Radio România Internațional

Tag: US

  • September 26, 2019

    September 26, 2019

    TALKS The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis had a short meeting in New York on Wednesday with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. President Klaus Iohannis emphasised during the talks that in Romanias view, the Republic of Moldovas European accession efforts, firmly supported by Bucharest, are the only way to ensure the prosperity of the Moldovan citizens. In turn, Igor Dodon emphasised that he supports the strategic partnership between Romania and Moldova, and added that Moldovas European accession remains a priority. The Romanian President also had a meeting with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The latter thanked Romania for supporting his countrys European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. Volodymyr Zelensky and Klaus Iohannis also discussed cooperation opportunities in the economic and energy fields, as well as bilateral business relations.




    CoD Romania is taking over the 2-year presidency of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies, the Foreign Ministry announced. On this occasion, Foreign Minister Ramona Mănescu is taking part in New York today in an extraordinary meeting of this body. The Community of Democracies is a global inter-governmental structure aimed at promoting sustainable development, universal access to justice and efficient, responsible and inclusive institutions at all levels. Romania is one of the 106 UN member states that have signed the Warsaw Declaration, on whose principles the Community of Democracies has been founded.




    HEARING The candidacy of the Romanian Social Democrat Rovana Plumb for the post of European Commissioner for Transport was rejected on Thursday by the European Parliaments judicial committee, political sources in Brussels announced. Only 6 MEPs voted in her favour, 15 voted against and 2 abstained from voting. Without the approval of the judicial committee, the hearing in the Transport Committee cannot be held. The European Parliaments judicial committee had invited Rovana Plumb and Lazslo Trocsanyi, the European Commissioner nominated by Hungary, to a special hearing. Plumb was asked to clarify controversial aspects in her declaration of assets, related to a loan taken out in order to fund an election campaign.




    AMBASSADOR Lawyer Adrian Zuckermans nomination as US ambassador to Romania has been approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Senate. According to the White House, Zuckerman immigrated to the US from Romania at the age of 10, and is fluent in Romanian. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1984, and was a partner in an international law firm. He was previously an arbitrator for the Real Estate Board of New York. He received his undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his law degree from New York Law School.




    UNEMPLOYMENT In Romania, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% in the second quarter of the year, with the highest rate (15%) reported among youth 15 to 24 years of age, the National Statistics Institute reports. The data also indicates that unemployed men outnumber the women, and that unemployment is higher in rural communities. During the same period, the employment rate in the 15-66 age bracket was slightly over 66%, up since the previous quarter. Moreover, the employment rate for citizens aged between 20 and 64 was 71.6%, higher than the 70% national target set in the Europa 2020 Strategy. Romanias active population was 9.1 million people, of whom 8.8 million were employed in the second quarter of this year.




    HANDBALL Romanias womens handball team Wednesday night defeated Ukraine, at home, 27-24, in the first match in Group 7 of the 2020 European Championships qualifiers. On Sunday the Romanians will play against Faroe Islands away from home. Group 7 also includes Poland, and the 2 top-ranking teams will qualify in the final tournament. Romanias national team came in 4th in the previous European Championships, losing the bronze medal to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Romanias champions Dinamo Bucharest won 35-28 against Danish vice-champions GOG Gudme, in Group D of the Champions League. Romania tops the group ranking, having outplayed the Swedish team IFK Kristianstad in Bucharest and drawn against the Swiss side Kadetten Schaffhausen, away from home. Dinamo will play next against Cehovskye Medvedy on October 12, in Russia.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • September 25, 2019

    September 25, 2019

    Washington – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will deliver a speech today at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly under way in New York. The Romanian President’s participation in the meeting is a good opportunity to reiterate Romania’s commitment to multilateral governance in managing the main global challenges and to highlight the results Romania obtained in this respect during its presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2019. Klaus Iohannis will also take part in the high level political forum on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. On the occasion the Romanian President will present Romania’s progress in implementing the agenda, including the regional role Romania has assumed through the organization of events meant to promote regional partnerships to meet the agenda.



    Visit — The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila is on a working visit to the US where she had a meeting, on Tuesday, with the secretary general of the OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Angel Gurria. During the meeting Mrs. Dancila underlined that Romania continued to be firmly committed to its aim of joining the organization and that it was ready to start negotiations in this regard. According to a government communiqué, the Romanian official highlighted Romania’s positive economic developments, the results of the reform program and the active participation of institutions from Romania in the activities, projects and programs of the OECD structures, as well as in the organization’s regional and global initiatives. The PM Dancila also met with the US Secretary of Energy Richard Perry with who she signed a document in the domain of civil nuclear power. During the meeting, the Romanian official expressed the Romanian government’s determination to develop the economic dimension of the US- Romania Strategic Partnership.



    Electoral Bureau — In Bucharest, the Central Electoral Bureau is dealing, today and tomorrow, with possible appeals made against the candidacies for the November 10 presidential election. On Friday, the Bureau is to announce the final list of candidates. So far it has validated 14 candidates. On Tuesday, the Bureau rejected two candidacies and announced officially that it would file a complaint with relevant institutions after finding similarities between the signatures submitted by several candidates.



    Brussels — The negotiating teams of the EP and the EU Council reached an agreement on Tuesday evening over the appointment of the Romanian Laura Codruţa Kövesi at the helm of the new European Public Prosecutor’s Office, shows an EP communiqué. The negotiations over the appointment of the new European prosecutor started in spring. The EP’s negotiating team supported Laura Codruţa Kövesi from the very beginning despite opposition from the EU ministers.



    Handball — Romania’s women’s handball team is taking on today, on home ground, the team of neighboring Ukraine in the debut match of Group 7 of the 2020 European Championship preliminaries. Poland and the Faroe Islands are also in the Group. The first two teams in the group will qualify to the final. In the 2018 edition of the championship Romania was ranked 4th in the group, failing to get the bronze medal which went to the Netherlands. In the men’s competition, Romania’s champions Dinamo Bucharest are playing at home against Danish vice-champions GOG Gudme in Group D of the Champions League. In the previous matches, Dinamo defeated, in Bucharest, the Swedish team IFK Kristianstad and drew the match with the Swiss team Kadetten Schaffhausen away from home. (translation by L. Simion)

  • Afghanistan, a hot spot

    Afghanistan, a hot spot

    Two major attacks recently reported in Afghanistan have claimed human lives, including Romanian: one representative of Romanias diplomatic mission in Kabul and a driver from the NATO command structures, who died in the explosion of a car-bomb near the Green Zone. The attacks have been claimed by the Taliban insurgents, who organize such attacks on a regular basis, mainly targeting the NATO forces, foreign citizens in Kabul and Afghan institutions. Currently, there are 760 Romanian military in Afghanistan, taking part in the Resolute Support mission. Speaking for Radio Romania, the military analyst Hari Bucur-Marcu has explained the situation in Afghanistan and why there is an international responsibility for this area:



    Afghanistan is a special place in the world, geographically located among countries that are still trying to solve welfare or safety issues using military means. We are talking here about Pakistan, Iran and even Russia, countries that have been built on such a foundation, where the military power matters a lot, including with regard to citizens day-to-day lives, not to mention the attitude of such a state in the world. Afghanistan, which is one of these states, got to be hit, especially by the United States, but also by the US allies, for the simple reason that it was harboring one of the terrorist organizations that had been the most successful in striking the US, namely Al Qaeda. For 18 years now, the US has been waging a war against these Taliban who were holding power back then. They have defeated them militarily, but they have not managed to eradicate them, so to speak, they are still there. From time to time they manage to load a car or lorry with explosives and target something. This is the background. The big question is what Romania is doing in this story and the answer is: international responsibility.”



