December 18, 2015 UPDATE
The anti-missile shield in Deveselu has become operational/ Romania's President has promulgated the 2016 state budget and social securities laws, respectively
Newsroom, 18.12.2015, 12:10
ANTI-MISSILE SHIELD– The anti-missile shield in Deveselu is a confirmation of the extraordinary relationship that the US and Romania share, the US ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, said on Friday, when elements of the US missile defence system installed at the military base in Deveselu, in southern Romania, became operational. The facility in Deveselu, which includes a sophisticated radar system, ballistic missile interceptors and state-of-the-art communication equipment, will be a major module of a larger NATO security project. To mark the occasion, the Romanian Foreign Ministry held a special ceremony. Hans Klemm underlined the defensive character of the project and the fact that it was exclusively directed against threats coming from outside Europe. In turn, Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc said this is the most important Romanian-American project.
ROMANIAN SUPPORT FOR MOLDOVA– Romania intends to grant financial support to the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, if a government willing to make reforms is instated in Chishinau. The announcement was made in Brussels on Friday, at the end of the European Council, by Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, who approached this issue with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has expressed Romanias readiness to work closely with the European Commission and the IMF to make sure that the financial assistance package reaches Chishinau in due time and that it will support a reform process, the fight against corruption, the efforts of rendering the administration more efficient and of creating more open economic and business environments. In another move, Dacian Ciolos has announced that early next year, he will pay visits to Germany, France and the Netherlands and will return to Brussels for thorough talks on the role Romania wants to play within the European Union. Gathered in Brussels, the European leaders on Thursday and Friday discussed such issues as the fight against terrorism, ways to manage the flow of migrants and the protection of Schengens borders. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has expressed Romanias solidarity with the EU in the migration file, but he made clear that Bucharest would also like to see that some conditions are met, such as strengthening the EUs capacity to control the migration flow and to ensure a functional Schengen area.
BUDGET– Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday promulgated the 2016 state budget and social securities laws, respectively, which were adopted by Parliament on Wednesday. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has given assurances that his cabinet will manage the money transparently, efficiently and with caution. In another move, 63% of company managers in Romania expect an improvement of the Romanian economic situation in 2016. A poll conducted in nine Central and East European countries shows almost all managers in Romania (98%) believe the black economy is a problem, with 39% of them saying that avoiding paying taxes by not declaring the real incomes is a major reason of concern. Also, business people in Romania take higher confidence in a positive evolution of the Euro than respondents from other Central and East-European countries.
COMMEMORATION– Timisoara on Friday hosted a series of events marking 26 years since the flame of the Anti-Communist Revolution of December 1989 was kindled in that western Romanian city. Floral tributes were paid at the Metropolitan Cathedral, where tens of protesters were shot dead on December 18, 1989. That day goes down in history as the day when the army opened fire at people in Timisoara, a city where the martial law had been declared. Started on December 16, 1989, by the Timisoara inhabitants opposition to an abusive measure taken by the local authorities, the Revolution spread to the whole country at a fast pace. It culminated on December 22, when dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled Bucharest, leaving power. Over 1,000 people died and some 3,400 others got injured between December 16 and 25, 1989. Romania was the only country in the former Eastern Bloc that violently overthrew the communist regime and executed its communist leaders. Romanias Parliament will meet in a solemn session on December 21, to mark 26 years since the 1989 Revolution.
(Translated by: Diana Vijeu)
