Radio România Internațional

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President Iohannis and the Romanian Diaspora

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

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

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

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

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

22 September 2017
August 25, 2017

JUSTICE – The European Commission has asked the Government of Romania to provide more details regarding the suggested reform of the judiciary, and has expressed concerns that this may be a step back in the fight against corruption. The European Commission requested further explanations from Bucharest and mentioned that the irreversibility of Romanias progress in curbing corruption over the past 10 years is vital. The ruling Social Democratic Party called for calm and reiterated that the endorsement of the new legislation is a lengthy process, requiring approvals from many institutions, and that its coalition partner, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania, believes the changes will strengthen the rule of law. The National Liberal Party in opposition accuses the ruling coalition of trying to make the judiciary subordinated to the executive power. President Klaus Iohannis described the proposed changes of the justice system laws, announced on Wednesday by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, as an attack against the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In turn, the National Anti-Corruption Agency criticises the changes announced by the Justice Ministry, and announces a general assembly meeting in a weeks time, in order to express the institutions views on these changes.

VISIT – The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who is on an official visit to Bulgaria today, had a meeting in Varna with his counterpart Rumen Radev, who said the EU Directive on seconded workers should seek a balance between the older and newer members of the Union. Macron pointed out that he would like Bulgaria, which will take over the half-year presidency of the EU Council on January 1, 2018, to play a full role in the talks on deepening the European integration, and added that this country should be a member of the new Schengen area. Bulgaria is the third stage of the French Presidents tour, after Austria and Romania. On Thursday in Bucharest, Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, decided to consolidate the bilateral strategic partnership, particularly in the political, economic, cultural and research areas. Iohannis said France and the EU need Eastern Europe if the European project is to be re-launched, and pointed out that Romania is a trustworthy partner.

DIPLOMACY – A new round of 3-party talks between the foreign ministers of Romania, Poland and Turkey, takes place today in Warsaw. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the topics include the situation in the Western Balkans, with a focus on the support given by NATO to these partners in its eastern flank. Special attention will be paid to strengthening NATOs deterrence and defence posture, based on the guidelines laid down at the 2016 Warsaw Summit and the specific roles of Romania, Turkey and Poland in this process. The Foreign Ministry mentions that todays meeting is the fourth in this format. The previous 3-party consultations were held in Ankara in August 2016.

MILITARY – Constanta County in south-eastern Romania, hosts several multinational naval and air exercises. The Romanian Navy and the American destroyer USS PORTER are taking part in a joint exercise at the Black Sea, aimed at enhancing the interoperability of the participating vessels. The military drills will end on August 28th. The USS PORTER, which arrived in the port of Constanta on Tuesday, is in Romania for the 4th time. Meanwhile, 4 CF-188 Hornet aircraft of the Canadian Air Forces will conduct air policing missions together with Romanian Air Force planes, as part of NATOs plan to strengthen the Alliances eastern flank.

MIGRATION – Illegal migration at Romanias western border has surged recently, says the Regional Border Police Inspectorate. The Timisoara police found more than 100 migrants, including 42 children, in a local boarding house. Out of the total number, 82 are Iraqis, and most of the others are African refugees. The majority are coming from Serbia and trying to cross into Hungary, so as to go further into western Europe. Apart from the increase in the number of migrants trying to get into the Schengen area, the number of people smugglers identified and arrested by the Romanian border police.

MEASLES – The number of deaths caused by measles in Romania has reached 33, the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control, subordinated to the National Public Health Institute, has announced today. The latest victim was a 10-month Iraqi girl, who came into Romania through Timis County, in the west, in early July. Romania is struggling with the most severe measles epidemic of the past few years. More than 8,000 cases have been reported so far. The large number of cases and deaths made the World health Organisation include Romania on a list of 5 countries that account for a combined 80% of the total number of measles cases in the world. The Government of Romania has recently passed a bill that makes children vaccination mandatory.

FOOTBALL – Romanias football vice-champions, FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest), are to find out their opponents in the Europa League group stage, following the drawing in Monaco today. On Wednesday night, FCSB was kicked out of the Champions League playoffs, after it was defeated at home 1-5 by the Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. The first leg had ended in a goalless draw. On Thursday, Romanian champions Viitorul Constanta lost the playoff for the Europa League groups, being thrashed 0-4 by the Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg. Viitorul had already lost the first leg, 1-3 at home.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

25 August 2017
August 23, 2017 UPDATE

VISIT – The President of France Emmanuel Macron will be on an official visit to Romania on Thursday, and will have talks with president Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. The two presidents will give a joint press conference at the end of the bilateral talks and will visit the National Village Museum. The two heads of state are expected to have an open dialogue on boosting bilateral trade, as well as on cooperation during the 2018-2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, an important cultural project. Another focal point on the agenda of talks is Romanias Schengen accession, after the two presidents agreed, in June, to strengthen dialogue so that a favourable decision on Romanias joining the free movement area be made as soon as possible.

