May 10, 2014 UPDATE
A look at some of the main stories in Romania today
România Internațional, 10.05.2014, 13:52
The Romanian foreign ministry has asked Moscow to clarify publicly whether the statements made by the Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin are the official position of the Russian government vis-à-vis Romania as a European Union and NATO member. The ministry in Bucharest voiced surprise over Rogozin’s Twitter post on Saturday that if Romania and Ukraine do not allow him to survey their air space, next time he will use a Russian strategic jet bomber. The Romanian foreign ministry says this threat by the Moscow official is a very serious statement given the current regional situation and a time when Russia has violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and pro-Russian separatist forces infringe public order. The ministry says Romania fully supports and complies with the EU sanctions imposed on Russia.
The creation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process is a historic step that ushers in a new stage of regional cooperation in south-eastern Europe. This statement was made by the speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies at the inaugural session of the Assembly hosted by Romania, which holds the chairmanship of this body until June. The meeting tackles the future role of the assembly in Europe and comes to an end on Sunday with an inaugural declaration. The South-East European Cooperation Process includes Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey as founding members, as well as Bosnia and Hertegovina, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro and Slovenia.
10th of May is Royalty Day in Romania. A Royal Marathon was held in Bucharest as part of the celebrations, while the family of Romania’s last sovereign, King Michael I, laid a wreath of flowers at the statue of King Carol I. In the evening, the royal residence in Bucharest played host to a garden party with 6,000 guests from across the country and the Republic of Moldova, including leading public figures and representatives of the diplomatic corps. Royalty Day is linked to King Carol I. On the 10th of May 1866, he was sworn in before Parliament. On the 10th of May 1877, Carol proclaimed Romania’s independence, and four years later, again on the 10th of May, he was crowned King of Romania.
The bridge connecting the Romanian town of Calafat and the Bulgarian town of Vidin on Saturday opened for railway travel. Two trains will be running every day on this route. The Romanian investment, worth 27.5 million euros, was covered by non-reimbursable European funds and the state budget. The Calafat-Vidin bridge is almost 2 km in length and has two lanes in each direction for cars, a single railway track, two pedestrian paths and a cycling track. It first opened for road travel in June last year.
The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 5 in the world, on Sunday plays world no. 9 Maria Sharapova in the final of the Madrid Open, a tournament worth almost 3.7 million euros. In the semifinals, Halep defeated world no. 6 Petra Kvitova, while Sharapova ousted Agnieszka Radwanska. If she wins in Madrid, Halep, who is the highest ranking player in the history of Romanian women’s tennis, goes up one place in the WTA rankings to the reach the 4th position.