    Since the US launched for the very first time military operations in Afghanistan, in October 2001, more than 2,400 soldiers have been killed and some 20,000 have been wounded, according to Pentagon statistics. 30 of them have been Romanian. The main targets in such conflict areas are the representatives of the big powers. In the first attack mentioned earlier, 80% of the Romanian embassy was destroyed, and that even if Romania is one of the countries that is liked in the area. Has something changed in this regard? The Romanian Foreign Minister Ramona Manescu explains:



    “Nothing has changed. Liking Romania and the Romanians or not has nothing to do with the rationale behind a terrorist attack. Its a terrorist attack on a mission in Afghanistan, its the mission of a European state, so it has nothing to do with liking or not liking Romania.



    The attack occurred shortly after a meeting between the Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and the US Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, focusing on the draft peace deal with the Afghan insurgents, which some Taliban do not agree with. The deal is now under a big question mark, since president Donald Trump cancelled negotiations with the Taliban. The White House leader suddenly announced the cancelation of a meeting in Camp David, which should have taken place a few days before the commemoration of the 9/11 attacks, perpetrated by al-Qaida and which were the reason why military forces were sent to Afghanistan. Donald Trump, who had promised the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, and therefore no more US involvement in the conflict, after 18 years, explained his change of stand with the recent attacks in Kabul, in which an American soldier was killed, among others.



    Still, the US does not exclude the possibility of resuming negotiations with the Taliban, provided the insurgents change their attitude and observe their commitments, said the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Several former US ambassadors to Afghanistan have warned, in an open letter, about the risks of a hasty withdrawal of the US troops, before truly restoring peace in the country. In Kabul, president Ashraf Ghani has stated that real peace in Afghanistan will only be possible when the Taliban have put an end to violence and get ready for direct talks with the government. Some 200 people have been killed and 900 wounded in attacks committed in Kabul since the beginning of the year. (translated by M. Ignatescu)


  • September 3, 2019

    September 3, 2019

    REPATRIATION The remains of Queen Helen, mother to King Michael I of Romania, will be repatriated this autumn and taken to the new Archdiocesan and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeş, following a decision of the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Princess Margareta, made public on Tuesday. Seventy-one years after Queen Helens exile and 37 years after her death, Princess Margareta decided to bring back to Romania the remains of her grand-mother. Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark was the daughter of King Constantine I of Greece and Queen Sophia of Prussia. In 1921 she married crown prince Carol in Athens, whom she divorced in 1928. In 1940 she became Queen Mother of Romania. She died in November 1982, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Unlike King Michael I, Queen Helen never saw her country again after her forced exile.




    EXERCISE The Romanian Navy organises as of today the Romanian-Ukrainian exercise “Riverine 2019, on the River Danube, the segment between Tulcea (Romania) and Izmail (Ukraine), with approx. 300 marines from the 2 countries taking part. The exercise is designed to improve cross-border cooperation between Romania and Ukraine in the naval field on the River Danube. Until September 7, inspection and towing exercises as well as emergency intervention drills will be organised.




    FESTIVAL In Bucharest the George Enescu International Festival continues with a concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra together with the Academic Choir of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation. Two other performances take place in Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu. The central theme of this years edition of the festival is “The World in Harmony, and the artistic director is Vladimir Jurowski. Until September 22, Bucharest and 10 other cities in Romania and 5 other countries (Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the Rep. of Moldova) will host performances associated to the Festival. In Bucharest, over 2,500 of the most valuable musicians of the world will hold 84 concerts and recitals.




    PROGRAMME The EU programme designed to encourage children to eat fruit, vegetables and dairy at school continues in 2019. Of the total budget of 250 million euro, Romania will receive this academic year over 17 million euro. Last year, more than 20 million children in the EU benefited from this programme implemented in schools, whose goal is to promote healthy eating habits.




    EARTH Romanian students won one gold and 3 silver medals in this years edition of the International Earth Science Olympiad held in Daegu, South Korea between August 26 and September 3. The International Earth Science Olympiad encourages cooperation between students from various countries, by setting up international teams that receive research topics on environment issues in a specific geographic area and must come up with a project with proposed solutions to the respective issues. Taking part in this 13th International Earth Science Olympiad were 163 students from 41 countries.




    SPENDING EU citizens spent an average 377 euro for a holiday, and Romanians rank at the bottom of the list with around 135 euro earmarked for a vacation, according to data released by Eurostat on Tuesday. The biggest holiday spenders in the EU are the citizens of Luxembourg, with an average 769 euro for a holiday in 2017.




    TENNIS The young Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu, of Romanian descent, qualified into the quarter-finals of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the American Taylor Townsend in 3 sets. It is the first time that Andreescu (aged 19, number 15 in the world) takes part in the US Open, and also her first Grand Slam quarter-final. Taylor Townsend (116 WTA), had previously outplayed 2 Romanians, Simona Halep and Sorana Cîrstea. In the quarter-final Andreescu will take on Belgiums Elise Mertens (26 WTA).


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 28, 2019

    August 28, 2019

    UK The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the request of the latter, the Romanian Presidency announced. The 2 officials mainly discussed the relations between Romania and the UK, and aspects related to Britains withdrawal from the EU. With respect to Brexit, the Romanian President emphasised that an orderly exit is in the interest of both the UK, and the European bloc. Iohannis also told PM Boris Johnson that Bucharests top priority is to protect the rights of the Romanian citizens living in Britain. PM Boris Johnson assured the President of Romania that protecting the rights of the Romanians in the UK after Brexit was very important to London, and the British authorities would keep this goal in mind.




    LAW Romanias Ombudsperson Renate Weber challenged the new Administrative Code at the Constitutional Court. She put forth 3 reasons for the action: the emergency order endorsing the Code comes against the rules on delegated legislation, against constitutional requirements on the powers of MPs, and affects the regime of fundamental public institutions. The Administrative Code has been introduced through a government emergency order, which triggered criticism from the Opposition and civil society.




    PARLIAMENT The Chamber of Deputies, convening in special session at the request of the Opposition, Wednesday dismissed a bill on amnesty and pardons for certain offences. The document, initiated in 2017 by former justice minister Florin Iordache, from the Social Democratic Party, was passed by Senate that same year, and provides pardons for prison sentences of up to 5 years. The agenda of the Chamber of Deputies also includes a bill on repealing the Law on compensatory appeals and a bill endorsing Government Emergency Order no 114, which introduces fiscal and budgetary measures and measures concerning public investments.




    OIL Romania is among the EU countries that rely the least on oil imports, with net imports accounting for 61% of the national consumption, according to data for the year 2017 made public by Eurostat. Smaller dependency rates are reported for the UK (35%) and Denmark (negative 4%). At the opposite pole, the EU member states with the highest oil import dependency rates are Estonia (115%), Malta (104%), Slovenia (103%) and Bulgaria (102%).




