Radio România Internațional

Tag: visit

27.09.2019

Commissaires – La Commission européenne attend une lettre de la part du président du PE, David Sassoli, qui contienne les décisions du Législatif communautaire et les recommandations de la Commission JURI pour les candidats aux postes de commissaire européen proposés par la Roumanie, Rovana Plumb, et par la Hongrie, Laszlo Trocsanyi. Pour des raisons de conflits d’intérêts, ceux-ci n’ont pas reçu jeudi l’aval de la Commission juridique pour se présenter à l’étape suivante de la procédure d’audition, prévue la semaine prochaine. La Roumaine Rovana Plumb était proposée au poste de commissaire européen des Transports elle a dû expliquer plusieurs aspects concernant sa déclaration d’intérêts, liés à un crédit contracté pour financer une campagne électorale. A Bucarest, le président Klaus Iohannis a demandé à la première ministre Viorica Dancila de retirer d’urgence la candidature de Mme Plumb.

Antisémitisme – Le gouvernement roumain continuera à lutter contre l’antisémitisme, la xénophobie et l’intolérance, a assuré la première ministre roumaine Viorica Dancila, lors de pourparlers avec Ronald Lauder, le président du World Jewish Committee, avec Arthur Schneier, le Rabbin en chef de New York, et avec Malcolm Hoenlein, vice-président du Congrès Juif Américain. L’occasion pour la responsable roumaine d’affirmer que son exécutif continuerait de garder vive la mémoire de l’Holocauste et de lutter contre le négationnisme, entre autre par la création du Musée national d’histoire des Juifs et de l’Holocauste, mais aussi en développant des programmes d’étude de l’Holocauste. Viorica Dancila a également mis en évidence l’importance du Partenariat Stratégique existant entre la Roumanie et les Etats-Unis, et a présenté les opportunités du milieu des affaires de notre pays, les mesures prises par le gouvernement pour stimuler les investissements étrangers et les projets à mettre sur pied dans le cadre d’un partenariat public-privé.

Bourse – La Bourse des valeurs de Bucarest a été promue par l’agence FTSE Russell de Marché de frontière au statut de Marché émergent secondaire, ce qui témoigne des progrès enregistrés ces dernières années sur le marché des capitaux de Roumanie. Cela fait environ une dizaine d’années que la Bourse de Bucarest vise ce statut et elle se trouvait sur une liste de suivi. Par ce qualificatif, la Roumanie a désormais accès à des fonds d’investissements 30 fois plus élevés. « C’est une décision historique, le marché roumain des capitaux entre dans un club plus prestigieux des bourses, l’équivalent de la catégorie « investement grade » dont la Roumanie est classée par les agences de notation et il a désormais la chance de contribuer davantage à la capitalisation de l’économie réelle de la Roumanie », a déclaré le ministre roumain des Finances, Eugen Teodorovici, se trouvant dans une visite de travail aux Etats-Unis. Notons que l’agence FTSE Russell est leader mondial en matière de classification des indices boursiers.

Démocratie – La Roumanie accueillera en 2020 une réunion ministérielle de la Communauté des Démocraties pour marquer les 20 ans écoulés depuis la signature du cjetant les bases de cette initiative. C’est ce qu’a déclaré la cheffe de la diplomatie roumaine, Ramona Manescu, lors de sa participation, jeudi, à la réunion extraordinaire du Conseil gouverneur de la Communauté des Démocraties, organisée en marge de l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU. La Communauté des démocraties est une structure intergouvernementale au niveau mondial, qui vise à promouvoir des sociétés pacifiques et inclusives pour un développement durable, l’accès à la justice pour tous et la création d’institutions efficaces, responsables et inclusives à tous les niveaux. Dans ce contexte, Bucarest encouragera la participation des jeunes dans le processus de prise de décisions, ainsi que l’implication active du secteur privé dans l’atteinte des Objectifs de développement durable, a déclaré la ministre roumaine des AE, Ramona Manescu. La Roumanie compte parmi les 106 Etats de l’ONU à avoir signé la Déclaration de Varsovie, document fondateur de la Communauté des démocraties.

Tennis – La joueuse de tennis roumaine Sorana Cîrstea s’est qualifiée vendredi dans la finale du tournoi WTA de Tachkent, en Ouzbékistan, après avoir dépassé l’Ukrainienne Katarina Zavatska. Tête de série n°8, Sorana Cîrstea affrontera en finale la gagnante du match entre la Belge Alison van Uytvanck et la Tchèque Kristyna Pliskova. C’est la 2e finale que Sorana Cîrstea joue au tournoi WTA Tachkent.

Météo – Le temps est assez instable aujourd’hui en Roumanie. On attend de la pluie sur la plupart du territoire. Les températures maximales iront de 15 à 25 degrés. 17 degrés et du soleil à midi à Bucarest.

27 September 2019
September 18, 2019

DEADLOCK The Constitutional Court in Bucharest is to discuss today the notification filed by PM Viorica Dancila with respect to a possible conflict of powers, triggered by the Presidents refusing to appoint interim ministers. Last week President Klaus Iohannis announced he would not accept the reshuffling proposed by the Prime Minister, which he dismissed as “void and unsuitable. Last Wednesday Viorica Dancila sent the head of state a document nominating members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for the vacant positions in Cabinet after that party left the ruling coalition last month. Also today, the Social Democratic Partys National Executive Committee convenes to discuss the situation of the Cabinet, which has many minister positions still unfilled.

VISIT The prime Minister of Romania Viorica Dăncila received in Bucharest today her Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki, for a second round of inter-governmental consultations between the 2 countries. This is the second inter-government meeting after the one in Warsaw last May, and it takes place in the context of the celebration of a decade-long strategic partnership, of 3-decades long democratic regime and of a century of diplomatic relations. The members of the 2 governments will sign a memorandum of agreement in major sectors, including infrastructure, energy, transport, communications, digitisation, entrepreneurship and the management of European funds.

FESTIVAL In Bucharest, classical music lovers are invited today to concerts with highly appreciated artists, as part of the George Enescu International Festival. Todays programme includes a concert of the Lille National Orchestra, conducted by Vlad Vizireanu, at the Romanian Athenaeum. The soloists, Sergey Khachatryan, on violin, and Timothy Ridout, on the viola, will perform George Enescus Chamber Symphony for 12 instruments, Johannes Brahmss Violin Concerto in D major and ‘Harold in Italy’ by Hector Berlioz. The George Enescu International Festival, with Radio Romania as a co-producer, will continue until September 22, bringing together 2,500 of the worlds most celebrated musicians in 84 concerts and recitals. Bucharest and other cities in Romania and in Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the Republic of Moldova are hosting performances as part of this years Festival.

