September 29, 2013
For a round-up of domestic and international news, click here.
România Internațional, 29.09.2013, 12:30
Romanian President Traian Basescu has today said in a TV show that he wants to adopt a neutral position as far as the controversial gold and silver mining project in Rosia Montana is concerned. Basescu has also said that the final decision in the matter belongs to the Government that was wrong to transfer this responsibility to the Parliament. President Basescu pointed out that a referendum on this matter was not out of the question. The cyanide-based gold and silver mining project is seen by opponents — who staged large-scale protests in Bucharest and other Romanian cities – as a threat for the environment and for the archaeological heritage. The project’s supporters, on the other hand, see it as an opportunity to solve the economic and social problems in the area.
European Commissioner for Agriculture, the Romanian Dacian Ciolos and the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, are today visiting the Danube Delta to see how the European Commission could support, by its various financing tools, the development of this unique natural reserve. The two officials will discuss with representatives of the local authorities, of the green NGOs and fishermen’s organizations to harmonize sustainable development in the Delta with the preservation of its biodiversity and local customs. The Danube Delta has been on the UNESCO heritage list since 1991.
Italy’s President Giorgio Napoletano is today meeting with PM Enrico Letta to discuss about the political crisis in the coalition government. On Saturday the five ministers from the right-wing party People of Liberty have resigned, at the request of the party’s founder, the former PM Silvio Berlusconi, who says his party cannot agree to Letta’s decision on Friday to increase the VAT from 21% to 22%, as of October 1st. In his turn, PM Letta sees the ministers’ resignation as an irresponsible act, given the serious economic crisis the country is going through. A Senate commission last week started talks a motion on Berlusconi’s expulsion from his public position. His party colleagues have threatened to resign if the former head of the government is submitted to a negative vote in the Italian Senate on October 4th.
The first edition of the International Radio Drama Festival “Grand Prix Nova”, organized by Radio Romania, will be held between September 30 and October 5 in Bucharest. Held under the aegis of the International Radio and Television Union and the Romanian Ministry of Culture, the festival addresses radio professionals from all over the world, who are invited to take part in the competition. 27 radio dramas from 22 countries have been selected to participate in this first edition of Grand Prix Nova. The festival takes place ahead of the celebration, on November 1st, of Radio Romania’s 85th anniversary.
