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Tag: Union of Romanian Principalities

  • Romanians celebrated the Union of the Principalities Day

    Romanians celebrated the Union of the Principalities Day

    The official copy of the Paris Convention of 1858, granted to the Romanian Principalities by the Ottoman Empire, was publicly exhibited, on Tuesday, for the first time in Romania. The document represents one of the first Constitutions of Romanians that underlay the Union of the Principalities in the following year, 1859, on January 24. 164 years ago, Moldavia and Wallachia united under the leadership of one single ruler, Alexandru Ioan Cuza. From a historical point of view the exceptional political event was considered the first stage in the creation of the modern Romanian unitary state, later completed in 1918. In a message, the Royal Family of Romania completes the chronology, recalling that, 7 years later, in 1866, the first Constitution of the state called Romania was proclaimed; 18 years after the Union of the Principalities, in 1877, Romania became an independent state, and 22 years later, in 1881 it became a kingdom. In 2023 as well January 24th was an occasion for celebration throughout Romania.



    There were numerous military ceremonies in all the garrisons where monuments dedicated to the Union of the Romanian Principalities have been built. In the Orthodox churches, the 164th anniversary of the Union of the Principalities was marked by Te Deum services, at the end of which, for one minute, the bells rang. In Bucharest, flower wreaths were laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an event attended by President Klaus Iohannis who declared that the gains of 1859 are a lesson of responsibility for all those who continue to build a European, modern and democratic Romania. The epicenter of the manifestations occasioned by the Union Day was the city of Iasi, once the capital of Moldavia, then, for a short period, one of the two newly United capitals of the Principalities – Moldavia and Wallachia. The events that marked the day in Iasi on Tuesday included a traditional music concert, a military parade with over 300 soldiers, a memorial service at the tomb of the ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza, at the Trei Ierarhi Monastery, aming others.



    Among the thousands of people who chose to celebrate the Union Day in Iasi were the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu. An opportunity for the PM to state that the roots of European Romania can be found in the Union that occurred 164 years ago, an authentic example of the unity of the will of Romanians, which opened the path for the emancipation and modernization of the state. Since 1859, until today, the unmistakable leitmotif of January 24th has remained, however, “Hora Unirii” — The Union Round Dance, a poem by Vasile Alecsandri on the musical setting of Alexandru Flechtenmacher, which is sung and danced on by everybody throughout Romania. (LS)

  • 160 years since the Union of Romanian Principalities

    160 years since the Union of Romanian Principalities

    Romania, the mostly Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova and the Romanian communities abroad celebrate these days 160 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities, by means of a large number of events. Religious and military ceremonies and outdoor shows mark this moment, which paved the way for the establishment of the Romanian nation state one century ago. On January 24th 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, elected ruler of Moldavia the week before, was unanimously voted by the Electoral Assembly in Bucharest as sovereign of Wallachia, and consequently ruler of the United Principalities. The de facto union of the 2 countries inhabited by Romanians was therefore accomplished. Three years later, on January 24th 1862, with the decisive support of France’s Emperor Napoleon III, the Union was recognized by the international community and the new country was named Romania.



    Alexandru Ioan Cuza’s 7-year reign, with the radical reforms that it promoted, laid the institutional foundations for modern Romania. It was during this period that a Civil Code and a Criminal Code were adopted, both inspired by French legislation, a national army was created, primary education became compulsory and the first Romanian universities were created, in 1860 in Iasi, currently named after Alexandru Ioan Cuza, and 4 years later the one in Bucharest. The land reform turned close to half a million peasant families into land owners, after the estates of monasteries were taken over by the state.



    A charismatic personality, adored by peasants and by poor urban communities, but disliked by political parties because of his authoritarian tendencies, the ruler was forced out of power and into exile in 1866.



    His successor on the throne of Romania was King Carol I, of the German princely family of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. His long reign was to secure Romania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire and the recovery of the south-eastern region of Dobrogea following the Russian-Romanian-Turkish war of 1877, also known as the Romanian Independence War. In 1918, under King Ferdinand, the establishment of the nation state of Romania was completed, through the union of the Romanian-speaking provinces previously under foreign occupation, namely Transylvania, Banat, Crisana, Maramures, Bucovina and Bessarabia.



    As confirmed by Romanian and foreign historians, however, the Union of the Romanian Principalities was the foundation of what would later be the democratic and prosperous Greater Romania. As Alexandru Ioan Cuza put it in a proclamation to his people, “The Union has been accomplished. The Romanian nation has been founded. The one you have elected as your ruler gives you today a united Romania.”