BILL A bill on the taxation of special pension benefits, introduced by the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, has been passed by the Senate today after being approved by the budget committee on Tuesday. The document concerns a 30% tax rate on special pensions ranging between approx. 1,480 euro and 2,115 euro, and a 50% tax rate on pensions above this threshold. Senators also decided that country presidents emoluments in excess of roughly 1,480 euro should be subject to taxation. The bill will be sent to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision making body in this respect.

EMPLOYMENT Most EU citizens working part time last year (26% of the total) said they could not find full-time jobs, while another 24% chose part-time work because they were looking after children or incapacitated adults, according to data released today by the European Statistics Office, Eurostat. The highest percentage of people who were working part-time in 2018 because they did not find full-time employment was reported in Greece (70%), Italy (66%), Cyprus (65%), Bulgaria (59%), Spain (56.5%) and Romania (54.9%). The lowest rates were reported in Estonia (6%), Belgium, the Czech Republic and Slovenia (7% each) and Netherlands (8%). Around one-fifth of the total number of employed EU citizens had part-time jobs last year, accounting for 31.2 million women and 9.5 million men.

ISRAEL The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger Benni Gantz are shoulder to shoulder, with 32 seats each in the new Parliament, according to Tuesdays election results after counting over 92% of the votes. Israeli mass media note however that none of them has enough allies for a governmental majority. Israel Our Home party, whose 9 seats in Knesset make it indispensible for a ruling coalition, proposed a national unity government, but its leader Avigdor Lieberman is one of Netanyahus opponents. According to Radio Romanias correspondent, Israeli citizens would not agree to a new election campaign, and the countrys president vowed to avoid a third early election.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

18 September 2019
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)

17 August 2019
August 17, 2019

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.

UNIVERSITY The 17th edition of the Izvoru Mureşului Summer University comes to a close today in Harghita County, central Romania. This years theme was “Romania and the Romanians abroad, one year since the Great Union Centennial. The topics approached include means to preserve the identity of Romanian communities in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova in the context of regional geopolitical developments and the Romanian national interest, the policies of parliamentary parties and public institutions with respect to the Romanians abroad and the Romanians in multi-ethnic communities in the country. Attending the works were students from Romania and from the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and the diaspora, academics from the main universities in Romania and abroad, civil society and mass media representatives.

VOTE Nearly 9,000 Romanians living abroad had registered to vote by mail on the www.votstrainatate.ro portal 20 days since its release. According to the Permananet Electoral Authority, this is more than the total number of registrations for mail voting for the 2016 parliamentary elections. The website www.votstrainatate.ro has been created to ensure better records on the Romanians living abroad and to help keep them better informed on the voting process ahead of this Novembers presidential election. The Ministry for the Romanians Abroad also launched an information campaign in this respect and announced that over 5.5 million Romanians have left the country. In the recent elections for the EP, tens of thousands of Romanians queued for hours in polling stations abroad, and many of them eventually failed to cast their ballots.

PIPELINE The BRUA pipeline, designed to carry natural gas from the Caspian and the Black Sea to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, will only be completed in December 2020, one year behind schedule, according to the financial report for the first half of this year made public by the Romanian company Transgaz. The reasons for the delay include problems in the bidding process, the need to amend the legislative framework, the discovery of archaeological sites, adverse weather conditions for extensive periods of time as well as delays in the negotiations with some of the land owners or users, the company explains. Last month, the Romanian Economy Ministry announced having finalised almost half of the pipeline, and around 80-90% of the 3 compressor stations. Stage I of the BRUA project requires total investments of nearly 500 million euro, of which the EU has offered a 179-million grant. The Government of Romania holds about 60% of the stock of Transgaz, with the remaining shares traded in the stock market.

MILITARY The National Defence Ministry will organise at the Mihail Kogălniceanu 57 Air Base, in the south east, a ceremony to mark the dispatch of the ‘Carpathian Pumas’ unit on a mission in Mali. The Romanian troops will take part in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. The around 120 members of the Romanian unit, accompanied by 4 IAR-330 Puma L-RM helicopters, will be in charge of medical evacuation, transportation of troops and materials, passenger transport, air patrol and monitoring activities beginning mid-October. At present Romania has 1,033 troops involved in missions abroad.

SONGS All Romanians are invited to vote for one month to choose the 6 songs representing Romania in the first EU Songbook. So far 65,000 people in 26 countries have voted for their favourites, says the organiser of the event, the European Union Songbook organisation, on its website. The EU Songbook is a non-profit organisation without political or financial connections with Brussels. The first edition of the Songbook will be published on Europe Day, May 9, 2020.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

17 August 2019
17.08.2019

Visite – Le président de la Roumanie, Klaus Iohannis, effectuera une visite à Washington, à linvitation du président américain Donald Trump, les 19 et 20 août. L’entrevue entre les deux chefs d’Etat, prévue le 20 août, sera l’occasion de parler du renforcement et du développement du Partenariat stratégique reliant les deux pays. Klaus Iohannis mettra en avant à cette occasion la position de la Roumanie en tant que partenaire stratégique solide et allié responsable et digne de confiance des Etats-Unis. Le président roumain soulignera, durant sa visite à Washington, qu’une des priorités de la politique étrangère de la Roumanie, c’est de renforcer la relation transatlantique et la sécurité de l’espace euro-atlantique. Le président Iohannis a également affirmé qu’il souhaitait aborder avec son homologue de Washington la question des effectifs militaires américains présents en Roumanie. Dans ce contexte, il a déclaré que le pays peut accueillir des effectifs accrus de miliaires américains. Un autre sujet à l’agenda des discussions sera la levée des visas pour les citoyens roumains souhaitant se rendre aux Etats-Unis.

Par ailleurs, selon le communiqué de la Maison Blanche, le président Trump sera ravi de célébrer aux côtés de son homologue roumain les 30 ans écoulés depuis la chute du communisme en Roumanie et les 15 ans d’adhésion du pays à l’OTAN. Lors de la première visite du président Klaus Iohannis aux Etats-Unis, en 2017, les deux chefs d’Etat se sont entretenus des perspectives d’approfondissement et d’élargissement du Partenariat stratégique entre la Roumanie et les Etats-Unis.

Nominations — La première ministre roumaine, Viorica Dăncilă, a fait savoir qu’elle allait bientôt soumettre au président Klaus Iohannis ses propositions de nominations à des postes gouvernementaux occupés à titre intérimaire jusqu’au 15 août. La cheffe de l’Exécutif a déclaré que les nominations aux fonctions de vice – premier ministre en charge de l’économie, de ministre de l’Education et de ministre de l’Intérieur seraient discutées en réunion du Comité exécutif national du Parti social-démocrate avant d’être envoyées au chef de l’Etat.

