February 28, 2014
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Leyla Cheamil, 28.02.2014, 12:05
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta is today having talks in Rome with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi about political and economic cooperation in the strategic partnership. Topical issues on the European agenda will be tackled with emphasis on the Italian priorities in the second half of the year. The event takes place only three days after Premier Matteo Renzi went to the helm of the Italian government, this being his first meeting with a European counterpart. The Romanian Prime Minister is to be received by Pope Francis in a private audience tomorrow. At the same time, the head of the Romanian government, president of the Social-Democratic Party participates in a Congress of the Party of the European Socialists expected to designate a common candidate for the European Commission presidency.
The National Trade Union Bloc (BNS) has announced its intention to stage nation-wide rallies in early March, to protest severe failures of the current government in several key sectors of the economy. The BNS has called for the completion of the Pitesti-Sibiu highway, vital for the good functioning of Dacia-Renault and Ford — Craiova, two industrial platforms with a potential of 150 thousand stable jobs. Trade unionists have also condemned the poor management of the National Post Office, the intention of the Romanian authorities to privatize the administration of the Black Sea port of Constanta and the failure to comply with agreements on labour legislation and industrial relations.
Ukrainian Parliament has today endorsed a resolution calling on the USA and Great Britain to guarantee the sovereignty of Ukraine. The legislature in Kiev has also asked the UN Security Council to call a meeting on the crisis currently facing the country. The appeal comes after gunmen last night took control over two airports in the Crimean Peninsula, where the majority of people are ethnic Russians. In the wake of these two events, Ukrainian interim interior minister Arsen Avakov has accused the Russian forces of armed intervention and occupation. The BBC recalls that the situation in Crimea remains tense after armed men, who did not hide their affiliation to the armed forces of the Russian Federation, have stormed the local Parliament building, at a time when Russian troops were taking part in a military drill. In a phone call last night the US vice-president Joe Biden assured the Ukrainian interim Premier Arseni Iateniuk of the USA’s full support for the new Ukrainian government. The move comes after a round of talks between US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov during which the Russian official said his country would respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Police and gendarmes abuses against the detainees and Roma people, precarious conditions in prisons, discrimination against the Roma and sexual minorities or against those suffering from HIV/AIDS are a few major human rights flaws in Romania, shows a US Department of State report in 2013. Other issues are concerning anti-Semitic statements, the lack of measures on the return of Greek Catholic churches as well as threats against Romanian journalists. According to the report, institutionalized corruption remained a widespread issue in Romania in 2013, affecting all society levels. In another development, the National Anti-corruption Directorate announced that 2013 was a difficult year for this institution, which had to cope with legislative and structural streamlining as well as with mounting public and political pressure against prosecutors.
Iurie Leanca, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, will next week be paying a visit to the United States, for talks with vice-president Joe Biden on the key priorities of the Moldovan presidency this year. In another move, the Foreign Ministers of Germany and France, Frank Walter-Steinmeier and Laurent Fabius, respectively, are to visit Chishinau on Monday, Radio Free Europe reports on its webpage. The visit comes after the European Parliament’s landslide vote on a visa waiver for the Republic of Moldova, whose citizens have biometric passports.
UDMR, the opposition Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, is presently discussing the Social-Democrat offer to join the future government together with other allies, the Conservatives and the National Union for the Progress of Romania. A decision on this merger is expected on Monday, while a day later Social-Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta is to introduce to Parliament the new cabinet, which is expected to continue the programme of the outgoing Social-Liberal Union, winner of the 2012 election. We recall that the National-Liberal Party, number two in the ruling coalition, withdrew from the government early this week amid divergences with the Social Democrats.
