Radio România Internațional

Tag: US Romania Strategic Partnership

  • November 29, 2022 UPDATE

    November 29, 2022 UPDATE

    NATO SUMMIT
    – Russia is solely responsible for the war in
    Ukraine, which represents a blatant violation of international law and the UN
    Charter, NATO Foreign Ministers said in Bucharest in a joint statement signed
    at the end of the first day of the NATO Foreign Affairs summit. NATO officials
    say the Russian aggression has disrupted global food supply chains and endangered
    the most vulnerable countries and nations. Additionally, NATO Foreign Ministers
    also spoke of a Russian crusade against Ukraine, including forced
    displacement, torture and barbaric behavior towards women and children. NATO
    officials have condemned all parties, including Belarus, that actively the
    campaign against Ukraine.     NATO is not part of the Ukrainian conflict, but we pledge to support Ukraine
    for as long as it is necessary, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on
    Tuesday in Bucharest in the opening of the Foreign Affairs NATO Summit in
    Bucharest. NATO members must support Ukraine to help this country remain a
    sovereign state, Jens Stoltenberg argued, adding that NATO will remain vigilant
    and defend every inch of its territory. The NATO official also said NATO
    members will supplement the assistance package for Ukraine, including
    non-lethal support made up of fuel and generators that will help Ukrainians
    cope with the aftermath of Russian missiles hitting key Ukrainian energy
    infrastructure. Attending the summit, president Klaus Iohannis pointed out that
    the Black Sea is a strategic objective for Euro-Atlantic security, and Member
    States must carefully monitor developments in this region. The Romanian
    president also said Romania remains a staunch supporter of open-doors policy
    and hopes that Finland and Sweden would quickly join the Alliance. This is the
    first such event Romania is hosting since it joined NATO and the first of its
    kind held in a country on the Alliance’s eastern flank since the start of the
    war in Ukraine. The summit comprises 3 working sessions, 2 of which will be
    attended by the Allies together with Sweden and Finland. Taking part in the
    third session will also be the foreign ministers of Bosnia – Herzegovina,
    Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. The war in Ukraine and the provision of
    long-term political and practical support from the Allies will be the main
    topic of discussion. NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg arrived in
    Bucharest on Monday, and had meetings with president Klaus Iohannis, Prime
    Minister Nicolae Ciucă and Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu.




    PARTNERSHIP
    Ahead of US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s visit to Bucharest to take part
    in the NATO summit, the US Department of State hailed the celebration of 25
    years since the Strategic Partnership with Romania was signed. A US Department
    of State news release mentions Bucharest’s contribution to NATO and
    multinational operations, the fact that the country hosts several NATO and
    American military structures, including the missile defense system in Deveselu.
    On Tuesday, during his visit in Bucharest, Secretary of State Antony Blinken
    met Romania’s Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu. Talks focused on the
    celebration of 25 years since the signing of the partnership, based on the
    joint commitment to promoting and consolidating trans-Atlantic ties and
    democratic resilience. Both parties pledged to further develop the partnership
    at all levels. The Romanian Foreign Minister pointed out that Romania’s
    Strategic Partnership with the United States represents a key pillar of
    Romania’s foreign policy, also highlighting its importance in ensuring the
    country’s security, all the more so amidst security challenges in the Black Sea
    region. Moreover, Minister Aurescu reiterated the importance of including
    Romania in the Visa Waiver program. Talks also tackled an increase in US
    military presence in Romania, consolidating NATO’s posture in the Black Sea
    region, Romania’s bid to join OECD and furthering joint projects in the field
    of civilian nuclear power. Also on Tuesday, Antony Blinken met with president
    Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă.




    REFUGEES – The Border
    Police Inspectorate announced on Tuesday that some 63 thousand people entered
    Romania on Monday, of whom over 7,000 were Ukrainian nationals, accounting for
    a 9% drop compared to the previous day. According to a press release published
    on Tuesday, close to 3 million Ukrainian refugees have entered Romania starting
    February 10, most of whom were en route to countries in Western Europe. Over 80
    thousand Ukrainians have chosen to stay.




