22 June, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news ...
Newsroom, 22.06.2015, 12:15
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis on Monday signed the decree appointing Gabriel Oprea interim Prime Minister. Previously, the president had announced he was waiting for medical documents to attest that Prime Minister Victor Ponta was unable to carry on his responsibilities as head of government. Deputy Prime Minister Oprea is the leader of the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the junior partner in the governing coalition head by Ponta’s Social Democrats, and also head of security affairs. He had already taken over some of the Prime Minister’s responsibilities last week, as Ponta went through surgery in a clinic in Turkey and said he needed a long period of recovery. Victor Ponta is being prosecuted for corruption, but, invoking his knee surgery, called for a postponement.
Romania’s National Defence Strategy for the 2015 — 2019 period will be voted upon in plenary parliament session on Tuesday. On Monday, president Klaus Iohannis introduced the document to the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. One of the novelties of the strategy is the concept of ‘extended security’, according to which security is not just a matter of defence, but it also relates to public order, economy, infrastructure, education, healthcare, the environment and culture. The strategy reaffirms the strategic partnership with the US, as well as Romania’s NATO and EU membership as the main pillars of its foreign and security policy.
Romania’s defence minister Mircea Dusa on Monday visited military personnel taking part in the TRIDENT JOUST 15 and RESOLUTE CASTLE 15 exercises underway in central Romania. Over 1,000 troops from 25 countries take part in the Trident Joust exercise between the 17th and the 28th of June. As part of the exercise, structures of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples have been deployed to Romania and, as a first, the command and control of the NATO Response Force has been transferred to this temporary location. The Resolute Castle exercise, which takes places until the 15th of September, involves over 200 military and military equipment from the Romanian and American engineering corps. Also on Monday, the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, announced in Brussels that the Alliance would increase up to 30-40 thousand strong its rapid reaction force. The crisis in Ukraine and Moscow’s intervention on the side of the pro-Russia separatists have proven that this force needs to be strengthened, Stoltenberg also said.
EU foreign ministers on Monday endorsed a naval mission to stop smuggling of migrants in the Mediterranean, France Presse reports. The first vessels, submarines, patrol aircraft and drones are to be deployed within a week. The decision was taken in the opening of a monthly meeting in Luxembourg which was also attended by Romania’s foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu. Also on Monday, the EU foreign ministers decided to extend economic sanctions against Russia by the end of January 2016 over this country’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. The sanctions, which are to expire at the end of July, target areas such as the banking, defence and oil sectors.
The foreign minister of the Republic of Moldova Natalia Gherman has been appointed interim prime minister following the resignation of Chiril Gaburici over accusations that he forged his high-school graduation diploma. Gaburici, who took office in February 2015, refused to act as interim prime minister and resigned on the 12th of June. Parliament has to appoint a new government within the next three months, by September 12th at the latest. The daughter of former president Mircea Snegur, Natalia Gherman took over as minister of foreign affairs and European integration in 2013 in Iurie Leanca’s government. Earlier, she held the position of deputy minister within the same ministry.
Ukrainian General Aleksandr Kolomiets, a former advisor to the Defence Minister in Kiev, announced on Monday he joined the pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region, in the east of the country. The announcement was made during a press conference, when Kolomiets also said that hundreds of soldiers and officers in the Ukrainian army had joined the separatists. Since April 2014, the armed conflict between the Ukrainian army and the rebels has claimed over 6,400 lives. A new truce was enforced in February, following a peace agreement signed in Minsk, but the number of armed clashes ending in victims has remained high.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep still ranks 3rd in the WTA classification, after the American Serena Williams and the Czech Petra Kvitova. Another four Romanians are among the first 100 best women tennis players in the world, namely Irina Begu, ranked 30th, Monica Niculescu, number 46, 59th ranked Alexandra Dulgheru and Andreea Mitu, who’s made it to the 70th position. On the Road to Singapore — Singles Leaderboard, Williams is also top of the list, followed by Halep and the Russian Maria Sharapova.
Romania’s football champion Steaua Bucharest will take on the Slovak squad AS Trencin in the second preliminary round of the Champion’s League, following Monday’s drawing of lots in the Swiss city of Nyon. Steaua, which last month won the title of national champion, as well as the Romanian and League cups, will play the first match away from home, on the 14th or 15 the of July. In Europa League, also in the second preliminary round, the Romanian squad Astra Giurgiu will meet the Scottish from Inverness Caledonian Thistle. FC Botosani, from the north east of Romania, will play its first European Cup match against the Georgian squad Tskhinvali. Romania’s vice-champions ASA Targu Mures has qualified straight to Europa Leagues’ third preliminary round.
