Tag: victory

  • Reactions to the election of Donald Trump

    Reactions to the election of Donald Trump

    Many political leaders around the world have reacted by congratulating the Republican Donald Trump, who announced his victory in the US presidential election. Before the votes counting was over, he had obtained more than the 270 electors that he needed to be elected. He thus becomes the second American president with two non-consecutive terms. The incumbent President Joe Biden and the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his victory. Joe Biden invited him to the White House and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, emphasizing the importance of working to unify the country. “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results.” Kamala Harris said in a speech held at Howard University in Washington.

     

    European leaders emphasized Europe’s close ties to the United States, posting early congratulations for Donald Trump as it became clear he would win the US presidency. The President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, “warmly congratulated” Donald Trump on his victory in the election, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, emphasized the ‘lasting alliance’ and the ‘historic link’ between the European Union and the United States. The French President Emmanuel Macron promised to cooperate with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a stronger Europe, given the ‘new context’. At the same time, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was looking forward to working with Donald Trump in the coming years. NATO Secretary General, the former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, said that Donald Trump’s leadership will be ‘again essential to keep our alliance strong’.

     

    The Beijing leader Xi Jinping called the winner of the US presidential election and pleaded for the relationship between the two powers to be ‘stable, healthy and sustainable’. We hope that both sides will uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation, said Xi Jinping, who called for finding the right way for China and the United States to get along in this new era. He emphasized that a good relationship between Beijing and Washington will benefit both countries and the world. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, spoke on the phone with Donald Trump, congratulating him on his victory, which he called historic and convincing. Zelensky stated that he agreed with him to maintain a close dialogue and develop cooperation between Ukraine and the US. From Romania, the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, conveyed that Bucharest is a strong and committed strategic ally of Washington. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu mentioned that Romania is ready to work to strengthen the strategic partnership with the United States. (LS)

  • Romania’s magical debut at EURO 2024

    Romania’s magical debut at EURO 2024

    Even the most optimistic supporters of the Romanian national football team did not believe, before the match with Ukraine, from EURO 2024, that their team could achieve such a brilliant victory. Somehow there was this hope that the Romanian footballers would have a good match that should erase from memory the poor game with no results of the last few years, but nothing more than that. Edward Iordănescu’s national team was coming after a qualification campaign in which they did not shine, but they did not lose a single match, which created some expectations, enough to bring over 40 thousand Romanians to the stands of the Allianz Arena stadium in Munich. And, surprise: the team was not a disappointment! After a start in which Ukraine controlled the game, not posing any danger to the Romanian goal, the first goal was scored in the 29th minute following a shot from outside the box sent by Nicolae Stanciu directly into the top corner of the Ukrainian goal. The Romanians braced up and attacked more insistently.

     

    Stanciu then sent the ball into the crossbar, from a corner kick, and Romania ended the first half with strength and confidence. The second half started in the same spirit. The Romanian footballers combined more and more accurately, they were the first to reach the ball, and the individual technique made the difference, with Denis Drăguş and Dennis Man outshining the others in this respect. The score became 2 to 0 in the 53rd minute, thanks to a shot on the run by Răzvan Marin that tricked the Ukrainian goalkeeper Andri Lunin. Four minutes later the score became 3 to 0, after an individual action by Man finalized by Drăguş. Then several players were changed in both teams. Romania’s game lost a bit of its consistency, and the Ukrainians became more menacing, trying to score at least one goal. But that was not the case, so the match ended with the score 3 to 0, marking the most decisive Romanian victory in a final tournament. UEFA designated the captain of the Romanian team, Nicolae Stanciu the best player of the match.

     

    Stanciu: “I think that, after the birth of my girls, this is the happiest day. I think that what I have experienced today cannot be repeated, it is incomparable”.

     

    The striker Denis Drăguş was Iordănescu’s secret weapon. His individual play made the difference, often unbalancing the Ukrainian defense.

     

    Drăguş: “You have to believe in us. We hope that we have given the Romanians what they deserved, what they expected… it’s incredible!”

     

    In the other Group E match, Slovakia defeated Belgium 1-0 in what was the biggest upset of the European Championship so far. Thus, before the second stage, Romania occupies first place in the group. On Friday, in Düsseldorf, Slovakia will face Ukraine, and on Saturday, in Cologne, the Romanian eleven will meet Belgium.

  • Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great’s reign, revisited

    Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great’s reign, revisited

    The Romanian historian Liviu Campeanu, in 2012, while on a research stage at the Prussian Cultural Heritages Secret State Archives in Berlin, came across the manuscript of the diary kept by Liborius Nacker, the Secretary general of the Teutonic Order. Written in late 15th century, the document, whose existence had already been known to historians, mentions the contribution of the Teutonic knights who accompanied Polish King Ioan Albert in his campaign against then the Moldavian ruler Stephen the great. Resulting in the famous defeat of the Poles in the battle of Cosmin Woods, Codrii Cosminului, in Romanian, the campaign can be viewed in a fresh perspective and a more nuanced one, at that, according to the documents discovered by historian Liviu Campeanu. Actually, the discovered documents provided the starting point for Liviu Campeanus book, The Crusade against Stephen the Great. The Cosmin Woods 1497. Brought out by the Humanitas publishers in 2023, the volume depicts an even more complex and detailed picture of the woiwode. Stephen the Great s image was intensely hyped up according to the communist historiography.



    The Romanian Orthodox Church already canonized him as Stephen the Great and the Holy. Notwithstanding, in Liviu Campeanus volume, a more comprehensive and objective analysis is provided, of Moldavian woiwodes 47-year-long reign, from 1457 to 1504. It should be noted, though, that his most remarkable achievements are never questioned in the book. A telling example of that is Stephen the Greats stance towards the Ottoman Porte. We all remember Stephen the great has usually been described as a long-term and staunch anti-Ottoman opponent.



    Historian Liviu Campeanu:



    “Nothing new for the historians, yet for the lay public, for whom Stephen the Greats profile as a mighty crusader is all too familiar, a profile that has been constantly been build up towards, in the past two or three decades and even earlier, it may seem baffling to find out that, in earnest, Stephen the Great was an ally of the Sultan. Of his 47-year-old reign, Stephen the Great was at war with the Turks for 13 years, while of those 13 years, there were only three when he had to face large-scale Ottoman campaigns or massive Ottoman invasions that, on average, were conducted for about two months a year. Therefore, for 6 months out of 47 years he properly and openly fought the Ottoman Empire. Let me stress that once again, the state of belligerence lasted for about 13 years, while for the remaining number of years of the 47-year-old reign, Stephen the Great was an ally of the Sultan. “



    The alliance with the Ottoman Empire, just like the state of belligerence, at that time largely depended on specific circumstances and on the medieval states need for mutual help. The extremely volatile peace of the time, and the almost constant warlike atmosphere lead up to changes in the vassalage relationships, in keeping with the immediate interests and the looming dangers. As for Stephen the Greats Moldavia, it was no exception to that either, in Central and Eastern Europe.



    Liviu Campeanu:



    “I have been trying to present to the public the results I have achieved, precisely thanks to the documents discovered in 2012 in the Archives of the Teutonic Order that have been preserved in Berlin, to this day: the fact that Moldavia had been tributary to the Ottoman Empire about 20 years earlier that it had been usually known. So, according to historiography, everybody agreed that Moldavia began to pay tribute in 1455 or 1456. But I discovered documents clearly attesting the fact that twenty years earlier already, so from 1432, Moldavia had become a stipendiary for the Ottoman Empire. So it was in that tradition that Stephen the Great fit in, he actually paid the tribute for three decades of his glorious reign, which is not a negative aspect. Perhaps very few people know that even the Hapsburgs paid the tribute to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, what with the French King Francis the 2nd, being Suleiman the Magnificents ally in the first half of the 16th century. So such alliances and peace or mutual help treaties were just as normal at that time, and Stephen the Great was no exception to that himself. Besides, thanks to the tribute he paid, not only did he secure peace with the Ottoman Empire, but also, he got proper help from the Turks in various campaigns and battles he fought with the neighbors. Speaking of which, what I have in mind is Matthias Corvinuss Hungary or Casimir the 4th s Poland or Wallachia, where war was in full swing, pitting the Dracula against the Dan boyar families in the second half of the 15th century. In that conflict, Stephen the Great intervened on a number of occasions, sometimes even with Ottoman support. “