  • The celebration of the Union of the Romanian Principalities

    The celebration of the Union of the Romanian Principalities

    On Tuesday, 158 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities were celebrated by means of a lot of events held at home and abroad. On January 24th 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who had been elected ruler of Moldavia a week before, was unanimously voted by the Elective Assembly in Bucharest as sovereign of Wallachia and was proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. The union of the two Romanian states was thus achieved de facto. Three years later, on January 24th 1862, the Union compelled international recognition and the state was named Romania. Alexandru Ioan Cuza’s rule (1859-1866) laid the institutional foundation of modern Romania through the sweeping reforms he fostered.



    In 1918, the formation of the nation state was completed through the union of the Kingdom of Romania with the historical provinces with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, which until then had been under the occupation of the neighboring multinational empires.



    This year the north-eastern city of Iasi, the old capital of Moldavia, played host to the most important celebrations. Thousands of people attended an open-air traditional music show and a short religious service prior to the officials’ speeches. On behalf of the government, Social-democrat Minister of Culture, Ionut Vulpescu said that the Union of the Romanian Principalities was an example of solidarity and consensus, which should be followed by politicians today too:



    “We have a choice: we can further give speeches urging to division and suicidal lack of education or we can make a radical change in the way we all see the future, our relationships, the need for solidarity and projects.”



    On behalf of the opposition, Liberal Deputy President of the Senate Iuliana Scantei said:



    “The Union of the Romanian Principalities of January 24th 1859 was the most courageous act of Romanian modern statehood and of the political elites in Moldavia and Wallachia. Even today, nearly 160 years on, the courage and vision of certain people is surprising but strong.”



    In the western city of Arad, hundreds of people danced a gigantic circle folk dance. Their thoughts also focused on Bessarabia, the Romanian historical province which was annexed by the USSR in 1940 and whose territory currently belongs to the Republic of Moldova:



    “When those who don’t love us, look threateningly to Moldova, we must lend the appropriate value to this event.”



    “In the future, I whole-heartedly wish Bessarabia would be united with Romania too, because for many years, we’ve waited for that to happen. Let’s be happy that God gave us a country, a nation, a language and may God bless Romania.”



    On behalf of the pro-Western government of the Republic of Moldova, Minister of Culture, Monica Babuc conveyed a message saying that the common language, tradition and national culture has contributed to the fulfillment of our great dreams. (Translated by A.M. Palcu)

  • 24 January, 2017 UPDATE

    24 January, 2017 UPDATE

    Union of Romanian Principalities. Romania and Romanian communities abroad on
    Tuesday celebrated the 158th anniversary of the Union of the
    Romanian Principalities. On the 24th of January 1859, Alexandru Ioan
    Cuza, who, one week earlier, had been elected ruler of Moldavia, was also
    unanimously elected by the Elective Assembly of Bucharest ruler of Wallachia
    and thus proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. This represented the de
    facto union of the two countries inhabited by Romanians. Three years later, on
    the 24th of January 1862, this union was recognised internationally
    and the new state was named Romania. The reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza
    (1859-1866) laid the institutional foundations of modern Romania through a
    series of radical reforms. In 1918, the process for the creation of a Romanian
    nation state ended with the union with the Kingdom of Romania of the historical
    provinces with a majority Romanian population that had until then been
    controlled by neighbouring multinational empires. After World War Two, however,
    Romania lost the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina.






    Referendum. President Klaus Iohannis has called a referendum in which citizens will
    be able to express their views with regard to the continuation of the fight
    against corruption and ensuring the integrity of public office. On Monday night, the president said the
    government’s intention to pass two emergency ordinances granting collective
    pardon and amending the criminal code was never discussed during the election
    campaign for the parliamentary elections on the 11th of December,
    but that the Romanian people have a right to express their views on the
    subject. The Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the ruling
    coalition, says the president’s move is politically motivated and an attempt to
    win back popular support after the opposition lost the elections. The National
    Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, in opposition, said they supported
    the president’s move. Last Sunday, Klaus Iohannis took part in a massive
    protest held in Bucharest against the government’s proposals. Rallies were also
    held in other cities across Romania. Justice minister Florin Iordache says the
    changes proposed are needed in order to ease overcrowding in prisons and
    harmonise the legislation with some Constitutional Court rulings.