    WILDFIRE Wildfires continue to ravage the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, in spite of the authorities sending the army to fight the flames with planes and ground troops. Apart from the air forces, scores of fire-fighting units have been mobilised to contain the fire. So far 7 Brazilian states have resorted to the Army, including to the 43,000 troops stationed in Amazonia, but the number of troops deployed for this operation and their intervention methods remain unclear, France Presse reports. According to governmental sources the number of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest went up 83% this year, destroying vast parts of an eco-system that is vital to combating global climate change.




    TENNIS Three Romanian players have qualified into the second round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Simona Halep, number 4 in the world, defeated the American Nicole Gibbs, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Sorana Cîrstea beat the Czech Katerina Siniakova, 7-5, 6-2, and Ana Bogdan won against Britains Harriet Dart, 6-3, 6-1. The only Romanian in the mens competition, Marius Copil, also moved into the US Open second round, for the first time in his career, after defeating Ugo Humbert of France, in a match that lasted more than 4 hours.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The meeting of the US and Romanian Presidents at the White House

    The meeting of the US and Romanian Presidents at the White House

    UPDATE

    President Klaus
    Iohannis has said, fresh from a meeting at the White House with President
    Donald Trump, that he had an excellent meeting with the American President, during
    which they discussed pragmatically and
    openly ways to deepen and expand the strategic partnership and that he,
    personally, will further be fully committed to developing the partnership with
    the USA. President Trump has hailed the fact that the overwhelming majority of
    Romanians are in favour of and support the relation with the USA, adding that during Romania’s tenure at the helm of the Council
    of the European Union, Romania
    had the opportunity to coordinate its efforts efficiently with the US as regards
    dossiers of mutual interest.




    I am confident that
    our Strategic Partnership will further produce positive results. We have
    adopted a joint declaration together and it is for the first time that we have
    taken this step. It is a very important document for the progress of the
    bilateral strategic Partnership and the development of this partnership in all
    fields is essential, President Iohannis said.




    President Trump has
    expressed special appreciation for Romania’s
    being the first allied state to allot, during his term in office, 2% of the GDP
    for defence and thanked for Romania’s
    presence in Afghanistan.
    I have underlined, during the talks with president Trump, the importance of
    increasing the US military
    presence in Romania and we
    have discussed about security in the Black Sea
    area, president Iohannis has said.




    A focal point of the
    talks was also the bilateral economic relation. A memorandum of understanding
    on 5G technology was signed on the occasion of the visit and we have also
    discussed about Romania’s
    inclusion in the Visa Waiver programme, to lift mandatory entry visas for Romanians
    traveling to the US,
    the Romanian head of state has also said.




    I have assured President
    Trump that I will further and firmly support the fight against corruption and
    that Romania will further be
    a trustworthy strategic partner for the US. I can say it’s been a very good
    meeting with Mr. President, in a year with a rich significance: 30 years since
    the 1989 Revolution and 15 years since Romania joined NATO. Against this
    backdrop, I have expressed Romania’s
    readiness to host bigger American contingents and President Trump was very open
    to that. We want to have more military in the Multinational Brigade, in the
    regional command that we want to set up. The issue will further be approached by
    the defense secretary, Klaus Iohannis has also said.


    ————————

    Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis and US President Donald Trump hold a meeting at the White House. The two leaders are set to discuss “how best to meet the many shared security challenges facing the United States and Romania and ways to advance fair and reciprocal trade and energy partnerships, a White House press release reads.


    The visit occurs as Romanians mark the 30th year since the fall of communism and the 15th year of Romanias membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.


    President Donald J. Trump has reaffirmed
    and strengthened the United States’
    partnership with Romania. The United States and Romania have growing security,
    energy, civil nuclear, and cyber relationships that benefit both of our
    countries. Our two countries will continue to work together to meet common security
    challenges and enhance our economic and energy partnership even further, a White House press release writes.


    The Visa Waiver Programme, joint security efforts and energy security are other focal points of the talks. Here are some highlights:


    President Trump
    intends to expand ties between our two countries by supporting Romania’s efforts to become eligible for entry
    into the Visa Waiver Program in accordance with the requirements of United States
    law.


    Romania is
    an invaluable NATO ally and supports United States and international security
    efforts in the region and globally.


    The United
    States will continue working with Romania to support energy security in Europe.



    The United States and Romania are strong supporters of
    the Three Seas Initiative, which is important to increasing energy market
    access and security.


    Ahead of the visit, President Iohannis has said there are extremely important issues
    that need to be tackled, such as the Strategic Partnership, security
    issues, NATO and the allocation of 2% of the GDP for defense and the economic ties. The equipping of the Army, the fact
    that the two countries are together in Afghanistan and other issues that have long been
    pending, such as the Visa Waiver Program will also be tackled.

    This is the second visit to the White House by Klaus Iohannis, after that of June 9, 2017, when he was the first leader in Central and Eastern Europe to be received by President Trump in the Oval Office.

  • August 17, 2019 UPDATE

    August 17, 2019 UPDATE

    VISIT The head of the Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis, will be on an official visit to Washington D.C. on August 19 and 20, at the invitation of the US president, Donald J. Trump. The 2 leaders will have a meeting on August 20, to discuss ways to strengthen and further develop the strong and dynamic strategic partnership between Romania and the US, in all its components. The Romanian president will emphasise on this occasion that his country will remain a reliable ally and strategic partner of the USA, one of the priorities of Romanias foreign policy being to consolidate the trans-Atlantic relation and Euro-Atlantic security. Klaus Iohannis said he also intended to talk to Donald J. Trump about the American troops in Romania and about the countrys capacity to host more US troops. The issue of US visa requirements for Romanian citizens will also be approached. Meanwhile, according to the White House, the US president looks forward to celebrating the 30th year since the fall of communism and the 15th year of Romanias NATO membership with president Iohannis. Klaus Iohannis and Donald Trump previously met at the White House in 2017, when they discussed the prospects for deepening and broadening the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US.



    CLIMBER One of the best known Romanian climbers, Torok Zsolt, (45) was found dead on Saturday near Negoiu Peak in Fagaras Mountains, central Romania, the Sibiu mountain rescue service announced. Torok Zsolt broke several records in Romanian and world climbing. In 2016, Torok Zsolt climbed 5 Himalayan peaks, 3 of them accompanied by Vlad Căpuşan. They made the first ever ascent of Peak 5, in Makalu region, a 6.421m top that had not been climbed since the opening of the route in 2003. In 2013, Torok Zsolt was the leader of the Romanian team that climbed the 8.126m Nanga Parbat, which is still the most notable achievement in Romanian mountain climbing.



    MIGRANTS The Romanian authorities, alongside several other EU member states, have agreed to receive some of the nearly 150 migrants on board of the Spanish humanitarian vessel Open Arms, off the Italian island of Lampedusa. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the agreement concerns the relocation of 10 people from Malta. The decision proves Romanias willingness to contribute to the solidarity efforts in such situations, and concerns vulnerable people, who need protection. The response poses no pressure on the Romanian asylum system, reads the release. Bucharest says there have been other similar situations this year, and Romania has responded to 3 such calls coming from the European Commission, namely 2 from Italy for 10 people, and one from Malta for 5 people in need of protection. Eleven of these have reached the country so far.



