February 14, UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 13.02.2015, 19:46
Romanian Defence Minister Mircea Dusa has voiced hope that the Minsk peace deal to enter into force on Saturday night will be observed. Minister Dusa reiterated on Saturday Romania’s wish for the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists to be solved by diplomatic means. In another development, the United States Ambassador in Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, has said that with Russia’s support the separatists managed to build an arsenal that exceeds that of some NATO members. In his turn, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has admitted there are no guarantees that the ceasefire agreement with the pro-Russian separatists in the East of the country, signed on Thursday in Minsk, will be enforced. Over 5,300 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict last year.
Nicolae Timofti, the President of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a mostly Romanian-speaking population, on Saturday had a new round of talks with parliamentary parties over forming a new government. The minority coalition made up of the Liberal Democrats and the Democrats made another proposal for the position of prime minister. This time they nominated Chiril Gaburici, former head of one of the country’s major telephony companies. On Thursday, the incumbent Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, proposed by the same coalition, failed to win Parliament’s vote of confidence. Only 42 members of the minority coalition made up of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party in the 101-seat parliament voted for the new coalition government, though the votes of at least 51 MPs were needed for the new government to be sworn in. The two parties need the support of either the pro-European Liberals or of the pro-Russian Communists. The Parliament elected on November 30th has only 45 days to endorse a new Cabinet.
The Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, currently on a visit to the United States, participated in a seminar on economic issues staged in New York by an association made up of 150 major American and international companies. Victor Ponta talked about the current situation and the Romanian economy’s perspectives, while the members of his delegation made a presentation of the capital market and the process of international listing of some important Romanian companies. On Wednesday, PM Ponta met with the US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker. According to data supplied by the National Bank of Romania, in 2013 the United States was Romania’s 3rd most important foreign investor.
The Romanian Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, on Saturday, voiced dissatisfaction at the reactions triggered by the senators refusal to approve the prosecution of parliament member Varujan Vosganian. According to Tariceanu, the fact that President Klaus Iohannis and General Prosecutor Tiberiu Nitu were among those who criticised the Senate’s vote, sheds doubt on the ability of this parliament chamber to decide on such serious matter. The Romanian Senate voted against the prosecution of the former Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian, charged with setting up a crime group, abuse of office and accessory to embezzlement. On the same day, however, the Senate green lighted the prosecutors’ request to start criminal proceedings against another former Economy Minister, Ion Ariton, who faces charges of abuse of office and misuse of authority.
Romania’s national rugby team on Saturday in Cluj, north-western Romania, defeated Spain 29-8, in the second match of the season in the Rugby Europe Championship. The Oak Leaves Knights started on the right foot in the competition last Saturday, when they beat Portugal in an away game 37-10, while Spain defeated Russia at home 43-20. The new league counts as European rugby’s second-tier echelon in the Northern hemisphere, second only to the Six Nations Tournament, and includes the teams of Georgia, Germany and Russia. We remind you that The European Cup of Nations has become the Rugby European Championship, as part of a re-branding process.
Romania’s soccer team, manned by players in the domestic championship, end this weekend their training bout in Turkey. On Saturday, in the last game of their training trip they defeated the Moldovan side, 2-1, in a friendly match. In the other games played in Antalya, the Romanian team tied to a blank score against Bulgaria’s division top team, and barely managed to get past the Georgian side, 1-0.
