October 24, 2015 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 24.10.2015, 12:15

TRILATERAL COOPERATION – Bulgaria, Romania and
Serbia are ready to close their borders if Germany and Austria close theirs, to
stop the inflow of refugees, said in Sofia on Saturday the Bulgarian Prime
Minister Boiko Borisov, after the meeting he had with his Romanian and Serbian
counterparts, Victor Ponta and Aleksandar Vucic respectively. The Bulgarian PM
voiced worries over the lack of a final strategic goal in the approach to the
inflow of migrants in Europe and said the recent agreement signed by the EU and
Turkey, aimed at keeping millions of refugees within Turkey’s borders, should
be supported. In turn, the Romanian PM said he would like to see a European
joint action. Borisov, Ponta and Vucic met in Sofia for the second meeting of
the so-called ‘Craiova Group’, which includes Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, to
discuss cooperation in fields such as energy, transport, internal affairs and
telecommunications, as well as the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The
agenda of talks also included the latest regional developments, the migration
issue, the situation in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership.

MIGRATION – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will
attend in Brussels, on Sunday, the EC summit on migration in the Western
Balkans. Attending will be heads of state and government from Austria,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia. According to
a communiqué issued by the Presidential Administration, the participants will
approach general aspects relating to the challenges posed by the inflows of
refugees that the countries in the region have to deal with. They will also
analyze the needs of these countries and the potential support measures,
provided by either the EU, through bilateral agreements or in cooperation with
the line European and international agencies.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP -The Romanian Ambassador to
the US, George Cristian Maior, has talked in Washington, on the eve of Romanian
Army Day, on October 25th, about the importance of the Strategic
Partnership between Romania and the US, with focus on Romania’s major
contribution in the foreign theaters of operations. All political parties in
Romania have agreed to increase the share of the GDP earmarked for defense,
against a very complicated regional and international context, and this will
help Romania modernize its army structures, in order to be able to deal with
the new challenges, the ambassador said. George Maior has also stated that
rendering operational the base in Deveselu, in southern Romania, by the end of
the year 2015, is clear evidence of Romania’s capacity to stay in line with the
NATO protection measures in the region.

UN ANNIVERSARY – The
Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, said on Saturday that the UN was to
Romania a genuine friend and supporter. He hailed the 70th
anniversary of the organisation and also the 60 years of Romanian
membership. Alongside other world
organisations, the UN assisted Romania during its transition and the democratic
transformations that followed the anti-Communist Revolution of December 1989,
Bogdan Aurescu also said. On the occasion, the Romanian Foreign Ministry
organised several diplomatic and cultural events.

POPULAR MOVEMENT – Traian Basescu, the
former President of Romania between 2004 and 2014, has been elected president
of the Popular Movement Party, which he joined two weeks ago. Traian Basescu,
the only candidate to the position, has explained that he decided to run for
president of the party in order to defend the mandates he had as president of
the country and to carry on the reform of state institutions.

JOURNALISTS’ UNION – The Romanian Minister Delegate for Relations
with Romanians Abroad, Angel Tilvar, has reiterated in Vienna, on the setting
up of the Union of Romanian Journalists Abroad, the importance of the press in
the Romanian language in preserving Romanian identity and strengthening ties
between the Romanians who live in various parts of the world. He has talked
about Bucharest’s support for the development of Romanian media in the Romanian
communities abroad, encouraging the association of Romanian media institutions
and journalists across the world. The idea to set up the Union of Romanian
Journalists Abroad was launched last year, at a meeting held in Lyon by the
Romanian journalists living in EU countries.

MILITARY
EXERCISES – Romanian soldiers are taking part, until
October 28th, in two multinational naval exercises, led by Turkey, in several
areas in the Mediterranean and in the Sea of
Marmara. The first exercise, called MARSEC 15, will be carried out in
the east of the Mediterranean, in Turkey’s territorial waters, in response to
the tense situation in the Middle East, triggered by the current clandestine
migration wave. The soldiers will carry out specific missions targeting illegal
migration and trafficking, as well as medical evacuation drills. The second
exercise, NUSRET 15, takes place in the Gulf of Saros. Participating are mine
sweepers, mine hunters and divers specialized in mining and mine clearance
operations from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, the US and Turkey.

WTA FINALS – Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep, ranking 2nd in the WTA classification will play her first
game at the WTA Finals in Singapore on Sunday, against the Italian Flavia
Pennetta. Halep, aged 24, a finalist last year and the favourite in the current
competition, has the chance to get back at 8th WTA ranked Penetta, who defeated
her at the US Open last month, in the semifinals, and won the tournament. Also
part of the red group in Singapore are the Russian Maria Sharapova and the
Polish Agnieszka Radwanska. Competing in the other group of the tournament, between
October 25 and November 1, will be Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Petra Kvitova and
Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic and Angelique Kerber of Germany. The first
two players heading each group will go into the semifinals.