    At the time when Stephen the Great was at war with the Ottoman Empire, one of his most remarkable victories occurred, that of January, 1475, when he defeated Soliman Pasa in Vaslui. Following that victory, Pope Sixtus the 4th named him the Athlete of Christendom. However, the title should be viewed only in close connection to that particular moment of his reign. Subsequently, from 1486 to the year of his death, 1504, Stephen the Great complied with the politics of the Sublime Porte. And there is more to it than that: the Ottoman Empire was his ally in the conflict with the Polish King Jan Olbracht, resulting in Moldavians win in the battle of Cosmin Woods, Codrii Cosminului, in Romanian, in September 1497. Bach then, in the Cosmin Woods Battle, two great alliance systems went against one another: the Polish-Lithuanian Union and its vassals, the Duchy of Mazovia and the Teutonic Order, on one hand, and, on the other hand, Moldavia, with its allies, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. But how exactly the buildup to the conflict occurred, even though Stephen the Great had become Polands vassal in 1495, through a treaty signed in Colomeea? Here is Liviu Campeanu once again, this time outlining the historical background of that.



    “It was precisely from that kind of vassalage and the responsibilities Stephen the Great and the Polish King Casimir the 4th mutually took in Colomeea, in 1485, that this conflict sprang from. In effect, in 1484, Stephen the Great had lost to the Turks the Chilia and Cetatea Alba fortresses. Then he tried to regain them from the ottomans totally on his own, but that was virtually impossible. And then he veered towards the King of Poland. The Polish King consented to helping him, on condition that the former took a vassalage oath, which actually happened, in September 1485. However, the military aid made available by Casimir the 4th was insufficient and in no way met Stephen the Greats expectations. And then, in 1487, the Pope proclaimed an anti-Ottoman crusade across the entire Christendom and the Crusaders Army massed in Poland. Yet he did not rush to help Stephen the Great, just as the Colomeea Treaty stipulated, but Prince Jan Olbracht, still a prince back then and the supreme commander of the crusaders army, hijacked the crusade in Podolia. It was then that the great rift occurred, between Stephen the Great and the Polish Kings. Several minor border conflicts occurred as well, on both sides, culminating with the conflict of 1497. “



    Notwithstanding, King Ian Olbrachts campaign against Stephen the Great had an inconclusive ending. Considering the intricacies of the inter-state alliances of that time and also taking into account his victories and the relationships he set with the other monarchs, the Moldavian woiwode Stephen the Great was one of Central and Eastern Europes leading political actors of his time.




  • May 9, 2020 UPDATE

    May 9, 2020 UPDATE

    EUROPE DAY Europe is experiencing the most difficult period since WW2, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis says in a message released on Europe Day, May 9. He says that this is a time that tests our resilience, unity and humanity, and that, faced with the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, Romania has once again proved to be a trustworthy partner. The president mentioned that teams of Romanian doctors and nurses went to Italy and the Republic of Moldova to support the efforts to fight the epidemic. Romania is also the first EU member state to manage a strategic stock of medical equipment for the entire Union, and under this mechanism vital equipment has already been delivered to the worst hit areas. May 9 marks the 1945 victory of the Allies against Nazi Germany in WW2, as well as the historic 1950 declaration of the French foreign minister Robert Schuman, proposing an economic cooperation plan between France and Germany, to do away with deep-rooted rivalries. On the same day, Romania celebrated its independence from the Ottoman Empire, proclaimed during the Russo-Turkish war in 1877.




    COVID-19 The National Public Health Institute Saturday presented a draft list of measures to be implemented as of May 15, when the state of emergency introduced 2 months ago to contain the coronavirus outbreak ends. The list includes field specific measures and refers to the resumption of the activities suspended in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Among other things, appointments to dentist practices and beauty salons will be mandatory, and a distance of at least one and a half metres between clients will be secured. End-of-cycle students will only attend classes of 10 children at most, and will not spend more than 3 hours a day together. In open-plan offices and public transport, face masks will be compulsory. This set of measures is currently subject to public debate. The interior minister Marcel Vela urged companies with more than 50 employees to organise shifts so as to reduce pressure on public transportation. He added that the committee drafting the rules for lifting restrictions are still discussing whether the sworn statement required at present for those who leave their home should be maintained after May 15. According to the authorities, the total number of deaths in Romania is 929. The total number of cases so far is over 15,100. Of these, over 6,400 have recovered. Among the Romanians living abroad, 2,756 have tested positive for the virus, most of them in Italy and Spain, and 99 have died since the start of the pandemic.




