August 28, 2016 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 28.08.2016, 12:30
WWI A ceremony was held on Sunday at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Carol 1st Park in Bucharest to mark 100 years from Romania’s entry into the First World War. In the opening remarks, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis paid homage to the heroes who died for the country, calling for the construction of a dignified and strong Romania. The Romanian president paid respects to the 800 thousand war victims, civilians and military, adding that now, more than ever, it is the right time for Romania to commit itself to strengthening the European edifice through a modern and consistent country project. A century ago, Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary crossing the Carpathians into Transylvania. A round table talk, a military exercise and a concert by a brass band have been scheduled for Monday.
ASSISTANCE Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has summoned a special government meeting on Monday for talks on measures aimed at offering assistance to the Romanians affected by the earthquake in Italy and to their families. The Ministry of Labour and the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest are to come with support measures the Ciolos government can apply to certain categories of Romanian citizens. The head of the executive is in permanent connection with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Romania’s diplomatic mission in Rome, which are keeping him informed about the situation in Italy. At the same time, upon his request, the minister of the Romanians the World Over, Maria Ligor on Sunday arrived in Italy to assess the situation. 11 Romanians have lost their lives many others being wounded or reported missing following the earthquake in central Italy whose death toll now stands at 291. The bodies of five Romanians are to be repatriated on Monday. The government wants to hire expert teams to provide psychological support for the victims’ families.
LOAN After his recent visit to Chisinau, the capital of the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos says that all the political forces, including the pro-Russia ones, are willing to continue the country’s pro-European and democratic process. Ciolos said in an interview to Radio Romania that Bucharest wants to continue offering assistance to the authorities in Chisinau to open an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and apply for funding from the European Commission. We recall that on Thursday Ciolos paid an official visit to Chisinau, which marked the disbursing of a first 60 million euros installment of a preferential loan Bucharest offered to the Republic of Moldova.
DIPLOMACY The Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, an event dedicated to the Romanian diplomatic staff, is due to begin in Bucharest on Monday. The event, held annually around September 1st, which is the day of the Romanian diplomacy, is staged by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest. This meeting will have high on agenda the latest developments in the field of security, the dynamics of the EU’s domestic processes and preparations for Romania’s taking over for the first time of the Presidency of the European Union’s Council in the first half of 2019. Also high on the agenda are ways of strengthening the capabilities of granting professional consular assistance in order to defend the interests and rights of the Romanians abroad.
VISIT The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has announced that in the following days he will be paying a visit with an economic profile to three German states — Bavaria, Baden Wurttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. The Romanian official will be seeing representatives of German companies that have already invested in Romania and others which have planned investment in this country. Ciolos says that Romania’s relation with Germany continues in a dynamic way, not only at the political level but also at the economic one. The Romanian Prime Minister has added that in the following period, president Klaus Iohannis will be having a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel.
BRIGADE Preparations are underway for hosting the multinational NATO brigade on the Romanian territory, the country’s Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has announced in Gura Humorului, northeastern Romania. After talks with his Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo, the Romanian official said the authorities in Warsaw had decided to participate in this brigade as well. Furthermore, the Foreign and Defence Ministries in the two countries have set a schedule so that this objective may be met by the end of the year. In turn, the head of the Polish Executive has underlined the need for talks over the future of the European Union, adding that Brussels’ migration policy must be changed so that humanitarian aid outside its borders be stepped up.