Vote — Près de 9.000 Roumains de l’étranger se sont déjà inscrits pour le vote par correspondance, sur la plate-forme www.votstrainatate.ro, lancée il y a une vingtaine de jours. Selon le communiqué rendu public vendredi par l’Autorité électorale permanente, ce chiffre dépasse le nombre total des inscriptions pour ce type de vote, enregistré avant les élections législatives de 2016. Le site mentionné a été créé par l’Autorité électorale afin de disposer de meilleures statistiques sur les Roumains partis à l’étranger, mais aussi pour que ces derniers soient mieux informés sur le processus de vote, dans la visée de l’élection présidentielle de novembre prochain. Le ministère des Roumains du monde a d’ailleurs lancé une campagne d’information. Par ailleurs, il a annoncé que plus de cinq millions et demi de Roumains ont quitté le pays. Si l’on y ajoute le nombre de ceux qui vivent dans les communautés historiques, près de 10 millions de Roumains vivent en dehors de la Roumanie. Rappelons que lors des récentes élections européennes, plusieurs dizaines de milliers de Roumains de l’étranger ont dû attendre de longues heures pour voter, certains d’entre eux n’ayant même pu exercer ce droit.

EU Songbook — Tous les Roumains sont invités à voter, pendant un mois, pour les six chansons qui représenteront la Roumanie dans le premier recueil de chansons de l’UE. Jusqu’à présent, 65.000 personnes de 26 Etats ont voté leurs mélodies préférées, selon l’organisatrice de l’événement, à savoir l’organisation European Union Songbook, sur son site. Le recueil de chansons de l’UE est un projet nouveau lancé par une association sans but lucratif, qui n’a aucun lien politique ou financier avec Bruxelles. La première édition du recueil de chansons de l’UE sera publiée le 9 mai 2020, pour la Journée de l’Europe.

Université d’été – La XVIIe édition de lUniversité dété Izvorul Muresului prend fin ce samedi, dans la localité homonyme du département de Harghita (centre de la Roumanie). Cette année, lévénement a eu pour thème « La Roumanie et les Roumains du monde, une année après le Centenaire de la Grande Union ». Parmi les sujets à l’agenda des discussions ont figuré la préservation de lidentité des Roumains dUkraine et de République de Moldova, les évolutions géopolitiques dans la région et l’intérêt national roumain, la politique des partis parlementaires et des institutions publiques vis-à-vis des Roumains de partout et de ceux issus des milieux pluriethniques et pluriconfessionnels de Roumanie. Y ont participé des personnes de Roumanie et aussi de pays tels que la République de Moldova, lUkraine, la Hongrie, la Serbie, la Bulgarie et de la diaspora, des intervenants des principaux centres universitaires de Roumanie et dailleurs, des représentants de la société civile et des médias.

Gazoduc — Le gazoduc BRUA, qui devra acheminer vers la Bulgarie, la Roumanie, la Hongrie et l’Autriche du gaz provenant de la mer Caspienne et de la mer Noire, ne sera pas achevé avant décembre 2020, soit une année de retard. C’est ce que révèle le rapport financier de la compagnie Transgaz sur le premier trimestre 2019. Selon Transgaz, le retard s’expliquerait entre autres par le déroulement de l’appel d’offres, par l’amélioration du cadre législatif, la découverte de sites archéologiques et par les conditions météo défavorables qui se sont manifestées sur de longues périodes de temps ainsi que par la prolongation des négociations menées avec certains propriétaires ou utilisateurs de terrains. Le ministère de l’Economie de Bucarest informait, en juillet dernier, par le biais d’un communiqué de presse, que Transgaz avait déjà réalisé près de la moitié du pipeline et que les travaux aux trois stations de compression étaient presque finalisés. La première phase du projet BRUA nécessite des investissements s’élevant à quelque 500 millions d’euros. Ce gazoduc est financé à hauteur de 179 millions d’euros par l’UE. L’Etat roumain détient près de 60% des actions de la société Transgaz, le reste des actions faisant l’objet de transactions en Bourse.

Cérémonie — Le ministère roumain de la Défense organisera lundi, à la Base aérienne 57 Mihail Kogălniceanu (sud-est), une cérémonie militaire à l’occasion du départ en mission au Mali du Détachement Carpathian Pumas. Les militaires roumains participeront à la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations unies pour la stabilisation au Mali. Les quelque 120 membres du détachement roumain, qui seront accompagnés par quatre hélicoptères IAR-330 Puma L-RM, entameront leur mission à la mi-octobre. Ils exerceront des missions d’évacuation médicale, de transport de troupes et de matériel, des missions de transport de passagers, de patrouille aérienne et d’observation. 1.033 militaires roumains sont actuellement déployés à l’étranger.

Météo — Le thermomètre va grimper d’un cran et le ciel sera variable, plutôt couvert sur le relief, le sud et le centre du territoire, où l’on attend des pluies à verse accompagnées de phénomènes électriques. Les températures maximales iront de 21°à 30°. Il faisait 26° à midi dans la capitale, Bucarest.

17 August 2019
June 19, 2019

VISIT The Presidents of Romania and Egypt, Klaus Iohannis and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi respectively, had official talks today as part of the visit the head of the Egyptian state is making to Bucharest. The 2 leaders announced with satisfaction an increase in the volume of bilateral trade, and President Iohannis said closer cooperation is being discussed, both in bilateral terms and between the European Union and Egypt, in the field of social and economic development, research, the fight against terrorism, energy and migration. Informal negotiations are under way for an economic agreement between the EU and Egypt.

JUSTICE The European Commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said in Bucharest on Wednesday that Romania will very soon become a Schengen member, because it has fulfilled most of its commitments. The EU official made this statement ahead of the EU – USA ministerial meeting on justice and home affairs, an event organised under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. Taking part are also the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourová, and European Commissioner for the Security Union, Julian King. For the first time, the US Attorney General William Barr is also attending the meeting. The US official had meetings yesterday with President Klaus Iohannis, with PM Viorica Dăncilă and with Justice Minister Ana Birchall. The agenda included topics of mutual interest in the field of justice. The US official also voiced his appreciation for the solid Strategic Partnership with Romania, which, he said, is the United States most reliable ally in the region.

