Radio România Internațional

Tag: Values

  • Statements about Romania’s belonging in NATO and the UE

    Statements about Romania’s belonging in NATO and the UE

    At the question ‘in what country they would want to work or study for a longer period of time’, 42% of the respondents to an opinion poll made by INSCOP in Romania in June 2021 opted for a Western country, in the EU or for the United States or Canada. Only 4% chose Russia and China whereas 47% said they would not leave their country. 66.6% said they preferred the Western-style rights and liberties to the traditional values Russia pretends to promote and only 16.2% stood in favour of the so-called Russian values. 56.2% of the Romanians believed that Romania’s accession to the EU brought along advantages whereas 35.1% saw only disadvantages. 65.8% of the respondents said they want Romania to be a NATO member, so that it may be well-defended militarily, 28.6% stood for neutrality as they believed Romania was not going to be attacked by anyone.

    73.8% believed the US bases on Romania’s territory contribute to the country’s defence in the event of a foreign aggression. Even at that time, the respondents overwhelmingly voiced their discontent with the activity of their leaders irrespective of their political creed.

    The sociologists’ conclusion at that time was that the Romanians did not contest their belonging to the free world but only the legitimacy of a political class, which ignored them and looked down on them. Romania is firmly committed to its assumed Euro-Atlantic headway and the decision to bring our own contribution to strengthening security in the area remains a solid one, Romania’s Minister of Defence, Angel Tîlvăr said on Tuesday during the visit he paid together with the US ambassador Kathleen Kavalec to the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase in southeastern Romania.  There they met a delegation of military attaches from NATO countries accredited to Bucharest, the US troops deployed there as well as their Spanish, French and Romanian counterparts.

    According to ambassador Kavalec ‘Romania is investing quite a bit of funds to improve this important airbase, which is one of the most important in NATO and which helps defend the Eastern Flank and which helps defend the Black Sea area’.

    Also on Tuesday, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown, Princess Margareta says that never in its modern history has Romania enjoyed a higher security level and better conditions for economic prosperity than now as a fully-fledged member of the EU and NATO.

    In another development she described the latest presidential and Parliamentary election as a cry for help from the voters who against a rapid but unequal economic development are feeling ignored. She gave as example the differences between the country’s capital Bucharest and the poverty in rural Romania or the investment in modern technologies whereas expenditures in the health sector remain the lowest in the European Union.

    (bill)

  • Maia Sandu, awarded for promoting European values

    Maia Sandu, awarded for promoting European values

    The
    president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, Saturday received the ‘Timişoara
    Award for European Values, established this year by the authorities of the
    2023 European Capital of Culture to honour personalities who champion or uphold
    European values within and outside the Union.


    I
    accept this prize, Maia Sandu said at the award ceremony, as a vote of
    confidence in Moldova’s and its citizens’ capacity to see through their fight
    for freedom. She also thanked Romania for its unwavering support, and said she
    wanted for her country the prosperity enjoyed by the other EU member states.


    Maia
    Sandu: I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise the gratitude and high
    appreciation for the support we have received from Romania, an unconditional,
    brotherly support for which we will always be grateful. What we see here in Timişoara,
    what we see in the European Union’s cities, is what we want for the Republic of
    Moldova as well. Let the living standards I see in your city, the freedom of
    thought and of speech, the European values become undefeatable, here and in the
    Republic of Moldova.


    The
    Moldovan official also highlighted that the eastward enlargement of the EU has
    been a large-scale historical reparation, which will not be complete as long as
    countries like Moldova and Ukraine are left outside the bloc. The nations that
    choose freedom, she argued, belong together with the states and peoples of the
    free world, and not in a grey area, subject to constant threats to their
    sovereignty and independence.

    We all know that in the Republic of Moldova such
    threats, be they direct or via disloyal agents, oligarchs willing to sell out
    their fellow countrymen without shame, will not disappear, but rather they will
    strengthen unless we break our harmful ties with the past. But we are not
    afraid and we are not wavering. Over the past few years, we have managed to end
    our dependence on Russian natural gas, we have redirected our exports to new
    markets, we have been building and restoring bridges and roads connecting us to
    the EU. The Republic of Moldova is no longer at the service of Kremlin;
    instead, it is taking its fate in its own hands and stepping resolutely on the
    path of European integration, Moldova’s president added.


    She
    also said that this has been acknowledged by the EU member countries in
    December 2023, when they decided that Moldova and Ukraine deserve to start
    accession negotiations.


    In
    these troubled times, Maia Sandu is not only a strong leader for her nation,
    but a role model for millions of Europeans outside Moldova as well, the Mayor
    of Timişoara Dominic Fritz emphasised. According to him, Maia Sandu believed in
    Moldova’s European aspirations when many were dismissing them as utopian and, with
    unbelievable effort and courage, she is fighting resolutely to shape a European
    future for Moldova. (AMP)

  • Věra Jourová on transparency: “We all have to do much more”

    Věra Jourová on transparency: “We all have to do much more”

    From defending the rule of law and media freedom to fostering European democracy, from combating disinformation to promoting equality and diversity, journalists from the Euranet Plus radio network talked with Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of values and transparency, in a debate this week.



