November 17, 2015 UPDATE

Parliament endorses Ciolos Cabinet; EU states agree to activate mutual defence clause

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Newsroom, 17.11.2015, 12:06

The Parliament of Romania Tuesday validated the technocratic cabinet proposed by the PM designate Dacian Cioloş. The new Cabinet members were sworn in at Cotroceni Palace on Tuesday night, in
the presence of President Klaus Iohannis. Cioloş, a former European Commissioner for Agriculture, nominated candidates from diplomacy, the private sector, European institutions and civil society. The governing programme includes, among others, goals such as the revision of major investment projects, reforms in education and healthcare, strengthening the rule of law and the proper organisation of the legislative and local elections due next year. The head of state, Klaus Iohannis, designated Cioloş for the PM post after early this month the Social Democrat Victor Ponta stepped down further to large-scale street protests.

The Romanian Foreign Ministry notifies the Romanian citizens who travel to or transit France that a state of emergency is still valid throughout that country and border checks are still in place. The state of emergency enables the French authorities to control the movement of people and establish protected and high-security areas. Airports and railway stations remain open across the country. The Romanian Embassy in Paris reiterates that those who have information regarding Romanian citizens experiencing difficulties or emergencies may contact the diplomatic mission.

The EU Member states will support France in its fight against the IS group by all means available, including their military. A political decision to this effect was made on Tuesday in Brussels, where Member States unanimously approved Frances request for the activation of the Lisbon Treatys mutual defence clause. It is for the first time that this EU Treaty clause is invoked. While in Paris on Monday the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, promised that France and the US will fight together and defeat together the jihadist group. In turn, the Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande have agreed on the coordination of the two countries military forces. The investigations conducted in the wake of the attacks indicate that a Moroccan-born Belgian citizen is the mastermind of the attack. Many individuals have been arrested and weapons seized in searches conducted on French territory. As many as 129 people died and more than 350 were wounded in Fridays attacks in Paris.

The head of the Muslim cult in Romania, mufti Murat Iusuf, once again condemned on Tuesday the barbaric attack in Paris and its perpetrators. In an interview to Radio Romania, he called on all Muslim families in Romania to make sure their children receive religious education only in the mosques with authorised imams. More than 80 mosques are located in Romania at present. Most of the countrys Muslim population, totalling over 67 thousand people, live in the counties of Constanţa and Tulcea in the south-east.