BUSINESS PM Viorica Dăncilă said on Wednesday that the French investments in Romania are proof that this is a favourable country for the business environment. Dăncilă is taking part in the French-Romanian Economic Forum, an event organised by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania as part of the Romania-France Season. “We have all witnessed of late a true economic upswing in the bilateral relation, with many successful projects that have helped push the French-Romanian trade to over 9 million euro last year, the Romanian PM said. France is the 5th largest foreign investor in Romania. Over 3,000 French businesses operate in Romania, employing a combined 120,000 people, and France is the 3rd most important market for Romanian exports and the 6th largest source of Romanian imports.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Dacian Cioloş, who was elected into the European Parliament on the lists of the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance, was chosen to lead Renew Europe, a pro-European group formed around President Emmanuel Macron following the May 26th European elections, and the 3rd largest group in the EP. “The presidency of Renew Europe group is just a step in the political construction we have been working to design for 2 years, Ciolos said. A former PM of Romania and former European commissioner for agriculture, Dacian Ciolos is the leader of PLUS party in Romania. The alliance formed by PLUS and Save Romania Union won 8 seats in the European Parliament, coming in 3rd in Romania after the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party.

MEDICINES Bucharest is hosting, between June 19th and 21st, the second meeting of the Heads of Medicines Agencies – HMA II. The agenda includes topics of strategic importance in the field of human and animal health products. Attending the meeting are the heads of medicines regulation and control agencies in the European Economic Area, representatives of the European Medicines Agency, of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and of the European Commission. The first HMA meeting organised under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU was held in Timisoara in February.

WEATHER Romanian meteorologists Wednesday issued a code yellow warning for heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and hailstorms, valid today in most parts of the country. Precipitation amounts will exceed 25 l/sq.m. The bad weather is expected to continue on Thursday. Experts also warn that thermal discomfort will remain high especially at noon time, with the temperature-humidity index sometimes exceeding the critical 80-unit ceiling.

FOOTBALL Romanias youth football team Tuesday night won 4-1 against Croatia, in its first match in the European Under-21 football championship hosted by Italy and San Marino. In the same Group C, France defeated England 2-1. On Friday, Romania takes on England and France plays against Croatia. This is the 2nd participation for a Romanian youth football team in a final tournament, after the one in 1998, organised in Bucharest. The 4 top-ranking teams qualify into the 2020 Olympics.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

19 June 2019
June 3, 2019

POPE FRANCIS “May Virgin Mary extend her maternal protection to all the citizens of Romania, who throughout history have always placed their trust in her intercession. It is to the Mother of God that I entrust you all, and I pray for her to guide you on the path of faith, Pope Francis posted in Romanian on his Twitter account on Sunday night, after his visit to Romania. The 3-day apostolic and state visit was held under the motto “Lets walk together! Hundreds of thousands attended the public events held on this occasion in Bucharest, Sumuleu Ciuc, Iasi and Blaj.

NATO The opening ceremony of Saber Guardian 2019 multinational exercise took place in Romania today. The exercise is designed to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity of the allied and partner states in the defence against any threat, particularly by ensuring quick mobilisation and deployment anywhere in Europe. The joint training sessions in Romania include vehicle road marches, several live fire exercises, air defence artillery training and medical training, all culminating in a river crossing. As many as 7,600 Romanian troops are taking part.

EU Bucharest is hosting, on Monday and Tuesday, an informal meeting of the EU agriculture ministers, as part of the events held under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan is also attending the meeting. Research in agriculture and bioeconomy will be one of the main topics of discussion. In the context of negotiations on the multi-annual budget of the Union, Romania, as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU Council, believes the strategic planning of the common agricultural policy has the potential to consolidate the implementation of bioeconomy and to build synergies with agricultural policy and rural development instruments. While in Bucharest today, Phil Hogan is also scheduled to have a meeting with PM Viorica Dancila.

FESTIVAL The 7th edition of Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival, organised by Radio Romania, begins in Bucharest today. Devoted to innovation in radio, the event brings together professionals from several countries. In this years edition, 41 radio drama productions are competing for the Grand Prize in the 3 sections: drama, shorts and binaural. The latter offers a new type of experience, namely 3D audio. The participating works provide an overview of the global cultural trends and styles in the field of radio work.

VISIT The US President Donald Trump is on a state visit to Britain as of today. The agenda includes meetings with members of the Royal Family and a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The visit marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and takes place in the context of the Brexit crisis and of PM Theresa Mays forthcoming resignation. On Tuesday the US President will have meetings with the outgoing PM Theresa May and with business leaders, and on Wednesday he will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark June 6, 1944 when 160,000 British, American, French and other Allied troops landed in Nazi-occupied Normandy in WW2. Donald Trump will then travel to Ireland and France.

TENNIS Number 3 in the world and defending Roland Garros champion Simona Halep is playing today in the French Opens 8th-finals against Iga Swiatek of Poland (104 WTA). If she wins, Simona will be playing the quarter-finals against the winner of the match pitting Amanda Anisimova of the USA (51 WTA) against Aliona Bolsova (137 WTA) of the Republic of Moldova. Also today, in the mens doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer are taking on Guido Pella/Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, in the quarter-finals.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

3 June 2019
June 2, 2019 UPDATE

Pope Francis visit — Pope Francis on Sunday ended his 3-day visit to Romania whose motto was “Let’s Walk Together”. The visit occurred 20 years after the one paid by Pope John Paul II, which was the first visit by a Pope to a country with a majority Orthodox population. On Sunday, in Blaj (central Romania) the pontiff met with the Rroma minority representatives in that city in Alba county. On behalf of the Church he asked forgiveness to the Rroma community for the difficult moments in the history of this ethnic community when Rroma people were ill-treated, segregated and discriminated. Previously, in this Episcopal city, a spiritual center of Greek Catholics in Transylvania, Pope Francis held an official Mass during which 7 martyr Greek Catholic bishops killed during the Communist regime were beatified. According to the Pope, they left to the Romanian people a ‘precious’ heritage which can be summed up in two words: freedom and mercifulness. Pope Franscis underlined that the martyrs proved faith and great love for their people in the face of the Communist persecution. 100 thousand people attended the ceremony, among whom the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, the PM Viorica Dancila and the Crown Princess Margareta of Romania. On Saturday, the Pope visited Iasi, in northeastern Romania, which is home to a large community of Catholics. The pontiff visited the Cathedral ‘Holy Virgin Mary, Queen’, blessed 800 children, old and sick people and prayed for families and young people. Also on Saturday the pontiff held a Holy Mass at the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc in eastern Transylvania, a place inhabited by a majority ethnic Hungarian population, which venues annually the largest Catholic pilgrimage in Central and Eastern Europe. On Friday, in Bucharest, Pope Francis met with Romania’s high officials and said that despite many difficulties and shortcomings Romania managed to make progress in the democratic process it embarked on and he paid homage to the country’s sons and daughters, who, through their culture, values and work, enrich the countries where they emigrated. During his visit to Romania, Pope Francis was welcomed enthusiastically by hundreds of thousands of people.