    FILM ‘Ivana the Terrible, Ivana Mladenovics second feature film, has won the special prize of the jury in the Cineasti del Presente section of the Locarno Film Festival, which came to an end on Saturday. The section is devoted to directors at their first, second or third films. ‘Ivana the Terrible, a Romanian-Serbian co-production, is an unconventional story about people and places, based on an event in the directors life. Ivana Mladenovic was born in 1984, in Serbia, she went to law school in Belgrade and then moved to Romania. She made several shorts and documentaries awarded in international festivals, and is best known for her debut feature, ‘Soldiers. A story from Ferentari’.



    ACTOR The American actor Peter Fonda, son of Henry Fonda and brother to Jane Fonda, died at the age of 79, in Los Angeles (USA), after battling lung cancer. He shot to fame after playing in the 1969 cult classic Easy Rider. In 1971 he directed his first film, “The Hired Hand, in which he also played the lead role. He had an Oscar nomination for best actor, in “Ulee’s Gold, 1998, which also won a Golden Globe. His last film, The Last Full Measure, featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman and Laurence Fishburne, is scheduled for release in late October in the US.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • March 22, 2019 UPDATE

    March 22, 2019 UPDATE

    Brussels — The Romanian President Klaus Iohnnis on Thursday and Friday participated in Brussels in a European Council meeting. On the occasion, he highlighted the very important results obtained so far by the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU, one of the outcomes being the considerable number of files finalized. As regards Brexit, the Romanian head of state has stated that there is a real chance for an orderly exit of Great Britain from the EU. Klaus Iohannis has reiterated that a main concern of the Romanian authorities was the Romanian citizens living in the UK. At the Brussels summit, the EU leaders agreed with the postponement of Brexit and offered Great Britain two scenarios for leaving the EU.



    EU — Romania’s sustainable economic growth reported in the past years has not been felt by large categories of Romanians, and poverty most often affects children said Friday in Bucharest the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu. She talked about the need for massive investments in the healthcare services, the transport infrastructure, the energy and environmental fields, upon the presentation of the 2019 Country Report for Romania, an event organized by the EC’s Representation in Romania. The report draws attention that the model of economic growth based on consumption affects the capacity to sustainably bridge the gaps separating Romania from the developed states. The document also shows that Romania’s foreign debt on medium and long term risks exceeding 60% of the GDP an that the economy has been affected by pay rises that were not correlated with productivity. The document drafted by the EC was criticized by finance minister Eugen Teodorovici who labeled it as being too pessimistic.



    NATO — Romania is better prepared, from a military point of view, than 15 years ago when it joined NATO, said Friday the Romanian defense minister Gabriel Les. He participated in an event devoted to the launch of a public campaign entitled ‘Romania — 15 years within NATO. 70 years since the setting up of the North Atlantic Alliance’ and to the re-launch, in Romania, of a public information campaign called ‘#WeAreNATO’. Minister Les talked about Romania’s contribution within NATO both during the pre-accession period and after accession to NATO on March 27, 2004. According to the Romanian official at present as many as 1,000 military are on foreign missions. More than 2,500 military were involved in past missions. 29 Romanian soldiers lost their lives and 180 were wounded in external theaters of operations, minister Les recalled.



    Protests — As many as 1,500 court clerks protested on Friday in front of the government headquarters in Bucharest, expressing discontent with their pay and work conditions. This week they have worn a white armband during work hours at the courts and prosecutor’s offices where they are employed. Court clerks threaten to start a grievance procedure if employers do not meet their demands. (translation by L. Simion)

  • August 3, 2018 UPDATE

    August 3, 2018 UPDATE

    SECURITY – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, hails the USAs firm commitment to the European security and defence, as reflected in the budget earmarked for the defence sector, recently approved by the US Congress. According to the Presidency, 12.9 billion US dollars will go into the missile defence system, including amounts for supporting and operating the Aegis Ashore structure in Romania, as part of the NATO ballistic missile defence system. The Presidency also reiterates Bucharests determination to further keep its bilateral and NATO commitments, both in terms of the budget allotted for defence and the national contribution to NATO missions and operations, in keeping with the decisions made at the NATO summits in Wales, Warsaw, and more recently in Brussels.




    CENTENNIAL – Romanias inter-ministry committee in charge with the preparations for the Union Centennial Friday endorsed projects worth over 4.2 million euros. According to the Culture Minister George Ivaşcu, 7 of the projects have been put together by local authorities and have a combined budget of 2.3 million euros, while another 16 projects, proposed by various ministries, require a combined 2.5 million euros. The Committee has so far approved funding for over 500 projects, George Ivaşcu added. He explained that by the end of this month proposals designed by NGOs will also be selected for financing, out of a list of 232 projects.




    JUDICIARY – Mihail Vlasov, the former president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania, was sentenced on Friday by the Bucharest Court of Appeals to 9 years and 10 months in prison, for offences including embezzlement, forgery and the misuse of influence or authority in view of obtaining undue benefits. The judges found that the offences in this case were concurrent with the offence of influence peddling, for which Vlasov received in 2015 a final prison sentence of 5 years and 8 months. Last September however he was released on parole. The Court therefore cancelled the conditional release decision and added an additional 3 years and 10 months to the sentence, resulting a total of 9 years and 10 months. The ruling is not final.




    TOURISM – Romania and Poland will have joint tourist routes to attract visitors from Asia, the Romanian Tourism Minister Bogdan Trif announced on Friday, adding that both countries excel in terms of UNESCO sites and medieval citadels. Trif made these statements in Bucharest, during an event also attended by Polands Minister for Sports and Tourism, Witold Banka. Bogdan Trif emphasised the importance of a Government Order passed by Bucharest on Thursday with respect to the full guaranteeing of tourism services, a system implemented by Poland 2 years ago. In turn, the Polish official said a task force will be set up, to design joint Polish-Romanian travel packages.




    WEATHER – The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced that the authorities in Spain, Portugal and Croatia have issued code red and orange alerts for extreme heat, whereas some parts of Greece and Portugal are under high wildfire alerts. Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden are also reporting very high temperatures. Weather experts announce that Europe may see a new record in terms of high temperatures in the forthcoming days. The current record is 48 degrees Celsius, reported in Greece in 1977.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Nachrichten 18.07.2018

    Nachrichten 18.07.2018

    Staatspräsident Klaus Iohannis hat sich am Mittwoch mit der sozialdemokratischen Premierministerin Viorica Dăncilă zu Gesprächen im Cotroceni-Palast getroffen – Hauptgesprächspunkt war die Vorbereitung auf die EU-Ratspräsidentschaft Rumäniens im ersten Halbjahr 2019. Ein Treffen zwischen dem Staatschef und der Regierungschefin hatte ebenfalls auf Einladung von Iohannis vor zwei Monaten stattgefunden: die beiden Politiker hatten sich damals über die umstrittene Möglichkeit eines Umzugs der rumänischen Botschaft in Israel nach Jerusalem ausgetauscht. Anschließend hatte der Präsident den Rückzug Dăncilăs gefordert, die laut seinen Angaben unfähig sei, ihre Aufgaben zu erfüllen.



