May 27, 2014 UPDATE
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Bogdan Matei, 27.05.2014, 19:40
The leaders of the National Liberal Party, Liberal Democratic Party and Civic Force, in opposition in Romania, Tuesday launched talks on a possible alliance of these centre-right parties in view of the presidential election in November. For the time being the three parties rule out a merger. The talks were launched after on Sunday the left-wing alliance made up of the Social Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservatives won the EP election with 37% of the votes. Next came the Liberals, with 15%, and the Liberal Democrats with 12%. The independent candidate Mircea Diaconu, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the pro-presidential People’s Movement got 6% of the votes each. The other candidates were below the 5% threshold. The Central Electoral Bureau is to make public the final results on Thursday.
The Italian Foreign Minister, Federica Mogherini, is on Wednesday on an official visit to Romania, at the invitation of her counterpart, Titus Corlatean. According to a news release issued by the Foreign Ministry, the visit, occasioned by the anniversary of 135 years of bilateral diplomatic relations, will reconfirm the excellent relationship between the two countries in a strengthened strategic partnership. The two foreign ministers will also discuss European topics, ahead of Italy’s taking over the presidency of the EU Council for the second half of the year.
Luxembourg’s ex-PM Jean-Claude Juncker, backed by the EPP, will be the first to seek a majority in the European Parliament in order to take over the presidency of the European Commission. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Brussels, the decision is supported by the political groups that will dominate the EP, namely the European People’s Party and the Socialists. The new EC head will be elected by the new MEPs in a plenary meeting to be held in mid-July. The announcement comes after consultations between EU heads of state and government after the election last week. Romania is represented in the meeting by President Traian Basescu. He said Romania would call for a focus on increasing jobs and investments in Europe.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Tuesday announced having lost contact with one of its teams of observers in Donetsk, in east Ukraine, where heavy fights are reported between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian militants. At least 40 rebels were reportedly killed in the clashes over the local airport, now controlled by the Ukrainian army. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, called for an immediate end of what he called the army’s retaliation move. The troops resumed their attacks after Sunday’s election of a new president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, who said that reaching an agreement with the separatists and the country’s EU accession would be his priorities.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 4 WTA, Tuesday defeated Russia’s Alisa Kleibanova, 6-0, 6-2, in Roland Garros. In turn, Sorana Cirstea, seeded 26th, beat Aleksandra Wozniak from Canada, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, while Monica Niculescu, no. 76 WTA, has qualified into the second round after outplaying Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi. Also on Tuesday, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 13, moved up in the second round, after a 6-4, 6-0 victory against the French pair Adrian Mannarino/Benoit Paire.