JUDICIARY – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis says the proposed changes to the laws regulating the judicial sector, announced on Wednesday by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, are an attack against the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the anti-corruption fight. Iohannis says the pressure on the judiciary comes completely against the commitments made by Romania upon joining the EU in 2007, and will keep the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism active indefinitely, so as to enable the European Commission to monitor the Romanian judicial sector. President Iohannis explains such changes require public debate and consultations with the magistrates. Under one of the proposed amendments, Public Ministry chiefs would be appointed by the Prosecutors Department of the Higher Council of Magistrates, based on nominations by the Justice Minister, through a transparent procedure that bypasses the head of state. Minister Toader also intends to make the Judicial Inspection Corps subordinated to the Justice Ministry and to extend the term in office for chief prosecutors from 3 to 4 years. Once passed by the Cabinet, the bill will be sent to Parliament for endorsement.

REMEMBRANCE DAY – The signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact on August 23, 1939 is a confirmation that Fascism, Nazism and Communism are mere forms of the same antidemocratic expressions of hatred and intolerance, says Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, in a message sent on Wednesday, commemorating the Remembrance Day for the Victims of Fascism and Communism. The president added that the pact concluded by the Nazi and Soviet foreign ministers, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Veaceslav Molotov, respectively, was an odious act against the Romanians ideal of peace and freedom. The Romanian Centennial must find us consistent in the struggle to defend democracy, the rule of law and individual liberties. Let us not forget that for more than one-half of the one hundred years since the achievement of the national ideal we lived under dictatorships, and many of the personalities who contributed to the Greater Union were persecuted by totalitarian regimes. Therefore, our efforts must now be directed towards the condemnation of all actions that could affect the democratic path that Romania embarked on, in December 1989, and consolidated by its NATO and EU membership. In the current European and global context, marked by many challenges and uncertainties, defending and consolidating the rule of law, democracy and freedom against any enemies hostile to open societies is a priority, the president also said. In the wake of the Soviet-Nazi agreement, following an ultimatum given in the summer of 1940, Moscow annexed Romanias eastern territories of Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and Hertza. Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Romanians left their homes in the way of the occupiers, and other tens of thousands were arrested, executed or deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan.

AFGHANISTAN – Romania welcomes the announcement made by the U.S. President, Donald Trump, on increasing US troops in Afghanistan by 4,000 military, the Romanian Defence Minister Adrian Ţuţuianu has said. Ţuţuianu has added that Romania, too, might increase the number of troops it contributes to the “Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. At present, some 620 Romanian military are deployed in that Central-Asian state, Bucharest being the Alliances fourth largest contributor of troops.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

23 August 2017
June 4, 2017 UPDATE

REACTIONS – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, firmly condemned on Sunday the terror attack that killed 7 and wounded nearly 50 people in London on Saturday night, and expressed compassion for the victims. In Bucharest, the Royal House learned with profound sadness about the tragedy that hit the British capital once again. The new terror attack is an act targeting humanity, human freedom and dignity, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania says in a news release. The Romanian Embassy in London is closely monitoring the incident and has taken emergency measures to get additional information from the local authorities and establish whether Romanian citizens were among the victims. London received condolence messages from around the world. The US President, Donald Trump, who had a phone conversation with the British PM after the attack, offered his countrys full support in the face of what he called a brutal terror attack. The leaders of Germany, France, Canada and Russia also sent compassion and support messages.

STATE VISIT – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis is, as of Sunday, on an official visit to the United States, where he has a meeting scheduled with his US counterpart, Donald Trump on June 9. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Washington, Klaus Iohannis is the first Central and East European head of state to be received at the White House since Trump took office. The talks are intended to strengthen bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries, 20 years after it was signed. Over the past 2 decades Bucharest has grown into an important ally for Washington in the region. The agenda of the Romanian Presidents visit to the US also includes meetings with the Romanians living in that country. On Monday, Klaus Iohannis will be the guest of honour in the Global Forum of the American Jewish Committee, where he is to receive the highest distinction of this organisation.

PENTECOST – 50 days after Easter, Christians around the world, including in mostly Orthodox Romania, are celebrating the Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the birth of the first Christian community. The holiday is also known as White Sunday, or Whitsunday. The biblical narrative of Pentecost is given in the Book of Acts. 50 days after Resurrection, about one hundred and twenty followers of Christ, including the Twelve Apostles, heard a sound from heaven and saw tongues of fire. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in languages they had not known before. On that day, following Apostle Peters address, 3,000 people were baptised, coming together into the first Christian community, which was the core of the future Christian Church.

TURIN PANIC – 1,500 people were injured as they fled in fear on Saturday night in a piazza in Turin, Italy, where thousands of supporters were watching the Champions League final. According to some reports, a handrail that people had been leaning against collapsed, creating the panic. Others say people mistook firecrackers for a bomb.

