June 20, 2014

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România Internațional, 20.06.2014, 13:00

Bucharest is hosting the annual meeting of the foreign ministers of South-East European Cooperation Process countries. Attending the event are PM Victor Ponta, foreign minister Titus Corlăţean, the secretary general of the Regional Cooperation Council, Goran Svilanovic, representatives of the EU and Pristina. The talks focus on the latest regional developments. Yesterday the RCC looked at the regional cooperation in the past year and at the stage of implementing the 2020 South-East Europe Strategy. The South-East European Cooperation Process is the only political body in south-eastern Europe coordinated exclusively by countries in this region. Romania is the current holder of the presidency of this body.

A Bucharest court is to rule today on a request filed by anti-corruption prosecutors, who want Mircea Băsescu, the Romanian president’s brother, taken into custody for 30 days. Mircea Basescu was arrested on Thursday under charges of influence peddling. According to prosecutors, Mircea Basescu has reportedly received 250,000 euros in exchange for his promise to have a favourable sentence passed in a trial in which a crime group ringleader was charged with attempted manslaughter.

The president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, is to unveil today a plan for the resolution of the conflict with the pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. In a telephone conversation yesterday with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Poroshenko insisted on the need to release hostages and to ensure efficient control on the Ukrainian-Russian border. In turn, Putin voiced support for a ceasefire and for the Ukrainian president’s peace plan. Meanwhile, the European Commissioner for enlargement and European neighbourhood policy, Stefan Fule, is in Kiev to prepare the signing of the economic section of Ukraine’s EU Association Agreement, scheduled for June the 27th. He announced the aid granted to Ukraine by the EU and IMF this year amounts to 1.61 billion euros, of which Ukraine is to get 600 million euros in June and the balance until year end.

The USA will send 300 military advisers to Iraq, to help the country handle the Islamist-led insurgents. The announcement was made by the US President Barack Obama, who said Washington was ready for targeted and precise actions, but ruled out the deployment of ground forces to Iraq. Previously Baghdad had asked for American air strikes against the Sunni militants in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which have taken control over a vast territory in Iraq. In that area, the ISIS fighters have reportedly imposed the Islamic law and committed mass executions among the civilians and the Iraqi troops they have taken hostage.

Romania’s national women’s handball team is in Group B of the European Championships due to take place in December in Croatia and Hungary. According to the final tournament draw in Zagreb, Romania will play against Norway and Denmark, winners of world, Olympic and European titles, and against Ukraine. The best ranking three teams in each group qualify into the next stage.