November 18, 2015 UPDATE
Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, pays a 2-day official visit to Slovakia. / The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, opened on Wednesday.
Newsroom, 18.11.2015, 12:15
Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, met his Slovak counterpart, Andrej Kiska, on Wednesday in Bratislava. The two officials tackled security in Europe in the context of the Paris attacks and also the refugee crisis, national minority rights and the battle against corruption. According to President Iohannis, Romania, where ethnic and religious minorities are respected, has not been a target state for the refugees. In his turn, the Slovak President said he was impressed with the results of the fight against corruption in Romania. The Romanian head of state also met with the Slovak PM Robert Fico. On Thursday, the second day of his visit, Klaus Iohannis will go to Zvolen to lay a wreath at the Military Cemetery of the Romanian Army.
Romania’s new cabinet headed by Dacian Ciolos had its first meeting on Wednesday, a day after its endorsement by Parliament. A former European Commissioner for agriculture, Dacian Ciolos formed the government out of non-political technocrats with experience in the private sector, European institutions, and civil society. The new government wants more transparency, responsibility and dialogue, according to the new PM. In the short and medium run, the new Government is to put together the public budget for 2016 and to organize next year’s local and parliamentary elections. Its targets also include drawing up a 10-year investment plan, a national development strategy, and reforms in public education and healthcare, as well as strengthening Romania’s role in the EU and NATO, the country’s strategic partnership with the US and supporting the EU accession efforts of the neighbouring Republic of Moldova.
Two people died and seven others were detained during a police raid on Wednesday in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, on a group suspected of planning new terrorist attacks. French authorities announced that one of the two victims, a woman suicide bomber, blew herself up. The police operation targeted Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a Belgian Islamist militant accused of masterminding last Friday’s bombings and shootings in Paris. All 129 victims of the attack have been identified.
The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organized by the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, opened on Wednesday. The fair runs until Sunday, and hosts over 300 publishing houses and 700 events. Gaudeamus is the only book fair in the world organized by a public radio — Radio Romania. Its main target is to support the Romanian culture through exhibitions devoted to books and education. The 2015 edition takes place under the motto “The most read book fair at the most listened to radio”. This year, the guest of honour is the Group of French-Speaking Embassies, Delegations and Institutions in Romania (GADIF), the host of the event being Victor Ieronim Stoichita, a researcher and art history professor who currently lives in Switzerland.
(Translated by: E. Enache)
