Radio România Internațional

Tag: US Ambassador

January 19, 2021 UPDATE

Vaccination campaign – The second stage of the national vaccination campaign against Covid-19 is currently under way in Romania. Valeriu Gheorghiță, the campaign coordinator, announced on Tuesday, in a press conference, that Romania has contracted sufficient vaccine doses, and starting with the second quarter of the tear, the number of delivered doses will increase significantly. He added that 299 vaccination centers were opened across the country in the second stage of the campaign. Over 233 thousand Romanians have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19 since the start of the campaign, on December 27, and over 800 common and minor side effects have been registered. The second stage targets people over 65, people with chronic diseases and employees in key areas. About 6 million Romanians have the right to be vaccinated in this stage. Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 697,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the country and more than 630,000 patients have recovered, according to the Strategic Communication Group. Most new cases of COVID-19 are registered in Bucharest. The total number of Covid-19-associated deaths is 17,369. 1,050 patients are currently in ICUs.

Travel conditions — The persons who have received the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine at least 10 days before coming to Romanian will no longer be quarantined, the National Committee for Emergency Situations announced. The Committee established the same conditions for those who were in direct contact with a COVID-19 positive person more than 10 days after being vaccinated with the second dose. Also, people confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 might end the quarantine period on the 10th day if they take a test and the result is negative. Children traveling with vaccinated parents to countries with a high incidence of COVID-19 will be quarantined for ten days upon returning to Romania, as they can risk spreading the disease, said Florentina Furtunescu, a representative of the National Public Health Institute. In another development, the list of states with an epidemiological risk has been updated. Thus, no country is in the red zone, and the yellow zone includes 48 countries, among which the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France and Germany.

Statistics – The National Strategy and Forecast Committee has revised slightly downwards Romanias economic growth in 2021 from 4.5%, as estimated last autumn, to 4.3%. The Committee also forecasts private consumption rate of only 3.7%, as against 4.6% as estimated in the autumn, and a trade deficit of minus 21.4 billion Euros, slightly higher than the autumn forecast. The average exchange rate this year is going to be 4.89 lei per 1 Euro, as compared to the autumn estimate. The end-of-the-year inflation is forecast at 2.2%, slightly lower than the previous estimate of 2.5%.

Brussels — The President of the Republic of Moldova, pro-Western Maia Sandu, said that she managed to unblock the dialogue with the European Union, affected by the policy of her pro-Russian predecessor, Igor Dodon. Maia Sandu met on Monday and Tuesday, during her official visit to Brussels, with the most important European leaders, emphasizing that the EU is the main partner of the Republic of Moldova in the fight against corruption, in reforming institutions and in strengthening the rule of law, according to Radio Chisinau. Maia Sandu had a meeting with the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, during which they tackled the political developments in Chisinau and the reforms on the European agenda of Rep. Moldova. The Moldovan President also met with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who assured her that she could count on the Unions support in the reform process and in the anti-corruption fight. During the meeting with the Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, the two officials agreed on re-establishing the complex political dialogue between Chisinau and Brussels and discussed ways to have a more active cooperation on regional security.

Ambassador — The US Ambassador to Bucharest, Adrian Zuckerman, on Tuesday met with the Romanian Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, at the end of the American diplomats mandate. Adrian Zuckerman was accompanied by the deputy head of the Diplomatic Mission, David Muniz, who will become “Chargé dAffaires” after the ambassador’s departure, on January 20, shows a press release of the US Embassy in Bucharest. The talks of the three officials focused on the progress reported in the past year in the bilateral relationship and on the continuation of cooperation on numerous projects, including the one on the Cernavoda nuclear power plant (in southeastern Romania). The Romanian prime minister thanked Ambassador Zuckerman for his involvement in the bilateral relationship, adding that he was looking forward to working with David Muniz. The latter assured PM Cîțu that the Romanian-American relationship would remain close under the Biden Administration and expressed his interest in further strengthening the Strategic Partnership. (tr. L.Simion)

19 January 2021
US Support for Romania

Washington will remain a strong ally, partner and friend to Romania, said the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, during the first interview he gave to a Romanian TV station since his arrival in Bucharest. He also stressed the United States’ intention to fully support president Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and his government.

