May 24, 2014 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

România Internațional, 24.05.2014, 12:16

More than 18 million Romanian voters are expected to the polls on Sunday to elect Romania’s 32 representatives in the EP. 15 alliances and political parties and 8 independent candidates are running in these elections. 18,532 polling stations have been set up in Romania and 190 abroad, at the headquarters of Romania’s diplomatic and consular missions abroad, at the Romanian cultural institutes and also in the theaters of operations in Afghanistan. Across the EU the EP elections were held on Thursday in the Netherlands and Great Britain. The Irish voted on Friday and the voting continued Saturday in the Czech Republic, which is the only country in the EU where the EP elections were held for 2 consecutive days. The citizens of Latvia, Malta and Slovakia also voted on Saturday. The citizens of most EU states will vote on Sunday. All in all around 375 million Europeans with the right to vote will elect 751 MEPs to represent them in the EP in the next 5 years.

On Sunday partial elections will be held in Romania in parallel with the EP elections to fill in the vacancies in Romania’s Parliament: 5 deputy and 3 senator seats. The partial elections are held in 2 constituencies in Bucharest and 6 across the country. Also in 19 counties of Romania partial local elections are held to occupy the vacancies in the local administration.

Ukraine is getting ready for the early presidential election to be held on Sunday, which is deemed crucial for easing tensions in the country. The presidential election takes place after the stepping down of pro-Russian president Viktor Ianukovych, the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the start of separatist movements in the east of Ukraine. The separatists have already announced they will not allow the holding of elections on the territory they control. The main favourite in the presidential election is billionaire Petro Poroşenko, followed, at a great distance, by the former PM Iulia Timosenko and banker and former deputy PM Serghei Tighipko. Another stake of the election is for Russia to recognize it, which would contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis in the east of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would respect the will of the Ukrainian people and would be ready to cooperate with the new power in Kiev.

The only Romanian production selected this year for the Cannes Film Festival, the independent short “It can pass through the wall” directed by Radu Jude received on Friday night the special mention of the jury of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section.

Astra Giurgiu won Friday evening in Bucharest its first Cup after having defeated champions Steaua Bucharest 4-2 following penalty kicks. Ranked 2nd in this season, Astra received 254 thousand euros for their victory. Steaua Bucharest, winner of the Romanian football championship in the past, still remains the holder of a record number of Romanian Football Cups won, namely 21. In the future season of the European Championships Steaua will play in the preliminary matches of the Champions League and Astra Giurgiu will play in the Europa League.

On Saturday, in the port of Constanta in the south east, the Romanian President Traian Basescu granted the “The Maritime Virtue” Order in rank of Officer with a peace sign to the Mircea Brig, on the occasion of the anniversary of 75 years since Mircea Brig was put to sea. The Mircea Brig participated between April 30th and May 24th alongside another 17 sailing ships from 9 countries in the Black Sea Tall Ships Regatta 2014 competition, held for the first time in the Black Sea. The ship-symbol of the Romanian Navy was built between 1938-1939 in Hamburg, Germany.

Pope Francis on Saturday called in Amman for the cessation of the war in Syria and of the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, pointing out that the Middle East is faced with “serious tensions”, France press reports. The Pope was welcomed by political and religious personalities and met with King Abdullah and Queen Rania. Pope Francis started in Jordan his first visit to the Middle East, meant to strengthen ties with the Orthodox churches in the region and to bring hope to the dwindling Christian Orthodox population. After Amman, the Pope will go to Bethlehem in the West Bank and to Jerusalem.