May 11, 2014 UPDATE
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Ştefan Stoica, 11.05.2014, 12:10
UKRAINE– The Romanian Foreign Ministry condemned, in a communiqué issued on Sunday, the so-called “self-rule referendums” organised on Sunday in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which are integral parts of sovereign and independent Ukraine and reiterated its stand on the illegality and illegitimate character of these referendums. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the referendums run counter to Ukraine’s Constitution and violate the fundamental principles of international law. The results of the so-called “self-rule referendums” can’t be considered relevant and can’t produce juridical effects, either, the Romanian Foreign Ministry writes. According to the aforementioned ministry, they represent an additional provocative act and are part of a series of actions against Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, following the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation, on March the 21st 2014. Bucharest calls on Moscow not to recognise the so-called “self-rule referendums” and their results, to observe Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and to return within the framework of international law, including by the immediate withdrawal from Crimea. We recall that the EU and the US do not recognise the referendums held in eastern Ukraine by the pro-Russian separatists. The situation in Ukraine will be analysed in Brussels on Monday, at the meeting of the EU foreign ministers, where Romania will be represented by foreign minister Titus Corlatean.
SEECP– The President of the Chamber of Deputies with the Romanian Parliament, Valeriu Zgonea, has said that if Romania wants to be an important political actor of the EU and of the Euro-Atlantic structure, it should prove it can generate EU and Euro-Atlantic values in the security zone and in its neighbourhood. Zgonea made this statement on Sunday, at the end of the inaugural session of the South-East European Cooperation Process Parliamentary Assembly. The parliament speakers attending the session voiced concern about the events in Ukraine and expressed their readiness to help that country become an area of prosperity and security. The participants adopted a final declaration on boosting cooperation between national parliaments. The focal point of the talks was the promotion of European values and principles at regional level, laying emphasis on the rule of law and the observance of human rights, particularly the protection of the minorities’ rights.
ECONOMY– Romania’s President, Traian Basescu, considers that Romania will be deeply affected economically if a civil war between the East and the West breaks out in Ukraine, given the level of risk granted to the whole region and not only to Ukraine. He said on a private television station that this is the only scenario which runs counter to the hypothesis launched by the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, according to whom Romania is not exposed to economic risks because of the situation in Ukraine. The president underlined that Romania had a similar experience during the war in Yugoslavia, when the whole region got a different status. According to the central bank governor, Mugur Isarescu, the solvency and the liquidity reserves in the Romanian banking system should cushion the impact of any problems which might emerge following the exposure of Austrian and French banks in Russia and Ukraine.
RATING– Romania’s President, Traian Basescu has criticised the decision by Standard & Poors rating agency to maintain Romania in the category not recommended for long term investments, although the economy has registered a 3.5% growth rate and a deficit below 3%. Attending a debate on economic issues held in the western Romanian city of Arad, the Romanian president has recommended to investors to focus their attention on the areas with high unemployment rates, where there is available labour force. He has also said that the government should use for youth the 105 million Euros worth of funds allocated by the EU to Romania, which should be spent in the 2014-2015 period. Some other 465 million Euros should be destined for the creation of jobs for disadvantaged people.
BUDAPEST– Dual citizenship and the autonomy of the Hungarians living in the Carpathian basin continue to be the priorities of Hungary’s policy in the following four years. The announcement has been made by the populist Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who was officially re-elected by Parliament on Saturday, for a second term in a row, following last month’s elections. According to Orban, Budapest will put economic relations at the centre of its foreign policy and will continue to show greater openness to the East.
EUROVISION– Conchita Wurst of Austria has won this year’s edition of the Eurovision Song Contest held in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the song “Rise like a Phoenix”, which got 290 points. Austria was followed by the Netherlands and Sweden. Romania’s representatives, Paula Seling and Ovi, got 72 points with their song “Miracle” and ranked 12th, among the 26 countries represented in the final. In 2010, the two singers ranked third in the Eurovision Song Contest.
TENNIS-Romanian Simona Halep, no.5 WTA reached the finals of the Madrid tennis tournament, with approximately 3.7 million Euro prize money up for grabs, playing against Russian Maria Sharapova. Halep lost to Sharapova in three sets 6-1, 2-6, 3-6. For qualifying to the finals in Madrid, Halep, the best Romanian woman tennis player of the moment, grabbed some 342,600 Euros and 650 WTA points. In the semi-finals, Halep defeated Czech Petra Kvitova, no.6 WTA, in three sets, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, and Sharapova defeated Polish Agnieszka Radwanska in two sets, 6-1,6-4.