Talking about the 1989 Revolution, Klemm said that Romania and its courage to put an end to the Communist regime were supported by the international community. He also said that the developments that have occurred in Romania after December 1989 are very positive. “Romania is now a member of NATO, enjoys a very strong strategic partnership with the US, a partnership that I’m committed to further, consolidate and expand”, Klemm also said. However, according to the US Ambassador, Romania still has obstacles it needs to overcome in order to further strengthen its role in the international affairs. The first goal is that Romania needs to find a way to sustainable growth of its economy, and the obstacle here is corruption. The US has very strongly supported Romania’s fight against corruption, and significant work in that direction has been accomplished in the past year, said Klemm, as prosecutors have benefited from the necessary resources and measures have been taken to ensure an independent judiciary and full observance of the rule of law.

Another obstacle to sustainable growth, the US Ambassador said, is infrastructure, and there is much work to be done in order to fully connect Romania’s road, rail and energy infrastructure with the rest of Europe. According to Klemm, the efficient use of the resources made available in Romania through the European Union funds is critical.

Talking about Romanian and foreign business people, Ambassador Klemm stressed that another field that deserves attention is the public administration, to ensure that Romanian public service is efficient, responsive and transparent in the use of the resources made available from the Romanian tax payers as well as from the EU in the most effective way possible.

(Translated by Mihaela Ignatescu; Edited by Diana Vijeu)

21 December 2015
US Ambassador Chats Online with Romanians

The United States will remain a strong ally, partner and friend of Romania, the US Ambassador to Bucharest HE Hans Klemm said on Thursday during a webchat with Romanian citizens. The US official said that, as a strategic partner of Romania, Washington wanted Romania to be strong and robust, with a sustainable economic growth, adding that in order to encourage more US investment to Romania, the Government needs to fight corruption and improve the business sector. There already is substantial US investment in sectors such as IT, judicial services and consultancy, even agriculture, but Hans Klemm believes the Government can do more to attract other US investors.

The US ambassador said he could do his best to encourage US businesses to look at opportunities in Romania, although a decision on whether to invest or not is strictly linked to the appeal of the Romanian business sector. This is why transparency, predictability and accountability are key, Hans Klemm went on to say.

In response to the numerous questions from Romanians regarding the liberalization of the visa regime for Romanian citizens, Hans Klemm said the Obama administration was trying to push new legislation in this field, although it is a long and complicated process. Hans Klemm also said the provisions of the Visa Waiver programme are tied to the relevant American legislation in force, and that many criteria must be fulfilled for a country to become eligible. Ambassador Klemm also debunked the myth that obtaining a visa for the United States was extremely difficult, arguing that the application process is in fact quite simple. Romania has made efforts to meet the criteria, and the application visa rejection rate also went down.

The US official also referred to the new Government in Bucharest, saying that the main priorities of the US, namely promoting security, democracy and prosperity, are reflected in the governing programme of the new Cabinet. In this respect, Ambassador Klemm saluted the consolidation of Romanias strategic partnership with the US and the countrys contribution to NATO as one of the 10 points in the programme put forth by Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. The US Ambassador also appreciated the Governments commitment to continue to fight against corruption, support the judiciary and improve the business sector.

(Translation by: Vlad Palcu)

20 November 2015
A new American ambassador to Bucharest

Several days after the new Romanian ambassador to Washington, George Cristian Maior, had presented his credentials, the new American ambassador to Bucharest Hans Klemm also presented his credentials to the Romanian president. Both Washington and Bucharest have expressed their mutual interest in extending political contacts in the future.

Almost 3 years after the end of the mandate of the previous American ambassador to Bucharest, Washington sent a new representative to Romania — Hans Klemm, a career diplomat with a vast experience within the US State Department. Klemm’s nomination had been confirmed by open vote on August 5th in the American Senate, after two weeks before he had been heard in the Foreign Policy Committee when he referred to Romania as a friend and partner of the USA, a country that is not vulnerable to the Russian propaganda.

Ambassador Klemm posted on his Facebook page a video message in which, speaking in Romanian, he said his interest in Romania had been sparked by his university professor, Matei Calinescu, the distinguished and deeply missed Romanian-born writer and literary critic. Hans Klemm went on to say that since then, he had been enchanted by Romania’s culture, language and history.

Hans Klemm: “Today we share a vision on a whole, free Europe, which is at peace. As Ambassador my goal will be to strengthen our security partnership, support your observance of the rule of law and fight against corruption, expand two-way trade and investment, and deepen the bonds between the people of America and Romania.”

His goals are the same as those of the previous American ambassadors to Bucharest who attached special importance to the observance of the rule of law. Actually, ahead of Hans Klemm’s arrival in Romania, the US embassy issued a press release according to which the US recognizes the important role of the independent institutions in a sound democracy governed by the rule of law, and that respecting and protecting their independence is the responsibility of all state institutions and players.

