February 13, 2015
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 13.02.2015, 12:00
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has said that Romania understands the increasing danger posed by the conflict in Ukraine and gets involved in solving it. The Romanian official has underlined that the only solution to the Ukrainian crisis is a political one based on dialogue with a view to putting an end to bloodshed. President Iohannis on Thursday attended in Brussels the summit of the EU heads of state and government held after a ceasefire had been reached in Minsk. Another issue high on the summit’s agenda was the fight against terrorism. The president has mentioned that Romania supported measures aimed at developing the right instruments for the proper defence of the EU citizens. Another topic high on the agenda was the strengthening of the Monetary and Economic Union, and president Iohannis mentioned Romania’s willingness to join the single currency.
At least 11 Ukrainian soldiers and 3 civilians have been killed in clashes with the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian sources have announced. The BBC quoted Ukrainian military sources as saying that 50 Russian tanks, armored vehicles and rocket launchers had crossed into Ukraine yesterday in spite of the negotiations underway in Minsk. The United States has voiced concern over the violences that flared up in Ukraine on Thursday, while the Pentagon announced it would dispatch 600 soldiers to Ukraine in March to train the Ukrainian soldiers involved in the conflict with the separatists; since its beginning in April last year the conflict in Ukraine has left 53 hundred people dead.
Nicolae Timofti, president of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet country with a Romanian-speaking majority, is today holding talks in a bid to designate a new candidate for the position of Prime Minister. The Prime Minister proposed by the minority coalition made up of the Liberal-Democrats and Democrats, Iurie Leanca, and his new cabinet were rejected by Parliament on the confirmation vote on Thursday.
During his formal visit to Georgia, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has today held talks with his counterpart in Tbilisi, Tamar Beruceashvili. Aurescu has reconfirmed Romania’s support for the peaceful solving of the prolonged conflicts in Georgia, under international laws, respecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally-recognized borders. In turn, the Georgian minister has voiced appreciation for the fact that Romania was the first EU member to have ratified the EU-Georgia association agreements and has asked for the Romanian expertise in the process of implementing them. Yesterday the Romanian official participated for the third time in a row in the international seminar on Georgia’s yearly NATO Accession Programme. Romania is the main European contributor to the civil monitoring mission in Georgia, which presently numbers 38 monitors. At the same time, Georgia is Romania’s main trade partner in Southern Caucasus.
A ceremony of departure to Afghanistan is being held today in the southern Romanian locality of Curtea de Arges, for the Posada 33rd Elite Alpine Batallion, according to a Romanian Defense Ministry press release. The military are assigned protection missions for the military base in Kandahar, as well as advisory missions for Afghan security forces. The Posada elite alpine batallion had already been involved in theaters of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the aforementioned release. As a member state of the North-Atlantic Alliance, since 2004 Romania has been involved in NATO missions and operations, thus contributing to promoting, strengthening and maintaining peace and stability at regional and global level.
In Romania, the GDP in 2014 went up 2.9% as against 2013, according to data published on Friday by the National Statistics Institute. In the last quarter of 2014, the GDP was 0.5% higher compared to the third. The IMF recently indicated that the Romanian economy would go up 2.7% this year. INS data shows that annual inflation in Romania went down to an all-time low of 0.41% in January 2015, after reaching 0.83% at the end of last year. Consumer prices went up 0.43% in January 2015 compared to the previous month, while the average consumer price increase in the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months is 1%.
