June 1, 2017 UPDATE
Visiting Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, will officially meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington on June 9/ Special events, contests, shows and exhibitions were organised in Romania on June 1, to mark the International Childrens Day
Newsroom, 01.06.2017, 19:00
VISIT – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, will pay a working visit to the US, as of Sunday. The most important moment of the visit will be an official meeting in Washington on June 9 with US President Donald Trump, the Romanian Presidential Administration has announced. The White House has also officially confirmed the meeting. The White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, has said President Trump is looking forward to discussing ways to boost ties between the US and Romania and to strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In a message posted on Facebook on Thursday, President Iohannis has also said that during the meeting with Donald Trump he will reiterate Romanias firm commitment to further be a trustworthy ally of the US. During his visit to the US, President Iohannis will be the honorary guest of the Global Forum of the prestigious organisation American Jewish Committee, which will award the Romanian President its highest distinction, Light Unto the Nations. This award is offered to heads of state or government in recognition of the significant international impact they have had in the domain of peace, security, democracy and the promotion of human values. Last but not least, the visit to the US by President Klaus Iohannis will also include a meeting with representatives of the Romanian community in the US.
INTL CHILDRENS DAY – Romanians enjoyed a day off on June 1st, to celebrate the International Childrens Day. Last year, MPs declared June 1, a day off from work, for parents to spend the day with their children. Special events, contests, shows and exhibitions were organised across the country to mark the International Childrens Day. In a message launched on the occasion, PM Sorin Grindeanu, said he would like Romanian children to benefit from a good quality education system, meant to encourage true values and able to take measures to reduce school dropout, as well as from proper conditions to grow up healthily and proud of their native country. The International Childrens Day is celebrated on June 1 by approximately 50 countries the world over. Also, a day devoted to children is celebrated on various days of the year, by another 100 countries.
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT – The Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile on Thursday made a criminal complaint at the General Prosecutors Office, denouncing the inhuman treatments applied during the communist regime in three foster care centres and hospitals, which caused the death of some 800 children, aged under 18. The respective centres were located in Cighid (in the west), Pastraveni (in the east) and Sighetu Marmatiei (in the north). The President of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile, Radu Preda, has told Radio Romania that 10,000 victims of the system have been identified so far. Those children “have been beaten, starved and sedated instead of receiving proper medical treatment in those institutions.
MILITARY EXERCISES – Eight NATO military convoys, taking part in the multinational exercise Noble Jump 2017, on Thursday crossed the border into Romania. The convoys are made up of some 300 troops and over 150 vehicles and helicopters. They are expected to reach the Cincu shooting range in central Romania by Sunday. We recall that exercise Noble Jump 2017 is held between May 26 and June 16 on the territory of three countries: Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. A total number of 4,000 troops from Romania and 11 other NATO member countries as well as 500 pieces of technical equipment are taking part in the exercise.
MULTINATIONAL DIVISION SOUTHEAST – The first military of the contingent Poland contributes to the Multinational Division Southeast arrived in Craiova, southern Romania, on Thursday. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry, a first echelon is made up of 48 troops and 18 pieces of technical equipment. Poland contributes a contingent made up of 230 troops and 47 technical means to the 26th Infantry Battalion “Neagoe Basarab, as part of the Multinational Division Southeast. The other Polish troops will arrive in Romania in the following weeks, thus complying with the pledge the two countries made at the NATO Summit in Warsaw. The Romanian and Polish troops will train together, as part of the strengthened allied presence on the eastern flank.
INVESTIGATION – The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Romania’s gas transmission system operator Transgaz has been hindering gas exports from Romania to other EU Member States. The Commission will investigate whether Transgaz has abused a dominant market position in breach of EU rules. The Commission also underlined that consumers throughout the EU should enjoy secure energy supplies at affordable prices and therefore an integrated and competitive single European energy market is essential in this regard. Romania is the third largest natural gas producer in the European Union, after the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and has important gas reserves, including newly discovered natural gas “fields in the Black Sea. Transgaz is the sole operator of the natural gas transmission system in Romania.
RESIGNATION – Nicusor Dan, the leader of the Save Romania Union, USR, an opposition parliamentary party on Thursday announced he would step down from the position of party president and would also leave the party he founded in 2016. His decision comes after the USR leadership stood against the idea of redefining the notion of family in the Romanian Constitution. In early May, the Chamber of Deputies adopted a draft aimed at revising the fundamental law of the country, in an attempt to redefine family as being based on the consensual marriage between a man and a woman. If the draft is also be endorsed by the Senate, Romanians will be called to vote in a referendum within 30 days since the draft is adopted. This revision of the Constitution has been demanded by a citizens initiative signed by 3 million Romanians. At present, the Constitution stipulates that family is based on the consensual marriage between spouses.
THE UN – Romanias Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu on Wednesday reiterated Romanias commitment to the UN and underlined the added value that Bucharest can bring to multilateral diplomacy. Melescanu is in New York to formally launch a campaign to promote Romanias candidacy for a term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council between 2020 and 2021. He had a meeting with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who underlined that Romania is an example of cooperation with the UN. Romania forwarded its candidacy in 2006, for a new term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The voting is due to take place in June 2019. Since becoming a member of the United Nations in 1955, Romania has held a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council four times.
