June 2, 2018 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 02.06.2018, 19:18

MUNICH The Romanians strongly believe
in the European project, in its ability to ensure democracy and prosperity for
the citizens of Europe, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said in Munich on
Saturday. President Iohannis was given the ‘Franz Josef
Strauss 2018’ award from the prestigious foundation ‘Hanns Seidel’. The
president has been awarded the prize for having promoted in a constructive and
visionary way along his entire political career the democratic values of a
united society and trust in the European project. The ‘Franz Josef Strauss’
prize has been awarded since 1996 and among its recipients there are the former
German chancellor Helmut Kohl, the former US president George H. W. Bush and
the incumbent president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. On
Friday, the Romanian president presented Barbara Stamm, president of the
Landtag of Bavaria, with the national order Star of Romania in rank of
commander for her attachment to Romania, where she paid over 100 visits.

DRILL Until June 17th,
30 Romanian marines and two staff officers are participating in the
multinational drill BALTOPS 18, one of the biggest joint drills in northern
Europe. The maneuvers are to be held in Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the
international waters of the Baltic Sea. BALTOPS 18 is an annual drill staged
and funded by the United States European Command (EUCOM). The participation of
the Romanian troops in these maneuvers significantly increase their training
level at the same time boosting the image of Romania and its naval forces in
terms of cooperation with NATO structures, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian
Navy has pointed out.

SUMMIT South Korea has
hailed the announcement made by US president Donald Trump regarding the
upcoming summit with the north-Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The United States had
cancelled the meeting last week but after a couple of days, the US president
announced he would meet the north Korean leader on June 12th for
talks over a peaceful solution to North Korea’s nuclear programme. He added
that also high on the agenda are talks over the official end of the Korean war.
The statement came after a round of talks president Trump had had at the White
House with general Kim Yong Chol, who is considered Kim Jon Un’s right hand.

CONFERENCE The security situation at the Black Sea has not climbed at a very
high level, but there are potential issues, George Friedman, one of the most
reputed US analysts, told an international conference on security at the Black
Sea, which was hosted by Sibiu, in central Romania. According to Friedman,
Romania should firstly enhance its own military response capacities in this
area, develop its own fleet, alongside the naval and air response
capacities. The conference in Sibiu for two days brought together over 60 experts in the field of security and defence, diplomats, analysts
in geopolitics from the USA, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova
and Romania. In a message to the participants, Romanian president Klaus
Iohannis has underlined that the Black Sea region has a special relevance in
the construction of the European and Euro-Atlantic security.

(translated by bill)