October 24, 2015

A roundup of domestic and international news...

Newsroom, 24.10.2015, 12:01

TRILATERAL COOPERATION -Romanian Prime Minister
Victor Ponta is attending in Sofia, Bulgaria, the second meeting of the
‘Craiova Group’, the trilateral meeting of the Romanian, Bulgarian and Serbian
heads of government. The participants will discuss the stage and prospects of
cooperation in fields such as energy, transport, internal affairs and
telecommunications, as well as the projects that are to be promoted as part of
the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The three officials will also analyze
the interconnection between the three countries’ road, railway, electricity and
gas infrastructures, as well as means to attract funding for such projects,
reads a communiqué issued by the Bucharest Government. The agenda of talks also
includes major regional developments, the migration issue, the Western Balkans
situation and the Eastern Partnership.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP -The Romanian Ambassador to
the US, George Cristian Maior, has talked in Washington, on the eve of Romanian
Army Day, on October 25th, about the importance of the Strategic
Partnership between the Romania and the US, with focus on the major
contribution that Romania has in the foreign theatres of operations. All
political parties in Romania have agreed to increase the share of the GDP
earmarked for defense, against a very complicated regional and international
context, and this will help Romania modernize its army structures, in order to
be able to deal with the new challenges, the ambassador said. George Maior has
also stated that rendering operational the base in Deveselu, in southern
Romania, by the end of the year 2015, is clear evidence of Romania’s capacity
to stay in line with the NATO protection measures in the region.

MIGRATION – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will
attend in Brussels, on Sunday, the EC summit on migration in the Western
Balkans. Attending will be heads of state and government from Austria,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. According to
a communiqué issued by the Presidential Administration, the participants will
approach general aspects relating to the challenges posed by the inflows of
refugees that the countries in the region have to deal with. They will also
analyze the support that these countries need, and the means that can be
provided by the EU, under bilateral agreements or in cooperation with the line
European and international agencies.

JOURNALISTS’ UNION – The Romanian Minister Delegate for Relations
with Romanians Abroad, Angel Tilvar, has reiterated in Vienna, on the setting
up of the Union of Romanian Journalists Abroad, the importance of the press in
the Romanian language in preserving Romanian identity and strengthening ties
between the Romanians who live in various parts of the world. He has talked
about Bucharest’s support for the development of Romanian media in the Romanian
communities abroad, encouraging the association of Romanian media institutions
and journalists across the world. The idea to set up the Union of Romanian
Journalists Abroad was launched last year, at a meeting held in Lyon by the
Romanian journalists living in EU countries.

MOLDOVA SCANDAL – On
Friday night, in the Republic of Moldova, Romania’s neighbor with a
predominately Romanian-speaking population,
the controversial leader of the pro-Russian ‘Our Party’, Renato Usatii,
was taken in police custody for 72 hours. Usatii had posted on the internet
recordings of talks between the former PM Vlad Filat, arrested for corruption,
and his denouncer, the businessman Ilan Shor. On Wednesday, fresh recordings
were posted on Usatii’s YouTube account, with actors calling President Nicolae
Timofti and Interior Minister Oleg Balan and pretending they were the former
President of Georgia or the Foreign Minister of Ukraine. Renato Usatii, who was
arrested at the airport, upon his return from Moscow, is the mayor of the city
of Balti in the Republic of Moldova. He has lately organized several
anti-government protest meetings. Previously, the media in the Republic of
Moldova had published a recording of Usatii claiming he had connections with
the Russian Federation’s Intelligence Service.

WINTER TIME – Tonight, Romania passes to the official winter
time. Thus, 4 a.m. will become 3 a.m.
and Sunday, October 25th, will be the longest day of the year, with 25 hours.
Passing to the Eastern European Time will not change train schedulles. In
March, Romania had switched to the summer time, when clocks and watches were
turned one hour forward, to ensure the maximum use of daylight and to reduce electricity consumption. We will get
back to the official daylight saving/summer time zone on the last Sunday of
March, 2016.