October 23, 2018 UPDATE

President Klaus Iohannis has addressed the European Parliament for the first time, presenting Romanias vision of the EUs future/ Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has held talks with minister Carmen Dan on the Romanian community in Italy

Florentin Căpitănescu, 23.10.2018, 18:33

ADDRESS – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis presented before the European Parliament on Tuesday, Romanias vision of the EUs future. Iohannis stood for consolidating the European project and recalled that the EU had been facing multiple challenges, which put to the test its unity and cohesion such as the migrant and the economic crises as well as the populist political forces coming to power. There is an element that unites us, Iohannis said, namely the European identity, which is based on common principles, values and interests. According to the Romanian President, the European citizens must see that we are working on protecting and consolidating the EU symbols, such as the Euro, the free movement and the Schengen area. Iohannis went on to say that Schengen accession and joining the Euro zone are some of Romanias fundamental goals. In turn, the European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said that without Romania, the European Union is not complete. Juncker also expressed his support for Romanias Schengen accession, but he insisted that consensus on the fight against corruption should be reached at domestic level before Bucharest takes over the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2019. The Romanian Presidents visit to Strasbourg comes against the backdrop of a series of debates being held on the prospects of the community bloc, with all the leaders of the EU member countries being invited to attend the talks.

ROMANIAN-ITALIAN TALKS – Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan on Tuesday held talks in Bucharest with Italian deputy prime minister and interior minister, Matteo Salvini. Bilateral cooperation particularly in the field of security was among the focal points of the talks, against the backdrop of Romanias taking over the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019. The Romanian community in Italy and the Italian community in Romania maintain a strong bond between the two countries and contribute to the economic and social development of the two countries, minister Dan said. In turn, the Italian official said the Romanians in Italy are making up a large community, exceeding one million members and he added that the mistakes made by some of these ethnic Romanians should not impact the others. Salvini also thanked the Bucharest authorities for their contribution to identify the Romanian nationals put on a wanted list in Italy. Two months ago, Salvini accused Romania and Bulgaria of sending slaves to Western Europe at the same time calling for measures to curb human trafficking. The leader of the far-right Northern League has voiced readiness to tackle with his colleagues from the two countries a series of measures aimed at keeping at bay organized crime activities.

EUROPEAN SEMESTER – The Romanian minister delegate for European Affairs, Victor Negrescu, on Tuesday attended in Bucharest a meeting occasioned by the launch of the ECs technical mission, as part of the European Semester. On this occasion, minister Negrescu said Romania pays special heed to the European Semester and intends to boost dialogue and cooperation with the EC as part of this process. From the standpoint of the Romanian presidency of the EU Council, the official said Bucharests objective is that the 2019 European Semester unfold in keeping with the roadmap which is to be made public in November. The European Semester, introduced in 2010, provides a framework for the annual coordination of economic policies across the European Union. It allows EU countries to discuss their economic and budgetary plans and monitor progress at specific times throughout the year.

CIVIL PARTNERSHIP – The Romanian Senators on the legal committee on Tuesday turned down a draft meant to regulate the civil partnership. The draft was aimed at granting legal protection to the couples which do not want to change their marital status, but are ready to officially acknowledge their relation. The senate was the first notified chamber. We recall that in early October a referendum was held in Romania to redefine family in the Romanian Constitution as being the consented marriage between a man and a woman, instead of the current wording, “between spouses. However, the referendum was refuted because of a poor turnout , of only 21%. 91.5% of those who went to the polls stood for changing the Constitution, and only 6.5% stood against the change.

TENNIS – Romanias tennis player Simona Halep has been on top of the WTA ranking for 51 weeks now. The Romanian athlete now occupies the 10th position in an all time ranking of the worlds best female tennis players on par with Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus. Injuries have prevented Halep from attending the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore but she is to occupy the first position until the end of the year, when she will have held it for 60 weeks. The Romanian has a 15 hundred points advance from runner up Angelique Kerber of Germany who outperformed Danish Caroline Wozniacki. Romania has five other representatives in WTA 100: Mihaela Buzarnescu went up a position and is currently ranking 24th, Irina Begu went down 13 notches and is now 66th, Ana Bogdan ranks 72nd, Monica Niculescu is 82nd and Sorana Cirstea comes in the 85th position. Begu and Buzarnescu rank 23rd and 24th in the doubles rankings.

FUNERAL – The funeral of the former Romanian football legend, Ilie Balaci, was held on Tuesday in the southern Romanian city of Craiova. Balaci died of a stroke on Sunday, at the age of 62. Considered to be a perfect, complete player, Balaci played his debut match in 1973, with Universitatea Craiova, the team together with which he would later grab three national champion titles and four Romanias Cup titles. He ended his career earlier than expected after sustaining a bad injury. He played 65 times for Romanias national team, including the match against the then world champion, Italy, which brought Romania a 1-0 victory. He was designated best Romanain footballer in 1981 and 1982. As a couch, he won many trophies with his teams in the Arab countries. President Klaus Iohannis on Sunday signed the decree bestowing post mortem the National Order of Faithful Service, in rank of Knight, on Ilie Balaci, in token of appreciation and admiration for the remarkable career of Ilie Balaci. (Translated by D. Vijeu)