    NATO The Romanian Chief of Defence Staff, lieutenant general Daniel Petrescu, Friday discussed in a conference call with the chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Sir Stuart Peach. According to a news release issued on Saturday, talks focused on the management of the COVID-19 crisis at Allied level, NATOs operations, missions and commitments and the impact of the current context on the security environment. The NATO official emphasised the important role of the Allied solidarity in fighting the pandemic, the concentration of efforts for the mutual support of member states and the medium and long term repercussions of the current health crisis on the Alliance and its partners. In turn lieutenant general Petrescu highlighted the national commitment in theatres of operations and the efforts to consolidate a coherent deterrence and defence posture for NATO. The Romanian Armys experience in supporting local and central public authorities to fight the coronavirus outbreak was also presented and discussed.




    TRANSPORT Airlines are bound to refund the price of tickets for cancelled flights, according to the EU legislation, the European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean announced. She said citizens must contact the relevant member states, because many countries have provided state aid to airlines precisely in order to help them cover their cash shortages. Adina Vălean also announced that next week she will make public a list of safety rules for various transport means, as cross-border traffic is being gradually resumed and the EU seeks to help the tourism industry recover. She also said the so-called green corridors for commodities will be preserved in the foreseeable future.




    PANDEMIC The European Commission has called on all Schengen member and associate states to extend the temporary ban on non-essential travel in the EU until June 15. Although some member countries are already lifting the restrictions aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the situation is still fragile both in Europe and in the rest of the world, the Commission argues. This is why external border restrictions are still needed, in order to reduce the risk of the disease spreading through travel into EU countries. The number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases worldwide is around 3.9 million, and the death toll stands at over 274,000. In the US, over 1.2 million people have tested positive, and in Spain, Italy and the UK the number of cases is over 200,000.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 9, 2020

    May 9, 2020

    EUROPE DAY Europe is experiencing the most difficult period since WW2, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis says in a message released today, on Europe Day. He says that this is a time that tests our resilience, unity and humanity, and that, faced with the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, Romania has once again proved to be a trustworthy partner. The president mentioned that teams of Romanian doctors and nurses went to Italy and the Republic of Moldova to support the efforts to fight the epidemic. Romania is also the first EU member state to manage a strategic stock of medical equipment for the entire Union, and under this mechanism vital equipment has already been delivered to the worst hit areas. May 9 marks the 1945 victory of the Allies against Nazi Germany in WW2, as well as the historic 1950 declaration of the French foreign minister Robert Schuman, proposing an economic cooperation plan between France and Germany, to do away with deep-rooted rivalries. On the same day, Romania celebrates its independence from the Ottoman Empire, proclaimed during the Russo-Turkish war in 1877.




    COVID-19 The Strategic Communication Group in the Government of Romania is to make public today a list of measures to be implemented by business operators and public institutions as of May 15, when the state of emergency introduced 2 months ago over the coronavirus epidemic ends. The interior minister Marcel Vela urged companies with more than 50 employees to organise shifts so as to reduce pressure on public transportation. He added that the committee drafting the rules for lifting restrictions are still discussing whether the sworn statement required at present for those who leave their home should be maintained after May 15. The SCG also announced today that the total number of deaths in Romania is 926. The total number of cases so far is over 15,100. Of these, 6,400 have recovered. Among the Romanians living abroad, 2,444 have tested positive for the virus, most of them in Italy and Spain, and 96 have died since the start of the pandemic.




    TRANSPORT Airlines are bound to refund the price of tickets for cancelled flights, according to the EU legislation, the European Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean announced. She said citizens must contact the relevant member states, because many countries have provided state aid to airlines precisely in order to help them cover their cash shortages. Adina Vălean also announced that next week she will make public a list of safety rules for various transport means, as cross-border traffic is being gradually resumed and the EU seeks to help the tourism industry recover. She also said the so-called green corridors for commodities will be preserved in the foreseeable future.




