May 9, 2015

A selection of the main stories in Romania today

Newsroom, 09.05.2015, 12:00

Romania celebrates today its State Independence Day, Europe Day and
Allied victory against Nazi Germany in the Second World War. On the 9th
of May 1950, the then French foreign minister Robert Schuman read a declaration
calling on France, West Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
to form the European Steel and Coal Community, the foundation of today’s
European Union. 65 years since its creation, the European Union is today facing
a rising wave of euro-scepticism. The head of the European Union Representation
in Bucharest Angela Filote told Radio Romania that unlike in the older member
states, there is no euro-scepticism in Romania.

Tens of concerts, performances and competitions are held to mark Europe
Day in Bucharest and other cities across the country. Also, 50 different
productions are being screened in Bucharest and other cities as part of a
European Film Festival. In the capital city, 16 metro stations carry designs
representing different European nations, while 160 NGOs, institutions and
companies are taking part in ONGFest. Events dedicated to Europe Day, which is
celebrated every year on May 9th, are taking place in all EU member
states.

Moscow’s Red
Square was the site of a massive Victory Day parade involving thousands of soldiers
and army vehicles. Russia celebrates on the 9th of May the victory
against Nazi Germany in World War II. According to Radio Romania’s
correspondent to Moscow, this year’s parade is the largest in the history of
contemporary Russia. Commentators say that, given the crisis in Ukraine, Moscow
wishes to demonstrate to the entire world that it is a military force to be
reckoned with. France, Britain, Poland and Germany also celebrated the 70th
anniversary of allied victory over Nazi Germany. The festivities taking place
in the Polish city of Gdansk, where the war started on September 1st
1939, were also attended by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis.

British prime minister David
Cameron, who won Thursday’s parliamentary elections, began to form a new cabinet,
the first majority Conservative cabinet after many years. Despite the fact that
pre-election polls showed the Conservatives and Labour neck and neck, the
Conservative Party won a clear victory, securing 331 seats compared with
Labour’s 232. As a result, Britain’s future in the European Union is now in
doubt, with Cameron saying he will respect his promise to hold an in/out
referendum on British membership of the European Union.

North Korea says
it has successfully test-fired a submarine-based ballistic missile, while
images broadcast by the state television showed the North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un watching a missile surface from the sea. Political commentators claim
Pyong Yang has a number of nuclear missiles, which, if confirmed, would be an
important achievement, as missiles launched from submarines are hard to detect.
Kim Jong-un said his country now possessed a strategic weapon able to strike
and eliminate in almost any waters the hostile forces infringing upon North
Korea’s sovereignty and dignity.