February 20, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 20.02.2014, 19:55
On Thursday in Brussels the EU foreign ministers decided to impose sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes, against those responsible for the violence in Ukraine. A ban has also been imposed on Ukraine’s exports to the EU. Bucharest, represented in the meeting by foreign minister Titus Corlatean, firmly condemned the violence in that country, in which tens of people died and hundreds were wounded. The President of Romania, Traian Basescu, once again called on his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovych, not to use the army to contain the protests. On Wednesday, president Basescu said the instability in Ukraine threatens the entire Europe, and announced that, if necessary, Romania could host 3,500 Ukrainian refugees. According to analysts, the violence also affects the economic environment, and the currencies in the regions, including the Romanian leu, have plummeted over the past three weeks.
International television stations aired footage of bodies downtown Kiev, where clashes between protesters and the police were resumed Thursday morning. The demonstrators have once again occupied the Independence Square, the focal point of the anti-government protests, which the security forces had seized on Tuesday. Authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of the Parliament building, for security reasons. In a mediation missions, EU ministers had meetings on Thursday with the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. Part of the Ukrainian delegation in the Soch Olympics announced they would return to the country before the end of the competition. These developments came after Yanukovych had announced a day of national mourning on Thursday, to commemorate those who had died in similar clashes on Tuesday night.
The EC announced launching 2 infringement procedures against Romania, for problems related to environment protection and railway transport. The procedures concern several cases of violation of European environment legislation, while in the transport sector the Commission urges Romania to ensure financial sustainability of its railway infrastructure operator. The Commission noted that, although Romania’s railway network is one of the largest in Europe, the tariffs for freight transport are some of the highest in the EU.
The Romanian Defence Minister, Mircea Dusa, is taking part Thursday and Friday in an informal meeting of EU defence ministers held in Athens. The agenda of the meeting includes the strategic EU — UN partnership, as well as the lines of action of the European Defence Agency after the European Council of December 2013. Participants also discuss the military operations currently conducted as part of the Common Security and Defence Policy.