Weather forecast — Romanian meteorologists on Sunday issued a Code Orange alert for torrential rain and storms valid until Monday afternoon for 11 counties in the south and center of Romania. The amount of water will exceed 40 l/sqm and 50-70 l/sqm in isolated areas. For the same period, meteorologists issued a Code Yellow alert for unsettled weather and heavy rainfalls for the south, east and centre of the country. Over 200 people were helped by the Interior Ministry employees this weekend. 35 people were rescued and more than 170 were evacuated from the flooded areas. According to a communiqué, 76 localities in 25 counties were affected by the extreme weather phenomena. In Prahova county, in the south, three children drowned in the high flood, while a 4th child is reported missing. The government announced urgent measures to support the people and communities affected by the floods.

Tennis — The defending champion in Roland Garros, 3rd seeded Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, will take on, on Monday, in the eighth finals, the Polish player Iga Swiatek (104 WTA). Halep in the only Romanian tennis player who continues in the singles. In the men’s doubles, Horia Tecau qualified to the quarterfinals together with his partner, the Dutch Jean Julien Rojer. (update by L. Simion)

2 June 2019
May 31, 2019

POPE FRANCIS Pope Francis is on a 3-day state and apostolic visit to Romania, starting today. The visit, whose motto is “Lets Walk Together, takes place 20 years after John Paul II was the first Pope to come to this mostly Orthodox country. The programme in Bucharest today includes meetings with political officials and civil society members, and with the leaders of the Romanian Orthodox Church. A liturgy will be performed at the St. Joseph Catholic Cathedral. As many as 50,000 believers will be present, in and around the cathedral, and 15 screens will be mounted in Bucharest streets for people to be able to watch the ceremony, performed by the Pope in Latin. On Saturday, Pope Francis will be in Şumuleu Ciuc, in a part of Transylvania mostly inhabited by Hungarian Roman Catholics, and in Iasi, in the north-east, a city that is home to a sizeable Romanian Catholic community. On Sunday, His Holiness will travel to Blaj, in central Transylvania, the spiritual capital of Romanian Greek Catholics, where he will beatify 7 Greek Catholic bishops who died for their faith during the communist regime. The Romanian Greek Catholic Church was outlawed and deprived of its assets shortly after the communists seized power, and many clerics and believers were imprisoned. Also in Blaj, the Pope will have a meeting with members of the local Roma community. The visit entailed high-level security measures in the capital city Bucharest, where road traffic restrictions have been introduced and all schools have suspended todays classes.

FILM Cluj-Napoca in north-western Romania is hosting, starting today until June 8, the 18th edition of the Transylvania International Film Festival. Running in the TIFF official competition are 12 productions, but more than 200 films will be screened as part of the Festival. This years edition celebrates 3 major film industries: the French, Chinese and Albanian. Romanian filmmakers are also well represented, with over 40 productions. Actor Nicolas Cage will receive an award for his contribution to the development of world cinema.

EU European Union member states spent in 2016 more than 350 billion euros (2.4% of the Unions GDP) on families and children, accounting for 9% of the total social protection spending, according to data made public on Friday by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat). The lowest annual expenditure for family and child protection, below 200 euro/capita, was reported in Romania and Bulgaria (120 euro each), Lithuania (150 euro) and Greece (170 euro), and the highest in Luxemburg (3,000 euro/capita), Denmark (1,700 euro), Sweden (1,400 euro), Germany and Finland (1,200 euro). The Eurostat data were made public ahead of the International Childrens Day, celebrated around the world on June 1.

ARRESTS Four Romanian and 2 Bulgarian citizens are being investigated for migrant smuggling and for forming an organised crime group, after being apprehended by the Calafat Border Police in south-western Romania trying to cross the Danube on a boat with 7 Iranian citizens attempting to enter Romania illegally. The Border Police Inspectorate General announced on Friday that the 4 Romanians said they were helping the group travel to the west of the country, from where they could get into a Schengen country. The police also said that under a Romanian-Bulgarian protocol, the 7 Iranian citizens were handed over to the Bulgarian border authorities.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the defending Roland Garros champion and seed no. 3, qualified on Thursday into the tournaments 3rd round, after defeating Magda Linette of Poland in 3 sets. In the next stage, Halep will play against the winner of the match between Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine. The game was suspended on Thursday for light. Irina Begu is the other Romanian player qualified in the Roland Garros singles 3rd round. She will take on Amanda Anisimova (USA).

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

31 May 2019
Pope Francis in Romania

For 3 days, in May 1999, Bucharest was the centre of the Christian world. This is when Pope John Paul II came to Romania, the first Slavic Pope to visit for the first time a mostly Orthodox country. “By the grace of God, after the winter of communist domination, the spring of hope has come, John Paul II said in Bucharest.

Twenty years on, another Sovereign Pontiff is making an apostolic visit to Romania. Between May 31st and June 2nd, Pope Francis will travel to all of present-day Romanias provinces, Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, will have meetings with public officials, Orthodox Church leaders and regular people. Here is Romanias ambassador to the Holy See, Prof. Liviu-Petru Zapartan:

Liviu-Petru Zapartan: “It will be a historic visit without any doubt. It follows another visit, by Pope John Paul II, which is remembered with a lot of love after 20 years. I am certain that it will come with a call to preserve our national identity, our unity as a European nation. Then there are the strong ties between Romanians and Rome, and this has to do not only with our Latin roots, with the neo-Latin language that we speak today, but also with the strong spiritual connections that Romanians have always had with Italy and the Vatican. I would mention the example of the Transylvanian School, the cultural movement that was largely the creation of the Greek-Catholic Church. This movement, emerging in the 1700, promoted the identity of the Romanian language, of our neo-Latin culture, and was the catalyst of our national consciousness, which in turn gave rise to political action among the Romanians in Transylvania aimed at the union with Romania.

In Bucharest, Pope Francis will meet on Friday with top-level public officials and the Orthodox Church Synod, will pray in the new Orthodox cathedral and will perform a mass at the St. Joseph Catholic Cathedral.

On Saturday, the Pope will travel to the Marian Shrine in Sumuleu-Ciuc, in eastern Transylvania, a region inhabited mostly by ethnic Hungarians. The second day of the visit will end in Iasi, in the north-east, home to a sizeable Catholic community. Pope Francis will visit the local Roman Catholic Cathedral and will have talks with young people and families. Roman-Catholic Bishop Petru Gherghel sees the Supreme Pontiffs presence in Iasi as the fulfilment of a dream of both the Catholic Romanians in Moldavia, and of Pope John Paul II:

Petru Gherghel: “We have known His Holiness for some time, we have seen how he welcomes everybody, how he turns to all the families in the diaspora or to emigrants. What His Holiness does translates perfectly into the motto of this visit, ‘Lets walk together, which means lets cultivate this culture of dialogue, of closeness.

