May 3, 2019 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 03.05.2019, 19:57
Rome — Democracy is not in danger but it is under pressure across the EU, and those who believe in Europe need to be more courageous given that the EU is faced with various problems, such as Brexit, migration and unemployment, said the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday at the conference ‘The State of The Union’ held at the European University Institute in Florence. In his opinion, to bring optimism back to Europe, the source of problems needs to be addressed and local and regional solutions need to be worked out, because there is no single solution for the entire EU. Also on Friday, on the sidelines of the conference, the Romanian president met with the Italian PM Giuseppe Conte, highlighting the importance of the upcoming EU summit for the future of the European project. The 2 officials discussed about the consolidation of bilateral economic relations, the amount of trade exchanges reporting the highest value of the past 10 years.
COMPET – The Romanian economy minister Niculae Bădălău on Friday chaired the informal meeting of the EU competitiveness council (COMPET) focusing on internal market and industry issues. Three critical issues were approached at the meeting: the SMEs’ market, the single market and the energy intensive industry. The European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska said the talks focused on ways to boost market access and to promote the entrepreneurial spirit across the EU. The meeting in Bucharest was attended by the line ministers from the 28 EU member states and from two member states of the European Free Trade Association, Switzerland and Norway.
Paris — The Romanian director, scriptwriter and producer Cătălin Mitulescu was selected in the jury of the Cinefondation and short film section at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the organizers announced on Friday on the event’s official website. The jury will grant the Palme d’Or award for short film to one of the 11 films singled out for the competition, on May 25 at the Festival’s closing ceremony. The jury will also grant the three prizes of the Cinefondation Section for which 17 films were selected this year, made by students of filmmaking schools. Cătălin Mitulescu won the Palme d’Or award for his short ‘Traffic’ in 2004. His movies ‘Bucharest-Vienna 8:15” and ’17 minutes late’ were selected for the Cinefondation section in 2001 and 2002. In 2006 his first feature film ‘The Way I spent the end of the World’ was chosen for the ‘Un Certain Regard’ Section and received the best actress award.
World Press Freedom Day — The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) pays homage to the world’s journalists who, despite censorship, repression and manipulation, in times of peace or war, took risks and sometimes paid with their lives in their attempt to do their job and inform the public opinion, shows a communiqué of the Romanian Foreign Ministry made public on the World Press Freedom Day. On this occasion, MAE reiterated the importance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, underscoring that freedom of the press was the guarantor of any functioning democracy. In a message conveyed on the World Press Freedom Day, the US Embassy in Bucharest said that “the recent threats against Romanian investigative journalists have no place in a democratic, Western civilization”. The US Embassy expresses solidarity with the responsible and brave Romanian reporters who resist pressures and threats in Bucharest and in various counties of Romania. Media and judicial independence are at the heart of NATO, the American diplomats also say. The statement emphasizes that a free press ensures citizens are well informed and is a key component of democratic governance and economic success for all countries. Recently, a journalist investigating cases of plagiarism at the Police Academy has received threats, an incident into which the authorities are currently looking.
Missions — 4 Eurofighter Typhoon planes of the Italian Air Forces landed on Friday at the Mihail Kogălniceanu base in southeastern Romania, to participate in enhanced air policing missions, the Romanian Defense Ministry announced. The Ministry officials also said that the Italian detachment, made up of almost 130 military, pilots and technical staff and Eurofighter Typhoon planes will be deployed to Romania for the next 4 months and will undertake air policing missions alongside MiG-21 LanceR planes and military of the Romanian Air Forces. (translation by L. Simion)
