14 October 2019, UPDATE

A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 14.10.2019, 20:02

Government talks. The Romanian President Klaus
Iohannis is having talks with parliamentary parties with a view to forming a
new government. On Friday, after the first round of talks, he spoke about the
urgent need for a political transition government made up of the National
Liberal Party or formed around this party, which was the initiator of the no-confidence
motion that led to the collapse of the Social Democratic government last Thursday.
According to Klaus Iohannis, the new government needs to draft the budget for
2020 and to ensure the organisation in good conditions of the November
presidential elections.

European prosecutor. The
Council of the EU on Monday confirmed the appointment of the Romanian Laura
Codruta Kovesi to the post of European chief prosecutor and the appointment is
next to be confirmed by the European Parliament, according to a statement from
the Council of the EU. Laura Codruta Kovesi is currently a prosecutor with the
General Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice of
Romania. She has previously held various positions of prosecutor during her
career in Romania, among which chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption
Directorate.

Meeting. The South-Eastern Europe Defence (SEDM) ministers
are meeting in Bucharest on Wednesday. According to a statement from the
Romanian defence ministry, the meeting will be a good opportunity to reiterate
Bucharest’s commitment to the projects carried out as part of this initiative
and its support for proposals to consolidate it as a main form of cooperation
in south-eastern Europe given the developments of the security environment in
the region. The South-East Europe Defence
Ministerial (SEDM) Process is a regional initiative aimed at maintaining peace
and consolidating good neighbourly relations and close cooperation among the
states in south-eastern Europe by providing a platform for political and
military dialogue and becoming involved in practical projects in the area of
security and regional stability.

EU-Turkey. The European Union condemned on Monday the military operation
undertaken by Turkey in north-eastern Syria which gravely undermines the
stability and security of the entire region. Attending a meeting of the EU’s
Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers agreed to limit
arms exports to Turkey. Romania was represented at the meeting by Dan Neculăescu, under-secretary in the foreign ministry.

EU-Japan. Romania’s Senate on Monday adopted the bill
for the ratification of the strategic partnership agreement between the European
Union and Japan, the first ever to be concluded between the two sides. Signed
in July last year in Tokyo, the agreement will provide a legal basis for
improving bilateral cooperation and within international and regional
organisations and bodies, resting on two pillars: political dialogue and
cooperation in the area of foreign policy and security on the one hand, and
technical cooperation for development on the other. The bill has also been
adopted by Romania’s Chamber of Deputies.