August 18, 2019

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.08.2019, 13:56

VISIT – On Monday and Tuesday, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis pays a working visit to the US, the second after the one in June 2017. On Tuesday he will meet with the US president Donald Trump. The two officials will discuss bilateral partnerships in the fields of security and energy, but also the visa waiver program for Romanian citizens. The Romanian president has voiced hope that the legislation on energy, which is not to the liking of foreign investors, including American, will be changed, as the Government seems to be willing to fix some of the problems generated by Ordinance 114 and the Offshore Law, which, the president believes, were not carefully drafted. In Washington, Iohannis would also like to talk to president Trump about the US military in Romania, stating that Bucharest has the capacity to accommodate more. Also, he will invite president Trump to visit Romania. The Romanian presidents visit to the US takes place against the background of Romanias celebrating 30 years since the fall of Communism and 15 years of NATO membership.

VOTING – 19,810 Romanians living abroad have registered online on the portal www.votstrainatate.ro, according to the Permanent Electoral Authority. Of them, more than 9000 have registered for postal voting. The portal was created with the aim of keeping a better record of the Romanians who are living abroad and to make sure they are properly informed about the voting process, given the upcoming presidential elections this autumn. The Ministry of Romanians Abroad has too started an information campaign, and has announced that the number of Romanians currently living abroad is close to ten million. We recall that at the recent elections for the European Parliament, dozens of Romanians in the Diaspora queued for hours in front of the polling stations, and many of them did not manage to cast their vote.

CEREMONY – On Monday, the Romanian Defense Ministry will organize at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air-base in south-eastern Romania a military ceremony occasioned by the Carpathian Pumas leaving on a mission to Mali. The 120 Romanian soldiers will take part in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. They will be accompanied by four IAR-330 Puma L-RM helicopters and will start their mission in mid October. The Romanian detachment will conduct medical evacuation missions, troops, material and passenger transportation missions, as well as air patrolling and observation missions. Currently, there are 1,033 Romanian military on missions abroad.

BOOKFAIR – Over August 21st – 25th, Romania is a guest of honour at the Beijing Book Fair. The interim president of the Romanian Cultural Institute, Mirel Talos, has announced that the events will be supported by the participation of some 40 writers and editors. The Romanian stand will display 600 titles and will host debates such as Romanian – Chinese Cultural Ties, Romanian Contemporary Poetry , as well as a stamp exhibition, a theatre performance, a painting exhibition and recitals given by Trio Zamfirescu.

MINI-HOLIDAY – More than 1.5 million people crossed Romanias border during the so-called Saint Mary mini-holiday, which is 50% more than last year. According to a communiqué issued by the Border Police, between the 14th and the 18th of August, 686,000 people entered the country and 825,000 exited. The busiest were the points on the Romanian – Bulgarian and the Romanian – Hungarian borders. Also, over the same period, some 270,000 people flew to and from Romanias airports.

SONGBOOK – All Romanians are invited to vote, until September 16th, the songs that will represent Romania in the first EU Songbook. So far, some 65,000 people from 26 states have chosen their favourites, according to the European Union Songbook webpage. The project is the intiative of a non-profit organisation and has no political or financial connection with Brussels. The first edition of the Songbook will be published on Europe Day, on May 9th, 2020.

(translated by M. Ignatescu)