April 11, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 11.04.2014, 12:04
The US charge d’affaires to Bucharest Duane Butcher reaffirmed his country’s and NATO’s commitment to defending Romania against the background of events in Crimea and Russia’s aggression and violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. He said that the US is acting under NATO statute article 5, guaranteeing common defense in the face of attack against any given member. These statements come after Romania called for increased NATO presence in the region.
Romanian Undersecretary for Strategic Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, meets on Friday in Washington the US president’s special adviser for Russia and Central Asia, Celeste Wallander, and Derek Chollet, international security adviser to the US Secretary of Defense. On Thursday, during talks with the US Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Aurescu said that the US and NATO need to bolster their presence on the eastern border of the North Atlantic Alliance, including in Romania, and saluted the commitment displayed by the US in supporting the Republic of Moldova’s bid to join the European Union, one of Romania’s main international commitments.
Ukrainian PM Arsenyi Yatseniuk met today local leaders in Donetsk, Ukraine, where pro-Russian activists occupied a government building, declaring independence, according to the BBC. Interim Ukrainian president Oleksandr Turchinov promised separatists amnesty on Thursday if they handed in their weapons and evacuate the buildings they occupied. The parliament of Crimea, annexed by Russia last month, passed a law for creating a new constitution for that region, which declared its independence on 18 March.
The parliament in Chisinau passed a law by which Soviet era passports are no longer considered valid identification when voting. The law comes into effect on 1 September, on the 22nd anniversary of Moldova’s independence from the USSR. Moldova is the only ex-Soviet state recognizing as valid around one hundred thousand Soviet era passports.
Around 6% of the Romanian population lives in areas with a high risk of flooding, according to maps published for the first time by the ‘Romanian Waters’ National Administration. The documents cover the areas with high risks, evaluating in addition the potential human and material damages flooding may produce. These maps will form the basis for management plans in each watershed as part of efforts to limit the effects of catastrophic events.
The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest hosted today the annual meeting of Eugen Ionescu scholars for the 2013-2014 school year, with 60 scholarship winners from 14 French speaking countries. This doctora and post-doctoral studies scholarship named after writer Eugen Ionescu started in Romania in 2007, aiming to support on long term development in Francophone areas, especially Central and Eastern Europe. So far, the program has provided funding for 470 doctoral candidates and researchers.
Gabriela Adamesteanu, the 72 year-old Romanian writer, journalist and translator was decorated by France’s ambassador to Bucharest, Philippe Gustin. The distinction rewards great figures of French culture, but is also granted to citizens of other countries for their contributions to French cultural heritage.
