March 2, 2018 UPDATE

The Minister for Romanians Worldwide Natalia Intotero is paying a working visit to neighboring Ukraine/ Over 1,700 Romanian and foreign military will take part in multinational exercises organized by the Romanian Naval Forces over March 5-15

Newsroom, 02.03.2018, 19:04

VISIT – Minister for Romanians Worldwide Natalia Intotero is paying a working visit to Ukraine. Her agenda includes meetings with representatives of local and regional authorities, members of the business community, representatives of Romanian-language media as well as promoters of Romanian culture and values in the cities of Cernauti (Chernivtsi) and Solotvino. Ukraine is currently home to nearly half a million Romanians.

MILITARY EXERCISE – Over 1,700 Romanian and foreign military are taking part in one of the biggest multi-national military exercises, organized by the Romanian Naval Forces over March 5-15 in Dobrogea, southern Romania, and in the international waters of the Black Sea. Dubbed Spring Storm 18, the exercise is based on an unprecedented training concept bringing together naval, air and ground forces, with a focus on specific amphibious operations under allied command, as well as naval mine simulations close to the shore. The exercise is part of NATOs reassurance plan adopted at the Warsaw Summit in 2016. The Romanian military will be training alongside peers from the United States, France and Bulgaria, as well as two NATO partner states, Georgia and Ukraine.

COMMEMORATION – On Sunday Romania marks 41 years since the devastating earthquake of March 4, 1977, the most powerful that ever hit Romania. Measuring 7.2 degrees on Richter’s scale, the earthquake killed 1,570 people, mostly in Bucharest, and caused damages worth over $2 billion. Around 230,000 homes were destroyed or seriously damaged and 760 economic facilities became inoperative. The earthquake generated a severe economic and social crisis, which historians say the communist authorities never fully overcame before their demise in 1989. Specialists warn that hundreds of buildings in Bucharest are at risk in case of a similar event.

TRANSDNIESTER– The Republic of Moldova, a
former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, on
Friday marked 26 years since the start of the war in the breakaway region of
Transdniester, a war waged by the forces loyal to Chishinau and the separatists
backed by the 14th Army of the Russian Federation. After months-long
clashes which took hundreds of lives, the armed conflict became a frozen one, and
the attempts to solve it have failed. Currently, Transdniester is out of the
central Government’s control, and Russian forces are stationed on the territory
of the Republic of Moldova, in spite of withdrawal commitments.

POLAND – MEPs on Thursday voted the procedure whereby the European Commission plans to sanction Poland under Article 7 of the Lisbon Treaty for what it considers a serious breach of the rule of law in this country. The Commissions proposal was passed in Parliament with 422 votes in favour, 147 against and 48 abstentions. Concerned with the reform of the judiciary and restricting freedom of the press in Poland, the EU has triggered procedures under Article 7 to have Poland sanctioned, which in theory would suspend this countrys right to vote in the European Council, unless the Conservative Government in Poland rolls back all reforms prior to March 20, which the Government considered necessary to curb corruption and streamline the countrys judiciary. Political pundits claim the procedure is unlikely to go through, as it requires the unanimity of all Member States. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has already announced he would oppose the move.

RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team on Saturday will take on Russia at home in Cluj, northwestern Romania. The match counts towards the third round of the 2018 Rugby Europe International Championship. After losing to Spain in the previous match, Romania needs a win and a bonus point to keep alive its chances of qualifying to the 2019 World Rugby Cup hosted by Japan. Last year in Sochi Romania won 30-10 against Russia. Our team is ranked 16, while Russia is in 20th position.(Translated by V. Palcu and D. Vijeu)