On Sunday, the last day of the visit, Pope Francis will be in Blaj, the Greek-Catholic heart of Transylvania, to lead a ceremony beatifying 7 Romanian Greek-Catholic bishops who died for their faith during the communist era. Tens of thousands of believers will attend a Byzantine liturgy in Romanian, presided over by Pope Francis, who will nonetheless perform in Latin. The decision for the beatification service to be performed by the Pope himself is a proof of appreciation for the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, deprived of its assets and dismantled by the communist regime. Here is the Auxiliary Bishop of Blaj, Claudiu Pop:

Claudiu Pop: “The beatification of the Greek-Catholic bishops, undertaken by Pope Francis personally, is an extraordinary gesture, following the example of His Holiness John Paul II, who was very close to the persecuted churches in Eastern Europe. He was personally aware of and familiar with the situation, which is why we always felt this outstanding warm-heartedness coming from him. We feel the same kind of warm-heartedness from Pope Francis, although in a different context; when we talk about his visit to Romania, the invitation to Blaj and beatification, he said simply, ‘I will come and do this.

Another highlight of the visit is on Sunday, also in Blaj, when Pope Francis has a meeting with members of the Roma community.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

30 May 2019
May 27, 2019 UPDATE

SENTENCE The former head of the ruling coalition in Bucharest, Liviu Dragnea, was imprisoned on Monday night, after having been sentenced by the supreme court to prison for corruption offences. Dragnea will be quarantined for 21 days, during which he will undergo physical and psychological check-ups, and his prison activities will be decided. The head of the Social Democratic Party in power and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Dragnea was sentenced on Monday to 3 and a half years behind bars for inciting abuse of office. The prosecution proved that while he was the president of the Teleorman County Council, Dragnea had 2 social assistance workers illegally employed with the Teleorman Child Protection Service, although in fact they were working for the local branch of the Social Democratic Party. Liviu Dragnea had also received a suspended sentence for election fraud, involving the 2012 referendum for the impeachment of ex president Traian Basescu. The Social Democrats executive president, PM Viorica Dancila, announced she will be the interim party president until a special congress is held. The Chamber of Deputies will also elect a new speaker.

ELECTION Sundays election in Romania sends to the European Parliament representatives from 6 political parties, according to the results announced by the Central Electoral Bureau after most votes have been counted. The National Liberal Party, the largest in the right-of-centre opposition, got the most votes, 26.35%, followed by the Social Democrats in power with 23.16%, and the Alliance 2020 USR – PLUS with 21.24%. Three other Romanian parties will be represented in the EP: PRO România – 6.7%, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Peoples Movement Party with around 5.5% each. Seven other parties that took part in the election were below the 5% threshold. In the diaspora, many Romanians queued for hours to be able to cast their ballots. According to Radio Romanias correspondents in Rome, Madrid and London, people complained about the poor organisation of the vote. The Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu issued a news release apologizing for the problems and saying he ordered an investigation in the countries in question. He also ordered the Foreign Ministry to run an immediate analysis to identify solutions and legislative measures for the development of a voting system adapted to the needs of the Romanian communities abroad. The turnout at the EP election was a record-breaking 49%. On the same day as the EP election, Romanians also voted in a referendum on the judiciary, initiated by President Klaus Iohannis. Over 80% of those who voted in the referendum answered “yes. The referendum turnover was over 41%, above the 30% minimum threashold for the vote to be validated. President Klaus Iohannis said on Monday that Romanians had cast a pro-Europe vote, in a country where thieves and criminals belong in prison, and once again criticised the organisation of the ballot in the diaspora.

COUNCIL President of Romania Klaus Iohannis takes part on Tuesday in an informal meeting of the European Council in Brussels. The main topic will be an analysis of the results of the elections for the European Parliament, held between May 23rd and 26th. The EU leaders will also have a preliminary discussion on the candidates for the top posts in EU institutions.

UNIVERSITIES Until May 31st, 24 Romanian universities are presenting their educational offer in Washington, at the annual NAFSA conference and exhibition, the most prestigious in the world in this field, the Romanian Council of Rectors has announced. The conference brings together more than 10,000 participants and 3,500 universities from over 100 countries. “Romania offers a high-quality, adequate and safe learning environment as well as European-standard campus facilities, for more competitive costs than other European countries, reads a news release issued by the Romanian Council of Rectors.

POPE Online registration for attendance of the religious services held by Pope Francis in Romania continue until Friday. Hundreds of thousands of people have already registered. Besides Romanians, Christians from neighboring countries such as Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine but also from far away countries like Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Australia and Israel will come to Romania for the Popes visit. Pope Francis makes a three-day apostolic visit to Romania from the 31st of May to the 2nd of June following an invitation from President Klaus Iohannis and the Catholic Church in Romania. The motto of the visit is “Lets walk together. The pontiff will travel to the capital Bucharest, to Iasi, the biggest city in the east of the country and home to a sizeable Roman-Catholic community, to Blaj, in the centre, the spiritual capital of the Romanian Greek-Catholics and to the Marian shrine in Sumuleu Ciuc, in the centre, in an area with a majority ethnic Hungarian population.

EU The Council of the European Union Monday adopted a negotiating mandate allowing the Commission to take part in multilateral negotiations on electronic commerce. “The digitalisation of our economy has fundamentally changed the way businesses and consumers do trade. It was high time for international rules to reflect this transformation. The EU is committed to working with its WTO partners to put in place an ambitious and pragmatic framework that will guarantee a safe and predictable environment for online trade, said the Romanian Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship Ştefan-Radu Oprea, who chaired the formal meeting of the Foreign Affairs (Trade) Council, as part of Romanias presidency of the Council of the EU.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

27 May 2019
May 24, 2019

ELECTIONS Eligible voters in Ireland and the Czech Republic are expected in polling stations today to elect their representatives in the European Parliament. The European elections started on Thursday in the UK and Netherlands, with Latvia, Slovakia and Malta holding the ballot on Saturday and the rest of the EU member states, including Romania, on Sunday. In Romania 13 political parties and 3 independent candidates are running for 33 seats. On the same day, a referendum on the judiciary is scheduled in Romania.

COUNCIL The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will take part on Tuesday, May 28th, in an informal meeting of the European Council held in Brussels, Bucharest announced on Friday. The participants will look at the results of the elections for the European Parliament, held between May 23rd and 26th. The EU leaders will also have a preliminary discussion regarding the candidates for the top posts in the EU institutions.