    NATIONAL DAY – The Romanian Cultural
    Institute organizes 50 events until December 10, to celebrate the National Day
    of Romania in 31 cities abroad. According to the president of the Institute,
    Liviu Jicman, the events held in emblematic locations in the respective
    countries place the works of Romanian artists among the most important cultural
    landmarks of today and contribute to raising awareness among foreign cultural
    and arts communities and the general public with respect to the Romanian
    culture. On December 1, the National Day of Romania, a parade
    will be organized in Bucharest and another one in Alba Iulia. On Monday, the
    Parliament celebrated 104 years since the Great Union in a special meeting. (AMP
    & VP)

  • Romania – the US, 10 years of Strategic Partnership for the XXI century

    Romania – the US, 10 years of Strategic Partnership for the XXI century

    On September 13, Bucharest and Washington marked 10 years since the conclusion of the Strategic Partnership for the XXI century and the signing of the Agreement on the setting up of the United States Ballistic Missile Defense System in Romania. On this occasion, the Romanian Foreign Ministry and the United States Department of State issued a joint statement according to which Romania and the US will continue to be outposts of Euro-Atlantic values ​​and meet the challenges of the future together, as friends and allies. The Romanian Foreign Ministry recalls that, since its launch in 1997, the Strategic Partnership has been an essential landmark of the Romanian foreign policy and one of its basic pillars, along with Romania’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union.



    At the same time, the partnership is an effective tool to support domestic efforts in such areas as strengthening security, increasing prosperity, supporting the political, economic, military and administrative reform. Cooperation between Romania and the US has been constantly strengthened and diversified, so that in 2011 it was decided to develop the Partnership by establishing the main dimensions of the bilateral relationship, which include political dialogue, security, economy, people-to-people contacts, science and technology, research, education and culture.



    The Romanian Foreign Ministry recalls that negotiations related to an agreement on the deployment of the United States ballistic missile defense system in Romania began in 2010. In this context, a political text of the Joint Declaration was negotiated, Romania’s chief negotiator at the time being the current Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu. In December 2015, the technical capacity of the Anti-Missile Defense Facility in Deveselu (southern Romania) was confirmed, and the inauguration ceremony was held in May 2016.



    The Romanian Foreign Ministry states that the Agreement proves the United States commitment to European security and represents Romania’s and the US’s joint contribution to collective defense within NATO. NATOs missile defense system is exclusively defensive and targets threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic space. In a message sent on the celebration of 10 years since the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership, the charge daffaires of the US Embassy in Bucharest, David Muniz, highlighted the fact that Romania remained an essential link within NATOs missile defense chain. Romania has fought side by side with America and other Allied forces in some of the toughest and deadliest theaters of operations in the world, and the Romanian military has bravely honored this commitment and paid an incredibly expensive price, David Muniz also said. (LS)


  • April 28, 2017 UPDATE

    April 28, 2017 UPDATE

    ROMANIAN POLISH PARTNERSHIP – Romanian defence minister, Gabriel Les, met in Bucharest on Friday with his Polish counterpart, Antoni Macierewicz. On this occasion, minister Les has deemed the Strategic Partnership with Poland as strong and viable. He has also added that boosting bilateral relations should be based on co-operation within the EU and NATO. In turn, the Polish official has said Romania is a strong point of defence in southern Europe, just like Poland in the Baltic region. The Polish ministers agenda also included a visit to the NATO Centre of Excellence in Oradea, north-western Romania.



    PLANE INCIDENT – An airliner operated by the Romanian company TAROM on Friday was intercepted by military aircraft in Hungarys airspace. The plane, en route from Munich to Sibiu (central Romania), observed its flight path, but it hadnt managed to establish contact with Hungarys air traffic control, ATC. The TAROM airliner was escorted to the Hungarian-Romanian border.



    VACCINES – Romania is to notify the European Commission of its intention to put on hold its export of vaccines against the background of a measles epidemic currently affecting 5,000 people in this country, health minister Florian Bodog has announced. The Romanian official has added that the authorities intend to also ban exports in the case of other medicines including those stipulated in the national health programmes, medicines used in the treatment of various types of cancers. Minister Bodog has also said that he wants the Romanian patients not to be disadvantaged in comparison with patients from other countries where these medicines are selling at higher prices.



    DIGITAL MARKET – The digital single market is an objective in the EU region and the yearly costs for its creation stay around 415 billion euros, the vice president of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip, said in Bucharest on Friday, during a conference entitled Eurosfat 2017. According to the EU official, one of the digital single markets benefits is the coming into effect as of June 15th 2017 of the new regulations concerning the service of roaming at EU level. On the other hand, the EU official has underlined that the European Commission is working on liberalizing the citizens access to digital content as well as the online purchase of goods and services.



    PRESIDENCY – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will represent Romania at the special meeting of the European Council due in Brussels on Saturday. According to the Presidential Administration, the Romanian head of state will stand for the unity of the 27 member states in the Brexit negotiation process. Maintaining the integrity of the single market and a gradual approach in the negotiation process are some of the elements the Romanian president will touch upon during the meeting with the European leaders. Protecting the rights and interests of the Romanian citizens in Great Britain will also be a priority for Romania during the negotiations, the Presidential Administration also says. The agenda of the high level meeting includes three major issues: the fate of the approximately three million EU citizens living in the UK and also the fate of some one billion Britons residing in the EU, the bill that great Britain should pay for exiting the EU, which is estimated at some 60 billion Euros, and the issue of the frontier between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is British territory.