    In Bukarest hat das Verfassungsgericht am Mittwoch die Besprechung der Verfassungsklage von Staatspräsident Klaus Iohannis auf den 18. September aufgeschoben. Die Klage betrifft die Änderung und Ergänzung des Gesetzes über die Organisation und die Funktionsweise des Richterrates. In seiner Klage rügt Klaus Iohannis die Tatsache, dass das Parlament seinen Antrag, die Bestimmungen über die Funktionsweise des Richterrates zu überprüfen, ohne jede Motivation abgelehnt hat. Er behauptet ferner, dass die neuen Normen die Rolle des Staatsoberhaupts als Garant für die Unabhängigkeit der Justiz und das Funktionieren der Justizinspektion beeinträchtigen würden. Der Gesetzgeber müsse laut Gesetz alle aufgeworfenen Fragen erneut prüfen, so der Staatspräsident.



    Am Mittwoch hat das Verfassungsgericht die Klage der Nationalliberalen Partei PNL und der Union Rettet Rumänien USR (beide von der Opposition) in Bezug auf das Projekt zur Änderung des Gesetzes über den Status der Richter und Staatsanwälte abgelehnt. Ferner hat das Verfassungsgericht die Besprechung der Klagen der zwei Oppositionsparteien PNL und USR und des Obersten Gerichtes Rumäniens über das Projekt zur Änderung des Strafgesetzbuches und der Strafprozeßordnung auf den 25. September aufgeschoben. Ebenfalls am Mittwoch hat das Verfassungsgericht den Verfassungsklagen des Staatspräsidenten Klaus Iohannis, der Nationalliberalen Partei PNL, der Union Rettet Rumänien USR und der Partei Volksbewegung PMP (alle drei von der Opposition) in Bezug auf das Gesetz zur Gründung des Souveränen Fonds für Entwicklung und Investitionen stattgegeben. Dabei sagte der Verfassungsgerichtspräsident, Valer Dorneanu, besagtes Gesetz sei für verfassungswidrig erklärt worden, weil der Souveräne Fonds nicht per Gesetz sondern per Regierungsentscheidung gegründet werden müsse.



    Am Mittwoch hat das Verfassungsgericht Rumäniens der Klage betreffend das Recht auf freien Personenverkehr und Aufenthalt der Partner einer gleichgeschlechtlichen Ehe stattgegeben, gemäß der Entscheidung des Europäischen Gerichtshofs. Der Europäische Gerichtshof in Luxemburg hat entschieden, dass auch homosexuelle Nicht-EU-Bürger Freizügigkeit in der Europäischen Union genießen – wenn sie mit einem EU-Bürger verheiratet sind. Das heißt, sie haben das Recht, mit ihrem Partner gemeinsam in einem EU-Land zu leben. Geklagt hatte ein Rumäne, der mit einem US-Amerikaner verheiratet ist. Beide hatten geplant, gemeinsam in Rumänien zu leben. Doch die rumänischen Behörden hatten dem US-Amerikaner das Aufenthaltsrecht verweigert, da in Rumänien Ehen zwischen Menschen gleichen Geschlechts nicht anerkannt werden. Wie der Europäische Gerichtshof urteilt, haben EU-Mitgliedsstaaten weiterhin das Recht, selbst darüber zu entscheiden, ob sie gleichgeschlechtliche Ehen erlauben. Gleichzeitig können sie einem homosexuellen Nicht-EU-Bürger aber nicht das Recht nehmen, bei seinem Partner zu leben.



    Der amerikanische Botschafter in Rumänien, Hans Klemm und der Attache der US-Bundespolizei FBI, David Varner, haben sich mit der kommissarischen Chefstaatsanwältin der rumänischen Antikorruptionsbehörde DNA, Anca Jurma getroffen. Der Diplomat und der seit kurzer Zeit in Bukarest stationierte hohe Polizeibeamte sicherten Jurma die Kooperationsbereitschaft der US-Botschaft zu. Anca Jurma leitet stellvertetend die Behörde, seitdem Präsident Klaus Johannis durch eine Entscheidung des Verfassunsgerichts in Bukarest gezwungen war, die bisherige Chefstaatsanwältin Laura Codruta Kövesi zu entlassen.



    Der Generalstaatsanwalt Rumäniens, Augustin Lazar, ist am Mittwoch in Bukarest mit dem Staatsminister für Europa im Auswärtigen Amt Deutschlands, Michael Roth, zusammengekommen. Die zwei Würdenträger diskutierten über die bilaterale und internationale Kooperation im Justizbereich, über die Fortschritte Rumäniens bei der Justizreform und bei der Bekämpfung der Korruption, sowie über die aktuelle Problematik im Justizbereich und die jüngsten Änderungen des Justizsystems. Michael Roth würdigte die Fortschritte Rumäniens im Justizbereich in den letzten Jahren, aber äußerte auch sein Interesse und sein Besorgnis über die jüngsten Änderungen des Strafgesetzbuches und der Strafprozessordnung, steht in einem Communique der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft.



    Zum fünften Monat in Reihenfolge hat Rumänien im Juni die höchste Inflation unter den EU-Ländern registriert – um 4,7% stiegen die Konsumpreise im Jahresvergleich. Im Mai hatte Rumänien eine Jahresinfaltion von 4,6%, so Eurostat. In der gesamten EU lag der Durchschnitt im Juni bei 2%, ähnlich wie in der Eurozone. Relativ hohe Werte wurden in Estland (3,9%) und Ungarn (3,2%) gemessen. Zuvor berichtete das rumänische Statistiskamt INS von einer Inflation von 5,4% im Juni – sei sei um 0,01 Prozentpunkt geringer als im Mai gewesen. Die Zentralbank in Bukarest hat ihre Inflationsprognose für 2018 leicht nach oben bis auf 3,6% korrigiert.

  • May 14, 2018

    May 14, 2018

    MOTION – The Romanian Senate is today debating and voting upon a simple motion by which the right of centre opposition calls for the resignation of education minister, Valentin Popa. The signatories, the Save Romania Union and the National Liberal Party, say that the distribution of university entrance seats has been made based on political criteria. Valentin Popa has said the distribution of free seats in higher education has been made based on several criteria, such as the correlation of specialities on the labour market. He gave IT as an example, saying universities in Romania fail to educate the necessary number of specialists, demanded by the firms active in the field. We recall that some of the best-known universities in Romania are discontent about the way in which the Education Ministry distributed the free seats among universities, in the 2018-2019 academic year.



    INFLATION – In Romania, the annual inflation rate went up to 5.2% in March 2018, from 5% in the previous month, against the backdrop of a 7.2% increase in the price of non-food stuffs, of 4% in the price of services and of 2.8% in the price of services. A higher inflation rate was registered in June 2013, when consumer prices increased by 5.37%. On May 9, the National Bank of Romania revised upward to 3.6% the forecast inflation rate for the end of the year.