JUDO – The Romanian athlete Daniel Natea Sunday won the gold in the +100 kilo category of the European Judo Open in Bucharest, defeating the Azeri Ushangi Kokauri by ippon. In the 90 kilo category, Cristian Bodîrlău won the broze, while on Saturday Monica Ungureanu won the gold in the 48 kilo category. Romania ranks 3rd in the medal standings, after France and Ukraine. 376 athletes from 29 countries took part in the competition.

ROLAND GARROS – The best ranking Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep (no. 4 WTA), is facing Spains Carla Suarez Navarro, no 23 WTA in Mondays eighth-finals Roland Garros. This will be the 12th direct match for the two, six of which were won by the Romanian. In the womens doubles event, the Romanian Irina Begu and the Chinese Saisai Zheng Sunday qualified into the quarter-finals, after defeating the Chinese pair made up of Ying-Ying Duan/Shuai Peng.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

4 June 2017
May 4, 2017 UPDATE

STATE VISIT – PM Sorin Grindeanu said in Jerusalem on Thursday that Romania remained firm in supporting the fight against terrorism. In a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, Grindeanu said the terror attacks in Europe were alarming and mentioned Romanian citizens had also been among the victims. On the other hand, PM Grindeanu said Israel was Romanias closest ally and partner in the region, with the diplomatic ties between the 2 countries spanning nearly 70 years. The Romanian Prime Minister reiterated Romanias commitment to establish a Jewish History and Holocaust Museum. In turn, Netanyahu said the visit of his counterpart continues the great friendship between the 2 countries. During the visit, two bilateral documents were signed, a declaration on cutting international roaming fees and a joint statement on cooperation in the fields of electricity and natural gas transportation, research, development and innovation, high-tech and investments. The Romanian official also had talks with President Reuven Rivlin and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

JUDICIARY – The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) Thursday dismissed as inadmissible a notification filed by the Ombudsman concerning an article that denies the access to government posts for convicted criminals. The Court found that the arguments put forth in the notification filed by Ombudsman Victor Ciorbea are either matters of interpretation and enforcement of the law by the relevant authorities, or elements of law-making that fall within the powers of Parliament. Law no. 90 of 2001 on the organisation and functioning of the government and ministries, says that only individuals who have not been found guilty in criminal cases and are not in an incompatibility case may be members of the government. The Court was notified after the Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea was unable to get nominated for prime minister because of this article, although the Social Democratic Party he is heading won the December 2016 parliamentary election. Dragnea received a 2-year suspended sentence in a vote fraud case regarding the 2012 referendum on the impeachment of then President Traian Basescu.

PARDON BILL – The Senates judicial committee Thursday rolled back Wednesdays decision, dismissing all amendments to the Governments bill on collective pardon, whereby sentences for some acts of corruption could be written off. According to the amendments passed on Wednesday, bribe taking and giving, as well as influence peddling, were on a list of crimes that would be written off provided the inmate commits to covering the damages suffered by the state. Hundreds of people protested in Bucharest and other large cities against these amendments. Protesters vented their anger at politicians, whom they see as deeply corrupt. The Government, who initiated the draft law on collective pardon, as well as the Chamber of Deputies Speaker and Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea have argued against pardoning acts of corruption. Dragnea announced that the bill, whose final text would not pardon corruption offences, would be fine-tuned in a meeting of the Social Democrats National Executive Committee. Authorities see the bill on collective pardon as a possible solution to prison overcrowding. The European Court of Human Rights has called on Bucharest authorities to come up with a set of measures to improve detention conditions.

MINORITY RIGHTS – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Melescanu, said on Thursday in Bucharest that guaranteeing the rights of ethnic minorities is necessary to ensure stability, security and good neighbourhood in the region. While attending a conference on responsible governance, he said Romania was probably one of the European countries with the most developed regulations on protecting national minority rights.

CINEMA – The French actor Alain Delon will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Transylvania International Film Festival, which will take place in Cluj-Napoca between June 2 and 11. According to organisers, the award will be handed out on June 10, in a ceremony hosted by the National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca. On the day before, the 1981 film “Pour la peau dun flic, starring and directed by Alain Delon, will be screened in honour of the French actor.

CULTURAL HERITAGE – The U.S. Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, donated 59,300 US dollars to the Superior Consistory of the Evangelic Church Sibiu under the special U.S. Department of State program called the Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation. The grant is designed to help restore the Medieval Fortified Churches of Movile and Agarbiciu (Sibiu County) and Daia (Mures County). On Thursday, Ambassador Hans Klemm and Bishop Reinhard Guib held a ceremony at the fortified medieval church in the village of Movile, where Ambassador Klemm said: “Our cultural heritage is a reminder of the contributions and historical experiences of humanity. The medieval fortified churches of Transylvania are monuments to Europes cultural heritage. Local officials, representatives of the Evangelical Church, of the Fortified Churches Foundation, of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Transylvania, archaeologists and construction experts were present at the ceremony.

