March 22, 2017
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 22.03.2017, 13:58
STRIKE Part of the employees of Romania’s railway company CFR Infrastructure went on an unofficial strike causing delays on some routes with scores of trains also being halted. According to trade union leaders, the collective labour contract has expired and although the company’s board proposed a 22.5% rise in the salary funds, the move isn’t legally grounded, as the budget hasn’t been approved. CFR employees are discontented with the improper working conditions, the shortage of equipment and fuel.
DRILL The US ambassador in Bucharest, Hans Klemm has announced that in July Romania will be hosting a large-scale military drill that brings together 30 thousand NATO soldiers from various countries. Klemm has underscored the close friendship between Romania and the USA, their bilateral strategic partnership and alliance inside NATO.
COMEMORATION Belgium today commemorates a year since the tragic events at the Brussels airport and underground, when 32 people were killed and over 320 wounded, in what was described as the most severe attacks in the country’s recorded history. Four Romanians were killed in the attacks, including a minor. The attacks were claimed by the same cell of the Islamic State, which also masterminded the attacks in Paris in November 2015, which left 150 people dead. Belgium, France and Germany have in the past two years been the Jihadists’ target of choice.
MEETING Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has arrived in Washington to attend the ministerial meeting of the anti-ISIS coalition, an event hosted by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. According to sources with the Romanian Foreign Ministry the meeting’s main objective is to assess the progress made in stopping ISIS actions with emphasis on humanitarian assistance and measures aimed at stabilizing the conflict areas freed from ISIS occupation. By participating in this event, Romania has reiterated its commitment to meeting its assumed objectives and backing international efforts meant to fight terrorism and stabilize countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
JUSTICE PardoN is not a miracle-solution for Romania’s overcrowded penitentiaries, although the country runs the risk of being condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, Justice minister Tudorel Toader has said in a debate on democracy and justice in Romania before the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs with the European Parliament. Toader has also said that he has called on the Legislature in Bucharest to postpone the draft law on granting pardoning in some cases so that the government may take additional measures. Romanian MEPs and civil society representatives are also to speak before the committee. Toader will also meet Vera Jurova, the European commissioner for Justice, consumers and gender equality. High on the agenda are the future European Commission report on the progress made by Romania inside the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.
SUMMIT The governments of Romania and the neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian speaking country, are to meet on Thursday in Piatra Neamt north-eastern Romania, for a new common session. The two delegations headed by Prime Ministers Sorin Grindeanu and Pavel Filip respectively will be talking ways of developing bilateral cooperation, joint projects and new cooperation opportunities. Investment opportunities in the Republic of Moldova will also be tackled as well as cooperation in the fields of IT, finance, justice and home affairs. The relation between the two countries is a special one. There are common expectations and there is permanent interest from the two countries’ citizens. We’ll continue to support the European progress of the Republic of Moldova, Romania’s Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has said on behalf of the Romanian government. The talks with Grindeanu’s pro-Western counterpart come after last week the country’s president, Pro-Russian socialist Igor Dodon, reiterated in Moscow his intention to consider denouncing the country’s association and free-trade agreement with the EU and deepening the relations with the Eurasian Economic Union as well as the federalisation of the Republic of Moldova as a peace solution in the pro-Russia breakaway region of Transdniester.
LONDON ATTACK A car mounted the pavement and ploughed into pedestrians crossing the busy Westminster Bridge beside Londons Big Ben, killing a person and wounding several others. Then the driver entered the Parliament building and wounded a police officer. Parliament was placed on lockdown and the attacker was shot by armed police. Authorities say the attack is being treated as a ‘terrorist incident’.