    STATISTICS – Latvia, Greece, Estonia and Romania are the EU member states which have registered the most significant drop in investments, as compared to the GDP, since 2007, whereas Sweden, Austria and Germany have increased their investments, data made public on Monday by Eurostat show. In the 2007 – 2017 period, the most significant drop in investments (in both the public and private sectors) as compared to the GDP, was registered in Latvia (minus 16.5 percentage points), whereas Romania registered a 12.5% drop. Last year, the total volume of investments made by the EU member states amounted to some 3,100 billion Euros. The money invested in constructions accounted for half of the amount, followed by machinery, equipment, armament systems and articles related to intellectual copyright. Overall, in 2017, the total volume of investment stood at 20.1% of the GDP, as compared to 22.4% in 2007, ahead of the global financial crisis.



    REMEMBRANCE DAY – A National Remembrance Day for the Martyrs of Communist Prisons is being marked in Romania on May 14. The decision is stipulated in a law promulgated last year. The day has been chosen as a remembrance of the night of May 14th to 15th 1948, when the communists who had just seized power in Romania, arrested over 10,000 Romanians who were opposed to the new regime. They were investigated, tried and thrown into prison. The detention system, similar to that in Soviet Russia was characterised by systematic physical and psychological terror. Until the overthrow of communism, in December 1989, prisons had been an instrument of political domination against all opponents: politicians of the inter-war period, the intellectual elite, clerics and religious believers.



    VISIT – The president of the main opposition party in Romania, the National Liberal Party, Ludovic Orban, is today meeting with the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, chancellor Angela Merkel. The Romanian official is currently on a visit to Germany. During his three day visit, Orban is also due to meet with MPs, German businesspeople, representatives of the federal government as well as with Romanians in the Diaspora, a press release issued by the National Liberal Party writes.



    DIPLOMACY– The United States is today inaugurating the embassy in Jerusalem, after a controversial decision by President Donald Trump to recognise the city as the capital of Israel. The international community considers that the final status of Jerusalem should be negotiated during a peace process with the Palestinians. Most UN member states have criticised the American decision. President Trumps decision upset and infuriated the Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state. In Bucharest, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has rejected the EU proposal calling on the member states to refuse that their embassies in Israel be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Romanian government has already adopted a memorandum on starting procedures to move the embassy, but president Klaus Iohannis said Romanias embassy cant be moved to Jerusalem without his consent.

    NORTH
    KOREA     – US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has said
    that Washington will lift the sanctions imposed on North Korea and will
    contribute to reconstructing the North-Korean economy if Pyongyang agrees to
    relinquish its nuclear arsenal. The American official said the talks held
    recently with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, have been warm and substantive
    and he added that there would need to be complete and verifiable
    denuclearisation. The declarations come ahead of the meeting scheduled for June
    12 in Singapore, between US President Donald Trump and North-Korean leader, Kim
    Jong-un.




    JAZZ FESTIVAL – Over 80 musicians the world over will attend the Gărâna Jazz Festival, in south-western Romania, one of the best known and most popular jazz festivals in the whole of Central and Eastern Europe, which , this year, runs between July 12 and 15. According to a communiqué issued by the organisers, the musicians will have the opportunity to perform live on three stages, to win over the public with American and European jazz, world music, fusion, son cubano – all elements specific to a “musical retreat in the middle of nature. The Gărâna International Jazz Festival is organised by the Jazz Banat Cultural Foundation, a member of the European Jazz Network. In the past 20 years, over 70,000 spectators and many outstanding foreign musicians have shared a special experience, that of listening to avant-garde jazz music in a small Romanian village, under the sky.(Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • Nachrichten 19.10.2017

    Nachrichten 19.10.2017

    Der rumänische Staatpräsident, Klaus Iohannis, beteiligt sich am Donnerstag und Freitag an dem Treffen des Europäischen Rates in Brüssel. Besprochen werden Themen wie Migration, Sicherheit und Verteidigung, die Beziehungen zwischen der EU und der Türkei, und die Nordkorea-Krise. Ferner wird in der Formel EU27 zum Thema Brexit diskutiert – dabei werden die Fortschritte im Verhandlungsprozess untersucht. Laut einem Communique des Präsidialamtes wird Staatspräsident Klaus Iohannis unter anderen über die Monitorisierung der Migrantenflüsse im Mittelmeer sprechen. In Bezug auf Nordkorea wird Iohannis hervorheben, dass Rumänien die Anstrengungen der internationalen Gemeinschaft für eine friedliche Lösung der Krise unterstützt. Hauptzweck sei die komplette atomare Abrüstung der koreanischen Halbinsel.



    Rumäniens Staatschef Klaus Iohannis und Außenminister Teodor Melescanu haben erneut erklärt, Rumänien unterstütze die Souveränität und territoriale Integrität Spaniens. Im Kontext der Lage in Katalonien sei im verfassungsrechtlichen und völkerrechtlichen Rahmen vorzugehen. Die Erklärungen erfolgten bei dem Treffen mit dem spanischen Außenminister Alfonso Maria Dastis Quecedo. Der separatistische Präsident Kataloniens, Carles Puigdemont, informierte am Donnerstag die Regierung in Madrid, Katalonien habe ihre Unabhängigkeit nicht erklärt, könnte es aber tun, wenn die Behörden die von ihm sogenannten Repressionen, also die Suspendierung der Autonomie, fortsetzen. Madrid hat bekanntgegeben, es werde die Demarchen in diese Richtung weiterführen.



    Rumänien hat einige Fortschritte im Bereich Gesundheit gemacht, erklärte am Donnerstag in Bukarest der EU-Kommissar für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit Vytenis Andriukaitis. Er fügte aber hinzu, das rumänische Gesundheitswesen habe große Finanzierungsprobleme. Die EU Fördermittel seien ein Schlüsselinstrument, das zur besseren Funktionierung des Systems beitragen könnte, so der EU-Vertreter. Ebenfalls am Donnerstag organisierten die Gewerkschaften vom Gesundheitswesen in Bukarest eine Großkundgebung und einen Protestmarsch gegen die geplanten Gesetzesänderungen im Gesundheitsbereich, die am 1. Januar 2018 in Kraft treten sollten. Laut den protestierenden Gewerkschaftlern würden die Gesetzesänderungen zu einer Senkung der Löhne führen. Die Proteste haben in der zweiten Septemberhälfte begonnen.



    Rumänien hat viel zu bieten in Bereichen wie Landwirtschaft, Technologie der Information, und industrielle Produktion, erklärte am Donnerstag in Bukarest der rumänische Ministerpräsident Mihai Tudose beim US-amerikanischen Event zur Handelsförderung Trade Winds. Der Premier sprach auch über das Wirtschaftswachstum Rumäniens, die Partnerschaft mit der EU und der NATO und die 20-jährige strategische Partnerschaft mit den USA. Seinerseits erklärte der US-Botschafter in Bukarest, Hans Klemm, Washington habe in der Region keinen besseren Partner als Rumänien, das amerikanische Investoren anziehen kann. Am Mittwoch hat in Bukarest das größte amerikanische Event zur Handelsförderung Trade Winds begonnen, das jedes Jahr vom Handelsministerium in Washington organisiert wird. Es sei die größte Regierungs-Handelsmission in der Geschichte Südosteuropas, hieß es in einer Pressemitteilung der US-Botschaft in Bukarest. Die Handelsmission Trade Winds 2017 wird in Zusammenarbeit mit der rumänischen Regierung organisiert. Am diesjährigen Event beteiligen sich mehr als 100 amerikanische und 50 rumänische Unternehmen. Drei Tage lang werden Konferenzen und Rundtischgespräche zu Geschäfts- und Handelsthemen, Treffen zwischen Unternehmen und Diskussionen mit US-Handelsbeauftragten aus über 25 europäischen Staaten stattfinden. Neben Rumänien wird Trade Winds 2017 auch in Bulgarien, Kroatien, Griechenland und Serbien veranstaltet.