The American embassy underscored that the legal and rule of law institutions needed to carry out their activity independently and that the principle of fair trial and the Romanian legislation should be fully observed. Romania plays an important role in ensuring prosperity in southeastern Europe and can help the continent to diversify its energy sources and transport routes, the ambassador went on to say, adding that Romania, as a strategic partner of the US, had committed to implementing new reforms for economic development and creating new opportunities for the American exports and investments.

22 September 2015
September 21, 2015 UPDATE

The ruling coalition in Romania Monday decided to continue to support the Social Democrat Victor Ponta as PM. His situation was analysed by the National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, after on Thursday the anti-corruption prosecutors formally indicted him for offences committed prior to his appointment as prime minister, when he was a lawyer. Victor Ponta faces charges of forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering, in a corruption case involving contracts signed by the Turceni and Rovinari power companies. Ponta has repeatedly denied the charges. Meanwhile, the National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in Romania, Monday tabled a no-confidence motion on the governments lack of credibility as a result of Prime Minister Victor Pontas legal problems. The motion will be read out in Parliament on Wednesday, and the vote is scheduled for September 29. For the motion to pass, it needs 276 votes in Parliament. The proceedings against the prime minister and four other individuals, including the Social Democrat Senator Dan Sova, were initiated on Monday at Romanias Supreme Court.

A joint meeting of the cabinets of Romania and the Republic of Moldova will be held on Tuesday in the Romanian Black Sea resort of Neptun. According to a news release issued by the Romanian government, special attention will be given to ways to carry on energy infrastructure projects, to ensure the inter-connection of the national electricity and natural gas systems. Other joint projects, in the field of transportation, agriculture, healthcare and education, will also be discussed. During the joint meeting, talks will also focus on the financial difficulties that the Republic of Moldova is experiencing, on Chisinaus efforts to stabilise the banking system and to sign an agreement with the IMF. On the other hand, Romania will reiterate its strong support for Moldovas European accession efforts.

The Romanian deputy PM and Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, takes part on Tuesday in Brussels in an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council focusing on the migration issue. He announced that Romania stands by its position as regards the number of migrants it can receive, namely 1,785 people, and if a vote is held, Romania will vote against mandatory relocation quotas. On Wednesday, also in Brussels, a special summit of the EU heads of state and government will be held, in an attempt to find solutions to the current migrant crisis in Europe. Many EU countries, particularly the central and east-European ones, oppose the mandatory redistribution of the 160 thousand migrants. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on EU leaders to share the responsibility for the most serious migration crisis since the Second World War.

The Romanian authorities are making preparations for the possible arrival of refugees in Romania. According to the interior ministry, an exercise is carried out in the western county of Timis, near the border with Serbia, related to the creation of temporary refugee camps. These military-type shelters are guarded by security forces and may accommodate hundreds of people. Meanwhile, the Romanian interior ministry Monday tabled a bill imposing harsher penalties for migrant smugglers. The bill increases the minimum penalty from 3 to 5 years in prison and the maximum one from 10 to 12 years. The proceeds from people trafficking operations are also to be seized. This initiative is designed to deter the recruitment, transport and people smuggling across the Romanian border.

Romanias president Klaus Iohannis Monday received the new US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, who also had a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu. According to the Foreign Ministry, the two discussed the bilateral political and military cooperation, means to broaden the economic cooperation, and aspects related to regional stability and security, with a focus on developments in Romanias neighbouring regions. Hans Klemm said that during his term he would focus on developing Romanian-American economic ties and providing assistance to Romania in the fight against corruption. Mark Gittenstein was the latest US ambassador to serve in Romania, his term ending in December 2012. Since then, the US embassy in Bucharest has been run by a charge daffaires.

The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Monday called on the radical left-wing Syriza partys Alexis Tsipras, elected PM on Sunday, to maintain the stability of the country and comply with the reform calendar undertaken by Greece. Alexis Tsipras left-wing Syriza party won Sundays early elections in Greece, and will have 145 out of the 300 seats in Parliament, according to the final vote count. The Conservative leader Vangelis Meimarakis, Tsipras main rival, whose party will have 75 seats in Parliament, has conceded defeat. Alexis Tsipras said he would try to form a new ruling coalition together with the small right-wing Independent Greeks Party (10 seats in Parliament) in order to implement Greeces third bailout agreed in July in exchange for 86 billion euros.

21 September 2015