FRENCH ELECTION – The centrist candidate in the French presidential election Emmanuel Macron filed a legal complaint after his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen implied he had an offshore account in the Bahamas. Macron strengthened his position as a frontrunner in Sundays second presidential ballot after the televised debate he attended jointly with his opponent Marine Le Pen. This was the only debate held for the two rounds, and the two contenders traded harsh words and even insults. For the first time in Frances post-war history, the candidates of the traditional right and left wings failed to qualify to the presidential second round. Defeated in the first round by Macron, Le Pen labelled him “the representative of wild globalization and criticized him for his superficial approach to terrorism. Macron said Le Pen is a dangerous nationalist feeding on Frances suffering. The French and international media writes the debate was brutal and violent, with the two contenders verbally abusing each other unlike never before in the history of presidential debates in this country.

4 May 2017
March 31, 2017

BREXIT — The European Council President Donald Tusk has today presented EUs draft negotiating position as regards Brexit, making clear that Britain must start to deal with its split from Europe before talks on future trade terms. The document, sent to all 27EU members, states that there must be “sufficient progress” on withdrawal talks, including a divorce bill potentially running as high as 50 billion pounds, before negotiations on future relations begin. British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 on Wednesday with a letter calling for withdrawal and trade talks to start at the same time. Britain has chosen to leave the Union after 44 years of membership, during which time it has enjoyed a privileged status within the community bloc, pundits say.

VISIT — The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles of Wales, has today ended his second official visit to Romania at the National Theatre of Bucharest, regarded as a cultural symbol of the country. Previously he had meetings with PM Sorin Grindeanu, with Crown Princess Margareta of Romania, Custodian of the Romanian Crown and with the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church. On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis awarded Prince Charles the “Romania Star” National Order, in Rank of Grand Cross, in token of appreciation for his activity in Romania and for helping promote the country’s image worldwide.

VISAS — All Romanian citizens can travel to Canada without visas starting December 1st. The Canadian Ambassador in Bucharest, Kevin Hamilton, has said that he wants to dissociate the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement from the visa issue. In his opinion, these are two complementary but not identical things. Ambassador Hamilton has said that the Canadian officials evaluated Romania, they saw the progress made in terms of passport and migration regulations and concluded an agreement so that Romanian citizens will soon travel to Canada without visas. As regards the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada, Kevin Hamilton has said that Romania is positioned so as to benefit directly from the agreement. We remind you that Romania and Bulgaria conditioned their signing of the agreement on the elimination of visas for Canada.

DEBT — Romania has to pay over 39 million euros to the European Union in April, of the stand-by loan agreement taken out in 2009, with the entire amount representing interest rates and commissions. In 2017 Romania must pay 1.26 billion euros to the EU and the World Bank while by 2023 a total of 4.7 billion euros must be paid. We remind you that in 2009, in the context of the world financial crisis, Romania took out a 20-billion euro loan from the IMF and the WorldBank.

ARREST – South Korea’s former president Park Geun-hye has been arrested and jailed today over high-profile corruption allegations that ended her four-year rule and prompted an election to find her successor. She is the first woman ever elected head of state in South Korea. Prosecutors accuse Park of colluding with a confidante to extort big businesses, take a bribe from one of the companies and commit other wrongdoing.

APPOINTMENT – The former minister for the relation with parliament, Gratiela Gavrielscu, is today being sworn in as Environment Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. She will replace Daniel Constantin, the co-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, who was revoked from his positions in the government after his party, which is part of the government coalition alongside the Social Democratic Party, has withdrawn its political support. Gratiela Gavrilescu was an environment minister during the Social-Democratic government headed by Victor Ponta.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

31 March 2017
September 2, 2016

MOURNING — Today is a national day of mourning in Romania on behalf of the victims of the earthquake in Italy, in solidarity with the Italian people. All public institutions will be flying their flags at half-mast while national radio and television stations, as well as institutions of culture, will run special programs. The body of the eighth of 11 Romanians killed in the quake was returned to the country on Thursday. The last of the Romanians declared missing has been recently found alive. Five injured Romanians are still under hospital care in Italy.

INVESTIGATION — The Romanian Senate on Friday received the official request by anti-corruption prosecutors to start an investigation of Senator Gabriel Oprea, former deputy prime minister and minister of the interior, who is accused of second degree murder in the case of police officer Bogdan Gigina. The officer lost his life in a motorcycle accident while being part of the escort for the then minister. Part of the investigation was establishing if Oprea had the right to an official escort, since at the time he was attending a personal errand. According to the prosecutors, Oprea ordered the official column to run at high speed, in violation of standing procedures. This in turn is seen as leading directly to the accident that killed the escorting police officer. Stay tuned for more after the news.

