12 June, 2016

Romanias foreign minister Lazar Comanescu attends the European Forum in Wachau, Austria.

Newsroom, 12.06.2016, 12:00

The
Romanian foreign minister Lazar Comanescu is attending the 21st
European Forum that got under way on Saturday in Wachau, Austria under the
title Europe
– united in sunny times, divided in times of crisis? Lazar Comanescu, who
attended the opening, said Romania supported the idea of a stronger and more
united Europe in keeping with European treaties and fundamental values, in the
common interest of all European players. The Forum in Wachau brings together
government officials, representative figures from the world of science and
culture, as well as media professionals from EU member states, in particular
from central and eastern Europe.

As of Monday, the Romanian Naval Forces and the US Navy
will be carrying out drills in the Black Sea to exercise standard procedures
and enhance interoperability between the fleets of the two states. Romania
participates with the Queen Marie Frigate, a corvette, two dredgers, two rocket
vessels, a Puma Naval helicopter and divers from the Special Operations unit.
Two MiG21 Lancer planes belonging to the Romanian Air Forces will also be used
in combat simulations. The US participates with its USS Porter destroyer, which
will be exercising standard communications procedures with the Romanian Navy.
The vessel first arrived in the Constanta port in 2006, and this is its third
trip to Romania.

The Romanian Cultural Institute
celebrates, in the Cernauti region in western Ukraine, near the common
border, the 75th anniversary of the first deportations carried out
by the occupying Soviets in the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Moscow
in 1940, following an ultimatum. Bucharest’s National Theatre is staging a
production called Twenty Years in Siberia based on a book written by
Aniţa Nandriş-Cudla, a Romanian village woman from Bukovina. Her book is one of
the most important records of the ordeal of tens of thousands of Romanians from
northern Bukovina and Bessarabia sent to the Soviet Gulag in the aftermath of
WWII. Following the annexation of Bessarabia, northern Bukovina and the Hertza
region, the Romanian population in these areas was subject to a wide-scale
campaign that included deportations, arrests and forced displacement. The
campaign lasted until 1956 and made hundreds of thousands of victims. The first
wave of deportations took place on the night of 12th June 1941 and
targeted 32,000 people, including many public figures.

Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella travels to Romania next week, followed by Germany’s president Joachim Gauck later this month. The latter’s talks with the Romanian officials will also tackle economic aspects, given that Germany is Romania’s biggest trade partner and the third biggest investor in the Romanian economy. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis extended an invitation to the Italian president to visit Romania during his official trip to Italy in April last year. In February 2015, Iohannis also paid an official visit to Germany, followed by a working visit in February this year.

Theatre performances and other
cultural activities are scheduled for the third day of the International
Theatre Festival in Sibiu, one of the largest events dedicated to the
performing arts in the world. Sunday’s line-up features a choreographic
performance by Gigi Caciuleanu, a staging of Silviu Purcarete’s Faust
and performances by theatre companies from Lithuania and Japan. The festival,
which opened on Friday, is now in its 23rd year and brings together
2,500 participants from 70 different countries, as well as 450 performances.
The director of the festival, Constantin Chiriac, said this year’s edition had
a budget of 9 million euros.

Today, in Group D, Turkey face Croatia, while in Group C,
Germany face Ukraine and Poland take on Northern Ireland. On Saturday, Wales
defeated Slovakia 2-1, while England drew 1-all against Russia. UEFA has
started an investigation into the violence that broke out after the
England-Russia game when a group of Russian fans stormed past stewards to
confront English fans, who tried to escape by climbing over the barriers. In
Group A, Switzerland defeated Albania 1-nil on Saturday, while on Friday,
Romania lost to France 2-1. The following Group A matches are scheduled for
Wednesday, when Romania meet Switzerland and France take on Albania. (Translated by: C. Mateescu)