    Der rumänische Minister für europäische Angelegenheiten, Victor Negrescu, beteiligt sich in Budapest an dem 6. Jahrestreffen der EU-Strategie für die Donauregion. Themen der Gespräche sind unter anderen die Energiesicherheit, die Entwicklung der regionalen Infrastrktur, die Konnektivität und die Zukunft der makroregionalen Projekte nach 2020. Die EU-Strategie für die Donauregion ist ein großangelegtes Projekt, das von Österreich und Rumänien initiiiert und im Jahr 2012 auf EU-Ebene gestartet wurde. Die EU-Strategie soll als EU-Instrument zur Förderung der Zusammenarbeit im Donauraum dienen.

  • President Iohannis and the Romanian Diaspora

    President Iohannis and the Romanian Diaspora

    The Romanian community is important for Romania’s relationship with the United States, President Klaus Iohannis, who attended the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, has said. The President met on Thursday with members of the Romanian community in Philadelphia.



    Klaus Iohannis: “I have been paying special attention to the Diaspora from the very beginning, out of conviction. You are important to us. You are vital for nurturing a continuing relationship with your birth country and I count very much on you and on the other Romanians in the US when it comes to the Strategic Partnership between America and Romania.”



    Klaus Iohannis has also said that when the details of his visit to the US were set and after a thorough selection of the Romanian communities in that country, he chose to meet with the Romanians in Philadelphia. Iohannis also talked about his meeting with the US President Donald Trump in the first half of the year. “After that meeting our relationship became very strong and we managed to give a new dimension to the Strategic Partnership between the two countries,” Iohannis also said. Iohannis went on to say that President Trump showed at that moment that he highly appreciates the Romanian community in the US. Also during his visit to the US, Klaus Iohannis has announced he cancelled the visit he was supposed to pay to the neighboring Ukraine next month.



    He took this decision following the adoption, by the Kiev Parliament, of a new education law that limits the rights of the Romanian ethnics to study in their native language: “When I found out about this law I cancelled my visit to Ukraine and also the meeting with the Ukrainian Parliament Speaker that was due to take place at the presidential palace in September, thus conveying very strong diplomatic signals. It so happened that I met the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on the hallway of the UN headquarters, we greeted each other, of course, and I told him my concerns.”



    In response to the education law adopted in Kiev, Romania’s Parliament adopted a declaration saying that the new piece of legislation “drastically limits the right to education in their mother tongue of the Romanian ethnics in Ukraine, something that raised serious concerns in Romania.” As many as 400 thousand Romanian ethnics are currently living in Ukraine, most of them in the Romanian territories annexed by the USSR in 1940 and taken over by Ukraine in 1991 as successor state.




  • Nachrichten 05.09.2017

    Nachrichten 05.09.2017

    Der rumänische Verteidigungsminister, Adrian Tutuianu, ist am Dienstag von seinem Amt zurückgetreten. Als Gründung für seinen Rücktritt sagte Tutuianu, der erst im Juni dieses Jahres das Amt des Verteidigungsministers übernommen hatte, man habe ihm Kommunikationsmangel in puncto Zahlung der Solden und Gehälter der Militärs und Zivilangestellten der rumänsichen Armee vorgeworfen. Vorhin hatte das Verteidigungsministerium angekündigt, die Armeeangehörigen würden diesen Monat nur ihr Arbeitsentgelt erhalten, ohne Lebensmittelzuschuss und ohne Einzahlung der Krankenversicherungsbeiträge und der Einkommensteuer zum Staatshaushalt. Diese Ankündigung wurde vom Ministerpräsident Mihai Tudose und vom Finanzministerium dementiert. Es gebe keine Schwierigkeiten bei der Bezahlung der Solden und Gehälter von Armeeangehörigen, hie‎ß es vom Finanzministerium.



    Der rumänische Ministerpräsident, Mihai Tudose, ist am Dienstag mit Vertretern des Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF) und der Weltbank zusammengekommen. Nach Beratungen mit dem Chef der Bukarester Exekutive erhielt die IWF-Delegation Zugang zu den Datenbanken der Nationalen Steuerbehörde, vor der Erarbeitung des nächsten Länderberichtes. Das Treffen des Ministerpräsidenten Tudose mit Vertretern der zwei internationalen Finanzeinrichtungen erfolgte auf dem Hintergrund der bevorstehenden Haushaltsanpassung und der Vorbereitung des Haushaltsentwurfes für 2018. Es handele sich um eine positive Haushaltsanpassung, die bis Ende September vorgelegt werde, so Mihai Tudose.



    Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt Rumäniens ist in den ersten sechs Monaten dieses Jahres um 5,8% gegenüber dem gleichen Vorjahreszeitraum gewachsen. Das gab am Dienstag das Nationale Institut für Statistik bekannt. Zum Wirtschaftwachstum trugen mit Ausnahme des Baugewerbes sämtliche Branchen bei, besonders aber die Industrie, der Gro‎ß- und Einzelhandel, der Transport- und Logistikbereich, die Gastronomie sowie die IKT-Sparte. Laut Premierminister Mihai Tudose sei das Wachstum der beste Indikator für die Situation der Wirtschaft — und das Wachstum werde die Prognosen übertreffen, sagte er am Montag im Parlament.



    Der Botschafter der Vereinigten Staaten in Bukarest, Hans Klemm, hat am Dienstag erklärt, er möchte weiterhin mit dem rumänischen Justizminister und mit der rumänischen Regierung zusammenarbeiten. Dabei präzisierte Hans Klemm, er habe mit Justizminister Tudorel Toader über die Änderung der Justizgesetze diskutiert. Derartige Beratungen seien normal im Rahmen einer strategischen Partnerschaft, so der US-Botschafter. Klemm und Toader sind zu Beratungen zusammengekommen, nachdem letzte Woche die US-Botschaft Besorgnis über die Unabhängigkeit des rumänischen Justizsystems geäu‎ßert hatte. Vorhin hatte Justizminister Tudorel Toader einen Entwurf über eine tiefgründige Reform des rumänischen Justizwesens veröffentlicht. Die Reaktionen unterschiedlichster Art lie‎ßen nicht auf sich warten, die Opposition, die Zivilgesellschaft und die Presse äu‎ßerten sich sehr kritisch gegen das Gesetzprojekt. Die Initiative erfolgt sechs Monate nach der versuchten Lockerung der Antikorruptions-Gesetzgebung. Jetzt will die mitte-links-orientierte Regierungskoalition einschlie‎ßlich die Zuständigkeiten der Nationalen Antikorruptionsbehörde (DNA) einschränken — die Sonderstaatsanwaltschaft würde in Zukunft zum Beispiel keine Ermittlungen gegen Richter mehr starten können. Das Projekt sieht überhaupt zahlreiche Neuigkeiten vor, darunter die Art und Weise, in der die Oberstaatsanwälte ernannt werden oder die Gründung einer Sondereinheit zur Verfolgung der von Richtern und Staatsanwälten begangenen Straftaten. Laut geltenden Gesetzen ist es der Präsident, der die Oberstaatsanwälte auf Vorschlag des Justizministers und nach nicht bindender Stellungnahme des Obersten Richterrates ernennt. Der Richterrat ist das Selbstverwaltungsorgan der Justiz, das für die Unabhängigkeit des Systems garantieren soll. Tudorel Toader schlägt au‎ßerdem vor, dass der politisch ernannte Justizminister die Kontrolle über die Einheit zur Justizaufsicht des Richterrates übernimmt. Analysten und Justizbehörden sprechen hier von einer Einmischung in die Justiztätigkeit.



