April 14, 2018 UPDATE

President Klaus Iohannis says Romania condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria and expresses solidarity with the actions taken by its strategic partners/ The Romanian women's handball team SCM Craiova qualifies for the EHF Cup finals

Newsroom, 14.04.2018, 19:35

SYRIA– President Klaus Iohannis said on Saturday in a message he posted on Twitter that Romania further condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria and expresses solidarity with the actions taken by its strategic partners. The Romanian Foreign Ministry also firmly condemns the use of chemical weapons in any circumstances, as the carrying out of such actions is totally unjustifiable and pleads for bringing to justice all those proven guilty of perpetrating such an act, following an investigation.The statements are made after the US, the UK and France on Sunday night launched the most massive attack against Syrian targets since the start of the civil war, in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the regime in Damascus against its own citizens. US President Donald Trump has confirmed overnight precision strikes had been launched against targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of the Syrian government. British PM Theresa May has said it is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties, whereas the French President, Emmanuel Macron, said the Syrian actions were a threat to collective security. Russia, which supports the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, has deplored the attack on a sovereign state but it made clear that its military facilities in Syria have not been affected by the air strikes. On the ground, also on Saturday, the security forces of the Syrian regime entered the town of Douma, the last fiefdom of the rebels in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus. A week ago, the town was the target of an alleged chemical attack, which left over 40 people dead. The Syrian regime has denied any responsibility

EC – The European Commission has never intervened in the trials unfolding in Romanian courts-says the EC President, Jean Claude Juncker. Thus, he answered the letter he received last month from the Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă, in which she called for clarifications from the EC about a notification sent in 2012 to the then justice minister, regarding certain files. Juncker underlined the information requested six years ago was meant to help prepare the technical mission of November 2012, without Brussels requesting information related to the cases proper. He recalls that the CVM of the Romanian justice system included from the very beginning cooperation between the EC and the Bucharest authorities.

STEEL MARKET – The ArcelorMittal has confirmed it might sell the Steelworks in Galati, south-eastern Romania. Alongside five other works in Italy, Macedonia, the Czech Republic, Luxemburg and Belgium, the steelworks in Galaţi is on a list that the group has forwarded to the EC. Until May 23, European experts will analyse whether the selling of the six steel works manages or not to redress the steel output of the ArcelorMittal group, as ArcelorMittal is interested in buying the largest steelworks in Europe, located in Ilva, Italy. The EC says that by purchasing the Italian steelworks, ArcelorMittal will hold a dominant position on the continental steel market, a situation which might be redressed only by selling other steelworks the group owns in Europe. Arcelor Mittal is a multinational company, considered to be the largest steel producer in the world, with 310,000 employees in 60 countries. Disquieted by the arrival of another investor, which might resort to restructuring, the trade unions on the Galati steelworks platform, with a total number of some 7,000 workers, have stated their intention to discuss the situation with PM Viorica Dăncilă.

MADRID – The minister for the Romanians Worldwide, Natalia Intotero, is currently on a visit to Spain, where she is having talks with representatives of the central and local authorities, of the Romanian associations and religious denominations. The number of Romanian residents in Spain exceeded one million, according to official data made public at the end of 2017 by the Spanish Permanent Immigration Observer. An increase of 2.4% was registered, as compared to 2016.

APPOINTMENT – Israeli doctor Zvi Herman Berkowits has been appointed honorary counsellor of Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette. He will not receive money for his activity. Berkowits is Romania’s honorary consul in Israel and the personal physician of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was born in Târgu-Lăpuş, Maramureş (north-western Romania), in 1947 and graduated from the Medical School in Cluj-Napoca, central Romania. He is a specialist paediatrician and leads his own general and paediatric medicine clinic in Jerusalem.

SPORTS- The Romanian women’s handball team SCM Craiova
(in the south) on Saturday qualified for the EHF Cup finals, after ending in an
18- draw the decisive match against the Turkish team of Kastamonu, on home
turf. The Romanians had won the first match, played away from home,
23-22. This will be the first finals to be played in the city of
Craiova, by the local team, during its second participation in the European
cups. The Romanian team will meet Norway’s Vipers
Kristiansand. On Sunday in the Champions League, the
Romanian champion, CSM Bucureşti, plays away from home, the round match in the
quarter-finals, with the French team of Metz.In the first round played in
Bucharest, CSM secured a clear victory, 34-21. The Romanian handballers won the
Champions League in2016. (Translated and updated by D. Vijeu)