26 June 2019, UPDATE

A roundup of some of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 26.06.2019, 19:44

Moldova. In a joint session on
Wednesday, the two chambers of Romania’s Parliament adopted a declaration
supporting the new government in the Republic of Moldova and the firm
commitment to this neighbouring country’s European path. The Romanian senators and deputies reiterated
Romania’s constant support for the European aspirations of the Republic of
Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population, and expect
a firm commitment from the Moldovan government to continue on this path. They
also called on the Romanian government to go ahead with the implementation of
the bilateral strategic partnership with the Republic of Moldova. Also on
Wednesday, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis talked on the phone with
Moldova’s prime minister Maia Sandu and her deputy prime minister Andrei
Nastase, both of them pro-Europeans, as well as with Moldova’s pro-Russian
Socialist president Igor Dodon. According to the president’s office in
Bucharest, the talks were held after the EU leaders meeting at a summit last
week hailed, at the initiative of the Romanian president, the peaceful transfer
of power in Moldova and agreed to consolidate EU support for the republic based
on concrete measures. The Moldovan officials thanked Romania for its constant
support. President Dodon said he was in favour of a continuation of the
strategic partnership with Romania, a country which is also Moldova’s main
trade partner.

Defence. Between June
25-27, the Romanian defence Minister Gabriel Les is taking part in Brussels in
a series of official events, such as the meeting of NATO defence ministers and
of the global coalition against ISIS. Minister Les also meets his counterparts
from Georgia and France. On Tuesday, he attended the 15th
anniversary of the European Defence Agency, where he emphasised the excellent collaboration
with the agency during Romania’s rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
The defence agency was set up in 2004 in Brussels as a joint government agency
of the Council of the EU. The agency currently brings together all EU member
states, except Denmark.

Ombudsman. The two chambers of the Romanian Parliament
on Wednesday validated the former MEP Renate Weber as new Ombudsman. Backed by
the ruling coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats, Weber got 208 votes in favour and 134 against. Her
rivals for the post, the former MP Peter Eckstein-Kovacs, supported by the National Liberal Party, the Save
Romania Union and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, and the
lawyer Catalin Voinea Mic, proposed by the People’s Movement Party, were
rejected. Renate Weber will succeed the former Christian Democrat prime
minister from the 1990s Victor Ciorbea, whose performance as Ombudsman has come
under frequent criticism from the opposition, civil society and the media. A
lawyer and human rights activist, as well as Liberal politician, 63-year-old
Renate Weber also served as an advisor to the former president Traian Basescu
and as chair of the Soros Foundation Romania.

Football. Romania face Germany on
Thursday night in the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championship hosted
by Italy and San Marino. In the other semifinal, Spain take on France, also on
Thursday. The final will be held on Sunday. Romania reached the semifinals
after winning Group C with two clear wins, against Croatia, 4-1, and then
against England, 4-2, and a goalless draw against France. The qualification
also secures Romania’s ticket, after 55 years, to the Olympic Games hosted by
Tokyo next year. This is the second time Romania take part in a European Under-21
final tournament after 1998 when it was hosted by Bucharest.

Tennis. Simona Halep of Romania has reached
the quarterfinals of the grass court tennis tournament in Eastbourne, the UK,
after she defeated Slovenia’s Polona Hercog in three sets. She will play next Germany’s
Angelique Kerber. The tournament in Eastbourne is a good test ahead of Wimbledon,
the third Grand Slam tournament of the year which begins on Monday.

Weather. A warning is in place in Romania
until Thursday night for humid and hot weather, with the temperature-humidity
ratio expected to exceed the critical threshold. Rains will return, first in
the north and the hilly and mountainous regions and then spreading across the
country. The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said on Wednesday
that fire fighters were deployed to help clear the effects of dangerous weather
phenomena in 40 towns and villages in 13 counties and the capital Bucharest.
They helped pump out the water from dozens of homes, courtyards and cellars and
remove the trees felled by the storm on roads and streets.