POPE The National Bank of Romania will release on Thursday, May 30th, gold and brass collector coins devoted to Pope Francis visit to Romania, while another brass coin devoted to the same event will be in circulation beginning the same date. The gold coin obverse features images of churches and the localities to be visited by the Pope, along with “Romania, “year of minting 2019 and the monetary value of “500 lei. The reverse, which is common to all the coins, features the portrait and emblem of Pope Francis and inscriptions reading “His Sanctity Pope Francis visit to Romania, “May 31st – June 2nd, and the motto of the visit, “Lets walk together!. The Pope comes to Romania on an invitation from President Klaus Iohannis and of the Romanian Catholic Church. He will visit the capital city Bucharest, the largest city in the east of the country, Iasi, the spiritual capital of Romanian Greek-Catholics, Blaj, where he will beatify 7 bishops killed in communist prisons, and the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc. In 1999, Romania was the first country with a mostly Orthodox population to have been visited by a Pope, John Paul II.

MEDAL The Government of Japan awarded Constantin Chiriac, director of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the Order of the Rising Sun with neck ribbon, the highest awarded by this country to foreign citizens. The medal was handed to Constantin Chiriac in Bucharest by the Ambassador of Japan, Hitoshi Noda, in a press conference that preceded the start of the 26th edition of the Festival, scheduled between June 14th and 23rd. The founder of a cultural event famous around the world, director of the Radu Stanca Theatre in Sibiu and a professor at the Lucian Blaga University, Constantin Chiriac was rewarded by Japan for his contribution to promoting the Japanese culture in Romania and cultural exchanges between the 2 countries.

BLACKMAIL In Bucharest, the deputy rector of the ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Police Academy, Mihail Marcoci, announced on Friday that he resigned from office, after being placed under court supervision by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. The rector and deputy rector of the Police Academy, Adrian Iacob and Mihail Marcoci, are probed into by the Anti-Corruption Directorate, while under court supervision, for suspicions of having prompted an officer, in April 2019, to send a death threat to journalist Emilia Şercan, in order to force her to halt a journalist investigation concerning the Police Academy rector. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, between March and April this year Emilia Şercan published a series of articles covering the award of Ph.D. titles by the ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Police Academy.

UK The British PM Theresa May announced on Friday that she will step down on June 7th, in response to calls from the Tories to allow a new leader to try and overcome the Brexit standoff, Reuters reports. The procedures for appointing a new prime minister will most likely begin on June 10th. Depending on the number of candidates, the process might take until autumn, but the Conservative Party is hoping to step up the procedure and to be in a position to announce a new leader by the end of July.

TENNIS The Romanian Sorana Cîrstea (93 WTA) is playing today against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, no 39 in the world and seed no 1, in the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Nurnberg (Germany). Cîrstea is one of the 4 Romanians taking part in the Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year, which starts on Sunday. She begins with a very difficult match, against the Czech Petra Kvitova (6 WTA). Simona Halep, who won the tournament last year and is currently ranked 3 in the world, plays against the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (47 WTA), Mihaela Buzărnescu (30 WTA) against Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (60 WTA), and Irina Begu (118 WTA) against Lin Zhu of China (108 WTA). In the mens competition, the only Romanian in the singles tournament is Marius Copil (81 ATP), playing against Benoit Paire of France (51 ATP).

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

24 May 2019
The Week in Review: April 28-May 4

The Romanian Prime Minister visits Poland

On Wednesday and Thursday, the
Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila was on a visit to Poland. On the first
day, she attended in Warsaw a meeting of the heads of government of the
countries that have joined the EU after 2004. Romania is and will continue to
be a supporter of the European project based on convergence, cohesion and
solidarity among the member states, said Prime Minister Dancila, also stressing
that cooperation is needed, without any tension between the East and the West,
between big and smaller countries, for the EU to function efficiently. To
Romania, joining and integrating into the EU meant development, modernisation,
economic growth and a visible improvement of the quality of citizens’ lives,
Viorica Dancila also stressed. She gave assurances that the European project
will keep on having Romania as an active partner.

On Thursday, the second day of her
visit to Poland, the Romanian Prime Minister joined the thousands of people who
took part in the so-called March of the Living, a symbolic event meant to honour the six
million victims of the Holocaust. The participants marched along the 3 km that
separate the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Before the
start of the march, the Romanian Prime Minister made an appeal to the younger
generations, asking them to combat any form of extremism, intolerance, racism
and anti-Semitism, by strengthening their own education. In her opinion, the
tragic events that occurred during WWII should never be repeated, and the means
to combat anti-Semitism must be identified, for everybody to benefit from a
democratic future.

Extreme weather in Romania

Extreme weather phenomena have created
lots of problems this week, especially in the south of the country. The
problems started on Tuesday evening, when eight counties and the capital
Bucharest were affected by storms and heavy rain. More than one thousand fire-fighters
helped the local population and authorities, evacuating the water accumulated
in basements and removing the trees and utility poles felled down by the storm.
In the county of Calarasi, in the south, an average-size tornado, a phenomenon
which is extremely rare in Romania, uprooted trees and damaged dozens of
houses. It forced a bus off the road and overturned it in a nearby field. 39
people were in great danger, but, fortunately, nobody died, although 12 were
hurt.

For Wednesday, May 1st,
weather experts issued a code yellow warning for strong wind in 18 counties in
the south and in Bucharest. Also, notifications were issued all across the
country, warning of bad weather in most regions. Heavy rain and storms were
reported over extended areas, as well as damaging wind and even hail. Another
two warnings for flood were issued for 21 counties in the north and west. Then,
on Thursday, a severe hail storm, quite unlikely to occur during this time of the
year, took by surprise drivers on Motorway 2, known as the Sun Motorway, which
links Bucharest to the Romanian Black Sea Coast. Authorities have promised that
the population will be warned about severe weather events by means of the
RO-ALERT system, which can be used as an app on smart phones, based on
information provided by meteorologists and 112 calls made by citizens.

Preparations for Pope Francis’ visit to Romania

The registration deadline for those
who want to take part in the mass performed by Pope Francis at the St. Josef
Roman Catholic Cathedral in Bucharest has been extended to May 15. The
announcement was made this week by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, which said
that around 40,000 people will have access to the area around the cathedral in
the Romanian capital city. As many as 15 screens have been mounted, as well as
2 stages for a religious artistic performance.

Pope Francis will be on an apostolic
trip to Romania on May 31st to June 2nd. He will visit
Bucharest, the city of Iasi, the largest in the east of the country and home to
a sizable Roman Catholic community, Blaj, a town in the centre of the country
which is the spiritual capital of Romanian Greek Catholics, and where the Pope
will beatify 7 bishops killed in communist prisons, as well as the Marian
shrine in Sumuleu Ciuc, also in the centre, in a region with mostly Hungarian
population.

Hundreds of thousands of people,
including many foreign believers, have registered online to take part in the
masses that Pope Francis will be celebrating. He is the second Pontiff to visit
Romania, the first country with a majority Orthodox population to have ever
been visited by a Catholic Pope (John Paul II in 1999).

