September 7, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 06.09.2014, 12:09
Romania is a safe country to live in, President Traian Basescu said on Saturday in Sannicolau-Mare, in Western Romania, where he attended the commemoration of Romanian politician Nestor Oprean, who made an important contribution to the Great Union of 1918. On the same occasion, Traian Basescu said that, during his term as President, Romanians had to deal with the economic crisis and are now faced with security risks. Nevertheless, Basescu has said, “I managed to put Romania in the right place.” President Basescu also said that many of Nestor Oprean’s ideals marked Romania’s history and foreshadowed today’s Romania.
The Steadfast Javelin-II phase is be led by NATO’s Allied Land Command and facilitates the training of more than more than 2,000 multinational soldiers, Romanian military included, in unified land operations and interoperability. The exercise further focuses NATO and European Security Partners on concepts such as decisive and sustainable land operation through the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations and on interoperability with partner nations. The exercise unfolds until September 10 in five NATO countries.
Shelling near Ukraines southeastern city of Mariupol has threatened a fragile ceasefire between government forces and pro-Russian rebels, the BBC reports. Intense blasts from the eastern edges rippled across the city on Saturday. Also on Saturday, the Ukrainian and Russian presidents said the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine was “largely holding”. It was signed during talks between representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and pro-Russia rebels in Belarus and came into effect on Friday. Amnesty International has accused Russia of getting involved in the conflict, and has accused the Russian separatists and the Ukrainian militias acting alongside the government forces of war crimes in eastern Ukraine, such as kidnappings and torture.
Romania’s Social Democrat MEP Corina Cretu is on the list of the future European Commissioners made public on Friday by the new president of the Commission, Jean Claude Juncker. A member of the European Parliament since 2007, 47-year-old Cretu currently holds the position of vice-president of the European Parliament. A controversial figure in Romania, she also served as an adviser to former leftist president Ion Iliescu. The proposed list of 28 European Commission members must also be approved by the European Union Council.
At least 53 people were killed during airstrikes on Saturday by the aviation of Bashar al-Assad’s regime over the Raqa province, controlled by the Islamic State, in eastern Syria. The U.S. military said Sunday it launched airstrikes around Haditha Dam in western Iraq, targeting Islamic State insurgents there for the first time in a move to prevent the group from taking controll of the vital dam. The action is taking place at the request of the Iraqi government.
Romanians from outside the country’s borders will soon be allowed to access EU funds to open a business or attend professional training courses. The announcement was made by the Romanian Minister for European Funds, Eugen Teodorovici. He specified that in case Romanians living abroad opted for business, they should open their companies in Romania so that the Romanian state collected their taxes.
The national side of Romania is today taking on Greece, in Piraeus, in their first game in the qualifying tournament for the 2016 European Championship. The two sides also met last year, when Greece defeated Romania at home and drew in Bucharest to qualify for this year’s World Cup in Brazil. Romania’s Euro 2016 qualifying group also includes Hungary, Finland, Northern Ireland and the Faeroe Islands. Romania last qualified for a final tournament in 2008, for the European Championship.
