreed that
    community funds are grounded on the principle of European solidarity, and that
    the future EU budget should be balanced and not sacrifice subsidies to
    agriculture and cohesion. Also this week Bucharest hosted a meeting of NATO
    Defense Ministers from nine former communist states. The Ministers agreed that
    NATO’s eastern flank must be consolidated. Romania’s Defense Minister Mihai
    Fifor said allied presence is robust alongside NATO’s entire eastern flank,
    both in the northeast, in the Baltic States, as well as in the southeast, in
    Romania and the Black Sea region. Bucharest and Warsaw are the engine of the
    so-called B9 Initiative, which also comprises Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
    Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary. The Foreign Ministers of the
    nine countries wanted to reach a common approach ahead of the NATO Summit
    scheduled to take place in Brussels in July.



    Solidarity with the United Kingdom


    In a message launched on Wednesday, the Romanian Foreign
    Ministry has expressed solidarity with the United Kingdom and firmly condemns
    the use of a military-grade nerve agent on the territory of an Allied state.
    The reaction comes after British Prime Minister Theresa May has said Moscow was
    guilty of the poisoning, in south-western Great Britain, of the former Russian
    double agent Serghei Skripal, of his daughter and of a British police officer.
    Many voices of the international community have deemed Skripal’s poisoning as a
    severe breach of international norms and agreements on chemical weapons.





    A unionist wave is sweeping the Republic of Moldova


    The number of communes and towns in the
    Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian
    speaking population) where mayors and local councils have adopted symbolical
    declarations stating their wish to reunite with Romania has reached 120. These
    local leaders as well as all those supporting the reunification idea are
    expected in Chishinau this month, to attend a big people’s assembly to mark 100
    years since Bessarabia united with Romania.
    Initiated by the Alliance for the Centennial Anniversary, made up of
    civic organisations from the Republic of Moldova, Romania and the diaspora, the
    meeting is meant to reiterate their confidence that the Union is the only solution
    to restoring historical truth, joining the EU and NATO, to ensuring welfare and
    freedom. A province with a majority Romanian-speaking population and part of
    the Tsarist Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania in the wake of WW I, on
    March 27, 1918. The Soviet Union re-annexed it, in 1940, following an
    ultimatum, and on part of its territory, the current Republic of Moldova was
    set up.


    Romanian
    books in Germany


    20 years on, since it was honorary guest
    of the International Book Fair in Leipzig, in eastern Germany, Romania has
    again enjoyed this status, this week. One of the oldest events of its kind in
    the world, which promotes reading, has brought together over 2,500 exhibitors
    from 48 countries. Visitors had the chance to meet Romanian writers who are
    already well known in the German-speaking area such as Nora Iuga, Mircea
    Cărtărescu, Norman Manea and Filip Florian, as well as budding writers like
    Lavinia Branişte and Bogdan-Alexandru Stănescu.Over 40
    translations from Romanian literature, most of them supported by the National
    Book Centre with the Romanian Cultural Institute have been promoted.