October 10, 2013 UPDATE
For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.
Corina Cristea, 10.10.2013, 12:01
Romania and Bulgaria dismiss any connection between their bid to join the Schengen area and the Roma issue, according to a Romanian Foreign Ministry press release. Bucharest and Sofia claim they have fully complied with all technical accession criteria. We recall that France has recently voiced concern regarding the two countries’ Schengen accession, against the backdrop of heated debates on the issue of Roma with Romanian citizenship, ahead of the local elections of next year in France.
Romania is one of the most advanced countries in Eastern Europe in what regards its intervention capabilities in case of accidents and disasters, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Thursday. Victor Ponta attended the unveiling of the sixth Spartan aircraft that is now part of the Romanian Air Force. The plane is fitted with all the necessary medical equipment required for medical evacuation operations. The contract for the purchase of seven cargo planes was signed in 2007 and is worth 216 million euros. Also on Thursday, Defence Minister Mircea Dusa said Romania signed a contract with Portugal for the purchase of F-16 fighters, for which our country has already paid the first instalment worth 100 million euros of a total of 600 million euros.
The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution whereby calling on several states including Romania to conduct independent investigations with respect to their involvement in the CIA Secret Detention Program. The lack of sanctions for EU member states that had an active role in the US military campaign against Al-Qaeda has accommodated the continuous breach of fundamental rights, reads the resolution. The document addresses 13 states: Lithuania, Romania, Poland, the UK, Italy, Finland, France, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Latvia and Slovakia. The authorities in Bucharest have repeatedly denied any involvement in the CIA Secret Detention Program. In Bucharest Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that Romanian authorities would do “what was normal for a country to do at EU or international level” regarding the request of the European Parliament.
EU Commissioner for Agriculture Romanian Dacian Ciolos as of Thursday is paying an official visit to the Republic of Moldova. His visit comes after the European Commission decided to open its market to wine imports from that country. The measure, which could come into effect in a couple of months, has been taken after Russia put a ban on wine imports from the Republic of Moldova. Commissioner Ciolos’s visit comes before the endorsement of the Association and Free Trade Agreement between the former soviet republic and the European Union, ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit of November in Vilnius.
Consolidating the strategic partnership between Romania and the UK, the Eastern Partnership and the upcoming summit in Vilnius, as well as energy security are the main topics tackled by Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean during his two-day working visit to London. Another important topic on his agenda is the opening of the British labour market to Romanian jobseekers as of January 1, 2014. In an article carried by the Huffingtonpost, Romanian ambassador to London, Ion Jinga pointed to an increased hostility towards migration ahead of the liberalization of the local labour market for Romanians and Bulgarians. Ambassador Jinga believes Romanians who work in Britain might find their lives and reputations ruined by deceiving statistics and the alarmist rhetoric of politicians and mass media.
The 2013 Bucharest Auto Show kicked off on Thursday with over 16 car makes on view until October 20th. Visitors will be able to see the latest makes of cars, heavy and light utility vehicles, electric and hybrid cars and motorcycles. The show also displays audio and navigation systems, equipment and devices for service workshops and car washes, as well as auto and moto tuning equipment.
Canadian writer Alice Munro is the recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature. Aged 82, Munro is considered an iconic representative of contemporary short fiction. Alice Munro is the 30th woman-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. So far this year the winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, Physics and Chemistry have been made public, while the Nobel Prize for Peace will be awarded on Friday.
