May 25, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 25.05.2015, 12:00
Strengthening Romanias position within NATO and the EU is a priority, a type of policy that defines good governmance and meets our citizens expectations, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has said on Monday in Bucharest. He has made this statement at the opening ceremony of the international program Security in the Black Sea Region, organised in collaboration with institutions from the United States. Iohannis has defined the current geopolitical context as a complex one, characterised by global changes and challenges. According to Iohannis, the Black Sea is an area of convergence and also collision of the international actors interests. Romania sticks to is commitment to contribute to the regions scurity and to promote a safe, free and prosperous Europe, not only within NATO but also within the EU and their neigbnouring regions.
Romanian MEP Monica Macovei is attending, in Bulgarias capital city Sofia, a debate on the fight against corruption. On this occasion she will be nominated for the annual award granted by the Giovanni Falcone Foundation. This award is granted to people engaged in the fight against corruption and the dismantling of criminal cells. A former Romanian Ministry of Justice between 2004 and 2007, Monica Macovei initiated a series of reforms that contributed to Romanias EU accession on January 1st, 207. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate, seen as the most effective institution that fights corruption in Romania, was set up during her mandate.
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski conceded defeat to conservative challenger Andrzej Duda in Sunday’s presidential election. Duda won the election with 53% of the votes. Duda served as legal adviser to former conservative President Lech Kaczynski, was a deputy justice minister, a member of the Polish parliament, and is now a member of the European parliament. While Komorowski sees Polands NATO and EU membership as a guarantee for the countrys security and prosperity, Duda has committed to focus on Polands national interests.
12 Romanian vessels, an American destroyer and a Bulgarian minesweeper, with around 1,500 military on board, are today taking part in an exercise called Trident Poseidon 2015. Held for four days in Romania’s 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 Constanta’s military port.
Four Romanian tennis players are today playing in the first round of Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. World no. 31 Irina Begu will take on the American player Bethanie Mattek-Sands (ranked 164), while Alexandra Dulgheru will face another American player, Nicole Gibbs (no. 97). Monica Niculescu, currently ranked 69th, meets world no. 8 Carla Suraez Navarro of Spain, and Andreea Mitu, no. 99 in the world, faces Alize Lim of France (ranked 285). Simona Halep, the worlds no. 3 player in women standings, advanced to the second round of Roland Garros after defeating Evgenyia Rodia of Russia, 7-5, 6-4. In the next round Halep will take on Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia.
The Romanian mens handball team HC Odorhei won the Challenge Cup after defeating Liberty Seguros ABC/UMinho of Portugal 32-25 on home turf, as part of the second leg of the final match. In the first leg the Portugese side won 32-28. This is the first trophy for the team of HC Odorhei, which is now the third Romanian team to win the Challenge Cup after Steaua Bucharest in 2006 and UCM Resita in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Andrei Mihalcea was the teams top goalscorer with 9 goals.
