March 10, 2014
A roundup of news from Romania.
România Internațional, 10.03.2014, 13:12
Romania’s foreign minister Titus Corlatean today travels to the neighbouring Ukraine following an invitation from his counterpart Andrii Deshchytsia. According to a foreign ministry release, this visit forms part of Romania’s sustained efforts within European and Euro-Atlantic structures and on a bilateral level, to find a peaceful solution to the serious crisis in Ukraine amid what it described as “the escalation of tension in the Crimean peninsula”. Minister Corlatean will also tackle bilateral issues, such as the situation of the Romanian ethnic community in Ukraine, which numbers more than 400,000 people. In Bucharest’s opinion, Ukraine must apply the European norms for the protection of ethnic minorities, including those related to language, saying that compliance with these norms is essential for Ukraine’s stability and territorial integrity.
Romanian senators are today electing a new speaker following last week’s resignation of the Liberal leader Crin Antonescu, whose party withdrew from the ruling Social Liberal Union. The new government coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party, the Conservative Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians says it will back the former Liberal leader Calin Popescu Tariceanu, who recently resigned from the National Liberal Party. Other possible candidates from the opposition, are the Liberal Teodor Atanasiu and the Liberal Democrat Vasile Blaga.
European Commissioner for Education, Androulla Vassiliou is on a visit to Bucharest to discuss education and the employment opportunities of Romania’s young people. She is also launching Erasmus Plus, the EU’s revamped funding programme for education, training and sports. 120,000 young Romanians may benefit from education grants under this programme in the next 7 years. Erasmus Plus not only provides grants for students, but also finances training programmes for teachers and people doing voluntary work. The programme’s budget in the 2014-2020 period stands at almost 15 billion euros. This year, Romania may benefit from around 50 million euros.
The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 7 in the WTA ranking, has qualified to the fourth round of the Indian Wells tournament worth 6 million dollars. In the third round, she defeated Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets. In her next match, Halep meets the Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard, no. 19 in the world. Halep has received 120 WTA points and 52,000 dollars for reaching the fourth round.
