February 16, 2025
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 16.02.2025, 14:14
Conference – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu, on Saturday had meetings with his Dutch and Ukrainian counterparts on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference which ends on Sunday. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), the Romanian FM and the Dutch official, Caspar Veldkamp, addressed aspects of the bilateral agenda, given that this year Romania and the Netherlands are celebrating 145 years of diplomatic relations. A priority of the discussion was the investigation into the theft of the Dacian treasure pieces, which took place last month at the Drents Museum in Assen. The Dutch side gave assurances, once again, that all efforts are being made to recover the pieces, in close collaboration with the Romanian side. Also, Emil Hurezeanu had a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha. The two had an extensive review of the main themes concerning the Romanian-Ukrainian political and diplomatic dialogue, including the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. The Romanian minister reiterated Romania’s support for the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, insisting on the legitimate right of the Ukrainian people to obtain a just and lasting peace with the direct involvement of Ukraine, as well as of the neighboring states with which it shares the same vision. Also on the sidelines of the Munich Conference, Emil Hurezeanu had meetings with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, with the deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and expatriates from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, with the foreign minister of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with his Filipino counterpart, Enrique Manalo, as well as with his Serbian counterpart, Marko Djuric.
Cooperation – Attending the conference in Munich, the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, met, on the sidelines of the Security Conference, with his counterparts from Albania, Pirro Vengu, and Bulgaria, Atanas Zaprianov. The discussions focused on strengthening regional cooperation in the field of defense and military mobility. One of the essential topics addressed during the talks was the Pan-European Military Mobility Corridor VIII, a strategic project in which Romania participates together with Albania, Bulgaria, Italy and North Macedonia. Angel Tîlvăr reiterated Romania’s commitment to facilitating the rapid transit of forces and military equipment in South-Eastern Europe, emphasizing the importance of reducing bureaucratic barriers and harmonizing critical infrastructure, the Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN) informed. The ministers also discussed the importance of strengthening NATO’s defense and deterrence posture in the Black Sea region. Angel Tîlvăr thanked his counterparts for the contribution to the multinational NATO structures deployed on the territory of Romania, highlighting that this cooperation demonstrates the solidarity and unity of the Alliance, MApN also said. Another critical issue of the discussions was the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, scheduled for the summer of this year.
Corruption – The head of the Joint Logistics Command of the Romanian Army, three-star general Cătălin Ştefăniţă Zisu, was placed by prosecutors under judicial control on bail worth one million lei (approx. 200 thousand Euros), for abuse of office with particularly serious consequences, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) reports. The defendant must make the amount available for the DNA within seven days. The Defense Ministry proposed his urgent transfer to the reserve status. The prosecutors also indicted the reserve colonel Lucian Amorăriţei, for several crimes of forgery, use of forgery and abuse of office, and the businessman Ionel Olteanu. The investigators show that, between 2022-2023, the two military approved the settlement of the issued invoices, although they knew that part of the works at the Ghencea Military Cemetery, in Bucharest, had not actually been carried out. The damage is estimated at almost 12 million lei (approx. 2.4 million Euros).
Motion – The opposition S.O.S. Romania party announced that it would submit to Parliament, on Monday, a censure motion against the Government led by the social democrat Marcel Ciolacu, a document also assumed by the opposition Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and signed by 125 parliamentarians. The Save Romania Union (USR) also in opposition said that they would decide whether or not to support the initiative when the document is submitted to the vote. Instead, the governing coalition assures that the motion has no chance to pass. No Social Democratic MP will vote for the censure motion against the Ciolacu Government, says the vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, the social democrat Daniel Suciu. He added that this approach, initiated by the opposition, would endanger the stability of the country. The interim president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Cătălin Predoiu, says that the liberals will defend the Government by vote. Also on Monday, the Education Minister, Daniel David, is expected at the Chamber of Deputies, at the Government Hour, at the request of the AUR. The AUR MPs criticize the measures proposed by the minister regarding the elimination of the mandatory character of the study of geography and history by high school students and demand that these subjects remain in the school curriculum as a basis for educating the new generations.
Handball – SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea from Romania qualified for the quarter-finals of the EHF European League women’s handball competition, after defeating the German team BV Borussia Dortmund, score 32-27, on Saturday evening, at home, in Group B. After five stages, the team from Vâlcea remains the undefeated leader, with 9 points, followed in the ranking by Ikast Handbold from Denmark (6 p.), Borrusia (3p.) and Sola HK from Norway (2p.). In the last stage, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea will play away from home with Ikast Handbold, on February 22. The group matches are played until February 23, and the top two teams qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition, scheduled for March 22nd and 23rd and March 29th and 30th followed by the F4 Tournament, on May 3rd and 4th.
Elections – Romania’s interim president, Ilie Bolojan, has given assurances that he will take all the necessary steps, within the limits of his powers, to organize free, fair and transparent elections. On Saturday, the interim president of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the interior minister Cătălin Predoiu, said that the Romanian state must do more to explain what happened in the presidential election last year and the reaction of the institutions to how the integrity and legality of the election were affected. The statement came after the US Vice President J.D. Vance said at the security conference in Munich that the decision to cancel the election in Romania was made based on “flimsy suspicions of an intelligence agency and enormous pressure from its continental neighbors.” Ilie Bolojan stated, on Saturday, at a meeting held in Bucharest with a delegation of the business environment from Romania, that he would make efforts to make Romanians regain trust in state institutions. (LS)