    In the context of next year’s European elections the Commission’s vice-president discussed with the radio stations in our network this week, at a Euranet Plus summit moderated by journalist Ella Joyner.



  • Young People and Civic Engagement

    Young People and Civic Engagement


    Over
    February 1st
    2019 and January 31st
    2020 the ‘Young Initiative’ Association implemented a programme
    entitled ‘United We Stand for European Values’. Funded through
    the European Solidarity Corps, the project was aimed at developing
    critical thinking in young people coming from disadvantaged
    environments in the Bucharest – Ilfov region as well as their civic
    empowerment through non-formal learning contexts so that they may
    become more actively involved in society and in the situations
    concerning them. Here is Eliza
    Vaş, vice-president of the ‘Young Initiative’ Association with
    more on the aforementioned project, drawn up by young people for
    young people.


    Eliza
    Vaş: This
    is the first project of this kind implemented by the volunteers of
    the ‘Young Initiative’ Association, which we carried out by means
    of the funds we got through the European Solidarity Corps. Our goal
    was to develop critical thinking in young people from the
    Bucharest-Ilfov area and help them get more involved in society. We
    mainly addressed young people with ages between 14 and 25,
    high-schoolers, students or those interested in non-formal education
    contexts. More than 250 young people got involved with the project
    during one year of implementation; they participated in 15 events,
    such as interactive workshops, debates or decision-making simulations
    at the level of European bodies. We even had a board game of
    community involvement, which we named ‘United’.




    All
    the participants in the ‘United
    We Stand for European Values’ project were brought together and
    guided in every moment of their activity by members of the ‘Young
    Initiative’ Association. Nevertheless, the impact of their actions
    was being assessed in the end and every participant was able to
    understand how important is for an individual to get involved at
    community level.





    Eliza
    Vas: My
    role during the project was to be a coach, which means that I was
    training in a way or another the team of volunteers. I helped them
    develop and put into practice the activities that are part of the
    project. To use an illustration from football, I was like a headcoach
    standing beside the pitch and watching how the players are putting
    into practice the strategy previously discussed. Then we had
    locker-room talks about what was good and if there is room for
    improvement. The idea is that non-formal education lays very much
    emphasis on reflection in the learning process. The people involved
    become more aware of the knowledge they get and the abilities they
    develop. But most importantly they become aware of the impact they
    produced through their activity.




    The
    project United
    We Stand for European Values is first and foremost focusing on the
    solidarity and the general overview of the young Romanians as
    European citizens. The largest number of debates and workshops were
    staged around the European community values. Here is Elena
    Şelaru, from the International Relations Department of the ‘Young
    Initiative’ Association




    Elena
    Şelaru:
    Practically
    we as an organizing team prepared various workshops and debates on
    issues of European interest to create a framework to be able to talk
    about our rights as European citizens, European values and the
    opportunities of European mobility. My involvement in this project
    consisted in staging a workshop on circular economy and climate
    change for ninth graders of the Technical Energy College in
    Bucharest. I got involved in a simulated decision-making process like
    those in the European Parliament, during which I acted as a
    facilitator. I wanted to make sure my participation was interactive
    and that all participants would be able to express their ideas in a
    safe environment.




    It
    is very important for the young people in the Romanian society to
    have initiative in their fields of interest. Any idea or small action
    can create large-scale projects or activities aimed at improving the
    life of the community they are part of. So the team of the ‘Young
    Initiative’ Association is encouraging such initiatives as they
    themselves are people with initiatives. Here is Elena
    Şelaru at the microphone again.





    Elena
    Selaru:
    I
    believe that if you have initiative it means that you can think for
    yourself and maybe solve some issues or situations other people don’t
    think they need to be dealt with. I believe in our time, many people
    have initiatives and get involved with the local community. And it is
    this involvement that adds the value that makes the difference. And I
    am thinking here of my colleagues from the ‘Young Initiative’, as
    a lot of projects started from their initiatives.


    For
    Elena Şelaru, the working experience with the project ‘United
    We Stand for European Values’ had a special impact not only at the
    professional level. What do the young people who choose to get
    involved in suchlike activities gain actually? Well, they are
    boosting their self-image.




    Elena
    Selaru:After
    the funds had been approved, I had a short time of training, prepared
    the next activities and then started to implement them. Getting
    involved with this project was for me a personal accomplishment as I
    got a series of skills in the process of staging various activities
    and I learnt what assuming responsibility on long term was like.




    The
    solidarity team of ‘United
    We Stand for European Values’
    had 8 people (Elena Şelaru, Andrei Dobrea, Cristina Cautiş, Maria
    Balea, Simona Baciu, Andreea Boieriu, Dragoş Dănilă, Marius
    Ghiţă), six volunteers (Ana Maria Andronache, Maria Baciu, Irina
    Dobreanu, Vlăduţ Ene, Claudiu Brotea) and an experienced trainer
    with the European projects, Eliza Vaş. (Translated by D.B.)