VISIT — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos meets today in Bucharest the vice-president of the EC, Jyrki Katainen, who is on an official visit to Romania. On Thursday, the two officials took part in a dialog with Romanian citizens. The discussions revolved around current topics on the EU and Romanian agenda, especially the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker plan, which provides at least 315 billion Euro in private and public investment over three years. More after the news.

MEETING — Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu is today in Bratislava, attending the informal, Gymnich type meeting of EU foreign ministers. Talks revolve around the recent situation in Turkey, the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on implementing the Minsk Accords, as well as the EU global foreign and security policy. These informal meetings are held twice a year by the country holding the EU rotating presidency, currently Slovakia. Yesterday, the foreign minister was in Potsdam, Germany, attending the informal meeting of foreign ministers from OSCE countries. He said that one of Romanias major priorities is to solve the conflict in Transdnestr while safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football side on Saturday leaves for Cluj, in central Romania, to take on Montenegro in their first match of the World Cup 2018 preliminaries. Romania is part of a group which also includes Poland, Denmark, Armenia and Kazahstan. The game against Montenegro also represents the debut match of a selection with Cristoph Daum at the helm. The German coach is the first foreign national to lead the Romanian national eleven, replacing Anghel Iordanescu. We recall that Romania’s national selection, coached by Iordanescu, ended up at the bottom of group A in the European championship in France, with a single point. Our footballers obtained a one-all draw against Switzerland, and lost to France and Albania.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, 58th seeded, plays today against Danish player Caroline Wozniacki (74th seeded), contending for a place in the US Open eighth finals, the years last Grand Slam competition, with over 22 million dollars in prize money up for grabs. Yesterday, Romanian powerhouse Simona Halep, 5th seeded, qualified to the third round of the tournament after defeating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, 44th seeded. In the next game, Halep faces off against Timea Babos of Hungary, 34th seeded. The Romanian double Irina Begu- Raluca Olaru was eliminated yesterday by the Latvian-German double Jelena Ostapenko- Andrea Petkovic. In the mens doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau/Jean-Julien Rojer went to the second round after defeating the German-Austrian pair Florian Mayer- Julian Knowle.

GAS — Romanian producers and distributors of natural gas, starting next year, will be under obligation to trade on the stock market at least 40% of the quantities they sell. According to Energy Minister Victor Grigorescu, failure to do so will result in high fines, calculated as a portion of their turnover. He announced that amendments will be brought to the law regulating natural gas and electricity, possibly this month. Prices will thus become more transparent, with more players coming on the market, which will result in better prices for consumers, said Grigorescu. According to analysts, this will be a significant reform of the system, considering that right now 98.5% of gas is sold under bilateral contracts, which are already illegal on the electricity market.

(Translated by Calin Cotoiu)

2 September 2016
July 12, 2016 UPDATE

VISIT – The PM of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, attended on Tuesday in Hanoi the opening of a Romanian-Vietnamese business forum. He presented to Vietnamese business people Romanias main economic and geostrategic advantages and pleaded for stronger economic cooperation, relying on 66 years of good bilateral relations. PM Cioloş also spoke about the Romanian authorities special interest in developing trade with non-European countries with high potential, particularly south-east Asian states. In the first visit by a Romanian Prime Minister to that country in 21 years, Dacian Cioloş met with his counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Later this week, Ciolos will attend the 11th Europe-Asia Summit, held in Mongolias capital city Ulan Bator.

STRIKE – Some 30,000 employees of the Romanian local public administration went on a one-day strike on Tuesday. Unionists were angered by the fact that the agreement they were scheduled to sign with the Government had been drawn up without including a minimum 25% salary increase and holiday vouchers, as agreed in previous negotiations. Civil servants also claim to be the poorest paid and the most discriminated against category in the public sector, with most of them earning close to the minimum national wage of 277 euros.

ZIKA – Romania reported on Tuesday its first Zika virus infection case. A 27 year-old woman who spent a vacation in Martinique was identified with the illness while in hospital. The Health Ministry specified that the case was isolated, with minimal risk of spreading. The virus was identified in 1947 in Uganda, and is spread mainly by mosquitoes. It is able to produce congenital conditions in babies born of infected mothers. At present, no vaccine is available to counteract the virus, which so far has spread in South and Central America mainly.

POLITICS – After two weeks of negotiations, the Peoples Movement Party headed by Romanias former right-wing president Traian Băsescu and the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR) agreed to merge. Traian Băsescu made the announcement on Tuesday, and added that the new party will keep the name and logo of the Peoples Movement Party. The merger of UNPR into the Peoples Movement Party is the de facto dissolution of this small party that failed to set up any alliances with the Liberals and Social-Democrats ahead of this autumns parliamentary election. The founder of UNPR, former interior minister and deputy PM Gabriel Oprea, withdrew from the party after he was prosecuted in two corruption-related cases.