    Strasbourg visit. Romania’s president said an international
    conference would be held in Bucharest on the 6th of April to discuss
    the role played by the majority and the opposition in a genuinely democratic
    society. The conference will be attended by the Council of Europe secretary
    general Thorbjorn Jagland, who had talks with the Romanian president on Tuesday
    in Strasbourg. The two officials voiced their concern about the difficult
    political environment in Europe, which has seen a rise in extremism, populism,
    xenophobia, intolerance and nationalism and attempts to act against fundamental
    democratic values. We agreed that it is essential to act firmly, including by
    using the Council of Europe’s instruments, to combat these phenomena, said
    Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian president also presented the achievements of
    Romania’s current presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance
    Alliance. Earlier, at a ceremony to commemorate International Holocaust
    Remembrance Day, he said it is everyone’s permanent duty to recognise the
    mistakes of the past and honour the memory of innocent victims. He expressed
    his conviction that the Alliance together with the Council of Europe can create
    a pilot programme to train public workers with respect to combating Holocaust
    denial and anti-Semitism. On Wednesday, the Romanian president will address
    the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

    EU. The
    minister delegate for European Affairs in the Romanian Foreign Ministry Ana
    Birchall, who attended an informal meeting of her EU counterparts in Malta,
    said she supported going ahead with major dossiers such as migration, the
    consolidation of the Union’s internal security and its neighbourhood and
    enlargement policy. Romania will continue to contribute actively to the
    discussions about the future of the European Union and stand by the member
    states supporting European integration, writes a foreign ministry press
    release.




    Oscars 2017.
    Ada Solomon is the first Romanian film producer to be in the race for an Oscar
    for best foreign language film with the production Toni Erdmann directed by
    Maren Ade, Hi Film Productions said in a press release on Tuesday. The film,
    which was almost entirely shot in Romania, is the only title from 2016 to be
    included by BBC Culture among the 100 greatest films of the 21st
    century. I find it extraordinary that more than 700,000 viewers in Germany and
    more than 500,000 in France had a chance, through this film, to become familiar
    with a whole series of Romanian actors and a key character of the story: the
    city of Bucharest, an extremely powerful presence in the film and from an
    entirely different perspective than we have been accustomed to see on the big
    screen so far, said producer Ada Solomon. Toni Erdman was first presented at
    the Cannes Film Festival last year, where it won the FIPRESCI international
    film critics’ award. The film is about Winfried, an eccentric father and practical joker now
    retired who makes a surprise visit to his daughter, Ines, a corporate career
    woman posted in Bucharest. (Trans.: C. Mateescu)



  • 24 January, 2017

    24 January, 2017

    Referendum. President Klaus Iohannis has called a referendum in which citizens will
    be able to express their views with regard to the continuation of the fight
    against corruption and ensuring the integrity of public office. On Monday night, the president said the
    government’s intention to pass two emergency ordinances granting collective
    pardon and amending the criminal code was never discussed during the election
    campaign for the parliamentary elections on the 11th of December,
    but that the Romanian people have a right to express their views on the
    subject. The Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the ruling
    coalition, says the president’s move is politically motivated and an attempt to
    win back popular support after the opposition lost the elections. The National
    Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, in opposition, said they supported
    the president’s move. Last Sunday, Klaus Iohannis took part in a massive
    protest held in Bucharest against the government’s proposals. Rallies were also
    held in other cities across Romania. Justice minister Florin Iordache says the
    changes proposed are needed in order to ease overcrowding in prisons and
    harmonise the legislation with some Constitutional Court rulings.




    Council of Europe visit. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis today
    begins a two-day visit to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He will attend
    today a ceremony to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the
    opening of an exhibition staged by Romania containing archive documents and
    photographs paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. Also today, president
    Iohannis will have talks with the president of the Venice Commission Gianni
    Buquicchio and the president of the European Court of Human Rights Guido
    Raimondi. Iohannis is expected to assure the two officials of Romania’s firm
    and continued commitment to the Council of Europe values and standards, in
    particular with regard to democracy and the rule of law. On Wednesday, the
    Romanian president will address the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
    and have talks with the Assembly’s president Pedro Agramunt. The visit to
    Strasbourg is Iohannis’ first foreign trip this year.






    2017 budget. Prime minister Sorin Grindeanu has called a meeting of his cabinet
    formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and
    Democrats for final talks on this year’s budget. In the version published on
    Monday, the budget bill provides for more money for agriculture, labour,
    transport, culture, justice, healthcare and the economy, as well as the
    Romanian Intelligence Service. Funds were slashed for education, youth, energy,
    regional development, home affairs, foreign affairs, the president’s office,
    the two chambers of Parliament and the Foreign Intelligence Service. Romania’s
    budget for 2017 is based on an economic growth rate of 5.2%, while the budget deficit
    is estimated at 2.96% of the GDP. The bill will be adopted by the cabinet on
    Wednesday and then submitted to Parliament.