    PANDEMIC The European Commission has called on all Schengen member and associate states to extend the temporary ban on non-essential travel in the EU until June 15. Although some member countries are already lifting the restrictions aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the situation is still fragile both in Europe and in the rest of the world, the Commission argues. This is why external border restrictions are still needed, in order to reduce the risk of the disease spreading through travel into EU countries. The number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases worldwide is around 3.8 million, and the death toll stands at over 264,000. In the US, over 1.2 million people have tested positive, and in Spain, Italy and the UK the number of cases is over 200,000.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • December 15, 2019 UPDATE

    December 15, 2019 UPDATE

    ASEM The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu Sunday had a meeting with New Zealands Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe meeting of foreign ministers held in Madrid. The 2 officials discussed areas of bilateral cooperation, with a focus on strengthening political and diplomatic dialogue and on cooperation within international organisations. Minister Aurescu also emphasised the importance of bilateral economic cooperation, and of bolstering relations between the EU and New Zealand. Also on Sunday, Aurescu met with the Romanian students who attended the Model ASEM Youth Conference, and voiced his support for the youth organisations that work on the sidelines of the summit meetings. The 14th ASEM foreign ministers meeting, held under the motto “Asia and Europa – together for effective multilateralism, is chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. Taking part are foreign ministers and senior representatives of over 50 European and Asian countries. This is the last event in the ASEM ministerial meeting series taking place in 2019 in which Romania has been an active contributor, including an ASEM education ministers meeting hosted by Bucharest on May 15th-16th, during the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU.




    COMMEMORATION Timişoara, the western Romanian city where the anti-communist uprising started 30 years ago, Sunday hosted a roundtable and a Freedom March to commemorate the event. On Monday, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies convene in a joint solemn session devoted to the anniversary of 3 decades since the anti-communist revolution in Romania. In turn, the European Parliament will commemorate on Monday, on the first day of the new plenary session in Strasbourg, the 30 years since the Romanian Revolution, with a resolution on this topic scheduled to be adopted Thursday. The anti-communist revolution started out on December 16th in Timişoara, which on December 20th became the first Romanian city free of communism. On December 21st, the uprising started to spread to reach Bucharest and other Romanian cities. More than 1,000 people died and some 3,000 were wounded in the clashes that followed across Romania, the only country in the Eastern Bloc where the regime was ousted violently and where the communist leaders (Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu) were executed.




    LEGISLATION The Social Democratic Party in opposition will refer to the Constitutional Court on Monday 2 bills that the Liberal Government has these days rushed through Parliament by means of a special procedure. The bills concern the length in service requirements for entry-level magistrates and measures in the road transport sector, the Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu has announced. The Government has also announced plans to request Parliaments confidence on a number of other measures, such as scrapping several provisions in the Government Order 114, dubbed “the greed tax order, through which a year ago the Social Democratic government had introduced additional taxes for banks and caps on the electricity and natural gas prices charged to households. After a first reading of the bill amending this Order, the Government announced it targeted the deregulation of natural gas prices as of July 1, 2020 and of electricity prices as of December 31, 2020, the scrapping of the 2% fee paid by energy companies to the state budget, and the repeal of provisions that allowed for money in privately-managed pension funds to be transferred to the government-managed fund.




    MIGRANTS Romanian border police found 20 citizens from Iraq, Syria, Libya, Algeria and India trying to illegally cross the border into Hungary through the Vărşand, Borş and Nădlac II checkpoints in western Romania, the Border Police Inspectorate General announced on Sunday. According to the source, 2 of them are children, the others are men aged 22 to 40, all of them having sought asylum in Romania. They said they were trying to get to a Western European country. The police investigate them for attempted illegal border crossing, identity fraud and forgery.



    PROTEST Hundreds of people protested in Buzau, south-eastern Romania on Sunday against the recent dismissal by the Liberal Government of researcher Costel Vînătoru as head of the Vegetable and Ornamental, Aromatic and Medicinal Plant Gene Bank based in the city. Costel Vînătoru, a corresponding member of the Academy of Farming and Forestry Sciences, is the initiator of the Gene Bank, set up in September by the Social Democratic Government. He has been working in vegetable research for 34 years, working to reduce Romanias reliance on seed and vegetable imports.




    BREXIT Queen Elizabeth II will set out on Thursday Prime Minister Boris Johnsons legislative agenda following his December 12th election victory. According to the Royal House, the agenda will include a pledge to bring the EU Withdrawal Agreement bill back to parliament before Christmas. The parliamentary approval for the Brexit deal is expected to be a mere formality now, when the Tories have a comfortable 365-seat majority after their biggest national election win in decades.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)