RAIL CRASH – Romanias consular office in Catania took note of the railway accident in the south of Italy and contacted the Italian authorities to establish whether there were any Romanian citizens among the victims, the Foreign Ministry has announced. Scores of people died or were injured on Tuesday after two passenger trains collided in one of the worst such accidents in Italy in years. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Italy, around 5,700 Romanians currently live on the Adriatic coast near Bari, where the accident took place.

BRITAIN – The outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday chaired the last meeting of the British Cabinet before handing over on Wednesday to Home Secretary, Theresa May, who will implement the British citizens decision to leave the European Union. Theresa May will be in charge with triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which regulates the procedure for member countries to leave the EU and sets a 2-year deadline for completing the separation. Theresa May will be the second woman nominated as Britains Prime Minister, after Margaret Thatcher.

12 July 2016
June 22, 2016 UPDATE

GERMAN VISIT – German President Joachim Gauck, on Wednesday, the final day of his visit to Romania, took part in a meeting with business people from both countries. On this occasion, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that Romania plans to follow an economic model based on innovation and competitiveness. He said the country was committed on the long term to expanding economic cooperation in various areas through programs able to generate new opportunities and further German investment in Romania. The German official had talks throughout the visit with high Romanian officials, and gave an address at the New Europe College and the German Embassy in Bucharest. He also visited the city of Sibiu, which has the largest community of ethnic Germans in Romania. President Gauck praised the Romanian model of inter-ethnic cooperation, thanking the Bucharest authorities for the way they address the needs of the German community in Romania.

JUDICIARY – In Romania, 4 former ministers have been prosecuted in the so-called Rompetrol II case. They are the former finance ministers Mihai Tănăsescu, Gheorghe Pogea, Sebastian Vlădescu and a former economy minister, Dan Ioan Popescu. They have been charged with having established an organized criminal group, abuse of office and aiding and abetting embezzlement. According to the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, they had colluded with businessman Dinu Patriciu to have an emergency government order passed, which turned nearly 600 million US dollars owed by the company Rompetrol Rafinare SA to the State Budget into government bonds.

LAW – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Wednesday notified the Constitutional Court with respect to the law on local elected officials, under which the mayors, county councillors and local councillors having received a suspended sentence for corruption-related offences may stay in office. The head of state said the law comes against the Constitution, the Court case law and the principles of the rule of law. The President also argued that the law hinders the fight against corruption.

BREXIT – On June 23rd, the UK is to decide in a referendum whether or not it remains a part of the EU or breaks with it after 43 years of membership. The referendum on this topic was one of the election campaign promises made in early 2013 by David Cameron. If the British voters decide to leave the EU, this would be the first time a country gives up its membership. One day ahead of the vote, opinion polls indicated a slight advantage for the pro-European side. The optimism of investors pushed the pound up, on Wednesday morning, and financial markets reported increases, news agencies said.

WEATHER – Until Friday the south and south-east of the country will be facing extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 37 degrees Celsius, and the heat index over 80 units, weather experts have announced. The temperature will not drop under 20 degrees at night either. A code yellow alert is in place in these areas. In the mountains, on the other hand, heavy rainfalls are expected, as well as thunderstorms and hailstorms.

22 June 2016
June 19, 2016 UPDATE

FOOTBALL — Romania failed to qualify into the eighth-finals of the European Championship in France, after it lost on Sunday night in Lyon against Albania, 0-1, in its last match in Group A of the European football championship in France. With just one point, Romania finished last in Group A. Also on Sunday night, France and Switzerland drew, nil-all. The two secured their qualification into the next stages of the championship. This is the first time in the European championship when 24 teams take part, and qualifying in the next rounds are not only the first two teams in each group, but also four teams ranking third in their respective groups.

VISIT — The President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, with be on an official three-day visit to Romania as of Monday. In Bucharest, he will have a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Cioloş and will give an address at the National Library. On Tuesday, the two presidents will travel to Sibiu, in central Romania, a city founded by Saxon colonists in the 14th Century. Sibiu is also the home town of President Klaus Iohannis, a German ethnic himself, who was the mayor there for 14 years. On Wednesday the Romanian and German heads of state will attend a meeting with Romanian and German business people.

LA BLOUSE ROUMAINE — The Mayor of the US capital city, Washington, Ms Muriel Bowser, proclaimed June 24th as the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse in Washington, in response to an initiative of the Romanian Embassy in the USA. The Romanian blouse has been acknowledged as an international symbol of Romanian culture and a source of inspiration for major designers. Initiated and coordinated by the online community called “La Blouse Roumaine,” the International Day of the Romanian Blouse is aimed at promoting a Romanian tradition and at creating a country brand recognised around the world. The Romanian blouse is a white shirt, part of the traditional folk costume of Romanian women, and is richly embroidered with folk motifs.

