June 26, 2015 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 26.06.2015, 12:05
President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said on Friday in Brussels, after the summer meeting of European heads of state and government, that EU countries have undertaken to take part in redistributing the immigrants to Greece and Italy via the Mediterranean. He added that the Romanian Foreign Ministry will suggest a number of migrants that it can accommodate. Klaus Iohannis pointed out that the 2-year long relocation will be voluntary, in terms of the number of immigrants that each member state will take over. He added that the talks in Brussels also tackled a revision of the EU security strategy and the fight against terrorism. Opinions were also exchanged with the NATO Secretary General, who presented the measures the Alliance is considering in order to cope with the current security threats. On Thursday, the first day of the European summit, Greece was one of the major topics, after the Eurogroup once again failed to reach an agreement with the Greek officials. Unless a deal is struck by June 30, Greece risks defaulting on payments and exiting the Eurozone.
The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, has strongly condemned Fridays terror attack in France, and said this was a tragic proof of the need to enhance global efforts at fighting terrorism. An International Court against Terrorism is needed, Minister Aurescu said in a Twitter post. The presumed attacker, aged 35, was held by the police shortly after the gas factory attack near Lyon, which left one person dead and two wounded. Also on Friday, around 30 people, including foreign tourists, were killed in the Tunisian tourist resort of Sousse. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, no Romanians are among the victims, but investigations go on. In Kuwait as well, around 25 people died and more than 200 were wounded in an attack on a Shia mosque claimed by the IS. Minister Bogdan Aurescu firmly condemned the attack in Sousse and said the events in Kuwait were shocking.
Government corruption remains a widespread problem in Romania, reads the US Department of States report on human rights practices for 2014. The report mentions attempts by politicians to compromise the independence of the judiciary and undermine media freedom through threats to journalists, as well as instances of discrimination. Major human rights problems include police and gendarme mistreatment and harassment of detainees and Roma. According to the report, the Government and Parliament passed laws in a non-transparent manner, and Parliament often voted against lifting the immunity of its members for prosecution for corruption. Also, although the Romanian law guarantees the freedom of the press, there are media groups controlled by politicians. Bribery was widespread, especially in the healthcare sector. In 2014, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate continued to investigate high and medium-level corruption cases at a steady pace throughout the year, sending to court 710 individuals under corruption charges, as compared to 530 in the first half of 2013, the US Department of State also noted.
Romanias womens epee team, made up of Ana-Maria Brânză, Simona Gherman and Simona Pop Friday won the gold medal at the Baku European Games, after having defeated Estonia, 31-25. The mens epee team, including Tiberiu Dolniceanu, Iulian Teodosiu and Alin Badea, lost the final to Italy, 45-44, and won the silver. Romania has won 12 medals in the European Games – 3 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze
