December 7 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

România Internațional, 07.12.2013, 18:56

Romania has met all technical requirements for its accession to the Shengen area, said on Saturday Romanian foreign Minister Titus Corlatean. In a televised interview he said Bucharest would not beg for acceptance, though. He also stated that Romania became prisoner of some unhappy circumstances and it had to pay part of the prices of the economic crisis, which encouraged racist and xenophobic manifestations. The issue of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s joining the Shengen agreement was not on the agenda of the EU Interior Ministers’ meeting on Thursday, because some of the member countries’ opposition. They accuse Romanian and Bulgarian authorities of corruption. The current Lithuanian presidency of the EU has announced the issue will be resumed when conditions become favourable.

South-Africans on Saturday continued to pay homage to anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday night, aged 95. Romania too sent messages of condolence. President Traian Basescu talked about the exceptional personality of Nelson Mandela, and Prime Minister Victor Ponta voiced his deepest compassion for the loss. The former king of Romania, Michael the 1st conveyed his condolences too, speaking about a man made of virtues that can hardly be found today. Winner of the Peace Nobel Prize in 1993, Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa, after 30 years spent in prison as political detainee.

Early this week, 20 Romanian police officers were posted to Paris, to help their French colleagues. They will patrol the streets of the French capital and will help provide security in busy tourist and commercial areas. They actually add to the another 10 Romanian policemen who work in Paris all year long. The French Police has announced that the number of Romanian citizens arrested in Paris has dropped by 5%, and the number of underage Romanians detained by the police has also dropped, by 8%. In 2013 Romanian police officers have participated in international cooperation missions in Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Austria and Bulgaria.

Last night in Milan Romania signed the contract of participation in Expo Milan 2015, which will be held between May 1st — October 31st. The Romanian pavilion will be placed right in the middle of the exhibition compound, next to those of Italy, Mexico and France. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Romania’s participation in the fair will help boost bilateral relations with Italy, on the basis of a consolidated strategic partnership, through public, cultural and economic events organized during the 6 months of the exhibition. 139 countries have announced their participation so far. This year’s heading is Feeding the planet, energy for life”

The former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, said in Kiev on Saturday that he supported the European aspiration of neighboring Ukraine. As member of a delegation of the European People’s Party, Filat had meetings with Ukrainian opposition leaders and addressed the protesters who call for the resignation of president Viktor Kanukovici, who decided to no longer follow the European path. After eight years of pro-Russian communist rule, characterized by abuse and corruption, Filat took over the reigns of government in 2009 and resigned early this year. His successor and party colleague Iurie Leanca initialed a week ago, at the summit in Vilnius, the association and free trade agreements with the EU.

The US company Chevron has again suspended its activities in Pungesti, eastern Romania, following Saturday’s protests. Hundreds of people protested against Chevron’s intention to install a shale gas well in their village. They do not agree with the fracking technique used by the US, which, according to ecologists, can seriously pollute underground waters and trigger earthquakes. Chevron suspended for the first time its activity in Pungesti in October, following similar protests.