September 26, 2019

President Iohannis had talks with Moldovan, Ukrainian counterparts in New York

Newsroom, 26.09.2019, 14:00

TALKS The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis had a short meeting in New York on Wednesday with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. President Klaus Iohannis emphasised during the talks that in Romanias view, the Republic of Moldovas European accession efforts, firmly supported by Bucharest, are the only way to ensure the prosperity of the Moldovan citizens. In turn, Igor Dodon emphasised that he supports the strategic partnership between Romania and Moldova, and added that Moldovas European accession remains a priority. The Romanian President also had a meeting with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The latter thanked Romania for supporting his countrys European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. Volodymyr Zelensky and Klaus Iohannis also discussed cooperation opportunities in the economic and energy fields, as well as bilateral business relations.

CoD Romania is taking over the 2-year presidency of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies, the Foreign Ministry announced. On this occasion, Foreign Minister Ramona Mănescu is taking part in New York today in an extraordinary meeting of this body. The Community of Democracies is a global inter-governmental structure aimed at promoting sustainable development, universal access to justice and efficient, responsible and inclusive institutions at all levels. Romania is one of the 106 UN member states that have signed the Warsaw Declaration, on whose principles the Community of Democracies has been founded.

HEARING The candidacy of the Romanian Social Democrat Rovana Plumb for the post of European Commissioner for Transport was rejected on Thursday by the European Parliaments judicial committee, political sources in Brussels announced. Only 6 MEPs voted in her favour, 15 voted against and 2 abstained from voting. Without the approval of the judicial committee, the hearing in the Transport Committee cannot be held. The European Parliaments judicial committee had invited Rovana Plumb and Lazslo Trocsanyi, the European Commissioner nominated by Hungary, to a special hearing. Plumb was asked to clarify controversial aspects in her declaration of assets, related to a loan taken out in order to fund an election campaign.

AMBASSADOR Lawyer Adrian Zuckermans nomination as US ambassador to Romania has been approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Senate. According to the White House, Zuckerman immigrated to the US from Romania at the age of 10, and is fluent in Romanian. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1984, and was a partner in an international law firm. He was previously an arbitrator for the Real Estate Board of New York. He received his undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his law degree from New York Law School.

UNEMPLOYMENT In Romania, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8% in the second quarter of the year, with the highest rate (15%) reported among youth 15 to 24 years of age, the National Statistics Institute reports. The data also indicates that unemployed men outnumber the women, and that unemployment is higher in rural communities. During the same period, the employment rate in the 15-66 age bracket was slightly over 66%, up since the previous quarter. Moreover, the employment rate for citizens aged between 20 and 64 was 71.6%, higher than the 70% national target set in the Europa 2020 Strategy. Romanias active population was 9.1 million people, of whom 8.8 million were employed in the second quarter of this year.

HANDBALL Romanias womens handball team Wednesday night defeated Ukraine, at home, 27-24, in the first match in Group 7 of the 2020 European Championships qualifiers. On Sunday the Romanians will play against Faroe Islands away from home. Group 7 also includes Poland, and the 2 top-ranking teams will qualify in the final tournament. Romanias national team came in 4th in the previous European Championships, losing the bronze medal to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Romanias champions Dinamo Bucharest won 35-28 against Danish vice-champions GOG Gudme, in Group D of the Champions League. Romania tops the group ranking, having outplayed the Swedish team IFK Kristianstad in Bucharest and drawn against the Swiss side Kadetten Schaffhausen, away from home. Dinamo will play next against Cehovskye Medvedy on October 12, in Russia.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)