September 3, 2014 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.

Bogdan Matei, 03.09.2014, 12:05

COOPERATION — Romania’s president Traian Basescu on Wednesday said the OMV group, the main oil and gas company operating in Romania, will remain our country’s leading partner only if it continues to serve our national interests. OMV is apparently engaged in policies that may damage the Romanian state, the president said, after the international press discussed the possibility of a partnership OMV might strike with the Russian giant Gazprom. In addition, the Austrian group expressed its public support for the Russian-held South Stream pipeline, a project the European Commission has put on hold in Bulgaria, fearing it might increase Europe’s dependency on Russian gas imports.

CAP — EU Commissioner for Agriculture Romanian Dacian Ciolos on Wednesday announced the disbursement of 30 million euros to go to programmes aimed at promoting the Common Agricultural Policy, addressing farmers affected by the embargo imposed by Russia. Ciolos told Radio Romania that the main beneficiaries will be farmers from Lithuania, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, the countries the worst affected by the Russian embargo. Romania is among the Member States that export less to Russia, so the measure does not really affect our country. The measure comes after last week the European Commission decided to earmark over 125 million euros to supporting European fruit and vegetable producers.

NATO — The Republic of Moldova will take part in the NATO summit in the UK for the first time in its history, Moldovan Foreign Minister Iulian Groza has announced. The Moldovan official said Defence Minister Valeriu Troenco would represent Moldova in Wales. Groza recalled that Moldova was already cooperating with NATO as part of the Peace Partnership and that the country already had an individual action plan with NATO. Moreover, Moldova has deployed troops to the peacemaking operations in Kosovo. Although the Constitution provides that Moldova should remain neutral, the crisis in neighbouring Ukraine has prompted many Moldovan officials for closer ties with NATO.

IMMIGRATION — Romanian authorities have announced the dismantling of a large network of illegal immigrants helping parties from Africa and Asia reach Western Europe. Hundreds of illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Somalia or Cameroon allegedly entered Schengen area with support from this network, in exchange for an average fee of 1,500 euros. Three Pakistani and two Romanian citizens have been placed under arrests, currently facing charges of organized crime and human trafficking.

ROMANIA AND UKRAINE — Romania’s Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean on Wednesday called for harsher sanctions against Russia. Against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis, the Romanian official said that such important topics as territorial integrity and border intangibility are subject to no negotiation whatsoever. Titus Corlatean told the BBC that Romania was deeply concerned about what he has termed Russia’s aggressive attitude, aimed at creating a circle of frozen conflicts in the region, affecting not only Ukraine, but also the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The Romanian Foreign Minister is paying a visit to the United Kingdom in response to an invitation extended by his British counterpart Philip Hammond. On Thursday, Minister Corlatean is due to attend the NATO summit held in Cardiff, Wales.

TRAVEL ALERT — The Romanian Foreing Ministry informs all Romanian citizens travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina that meteorologists there have issued a code orange alert against electric storms, heavy rain and hail, which will remain in place until September 7. Floods and landslides are expected in the region. The Ministry recommends all Romanian citizens to log on to the Ministry’s website, www.mae.ro for regular updates and to remain in permanent contact with Romania’s diplomatic offices in the region, so as to prevent any unwanted incidents.

UKRAINE — Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday laid out the details of a seven-point plan that he believes should be the starting point for talks aimed at putting an end to the crisis in Eastern Ukraine. The plan provides that the Ukrainian Government should withdraw its troops on the city outskirts while pro-Russian militants should stop their counter-attack launched last week. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent on the ground, President Putin added that the ceasefire should be under constant monitoring by international observers. Putin’s laid out his proposal two days ahead of negotiations to be held in Belarus and Minsk between separatists and the so called contact group made up of Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE.

NATO SUMMIT – Romania’s Supreme Defence Council chaired by president Traian Basescu met on Wednesday to discuss Romania’s position at the upcoming NATO summit hosted by Wales on Thursday and Friday. The president said recently that Romania would be in favour of consolidating NATO’s eastern flank and strengthening the latter’s military presence in the Black Sea area. NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday that his organisation plans to become more visible in the NATO states on the eastern flank by creating a rapid reaction force to respond to threats from Russia. Romania’s Supreme Defence Council will also discuss Romania’s contribution to the NATO mission in Afghanistan in 2015, when Bucharest has been asked to ensure the security of the airport in Kandahar and maintain around 400 soldiers in the region.

VISIT– The president of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Anne Brasseur travels for a 3-day official visit to Romania. She is to meet Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the speakers of the two chambers of Parliament, leaders of the opposition parties and members of the Romanian delegation to Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. Ms Brasseur will also visit the Council of Europe office for combating information crime. During a trip to Craiova, in the south, she is due to meet representatives of the local authorities, members of parliament, EMPs and representatives of the university community and civil society.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis players Adrian Ungur, Marius Copil, Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea have been called up to Romania’s tennis squad for the Davis Cup match against Sweden, which will decide whether Romania will remain in Group 1 of Europe/Africa area. The matches will be played between September 12-14 in Bucharest. Andrei Pavel’s trainees are more experienced and better ranked in ATP standings than their Swedish opponents, and are thus favourite to win. The winning side will remain in Group 1, while the losing side will play in the playoffs against Latvia or Austria.