May 24, 2015
A roundup of the main stories in Romania today
Bogdan Matei, 24.05.2015, 12:00
Romanias foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is attending the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar. Chaired jointly by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini and Qatars foreign minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, the meeting aims to strengthen ties between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Talks focus on the latest developments in the wider Middle East region and the fight against terrorism, including ways to counteract the Islamic State organisation. Aurescu presents Romanias position on regional developments, with emphasis on the situation in Iraq and Syria and the fight against cross-border terrorism. On the sidelines of the meeting, he has had talks with his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Muhammd Gargash, when he reiterated Bucharests wish to intensify bilateral relations. The Gulf Cooperation Council brings together Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. Romanias prime minister Victor Ponta travelled to the first four of these countries early this month as part of a tour of the region to discuss economic aspects.
12 Romanian vessels, an American destroyer and a Bulgarian minesweeper, with around 1,500 military on board, will take part on Monday in an exercise called Trident Poseidon 2015. Held for four days in Romanias territorial waters and the Black Sea international waters, the exercise aims at improving the interoperability between the NATO forces and interagency cooperation in Romania. One of the activities forming part of this exercise is the evacuation of civilians in a conflict area, an activity which will be carried out on the 27th of May in Constantas military port.
More than 35 million people are voting today in Spains local and regional elections which could potentially usher in a new era in Spanish politics. EU citizens residing in Spain, including over 111,000 Romanians, will be able to cast their votes in these elections. The candidates also include many Romanian citizens. According to the latest polls, the two main parties in Spain, the ruling Peoples Party and the Socialists in opposition may have to form an alliance in 12 different regions in order to form a majority. After six years of economic crisis, new parties like the leftist Podemos and the right-wing Ciudadanos may emerge as new political forces in Spain. The outcome of the vote is hard to predict, given that 30% of the voters polled said they were undecided.
Romanias entry to the 60th Eurovision Song Contest held on Saturday night in Vienna, the band Voltaj and their song All over Again, finished on the 15th place, with 35 points. Romania received the highest score from the neighbouring Republic of Moldova. The song is part of an awareness-raising campaign about the situation of the Romanian children left behind by their parents who work abroad. The winner of this years Eurovision contest was Swedens Mans Zelmerlöw with his song Heroes. The winner is decided based on a 50/50 combination of telephone votes and the votes of a specialised jury from each country. 60 years after its first edition, Eurovision has been recognised by the Guinness World Records as the worlds longest running annual TV music competition.
Romania’s no. 1 tennis player Simona Halep defeated the Russian player Evgeniya Rodina in two sets in the first round at Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. In the second round, she will face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia. Last year, Simona Halep reached the final in Paris, but lost to Maria Sharapova of Russia in three sets. Four other Romanian players are in the singles main draw: Irina Begu, Alexandra Dulgheru, Monica Niculescu and Andreea Mitu. Romania has no player in the men’s singles. In the doubles, Horia Tecau pairs up with the Dutch player Jean Julien Rojer, while Florin Mergea forms a pair with the Indian player Rohan Bopanna.
Corneliu Porumboius The Treasure has won the Un Certain Talent prize at the Cannes International Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard category. The film is about two men and their adventures as they try to find a buried treasure. The top prize in this category was awarded to the Icelandic production Rams, by Grimur Hakonarson. The Romanian short film Ramona, by Andrei Cretulescu, was awarded the Canal + prize in the Semaine de la Critique category.