    US-ROMANIA STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP – According to Romanias ambassador in Washington, George Maior, the 20 years of Romanian-US Strategic Partnership have confirmed the fact that the US doesnt have a better and closer partner in south-eastern Europe than Romania. The Romanian diplomat on Thursday hosted a special dinner, which brought together several Republican members of the US House of Representatives, devoted to celebrating 20 years of Romanian-US strategic partnership. The tight cooperation in the field of security and the latest positive developments in the fields of economy, trade and investment have been underscored on this occasion. The US officials have mentioned the US Congress and administration appreciate the evolution and progress registered in terms of bilateral cooperation, which have turned Romania into a staunch partner for the USA. (Translated by D. Bilt and D. Vijeu)

  • December 3, 2016 UPDATE

    December 3, 2016 UPDATE

    WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will continue the Strategic Partnership with Romania, an important NATO member, said American officials attending the events held on December 1 and 2 at the Romanian Embassy in Washington on Romania’s National Day. Congressman Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, appreciated the strong military and economic ties between the US and Romania. In turn, congressman Robert Aderholt, a member in the Group of Friends for Romania in the US Congress and in the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe highlighted that the strong existing bilateral relations would continue during the new American administration. Last but not least, Frank Rose, Assistant Secretary of State and former negotiator of the Agreement regarding the deployment in Romania of the US anti-ballistic missile defense shield referred to the new security challenges facing NATO. He underlined that the anti-missile defense system in Deveselu (in the south of Romania) had a key role in the collective defense of NATO members.




    EUROSTAT — Romania ranks 2nd in the EU as regards the population that risks poverty and social exclusion. One Romanian citizen in three is in this situation, shows the latest study made public by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat. In 2015, 41.3% of the population in Bulgaria ran the risk of poverty and social exclusion while in Romania the percentage stood at 37.3%. Third comes Greece with 35.7%. As regards children risking poverty and social exclusion, Romania is ranked 1st, with 46.8% of the total population, which means one child out of two. Next come Bulgaria (43.7%), Greece (37.8%), Hungary (36.1%), Spain (34.4%) and Italy (33.5%). In the 28 EU member states, 26.9% of the population aged between 0 and 17, namely 25 million children, ran the risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2015 as compared to 27.5% in 2010.



    VIENNA — 6.4 million Austrians with the right to vote are expected to the polls again on Sunday to elect their president. They will have to choose between Norbert Hofer representing the Freedom Party, considered of far right orientation, and independent Alexander Van der Bellen. The first round of the presidential election took place in April and the second in May. The winner of the May election was Alexander Van der Bellen but the Constitutional Court in Vienna decided to cancel the second round because of irregularities reported in the postal voting procedure.



    HANDBALL – Romania’s national women’s handball team are participating in Sweden between December 4th –18th in the European Handball Championship. Romania will take on Norway, in Group D, on December 5th, Russia on the 7th of December and Croatia on the 9th. The three top-ranking teams in each group will qualify to the second stage. Romania’s team is coached by the Spanish Ambros Martin, who last month replaced the Swedish Tomas Ryde, who led the Romanians to victory at the 2015 World Championship hosted by Denmark, when they won bronze. Ambros Martin was designated the best coach of the world in 2013 and 2014 and won two times the Champions League with the Hungarian team Győr that he is also coaching. The teams of Norway and Denmark have won the most continental titles, 6 and 3 respectively. Romania’s best result at the European Championship was the bronze medal in 2010.



    ROME- A constitutional referendum will be held on Sunday in Italy, which is considered one of the most important acid tests for the political career of the PM Matteo Renzi, the head of a center-leftist government. He came to power in February 2014, and is now trying to persuade the Italian citizens of the need to reform the domestic political life. The reform plan stipulates, among other things, a drastic diminution of the Senate’s power and a limitation of the regions’ powers. A great part of the political spectrum has called on voters to say NO to the reform and has asked for early elections. The referendum might affect not only Italy’s political stability but also its economic situation.



    BERLIN — Germany and the European Commission have reached an accord after several years of negotiations over the introduction of a highway toll for vehicles. The EC claims the agreement discourages the discrimination of European citizens. Foreigners who cross Germany by car on highway will pay a toll, depending on the car engine’s capacity and the carbon emissions, amounting to 2.5 up to 20 euros for a vignette valid for 10 days. (translation by Lacramioara Simion)