    Union of Romanian Principalities. Romania and Romanian communities abroad today
    celebrate the 158th anniversary of the Union of the Romanian
    Principalities. On the 24th of January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza,
    who, one week earlier, had been elected ruler of Moldavia, was also unanimously
    elected by the Elective Assembly of Bucharest ruler of Wallachia and thus
    proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. This represented the de facto
    union of the two countries inhabited by Romanians. Three years later, on the 24th
    of January 1862, this union was recognised internationally and the new state
    was named Romania. The reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866) laid the
    institutional foundations of modern Romania through a series of radical
    reforms. In 1918, the process for the creation of a Romanian nation state ended
    with the union with the Kingdom of Romania of the historical provinces with a
    majority Romanian population that had until then been controlled by
    neighbouring multinational empires. After World War Two, however, Romania lost
    the provinces of Bessarabia and Bukovina.


    International Space Station live chat. This afternoon, a group of teachers and pupils
    from Timisoara, western Romania, will be in contact with the International Space
    Station in a live video chat. The astronaut Thomas Pesquet will answer their
    questions from aboard the station. The live chat will also be streamed in
    Ireland and Portugal. Dumitru Prunariu, the first and only Romanian astronaut ever
    to fly to space, on the 14th of May 1981, will also be in Timisora to talk
    about the role of space in people’s daily lives. Prunariu took part in the
    Soyuz 40 mission forming part of the Interkosmos space programme and spent 7
    days, 20 hours and 42 minutes in space.




    Brexit. The UK Supreme Court says the
    government must seek Parliament’s vote before it can start the formal procedure
    for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Theresa May’s Conservative
    government hoped it would be able to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty,
    the formal mechanism for leaving the European Union, without a vote in
    Parliament. The Supreme Court says this would violate constitutional
    principles. (Trans.: C. Mateescu)



  • January 24, 2016

    January 24, 2016

    Romanians celebrate 157 years since the Union of the Romanian Principalities. Taking part in the celebrations held in the northeastern Romanian city of Iasi are President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. On this occasion, President Iohannis called on the political class to do its best to meet the citizens’ expectations and restore people’s confidence in Romanian politicians. On the 24th of January, 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who had been elected ruler of Moldavia a week earlier, was unanimously elected sovereign of Wallachia and proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. Three years later, on January 24, 1862, the union was recognized internationally and the state received the name of Romania. Cuza’s reforms laid the institutional foundation of modern Romania. In 1918, the establishment of the nation state was completed by the union with Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania, the historical provinces with predominantly Romanian speaking population. However, Romania lost Bessarabia and Bukovina after WW2.




    The US and Turkey are prepared to seek a military solution against so-called Islamic State if a political agreement in Syria proves impossible, US Vice-President Joe Biden has said. The latest round of Syria peace talks are planned to begin on Monday in Geneva, but they are being held up by disagreements over representation and the agenda. Syrian armed rebel groups have said they held the Syrian government and Russia responsible for any failure of peace talks while the Saudi-backed Syrian opposition ruled out even indirect negotiations unless Damascus took steps including a halt to Russian air strikes. At the request of Damascus, Moscow has been taking part in the military campaign in Syria for several months now, and, although it claims its main target is Islamic State, Russia has been accused of bombarding positions of the moderate rebels supported by monarchies in the Gulf area, Turkey and the Western powers.




    The Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip, will pay a visit to Bucharest on January 26, to meet with his Romanian counterpart Dacian Ciolos, the Chisinau Government announced. The two officials will discuss about the actions to be taken by the two governments in order to boost the implementation of the initiatives and projects previously agreed on by Chisinau and Bucharest. Also tackled will be the agenda of reforms set under the Moldova EU Association Agreement. This is Pavel Filip’s first official visit as prime minister, against the background of protests against the new government in the capital Chisinau. Unhappy with their politicians’ corruption and lack of efficiency, thousands of protesters took Parliament by storm right after the new government had been sworn in, asking for early elections.




    Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 2 in the world, is to have an operation on her nose and will skip next weeks Fed Cup match against the Czech Republic and tournaments in Dubai and Doha,. “The last six weeks have been extremely difficult for me, as I’ve been dealing with infections in my stomach, nose and ear. Under doctors advice, I will undergo surgery to fix the on-going problem,” she said in a post on her Facebook page. The Romanian tennis player had an illness-plagued start to the year, which ended with a first-round exit from the Australian Open.




    Romania continues to be under a yellow code alert for frost except for 5 counties in the west and northwest. The lowest temperatures will range from minus 20 degree C to minus 15 degrees C. On isolated areas temperatures will drop down to minus 28 degrees C. As of Sunday snowfalls are present in the west, north and northwest of the country. Maximum, temperatures will stand at minus 2 degrees C.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)