February 16, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 16.02.2015, 12:00
The new prime minister designate of the Republic of Moldova, businessman Chiril Gaburici has today started consultations with a view to drawing up a government program and the list of future ministers. In this respect, meetings have been scheduled with representatives of the parliamentary parties, civil society and the business circles. Nominated on Friday for the PM post by the minority coalition made up of the Liberal Democrats and the Democrats, Gaburici has until March 9th to pick his Cabinet members and win the Parliament’s vote of confidence. On Thursday, the incumbent Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, proposed by the same coalition, failed to win Parliament’s vote of confidence. Only 42 members of the minority coalition made up of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party in the 101-seat parliament voted for the new coalition government, though the votes of at least 51 MPs were needed for the new government to be sworn in. The two parties need the support of either the pro-European Liberals or of the pro-Russian Communists.
The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest might today deliver a definitive ruling in the case of former Youth and Sports Minister, Monica Iacob Ridzi. In January 2014 she was found guilty of abuse of office related to events organized in 2009 on the National Youth Day. After the start of the investigation, Ridzi is said to have tried to delete relevant information from ministry computers. The media says that the former minister, at that time part of the Liberal Democratic government, had turned Youth Day celebrations into a campaign for Elena Basescu, the daughter of the then president, who was running for a seat in the European Parliament, which she eventually won.
Romania’s representative in the European Commission, Corina Cretu, who holds the regional policies portfolio, is today presenting in Bucharest an activity report on the first 100 days of her mandate and on her priorities for 2015. Commissioner Cetu said before the visit that 80% of the member states’ operational programs had been approved.
The Egyptian military has today carried out air strikes in Libya in retaliation for the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians by a branch of the Islamic State extremist group there. According to Reuters, militants based in Libya have made contact with Sinai Province, a group operating from Egypts Sinai Peninsula and pledged allegiance to Islamic State. The group has killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Bucharest has firmly condemned the killing of the 21 Egyptian prisoners.
Euro zone finance ministers are today trying to reach an agreement with Greek authorities on relieving the latter’s staggering debt burden that accounts for 175% of the country’s GDP. The new Government in Athens has so far refused to extend the financial assistance accord, which expires this month. Without an accord Greece risks being forced to abandon the euro, which could spark wider financial turmoil, analysts have warned. Thousands of people took to the streets in several Greek cities and also in France and Portugal in protest at the austerity measures imposed by the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank and in support of the new government headed by Alexis Tsipras.
Romanian foreign Minster Bogdan Aurescu is today paying an official visit to Slovakia at the invitation of his counterpart Miroslav Lajcak. Aurescu will also meet with the Slovakian President Andrej Kiska and with Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry the Romanian and Polish officials will discuss issues related to European security policy, with an emphasis on energy security and the Ukrainian crisis.
