May 16, 2019 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 16.05.2019, 20:21
VISIT – On Thursday in Bucharest, the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila and the prime-minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Zvizdic, discussed bilateral economic cooperation and prospects of Bosnia and Herzegovinas accession to the EU. The enlargement of the EU with partners in the Western Balkans, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a priority for the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, as this policy is the only guarantee for the security and prosperity of the region, the Romanian PM said. In turn, Denis Zvizdic stressed the fact that European integration and NATO accession are very important for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina and represent a major pillar of stability in the Balkans, and for the economic development of the region. The two officials talked about boosting bilateral economic cooperation in various fields, such as agriculture, IT, innovation, research or tourism.
MEETING – Romanias Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu is attending the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, taking place in Helsinki during Finlands presidency of this body. The Helsinki meeting also marks the transfer of the presidency to the French Republic. High on the agenda is the need for shared responsibility with a view to ensuring democratic security in Europe. The Committee of Ministers is made up of representatives of the 47 members of the Council of Europe. The half-yearly bodys presidency is held by every member state in alphabetical order.
COOPERATION – Romania is and will continue to be a firm supporter of boosting cooperation between the EU and Central Asia, by means of a new set of bilateral agreements and by promoting common policies and regional solutions that would ensure an active role for Central Asia, reads a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry and made public on Thursday. The ministry hailed the adoption, on May 15th, by the EC and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, of the Joint Communication on the EU and Central Asia. The document sets out a fresh vision for a stronger partnership with the five countries of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It comes at a key moment of fast-developing Euro-Asian connectivity, reform and opening up in some of the countries of the region, and new momentum for regional cooperation. The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU has paid special attention to the relations between the EU and the partner Central Asian countries. On Wednesday, Bucharest hosted a top-level meeting on Central Asia, titled Connectivity for Sustainable Development, organized together with the European External Action Service.
PARLIAMENT – The campaign for European Parliament elections continues in Romania. 13 parties compete for the appointed seats, as well as three independent candidates. The candidate taking up the 33rd seat can only occupy it once the UK exits the EU. Romanians abroad have 441 polling stations available, most of them in Italy, Spain, and the neighboring Republic of Moldova. A referendum has been called on the same day as the European Parliament elections by President Klaus Iohannis.
5G – Romania is one of the first countries in the world to launch 5G communication services, after a major mobile phone operator in Bucharest announced the activation of the first such stations. People will get access to this technology once the 5G phones become available on the market. The telecommunications operator has stated that the networks will extend significantly across the country by the end of the year.
CANNES – The feature film La Gomera, by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu, will premiere on Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival. It is competing for the Palme dOr trophy with movies by Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodóvar, Ken Loach, Terrence Malick, and the Dardenne brothers. In 2009, Corneliu Porumboiu won the grand prize with the film Police,Adjective. In 2006, also in Cannes, his movie Was It or Was It Not got the Camera dOr award and in 2015 his film The Treasure won the Un Certain Talent award of the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. The Cannes film festival runs between May 14 and 25.
WEATHER – A new code yellow alert for flooding was issued on Thursday, in place until Friday. On Wednesday, torrential rains affected 30 localities in the counties of Bistrita-Nasaud and Mures, as well as in Timis and Maramures. Over 100 homes were flooded, dozens of people evacuated, and small sized landslides blocked roads and railways. In addition, several rivers were placed under code red alerts for flooding. The weather will remain extremely unsettled until Sunday and the Weather Administration has issued many warnings in this respect, valid for the entire country. In another move, Romania will benefit from 8.2 million Euros from the EU Solidarity Fund, to rebuild its damaged infrastructure after the severe weather events that affected the north-east of the country last summer.