    Der moldauische Staatspräsident Igor Dodon hat die Beteiligung von Soldaten seines Landes an der multinationalen Militärübung Rapid Trident in der Ukraine untersagt. Nach einer Mitteilung der Präsidialamtes sei das Verteidigungsministerium angewiesen worden, die Teilnahme abzusagen. Zuvor hatte er sich gegen eine Beteiligung moldauischer Truppen an einer internationalen Übung in Südost-Rumänien widersetzt. Ende April hatte Premierminister Pavel Filip die Entscheidung des Präsidenten kritisiert, keine Teilnahme moldauischer Soldaten an solchen Übungen zuzulassen. Eine derartige Entscheidung passe nicht zur Logik eines Oberbefehlshaber der Streitkräfte, sagte Filip damals.

  • Nachrichten 22.08.2017

    Nachrichten 22.08.2017

    Die rumänische Grenzpolizei hat 25 Iraker bei der illegalen Ausreise aus Rumänien an der Westgrenze bei Nădlac gefasst. 16 Kinder und Jugendliche gehörten zur Gruppe. Sie hatten in Rumänien Asylanträge gestellt, wollten aber nach Ungarn und somit in einen Schengenstaat. Die in letzter Zeit an den Grenzen Rumäniens immer öfter anfallenden illegalen Migranten sind auch Thema im FJ nach den Meldungen.



    Die rumänischen Behörden sind zufrieden mit dem Stand der Wahrung der Rechte der rumänischen Minderheit in der Ukraine. Das sagte in Kiew die rumänische Ministerin für die Diaspora, Andreea Păstârnac, bei einem Treffen mit dem ukrainischen Außenministrer Pavlo Klimkin. Die beiden hohen Verantwortlichen sagten, dass die rumänische Minderheit in der Ukraine und die ukrainische Minderheit in Rumänien Schlüsselbestandteile der bilateralen Kooperation bleiben müssen, so das Außenministerium in Kiew. Ein weiteres Thema der Gespräche war die Vorbereitung des Besuchs, den der rumänische Präsident Klaus Iohannis in der Ukraine untermehmen soll, hieß es. Die rumänische Ministerin für die Diaspora, Andreea Păstârnac, ist in Kiew auch mit dem ukrainischen Kulturminister, Evghenii Nâşciuk, zusammengekommen. Dabei erklärten sich beide Minister für die Unterzeichnung eines Protokolls zwischen bedutenden Kultureinrichtungen in Rumänien und in der Ukraine, mit dem Zweck, gemeinsame Kulturprojekte durchzuführen.



    Der rumänische Verteidigungsminister, Adrian Ţuţuianu, ist am Dienstag mit dem Botschafter Kanadas in Bukarest, Kevin Hamilton, zusammengekommen. Die zwei Wurdenträger diskutierten über die Operationalisierung der multinationalen Brigade in Rumänien und über die Stationierung einiger Luft- und Marinekapazitäten in Rumänien, im Rahmen des Maßnahmenpakets zur Wiederversicherung der Allierten. Verteidigungsminister Ţuţuianu begrüßte die Ankunft der vier Flugzeuge CF-188 Hornet der Kanadischen Air Force in Rumänien. Diese werden zusammen mit Flugzeugen der rumänischen Luftwaffe mehrere Luftpolizeieinsätze fliegen, als Teil des NATO-Plans zur Verstärkung der Ostflanke der Allianz. Der rumänische Verteidigungsminister dankte den kanadischen Behörden für die Einladung zu der diesjährigen Auflage der INVICTUS GAMES“ in Toronto. Die rumänische Mannschaft besteht aus 15 Sportlern, Soldaten, die in Einsatzgebieten verletzt wurden.



    Nach den Anschlägen in Katalonien hat einer der Terrorverdächtigen vor Gericht die Vorbereitung eines noch größeren Anschlags gestanden. Mohamed Houli Chemlal räumte nach Justizangaben vom Dienstag ein, dass er selbst mit weiteren Tatverdächtigen entsprechende Pläne verfolgt habe. Chemlal und die anderen drei überlebenden Mitglieder der mutmaßlichen Terrorzelle waren zuvor erstmals einem Richter vorgeführt worden. Die Anhörung fand unter strengsten Sicherheitsvorkehrungen statt. Der Richter sollte darüber entscheiden, welche Anschuldigungen gegen die Männer erhoben werden. Chemlal war am vergangenen Mittwoch in Alcanar bei einer Explosion kurz vor den Anschlägen verletzt worden. Mit seinem Geständnis vor dem Nationalen Gerichtshof in Madrid bestätigte er nach Justizangaben seine Aussage aus einem Polizeiverhör. Bei den Anschlägen von Barcelona und Cambrils wurden am vergangenen Donnerstag und Freitag 15 Menschen getötet und mehr als 120 verletzt. Von den zwölf mutmaßlichen Mitgliedern der Terrorzelle leben nur noch die vier, die nun in Madrid vor Gericht stehen. Die übrigen acht wurden von der Polizei erschossen oder starben bei der Explosion in Alcanar. Die vier Verdächtigen sind die einzigen Überlebenden einer zwölfköpfigen Terrorzelle, die für die Anschläge in Barcelona und Cambrils verantwortlich sein soll. Dem Gericht vorgeführt wurden nach Angaben aus Justizkreisen Driss Oukabir, Mohammed Aallaa, Salh El Karib und Mohamed Houli Chemlal. (afp)



    US-Präsident Donald Trump will den Militäreinsatz in Afghanistan entgegen früheren Äußerungen fortsetzen und ausweiten. Bis zu 3900 zusätzliche US-Soldaten könnten nun dort eingesetzt werden. Der afghanische Staatschef Aschraf Ghani lobte Trumps Ankündigung. Dies zeige, dass es für das Engagement der USA in Afghanistan keine zeitliche Begrenzung gebe, sagte Ghani in Kandahar. Nato-Generalsekretär Jens Stoltenberg befürwortete die Pläne des US-Präsidenten. Afghanistan dürfe nie wieder ein Rückzugsort werden für Terroristen, die unsere Länder angreifen.