March 27, 2014
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Bogdan Matei, 27.03.2014, 12:00
Events aimed at marking 96 years since Bessarabia became part of Romania were under way in Bucharest and in other Romanian cities. On March 27th 1918, while the Russian Empire was falling apart, the legislature in Bessarabia voted in favour of uniting with the kingdom of Romania. That was the first move in the process of building the national Romanian state, which was to complete that year with the union of Bukovina, Transylvania, Banat, Maramures and Crisana, which until that time had been part of Austria-Hungary. Following a 1940 ultimatum, Moscow annexed Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, territories which now belong in the former soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine.
The government in Bucharest has hailed an IMF decision to approve the first and second assessment of the stand-by agreement concluded with Romania last autumn. According to the executive, the approval confirms the sustainability of the budget forecast for 2014 as well as the fact that structural reforms are on the right track. The International Monetary Fund has thus made available for Romania almost 440 million euros but the total resources the country can get access to stay at more than 650 million euros.
President of Romania Traian Basescu on Thursday said that besides its participation in international missions the Romanian army’s objective must be to consistantly raise its response capabilities in the context of the latest developments in Ukraine. The statement came after the Romanian Ministry of Defence had presented its activity report in 2013. The crisis in Ukraine sparked off by Russia’s annexing the Crimean Peninsula was also high on the agenda of the Higher Defence Council (CSAT) which convened on Tursday in a meeting presided by the head of the Romanian state. Romania’s cyber security as well as the activity reports of several national security institutions were also tackled. The CSAT’s meeting comes a day after the Romanian Intelligence Service made public its activity report in 2013.
The Romanian government has approved a partnership agreement for the period between 2014 and 2020, providing for ways of using European funds, a document to be formally submitted to the European Commission in late March, Eugen Teodorovici, minister for European Funds has announced. The Romanian official has voiced hope the document will be signed in three months at the latest, and until then the EU officials can send in the right observations. The accord sets several funding priorities in terms of economic competitiveness, infrastructure administration and governance. Minister Teodorovici has also said that documents on operational programmes will be formally submitted to the European Commission in May.
15 political groups in Romania have submitted the lists of their candidates in the EU Parliamentary election on May 25th. 11 independent candidates are also vying for an MEP seat in the upcoming election. Romania has been allotted 32 seats in the future European legislature, one less than in the outgoing body.
The international theatre community is today celebrating World Theatre Day, marked on March 27th every year. Ion Caramitru, president of the Romanian Theatre Union, has announced that a message will be read on behalf of the International Teatre Institute ahead any theatre performance in Romania today. World Theatre Day was first celebrated in 1962.
US president Barack Obama went to Italy on Thursday for his first meeting with Pope Francis, France Press reports. The US president will also be seeing Italian president Giorgio Napolitano and the country’s new Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Obama is interested in stepping up negotiations for a free-trade agreement between the USA and the EU during the Italian presidency of the bloc. After the Netherlands and Belgium, Italy is the third leg of Obama’s tour around Europe and Saudi Arabia.
