May 29, 2017
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România Internațional, 29.05.2017, 14:30
The unified pay bill for Romania’s state sector employees as of today is subject to debate in the specialized commissions of the country’s decision-making body, the Chamber of Deputies. Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu hoped talks in the Chamber of Deputies would be held at a fast pace, so that the bill may be passed and its provisions may take effect as of July 1st. The bill, stipulating a substantial pay rise for the employees in the state sector, was already adopted by the Senate last week. Backed by the ruling coalition parties, the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, but also by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the unified pay bill for the state sector employees has come under fire, since the opposition wants clarifications to be made as regards the budgetary impact and the source of financing for the aforementioned pay rise scheme.
The Doctor Honoris Causa title granted by the Babes-Bolyay University in the northwestern Romania town of Cluj-Napoca will today be bestowed upon Prince Charles of Great Britain. Prince Charles is to be handed the distinction in token of recognition for the effort His Royal Highness has made for the preservation of Transylvania’s cultural and nature heritage. Prince Charles is the owner of several estates in Romania’s central region of Transylvania. HRH has taken a special interest in Romania, a country he has visited several times in the last 20 years or so. Most recently, Prince Charles was in Romania in late March, for a three-day official visit.
The 5th edition of the Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival takes off in Bucharest today. The festival is dedicated to innovation in radio drama production. Radio Romania is the organizer the of the event, held under the High Patronage of Her Royal Highness Heiress Princess Margareta of Romania. Entering the competition are 45 productions from 26 countries, to be played for six days running. The awarding ceremony will be held on June the 2nd.
Four of the six Romanian tennis players taking part in Roland Garros, the year’s second Gland Slam tournament, are today proving their mettle in the tournament’s debut round. WTA 53rd-placed Monica Niculescu today takes on an Estonian contender, WTA 52nd placed Anett Kontaveit. As an absolute first, Ana Bogdan played in the main draw in Paris. Her next opponent is Tunisian Ons Jabeur. WTA 119th-placed Patricia Tig faces the tournament’s 16th-seed tennis player, Russia’s Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova, while in the first round, WTA 44th-ranked Irina Begu takes on Colombia’s Marina Duque-Marino. The other two Romanians, WTA 4th-ranked Simona Halep and WTA 67-th placed Sorana Carstea this coming Tuesday will play Slovakia’s Jana Cepelova and China’s Shuai Peng, respectively.
Hearings are well under way in the parliamentary inquest commission in Bucharest, looking into the way the 2009 presidential election was staged and held. We recall that back then the right-wing candidate Traian Basescu won the election against his Social Democrat challenger Mircea Geoana, who has today been invited for the second time around before the commission. Last week Geoana stated there was a deliberate effort, masterminded by the Romanian state at top-level, to influence the ballot in favor of Traian Basescu. Former secretaries of state in the Interior Ministry also appeared before the commission. Former vice-president of the Permanent Electoral Authority Ana Maria Patru has again declined the invitation to appear before the commission today, as last week she was also absent from the hearings. The commission was set up immediately after a journalist disclosed that in the buildup to the December 2009 election, high-ranking state officials attempted to influence the ballot, that including heads of powerful state institutions.
Europe can no longer fully depend on the US and Great Britain following the election of US president Donald Trump and after Brexit, German chancellor Angela Merkel stated yesterday. Merkel also stated she wanted friendly relationships with both countries, as well as with Russia. However, Merkel went on to say Europe must fight for a destiny of its own. The German Chancellor made these statements one day after the G7 summit concluded in Sicily’s Taormina, where US President Donald Trump turned down a commitment in favor of the Paris Agreement against global warming. In another move, during his presence at the NATO summit in Brussels, Trump caused a serious disappointment among the Allies as he refused to express an avowed commitment in favor of the collective defense clause stipulated by NATO Treaty’s Article 5.
The newly-elected French president Emanuel Macron today receives in audience his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Versailles, nearby Paris. Macron pledged he would have a demanding dialogue, with tough issues to be aired in the talks with the Kremlin leader. In recent years, a great many divergences have occurred between Moscow and Western European countries, France Included. One such divergence point is Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Russia’s backing Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists, which prompted the EU to place sanctions against Russia. Also high on Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin’s talks agenda are the situation in Syria, the anti-terrorist fight at world level, the situation in North Korea as well as the situation in Libya.
Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlund’s The Square, a satire of the modern art world, last night was awarded the Palme D’Or of the Cannes Film Festival’s 70th edition. The Jury’s Grand Prize went to the French production titled 120 beats per minute, while Sofia Coppola was the recipient of the best director award. Best actor award went to American as actor Joaquin Phoenix, while German Diane Kruger walked away with the best actress award. Representing Romania at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival was filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, in his capacity as president of the Cinefondation and short-reel sections.
