March 1, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
Corina Cristea, 01.03.2014, 14:06
Romanian PM Victor Ponta has been received today in private audience by Pope Francis. The Romanian official will also attend the Congress of the Party of European Socialists, where a new candidate for the position of European Commission president will be designated. On Friday, Victor Ponta had talks with his counterpart Matteo Renzi, three days after the latter took over the leadership of the government in Rome. The talks focused on the political and economic partnership between the two countries and prospects to boost investment. Ponta said that Romania and Italy are very well coordinated with regard to European development and the EU regional policy.
The Ukrainian cabinet has today convened in Kiev to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. The main issue on the agenda is the prospect of an armed conflict in Crimea, an autonomous region in Ukraine, where Russia has deployed new troops. The new head of the Kiev Government, Arseni Iatzeniuk, has called on Moscow to pull out its troops from Crimea and to observe the bilateral agreements in force. Arseni Iatzeniuk has also stated he talked about the situation in the region with western partners, such as the US Vice-President Joseph Biden, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and several EU foreign ministers. They all support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and say nobody has the right to interfere with that country’s internal affairs. The US President, Barack Obama, has warned Moscow that there will be cots if Russia stages a military intervention in Ukraine. In Sevastopol, the new Premier of the autonomous Ukrainian republic, Serghei Aksenov, has announced that the referendum regarding an increased autonomy was postponed until March 30th..
Bucharest is deeply worried about the situation in Crimea and the separatist movement that is growing in power in this autonomous region. President Traian Basescu has called on all international players not to support and encourage separatism, recalling that Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity are international values. The head of state has also said that Romania is ready to support Kiev deal with the serious issues it’s been faced with. Several people wounded during the conflicts in Ukraine will get medical care in Romania. A Romanian fighter plane has been sent to bring the wounded to Bucharest.
The representative council of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania will decided today whether the union green lights negotiations with the Social Democratic Party, number on in the ruling coalition, for the formation of a new government. The Vice president of the Union, Laszlo Borbely, has stated for Radio Romania that the Union of Ethnic Hungarian will most likely be part of the new government and confirmed the party’s interest in the Ministries of Culture and the Environment. If negotiations go well, on Monday the Social Democratic Party will sign two agreements, one with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, and another one with the group of national minorities. Prime minister Victor Ponta has announced that the new executive will carry on the program of the Social Liberal Union, winner of the 2012 elections. We recall that the National Liberal Party, former number two in the governing coalition, decided to step down early last week.
The European Commission and the Council of Europe will support the roma integration activities held under the ROMACT programme, the two institutions have announced. 44 local councils from five EU countries will participate in the program, whose goal is to bridge the gap between the Roma and the other citizens. So far, the EC and the Council of Europe have earmarked one million Euros for this program, and another million is to be allocated in the next stage. Implementing measures at local and regional leve is vital in fields such as employment, education and health. There are between 10 — 12 million Roma citizens in Europe, most of them faced with intolerance, abuse and social exclusion.
