September 12, 2013
A roundup of Romanian news.
România Internațional, 12.09.2013, 13:04
The Romanian government Thursday held a meeting of the commandment for emergency situations following the floods caused by rain in Galati county, in the south-east, in which 9 people have been killed and several hundred evacuated from their homes. The evacuees are temporarily housed in cultural centres and schools in the area, before modular homes become available. Over 700 houses have been affected by flooding caused by torrential rain in Galati county. The alert level has been raised to yellow in 8 counties in eastern Romania, including Galati county, where heavy rain is expected until Friday morning.
The Parliament of Romania will set up a special commission to analyse the gold mining project in Rosia Montana in the centre. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Senate Speaker Crin Antonescu, after a talk with prime minister Victor Ponta. The Senate Speaker also said that the emergency procedure initiated by Parliament in this respect would be withdrawn. The bill gave rise to tensions both within the centre-left coalition in power, and within society. Over 20 people have barricaded themselves in a gallery in the region, demanding resumption of mining works in Rosia Montana. On the other hand, in Bucharest, street protests against this controversial project continue. Environmental NGOs warn that the technical process based on cyanide may irreversibly damage the environment.
The European Parliament Thursday passed a resolution revising the EU visa regulation, which may result in the US and Canada having to waive visa requirements for all EU citizens, including Romanians. MEPs have introduced a so-called reciprocity clause, that enables the EU to reintroduce visas for American and Canadian citizens, unless Washington and Ottawa decide in their turn to lift visa requirements for EU citizens. The change in the EU regulation will take effect in two years’ time. At present, the citizens of six EU member states, including Romania, must obtain visas to travel to the USA and Canada.