NAMASTE FESTIVAL — The Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest hosted, between June 17 and 19, the NAMASTE INDIA Festival, celebrating Indian culture in Romania. the Festival included a variety of events, from introductory language courses to henna painting workshops, and from yoga classes to documentary film screenings. On Sunday, the closing day, a sari parade was followed by traditional music and dance performances.

PENTECOST – Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania and across the world continue to celebrate the three-day feast of the Pentecost, marking 50 days from Easter and the foundation of the Christian Church. This feast day refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, who could thus spread the gospels in languages they could not speak before. On the same day, with St. Peter’s fervent proclamation, some 3,000 people converted to Christianity, making up the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of the future Christian Church.

HOLIDAYS — More than 22,000 Interior Ministry employees are to ensure public order in Romania during the Pentecost holiday which ends on Monday night. Some 40,000 tourists are already in Romanian seaside resorts, where most accommodation facilities are fully booked. A growing number of hotels have added spa and treatment facilities to their offers. Other Romanians took advantage of the three-day holiday to go to mountain resorts.

RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team defeated Argentina B, 20-8, in Bucharest on Saturday night, in the final match of the last stage of the World Rugby Nations Cup. In the previous games, the Romanians had outplayed Namibia, 20-8, and Uruguay, 40-0. Romania thus won the trophy of this competition for the fourth time. Ten of the 11 editions of World Rugby Nations Cup have been held in Romania so far.

FESTIVAL — The International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, central Romania came to a close on Sunday. The event, one of the landmarks of European performing arts, has brought together this year over 2,800 artists from 70 countries. The last performances included Moliere’s The Miser, staged by a French company, Love. The trilogy of my family, by the Belgian director Luk Perceval, who received a star on the Sibiu walk of fame on Saturday, and the famous Faustus, directed by Silviu Purcărete, staged by the Sibiu National Theatre. Another play performed on Sunday was the Demon-Hag, a Japanese Noh play.

19 June 2016
September 26, 2015 UPDATE

VISIT –Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, who is currently on a visit to the US, on Saturday met with representatives of the Romanian community in New York. His Saturday’s agenda also included talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and his participation in a dinner offered by Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. On Friday, he attended the opening of the UN Summit, which adopted an ambitious sustainable development plan for the following 15 years, whose annual estimated costs stand at thousands of billions of dollars. Romania’s President, whose visit will come to a close on September 29, is also due to meet US Vice-President Joe Biden, for talks on the refugee crisis Europe is facing and the fight against terrorism.

COOPERATION — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has met in New York, with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguli Berdamuhamedov, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the two presidents underlined the interest they take in further boosting bilateral relations and in capitalising on the economic cooperation potential more efficiently, especially in such domains as energy, infrastructure and agriculture. In this context, the two officials mentioned the importance of implementing a joint project aimed at setting up a freight transport corridor from the Black-Sea to the Caspian Sea. They have also expressed their wish to cooperate more actively within the framework of the EU Strategy for Central Asia.

FINANCIAL — Romania’s agreement with the IMF, which was blocked in mid 2014, expired on Saturday, with experts saying we will soon have a clear image of the future evolution and direction of the relations between the two sides. A revision of the current 4 billion Euro agreement with the international creditors has been blocked since June 2014, in the lack of an agreement on the Romanian Government’s fiscal plans. In the first part of the year, the Romanian authorities tried to adopt a complex package of tax reductions included in the new Fiscal Code, but the representatives of the international financial institutions, as well as those of the Fiscal Council and the National Bank of Romania have been critical of such an approach. This month, finance minister Eugen Teodorovici, has made public Romania’s intention to start talks with its international creditors to reach a new assistance agreement, to take effect in 2016. In his opinion, the agreement is needed to protect Romania’s finances from fluctuations and shocks on the market.

MIGRATION — Romania is currently under no migration pressure, and the Romanian authorities have taken all necessary measures to maintain national safety and security, Romanian deputy prime minister and interior minister, Gabriel Oprea said on Saturday. As regards the refugee crisis, he underlined that Romania pledged to take in some 1,785 people and voted alongside Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, against the introduction of mandatory refugee quotas, by means of which Brussels directs some more 2,475 migrants to Romania. Gabriel Oprea recalled that 6 refugee reception centres are functioning in Romania, alongside two newly laid out camps in Timis County, (in the south-west, near Romania’s border with Hungary and Serbia, respectively).

REFUGEE CRISIS — New laws to manage the increasing number of asylum seekers in Germany might take effect on November the 1st, said Peter Altmaier, Chief of Staff of the Federal Chancellery in Angela Merkel’s cabinet. The measures, which will include additional financial support as well as stricter rules for asylum seekers in Germany, have been agreed upon during a meeting between the German chancellor and the heads of government of most German states. Germany expects between 800,000 and one million asylum seekers to be registered this year, a record high for this country and for Europe, in general. A conference on the refugee crisis focussing on the Western Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean route that the migrants follow on their way to Europe, will be held in Luxembourg, on October 8. Attending the conference will be foreign and interior ministers of the member states, Turkey and the Balkan states. Since the start of the year, some 500,000 migrants from the Middle East and North Africa fled war and poverty in their native countries and headed for the EU.

RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team will face Ireland in London on Sunday, in a second Pool D game of the Rugby World Cup 2015. In the debut match played on Wednesday, Romania was defeated by the vice-champion, France, 38-11. Playing in Pool D are also Italy and Canada. Dubbed the Oak Leaf Knights, the Romanian rugby players participated in all the seven editions of the World Cup, but they never went past the group stage.

DANCESPORT — Between September 25 and 27, the central Romanian town of Sibiu is hosting the Transylvanian Grand Prix, the most important dancesport competition of the year in Romania, which enjoys the participation of over 1,500 dancers from 25 countries. The competition is structured on age categories, from 6 year olds to professionals. 20 pairs are taking part in the World Open Competition destined for professionals, all of them being included on the Top 50-World Ranking List. Dancing on Sunday, the last day of the Transylvanian Grand Prix, will be, among others, the Show Dance world champions, Romanians Roman Ciflicli and Mirona Gliga. The pair has recently won the world title in Chengdu, China.

26 September 2015
September 26, 2015

VISIT — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis, who is currently on an official visit to the US, is due to meet with representatives of the Romanian community in New York, have talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and attend the dinner offered by Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. On Friday, he attended the opening of the UN Summit, which adopted an ambitious plan of sustainable development for the following 15 years, whose annual estimated costs stand at thousands of billions of dollars. Klaus Iohannis has also had talks with the President of the UN General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft. The agenda of the Romanian President’s visit, which comes to a close on September 29, also includes talks with US Vice-President Joe Biden, on the refugee crisis Europe is facing and the fight against terrorism.

COOPERATION — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has met in New York, with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguli Berdamuhamedov, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the two presidents underlined the interest they take in further boosting bilateral relations and in capitalising on the economic cooperation potential more efficiently, especially in such domains as energy, infrastructure and agriculture. In this context, the two officials mentioned the importance of implementing a joint project aimed at setting up a freight transport corridor from the Black-Sea to the Caspian Sea. They have also expressed their wish to cooperate more actively within the framework of the EU Strategy for Central Asia.

FINANCIAL — Romania’s agreement with the IMF, which was blocked in mid 2014, expires today, with experts saying we will soon have a clear image of the future evolution and direction of the relations between the two sides. A revision of the current 4 billion Euro agreement with the international creditors has been blocked since June 2014, in the lack of an agreement on the Romanian Government’s fiscal plans. In the first part of the year, the Romanian authorities tried to adopt a complex package of tax reductions included in the new Fiscal Code, but the representatives of the international financial institutions, as well as those of the Fiscal Council and the National Bank of Romania have been critical of such an approach. This month, finance minister Eugen Teodorovici, has made public Romania’s intention to start talks with its international creditors to reach a new assistance agreement, to take effect in 2016. In his opinion, the agreement is needed to protect Romania’s finances from fluctuations and shocks on the market.

REFUGEE CRISIS — New laws to manage the increasing number of asylum seekers in Germany might take effect on November the 1st, said Peter Altmaier, Chief of Staff of the Federal Chancellery in Angela Merkel’s cabinet. The measures, which will include additional financial support as well as stricter rules for asylum seekers in Germany, have been agreed upon during a meeting between the German chancellor and the heads of government of most German states. Germany expects between 800,000 and one million asylum seekers to be registered this year, a record high for this country and for Europe, in general. A conference on the refugee crisis focussing on the Western Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean route that the migrants follow on their way to Europe, will be held in Luxembourg, on October 8. Attending the conference will be foreign and interior ministers of the member states, Turkey and the Balkan states. Since the start of the year, some 500,000 migrants from the Middle East and North Africa fled war and poverty in their native countries and headed for the EU.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, on Saturday qualified for the finals of the WTA tennis tournament in Seoul with 426,750 US dollars in prize money up for grabs, after she defeated Belgian Alison van Uytvanck 6-0, 6-2. First seeded Irina Begu, will be facing in the finals of the competition Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The qualification to the Seoul tennis tournament finals is the best result scored by Begu this year.

DANCESPORT — Between September 25 and 27, the central Romanian town of Sibiu is hosting the Transylvanian Grand Prix, the most important dancesport competition of the year in Romania, which enjoys the participation of over 1,500 dancers from 25 countries. The competition is structured on age categories, from 6 year olds to professionals. 20 pairs are taking part in the World Open Competition destined for professionals, all of them being included on the Top 50-World Ranking List. Dancing on Sunday, the last day of the Transylvanian Grand Prix, will be, among others, the Show Dance world champions, Romanians Roman Ciflicli and Mirona Gliga. The pair has recently won the world title in Chengdu, China.

26 September 2015