July 8, 2015 UPDATE
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Bogdan Matei, 08.07.2015, 12:30
Romania is a European model in terms of minorities’ protection being above international standards, the head of the Romanian diplomacy Bogdan Aurescu said on Wednesday. Attending a conference on this issue in Timisoara, a multi-ethnic city in Western Romania, Aurescu explained that not only is Romania protecting the identity of the national minorities but also their involvement in decision making at society level. We recall that 18 national minorities recognized by the Romanian state have representatives in the Chamber of Deputies, while the UDMR (the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania) the political group of Romania’s largest minority, since 1996 has been part of the numerous coalition governments in Bucharest.
The head of the European Parliament Delegation for the Republic of Moldova (an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country) Romanian Social-Democrat Andi Cristea has called for having a new government in Chisinau as soon as possible. Following the resignation in June of the cabinet headed by Chiril Gaburici, the talks between pro-Western parties in Chisinau for a Parliament majority and the formation of a new government have so far failed to yield the desired results. Under the Constitution, unless a new government is sworn in until September 16th, president Nicolae Timofti will have to dismantle Parliament and call snap election. On Tuesday, during the latest discussions he held in Suceava, northeastern Romania, his Romanian counterpart president Klaus Iohannis also pleaded for instating a new executive in Chisinau as soon as they possibly can.
Mihai Razvan Ungureanu on Wednesday became for the second time director of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service, the SIE. At the swearing in ceremony, president Klaus Iohannis said the SIE is in the first line of a front against unconventional challenges Romania is facing from the outside. The Romanian president said the SIE’s role is also important from the viewpoint of Euroatlantic and international cooperation and relations, where it proved its efficiency in the field of strategic analysis and promoting national interests. Proposed by president Iohannis for the position of director on June the 30th, Ungureanu got yes votes from the Liberals, the opposition Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) from the National Union for the Progress of Romania as well as from the national minorities group in a plenary Parliament session boycotted by the ruling Social-Democrats and the Alliance of Democrats and Liberals. We recall that Ungureanu also headed the service between 2007 and 2012 during the mandate of former president Traian Basescu. He also used to be Romania’s Foreign Minister between 2004 and 2007 heading the government for a short time in the first half of 2012.
Romanian football side FC Botosani will be taking on Georgian squad Tskhinvali in an away match on Thursday counting towards the first Europa League’s preliminary round. A week ago, in their debut match the Romanians held their Georgian opponents to a one-all draw. The winner of this first round will be playing Polish side Legia Warsaw in the second round where another Romanian eleven Astra Giurgiu will be up against Scottish side Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Romania’s vice-champion ASA Targu-Mures is directly qualified for the third preliminary round of this competition, while champions Steaua Bucharest, will be playing Slovakian squad AS Trencin in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.
Romanian PM Victor Ponta announced President Klaus Iohannis that starting Thursday, July 9th, he would resume his activity as PM. He came back to the country today, after undergoing knee surgery in Turkey, where he went in mid-June. During this time, his position was filled by deputy premier Gabriel Oprea, Minister of Internal Affairs, while the leadership of the ruling Social Democratic party was taken over temporarily by Rovana Plumb. On June 15, the day he had the surgery in Turkey, Ponta had been summoned to answer questions from anti-corruption prosecutors, which ten days before had announced he was under criminal investigation for forgery, conspiracy to commit tax evasion and money laundering. The alleged violations were supposed to have occurred when the premier was a lawyer, and are related to a case involving one of his party peers, Senator Dan Sova. While in Turkey, Ponta said he would answer the summons upon his pending return.
