February 5, 2014

Anti-corruption prosecutors have filed for the temporary arrest of MP Elena Udrea, a former minister for regional development and tourism, as part two corruption cases. Udrea has again rejected all accusations and levelled new criticism against the interim director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, general Florian Coldea.

România Internațional, 05.02.2015, 13:49

Anti-corruption prosecutors have filed for the temporary arrest of MP Elena Udrea, a former minister for regional development and tourism, as part two corruption cases. Udrea has again rejected all accusations and levelled new criticism against the interim director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, general Florian Coldea.

The Romanian Senate on Thursday passed a bill by which Romania accepts the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The bill, which was initiated by the foreign ministry, will allow for the resolution of disputes between states. It comes 6 years after Romania obtained a historic victory at the Court of Justice in The Hague in a dispute with Ukraine.

The implementation of the Rapid Reaction Force, NATO’s most important collective defence structure since the Cold War, dominates today’s talks in Brussels between NATO defence ministers. The Rapid Reaction Force allows for the deployment of troops in a NATO country or region under threat or attack within 48 hours. NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said a number of command centres may be created in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The meeting in Brussels, which is also attended by Romania’s defence minister Mircea Dusa, takes place against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis.

Romania’s talks with the International Monetary Fund on the country’s ongoing agreement are going well, said the governor of the National Bank, Mugur Isarescu. This is Romania’s third precautionary-type agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Commission since the start of the economic crisis in 2009 and will come to an end in autumn. Currently on a visit to Bucharest, a team of experts from the three bodies are having talks with the Romanian authorities on the latest developments and the priorities of the economic reform.

Radu Jude’s Aferim is the only Romanian production in the official programme of the 65th Berlin Film Festival and will have its premiere on the 11th February. The film’s leading actor, Teodor Corban, has been nominated for the Golden Bear trophy for best actor. A Romanian, Bulgarian and Czech coproduction, Aferim is set in the southern Romanian province of Wallachia around 1830, at a time when gypsy slavery was widespread in the Romanian Principalities. Another Romanian production, Tudor Giurgiu’s “Why Me”, will be shown in Berlin in the Panorama category, along with over 30 feature films. Based on a true story, “Why Me” is about a young idealistic prosecutor who tries to solve a complicated corruption case in Romania’s recent post-communist past.

Romania is part of the fifth qualifying group together with Denmark, Armenia, Wales, Bulgaria and Luxembourg ahead of the European Under-21 Football Championship to be hosted by Poland in 2017. The winners of the 9 groups will qualify automatically for the final tournament, while the four runners-up with the best records will go into the play-offs to decided the last two qualifiers for the 2017 European Under-21 Championship.