January 10, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 10.01.2019, 21:47

EU – Thursday saw the official
launch of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 12
years since Romania joined the EU, our country takes on a major role at EU
level, namely to contribute to consolidating a more cohesive, stronger and more
powerful Europe, President Klaus Iohannis said in his opening address. Romania
will carry out its presidency with dignity, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said
in turn, adding that she wants a more united, robust and solidary Europe at the
end of Romania’s term in office. In turn, President of the European Council,
Donald Tusk, underlined that Romania will act in the spirit of the proverb Man
consecrates the land. Whether its policy will be a good example to follow or a
severe warning depends entirely on Romania, President Tusk said. The EU
official called on Romanians to defend the underlying principles of political
civilization, liberty, integrity, defending truth in public life, the rule of
law and the Constitution. Romania is taking over the presidency of the Council
of the European Union at a crucial moment, European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker said. He added that the EU wouldn’t be complete without
Romania, and that Romania belongs in the Schengen Area. I’m counting on the
energy and unity of the whole Romanian nation to be able to decide what to do
and what we can do in the coming months, Juncker concluded. The launch was
marked by a concert at the Romanian Athenaeum given by the EU orchestra. The
program included the Romanian Rhapsody I by George Enescu and Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 9 ‘Ode to Joy’ which became the Anthem of the EU in 1985. On the
other hand, several hundred people gathered in front of the Athenaeum for an
anti-government rally under the slogan We want Europe, not dictatorship!,
staged by several civic organizations. Protesters chanted pro-European and
anti-Government slogans. On Friday,
Jean-Claude Juncker will meet with President Klaus Iohannis and with the PM
Viorica Dancila as well as with the speakers of Parliament’s two chambers. The
European officials will also have talks with the Romanian ministers who, for 6
months, will chair both in Bucharest and Brussels, working meetings with their
counterparts from the EU member states.

Visit -
The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu met with his Polish counterpart Jacek Czaputowicz who was on a visit to
Bucharest. The two reviewed the stage of accomplishment of the common objectives
set at bilateral, regional, European and multilateral level and set the
landmarks of the Romanian – Polish cooperation on short and medium term. Talking
about Romania’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, Teodor
Melescanu stated that Bucharest will focus on promoting cohesion as a common
European value, on overcoming division among member states and on identifying
ways to consolidate the role of the EU. In another development, the Romanian Foreign
Minister offered to his Polish counterpart a digital copy of 294 archived files
covering the period 1918-1947 to mark a century of diplomatic relations between
Romania and Poland.

Protests – Transporters from Romania and
other Eastern European states on Thursday protested in front of the European
Parliament against the change of legislation in the field, in the context in
which the MEPs from the Committee on Transport are voting on the new
regulations. Protesters claim that the proposals included in the mobility
package were made against the backdrop of surging protectionism of western
European states and that the transporters in eastern and southeastern Europe
will be affected by the measures. They believe the measures will lead to
significantly higher operation costs and restrictions on the international road
transportation within the community space. One of the measures forbids the
period of weekly rest to happen in the truck cab. Another measure is related to
the obligation of drivers to return home at least once every 4 weeks. Measures
also refer to the obligation to equip all international transport vehicles with
an intelligent tachograph by the end of 2024.

Tennis -
Romanian tennis player Simona
Halep, WTA no. 1, has been seeded first in the Australian Open, the first Grand
Slam tournament of the year, where last year she reached the finals. Halep on
Tuesday will play Kaia Kanepi of Estonia (70 WTA). On Monday, on the first day
of the tournament Irina Begu (76 WTA) will play Andrea Petkovic of Germany (61
WTA), Monica Niculescu (88 WTA) will play Amanda Anisimova of the US (87 WTA)
while Sorana Cirstea (84 WTA) will play Rebbeca Peterson (62 WTA). On Tuesday,
Mihaela Buzarnescu (25 WTA) will play Venus Williams of the US (37 WTA) while
Ana Bogdan (81 WTA) will go up against a player from the qualifying phase.

(Translated by L. Simion & V. Palcu)