May 22, 2019

The European Prize for Literature to be announced today

Newsroom, 22.05.2019, 14:50

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS – In Romania, the campaign for the European elections due on May 26 continues. As many as 13 political parties are part of it. The candidates running in the elections are former ministers or experienced MEPs, former prime ministers or mayors, popular journalists and even an ex-president. The Romanians abroad can cast their votes at 114 polling stations, most of them in Italy, Spain and the Republic of Moldova. A referendum on justice called by President Klaus Iohannis takes place at the same time with the European elections.

POPE — Online requests for the attendance of the religious services held by Pope Francis in Romania will continue until May 31. Hundreds of thousands of people have already registered. Besides Romanians, Christians from neighboring countries such as Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine but also from far away countries like Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Australia and Israel will come to Romania for the Pope’s visit. Pope Francis makes a three-day apostolic visit to Romania from the 31st of May to the 2nd of June following an invitation from President Klaus Iohannis and the Catholic Church in Romania. The motto of the visit is “Let’s walk together”. The pontiff will travel to the capital Bucharest, Iasi, the biggest city in the east of the country and home to a sizeable Roman-Catholic community, Blaj, in the centre, the spiritual capital of the Romanian Greek-Catholics and the Marian shrine in Sumuleu Ciuc, in the centre, in an area with a majority ethnic Hungarian population.

BLACK SEA – The Black Sea city of Constanta venues the Black Sea Investment held on May 22 and 23, 2019 in order to support the efforts already made to promote cooperation between the countries in the area in the context of a Black Sea Common Maritime Agenda. The event, organized by the Romanian Transport Ministry and the European Commission, is aimed at supporting and stimulating investment and improving the EU’s global business environment by removing barriers to investment and promoting sustainable funding. Among the themes approached, are the transport and digital connectivity of the Black Sea, coordination among private and public financing mechanisms at national, regional and European level, smart connectivity and sustainable multi-modal transport as well as sustainable use of alternative fuels.

PRIZE – Romanian Culture Minister Valer Daniel Breaz, is today announcing in Brussels, together with European Commissioner Tibor Navracsics, the winners of the European Union Prize for Literature. This year’s candidates are from Austria, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Amongst these, there are two new participating countries, namely Georgia and Ukraine. The European Union Prize for Literature (established in 2009) is a European Union literary award. The award is funded by the Culture Programme of the European Union and is coordinated by a Consortium, selected by a Commission. The Consortium is made up of the European Booksellers federation, the European Writers Council and the Federation of European Publishers. The Consortium sets up the national juries and organizes the awards. Each year 11 or 12 countries are selected to be part of the award, national juries are selected for each country, and each countrys jury then selects a winner. After three years of rotation, all countries will have been included.

BREXIT – The British government approved PM Theresa May’s plan on Brexit, including the compromise measures that are to be included in the law that is to be voted on early next month. The draft law includes the idea of a temporary customs union until future general elections are held as well as measures to guarantee EU workers’ rights and to protect the environment. The passing of the Brexit law by the House of Commons is an almost impossible mission for the government, even though the measures proposed might persuade some of the Labour MPs to vote for it, newspapers write. (Translated by Elena Enache)