December 14, 2014
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România Internațional, 14.12.2014, 13:34
The leaders of the ruling coalition in Romania are to decide today on a cabinet reshuffling. A number of options are being discussed, including the elimination of several minister posts or the merger of certain ministries. Rumours also refer to plans to include in the ruling coalition the party headed by Senate Speaker Calin Popescu-Tăriceanu, the Reforming Liberal Party. The coalition currently includes the Social Democratic Party, the Conservatives and the National Union for the Progress of Romania, after the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania officially left the governing alliance yesterday. The new cabinet structure is also discussed today by the National Executive Committee of the Social Democrats, which will also decide on measures to change the public perception of this party. Some of the suggestions in this respect include the separation of political from administrative positions. The chairmen of County Councils will thus only have political coordination powers, and not financial responsibilities. The proposal is backed by the Social Democratic leader, PM Victor Ponta, who says this rule should be extended for cabinet members as well.
The EU association agreements with the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine are not targeted against the Russian Federation, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview posted on the official website of the German government. According to Merkel, the agreements are designed to strengthen economic relations, from which Moscow should not be excluded. We would like to have good relations with Russia, the German official said, expressing support for a dialogue in the trade sector. Before they take effect, the association agreements, signed this year, need to be ratified by the national parliaments of the 28 EU member states. Romania has already ratified the documents.
The US State Secretary John Kerry is making a visit to Rome, where he is to meet today with his Russian counterpart Serghey Lavrov and with the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Talks will focus on the situation in the Middle East, after the recent death of a Palestinian minister in clashes with the Israeli soldiers rekindled tensions in Israel and West Bank. In the meeting with Serghey Lavrov, John Kerry will also discuss the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow fight against the authorities in Kiev. The Kerry-Lavrov meeting comes after the US Congress passed a law authorising new sanctions against Russia, in response to Moscow’s attitude in the Ukrainian crisis. In Moscow, the deputy foreign minister Serghey Riabkov warned that the new American sanctions would not go unanswered.
The film “Ida”, by the Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski, is the great winner of the 27th European Film Awards gala held last night in Riga, Latvia. The black-and-white Polish-Danish co-production “Ida” won the award for the “Best European Film of the Year” and Pawel Pawlikowski was awarded as “The best European Director”. He was also chosen as the “Best European Script Writer”, jointly with Rebecca Lenkiewicz, with whom he worked in writing the script for “Ida”. The film also won the popularity award based on the audience votes.
Romania’s national women handball team was defeated last night by Hungary, 20-19, in its first game in Group 1 of the European Championship. The competition takes place in Hungary and Croatia. Romania’s next matches are against Spain on Monday and against Poland on Wednesday, but its chances to qualify into the semi-finals are very slim. In the 2012 European Championship, Romania came out 10th. The last medal won by Romania’s team was a bronze in 2010. The 2016 European Championship final tournament will take place in Sweden.
