June 11, 2016 UPDATE

Newly elected mayor sentenced to six years behind bars.

Newsroom, 11.06.2016, 12:03

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Romanian Foreign Minster Lazar Comanescu attended on Saturday the opening of European Forum Wachau, in Austria. On this occasion, the Romanian official said the EU finds itself in a difficult moment of its history and Romania constantly supports the promotion of the idea of a stronger and more united Europe. In this context, Comanescu reminded the importance of supporting policies and initiatives aimed at consolidating the EU and preventing fragmentation tendencies within it. Currently at its 21st edition, the European Forum Wachau, held on June 11 and 12, brings together government representatives, people of science and culture and also media representatives from the EU countries, Central and Eastern Europe in particular.

SENTENCE – The newly elected mayor of the county capital Deva, in south-western Romania, Mircia Muntean, has been sentenced to six years in prison. He was initially sentenced to two years in prison for driving under the influence of alcohol but this sentence was cumulated with a 4-year suspended sentence for abuse of public office. Muntean had been Deva mayor for 16 years, between 1996 and 2012, after which he became an MP. On Sunday he was re-elected mayor of the city with 35% of the votes. Since he entered politics he has been a member of five political parties.

OFFICIAL VISIT – French President Francois Hollande will come to Romania in September, Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has announced. Ciolos, who paid a visit to Paris, attended, together with President François Hollande, the opening ceremony of the European Football Championship and the opening game, between the host country and Romania. Earlier on Friday the Romanian PM and his French counterpart Manuel Valls signed an updated roadmap for the strategic partnership between Romania and France. A day before Dacian Ciolos had taken part in a special meeting of the Council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which Romania intends to join.

MILITARY DRILL – Romanian and American Navy Forces will carry out, as of Monday, joint military drills in the Black Sea, to practice standard procedures, with a view to developing interoperability between the two countries’ fleets. The Romanian side participates in the drill with the frigate Queen Mary, one corvette, two minesweepers and a Puma Naval helicopter, while the American partner will participate with the USS Porter destroyer.

COMMEMORATION – The Romanian Cultural Institute commemorates, in the Cernauti region in Western Ukraine, at the border with Romania, 75 years since the first deportations carried out by the Soviets in the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Moscow in 1940 following an ultimatum. To mark this event, the play “20 Years in Siberia”, will be performed on Saturday and Sunday at the National Theatre in Bucharest. The play was written after a book by Anita Nandris-Cudla, a Romanian peasant from Bukovina, who described the terrible years she had spent in the Soviet Gulag. Once Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and the Herta region annexed by the Soviets, the Romanian population was subjected to deportations, arrests and forced relocations, which lasted until 1956. The first wave of deportations took place on the night of June 12, 1941 and affected over 32 thousand people, among whom personalities of the political, cultural and economic life of that time.

STRIKE – Air France pilots are on a 4-day strike as of Saturday, which may disrupt plans for thousands of football fans travelling to France for the Euro 2016 competition. Air France has already cancelled around 30% of the flights, but has announced it would prioritise journeys to cities that were hosting tournament matches. The pilots union wants the government to scrap new labour laws that will make it easier to hire and fire people. Also, rubbish will not be collected in Paris until Wednesday, while train services have only recently resumed after a nine-day strike. Strikes have also been announced in neighbouring Belgium.

THEATER FESTIVAL – The Romanian city of Sibiu is hosting, as of Friday, the International Theatre Festival, one of the biggest events in the world devoted to performing arts. The 23rd edition of the festival has brought together over 2800 artists from 70 countries, who will participate in some 450 shows and cultural events. The manager of the theatre in Sibiu and also the festival’s director, Constantin Chiriac, has announced that nine million euros have been made available for this year’s edition. The Grand Square in Sibiu has turned into a huge stage for acrobats, performing on platforms suspended above the square by means of a huge crane. The theatre marathon starts with actors from England, Spain, Poland, the Republic of Moldova and Romania, while street performances are the attraction of the pedestrian area in the citys historical centre.

(Translated by Elena Enache)