Easter holidays in Romania

Last Sunday’s Orthodox Easter was
followed by the International Workers’ Day, making it a good opportunity for
many Romanians to take a mini-holiday. A lot of them chose to go to the
Romanian Black Sea coast, where the summer season was officially opened on May
1. Festivals, car races and concerts were organised on this occasion. The
busiest resorts were, just like in previous years, Mamaia and Vama Veche. Other
destinations for the mini holiday were the mountain resorts in the Southern
Carpathians, the Danube Delta and the rural regions of Maramures, in the
north-west. Interior Ministry staff were mobilised in particular in the places
where major public events were held. Ambulance and firefighter units were also
on duty, to prevent incidents. And while most Romanians chose to spend their holiday
in the country, a large number of them went instead to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey
and Egypt.

4 May 2019
April 30, 2019 UPDATE

MAY DAY This year, Romanians are celebrating May Day – the International Workers Day, immediately after the Orthodox Easter. The Black Sea coast resorts are the destination of choice for many Romanian tourists, alongside the Danube Delta and the rural regions of Maramures in the north-west. Other Romanians have chosen foreign destinations as well. Interior Ministry staff have been mobilised in particular in the places where major public events are organised.

VISIT The PM of Romania, Viorica Dăncilă, will be on a visit to Poland on May 1 and 2. On Wednesday, she will take part in Warsaw in a conference of the heads of state and government of the Central and East European countries having joined the EU since 2004: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. On Thursday, the Romanian official will take part in the International March of the Living, an annual educational event in which participants walk the distance between the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Viorica Dăcilă will also attend a commemoration ceremony in Birkenau, alongside government officials, religious leaders, student and children organisations.

JUDICIARY The Deputy Prime Minister and interim Minister of Justice Ana Birchall suspended on Monday the procedures to select a new Prosecutor General in Romania, as well as that for selecting the deputy prosecutor with Eurojust, the agency dealing with criminal cooperation between EU member states. She said that the procedures will resume soon. On April 10, the Justice Ministry announced new procedures for selecting the Prosecutor General, after Minister Toader turned down all 4 candidates. Interviews under the new procedure were scheduled for May 7. Under the law, the Justice Ministers proposal for prosecutor general has to be approved by the Higher Council of Magistracy, and by President Iohannis. Augustin Lazars term in office ended on April 27, with Bogdan Licu appointed as interim prosecutor general.

EP ELECTIONS The campaign for the European Parliament elections, scheduled for May 26, continues in Romania. 13 political groups are running: from the ruling coalition, the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, as well as the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania, which has a collaboration protocol with the coalition. From the opposition, taking part are the National Liberal Party, the USR-PLUS Alliance, the Peoples Movement Party, and ProRomania, a Social Democratic splinter. From outside Parliament, in the running are the UNPR, the National Unity Bloc, United Romania, PRODEMO, the Romanian Socialist Party, and the Independent Social Democratic Party. Three independents have also announced their candidacy. Romania will have 33 members in the new European Parliament. The 33rd MEP can only take office after Brexit comes into effect. Romanians abroad can go to 441 polling stations, most of them in Italy, Spain, and neighbouring Moldova. On that same day, Romanians will also vote in a referendum on the judiciary, called by President Klaus Iohannis.

ABDICATION Emperor Akihito of Japan, aged 85, Tuesday ended his 30-year reign, being the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in over 2 centuries. As of May 1, Japan enters a new imperial era, called Reiwa, corresponding to the rule of Akihitos son, Naruhito (59). “I sincerely wish that the Reiwa era will be a stable and fruitful one, and I pray, with all my heart, for peace and happiness for all the people in Japan and around the world, Emperor Akihito said in his abdication address. Akihito took over the throne on January 8, 1989, at the age of 55, after the death of Hirohito, under whose rule Japan fought in WW II. Japan has the oldest monarchy in the world, and the Japanese imperial family is the longest hereditary dynasty, going back 2,600 years.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

30 April 2019
March 22, 2019

BREXIT – There is a real chance for Britain’s orderly exit from the EU, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who takes part in the spring European Council in Brussels said on Friday. He also said that, for the Bucharest authorities, the main concern is the Romanian community living in the UK. On Thursday, EU leaders agreed to Brexit being postponed and offered Britain two exit scenarios.

REPORT – Romania’s constant economic growth in the past years is not being felt by large categories of Romanians, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, said Friday in Bucharest. Corina Cretu, who attended the presentation of the country report as part of the European semester, and the conference titled “Investment priorities for Romania 2021-2027”, talked about the need for big investment in healthcare services, transport infrastructure, energy and environment. The report points out to the fact that the economic growth model based on consumption is affecting the country’s capacity to catch up with the developed countries. The document also signals the fact that Romania’s medium and long-term foreign debt risks exceeding 60% of the GDP and that economy is affected by the salary increases which are not correlated with productivity.

VISIT – Romanian PM Viorica Dancila is paying a visit to the US between March 23 and 26, to attend the Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The visit takes place at the invitation of the AIPAC President, Morton Fridman, and of the AIPAC executive director Howard Kohr. According to a release of the Bucharest Government, the visit mirrors the intensified bilateral dialogue and is part of Bucharest’s efforts to consolidate the partnerships Romania has with the US and Israel.

INAUGURATION — Pope Francis inaugurated from the Vatican, through a videocinference, the new centre of the Scholas Occurrentes Foundation, at the National School of Political Science and Public Administration in Bucharest. Scholas Occurrentes is an international organization present in 190 countries that integrates, through its network, almost 450 thousand schools and education networks. It seeks to generate a paradigm shift in education through the integration of communities, education with focus on those with fewer resources through the commitment of all.

MIGRATION – 4.4 million migrants entered the EU countries in 2017, a figure, which includes migration inside the EU, data released by Eurostat show. The statistical office of the European Union registered 2.8 million migrants in the 28 member states from outside the union as well as 1.9 million people who already were in a member state and migrated to another. At the same time, 3.1 million migrants have left a state in the EU. More immigrants than migrants have been registered in 22 EU countries. The number of emigrants exceeded immigrants in six countries, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. The largest number of immigrants was reported by Malta (46 per 1,000 inhabitants. Luxembourg reported the largest number of emigrants in 2017 (23 per 1,000 inhabitants).

rescEU – The consolidate civil protection mechanism, rescEU, aimed at strengthening collective response to natural disaster across the EU, has come into force on Thursday, the European Commission reports. To ensure a better protection of citizens, the European Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission reached an agreement in December last year to consolidate the current civil protection mechanism. Under the new mechanism member states will be able to access an additional response capacity in case of disasters, medical emergencies, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents. Europe has been affected by scores of disasters in recent years, which left hundreds dead and produced damages in the billions of euros. (Translated by Elena Enache)

22 March 2019