EU COUNCIL<\/strong> – For the first time since its
<\/p>\n
EUROPEAN
<\/p>\n
NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE<\/strong> – The President of Romania,
<\/p>\n
RUSSIA<\/strong> – The Romanian Foreign Ministry
<\/p>\n
JOURNALISTS<\/strong> – The number of journalists and
<\/p>\n
UKRAINE<\/strong> – The presidential election
(Translated
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[34339,33090,34338,28945,34336,34337,33035],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-103245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-election-in-ukraine","tag-eu-council-presidency","tag-journalists-in-2018","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-new-years-address","tag-russia-romania-relations","tag-viorica-dancila"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nEU accession in 2007, on January 1 Romania is taking over the rotating
\npresidency of the EU Council. The priorities of the Romanian presidency fall
\ninto 4 categories: Europe of convergence, a safer Europe, Europe – a stronger
\nglobal actor and Europe of common values. During its term, Romania will have to
\nmanage several complex issues like Brexit, the 2021-2027 budget, a coherent
\nstrategy on migration and increasing the Union’s global role. The official web
\npage of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council has been launched. The page,
\navailable at romania2019.eu, in Romanian, English and French, provides useful
\ninformation for journalists, the general public and European affairs experts.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nCOMMISSION – The European
\nCommission says the latest attacks on the chief of the EU Representation in Bucharest,
\nAngela Cristea, are unacceptable, the European Commission spokesperson Mina
\nAndreeva said on Monday. The EU official said the EU ambassador to Bucharest
\nshould be treated with the same respect the Commission is treating the Romanian
\nambassador in Brussels. The reaction follows the statement of the President of
\nthe National Council of the Social Democratic Party, Mihai Fifor, who said
\nAngela Cristea is responsible for the misinformed opinion European Commission
\nPresident Jean-Claude Juncker has regarding the developments in Romania. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nKlaus Iohannis, Monday released a New Year’s address, in which he urges
\nRomanians to capitalize on the presidency of the EU Council in order to prove
\nthat Romania is fully committed to consolidating the European project. PM
\nViorica Dancila also said in her New Year’s address on Monday that Romania is
\nprepared for the presidency of the EU Council. She emphasized that this is a
\nnational project that must bring together public institutions, political actors
\nand civil society. Viorica Dancila also said that in 2019 her Cabinet will
\ncontinue to take the right decisions for Romania, and added that the
\nGovernment has a clear role: sustainable economic growth and major investments
\nable to ensure better living standards for as many citizens as possible.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nrequested the Russian Embassy in Bucharest to update the historical information
\nit uses, and stressed that past bilateral relations must not allow for
\nspeculations and unfounded opinions. The message follows a Russian Embassy
\nFacebook post deploring the fact that Romanian and western media regularly
\npublish articles that slander the Red Army troops who freed Central and Eastern
\nEurope from fascism. Anti-Soviet and anti-Russian critics insist on telling
\npeople that the Red Army was a gang of ruthless thieves and rapists, says the
\nEmbassy in the post that, the Romanian Foreign Ministry argues, lacks the
\naccuracy required for an academic debate. Bucharest also mentions that a
\ncommission of Romanian-Russian historians has been set up, and is best suited
\nto analyze the history of bilateral relations. The Soviet troops that marched
\ninto Romania at the end of World War 2 only left this country in 1958, and the
\ncommunist dictatorship they ushered in lasted until 1989.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nmass media workers killed on the job this year went up to 94, as compared to 82
\nin 2017, the International Federation of Journalists announced. The victims
\ninclude 84 journalists, cameramen and technicians, as well as 10 media staff
\nsuch as drivers and protection officers. They died in targeted killings, bomb attacks
\nand cross fire incidents. The most dangerous place for journalists this year
\nwas Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\ncampaign in Ukraine started on Monday and will last until March 31. Candidates
\nhave until February 3 to enroll and until February 8 to register their
\ncandidacy with the Central Electoral Commission. According to the latest polls,
\nthe former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko, is the frontrunner with 16-18% of the
\nvote intentions. The incumbent president, Petro Poroshenko, is gaining ground
\nand ranks second in current polls with 14%, followed by actor and comedian
\nVladimir Zelenskiy, with 8-12%.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nby A.M. Popescu & V. Palcu)<\/p>\n