The Week in Review 20-27 September
A roundup of the week's main stories
România Internațional, 27.09.2014, 12:00
Prime Minister Victor Ponta delivers speech before the UN General Assembly
Romania rejects any kind of external pressure exerted over East European states and firmly supports Ukraine’s integrity and sovereignty, Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said in a speech delivered before the UN General Assembly convened in New York in its 69th plenary sitting. The aggressive actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine have a very strong impact over East European states, PM Ponta has pointed out. In his opinion, key to regional stability is regional cooperation and the promotion of the universal principles stipulated by the UN Charter. Romania has voiced its support for achieving international solidarity in order to be able to face the new terrorist threat. The proliferation of radical Islamic groups and the emergence of groups like the Islamic State that threaten to destabilize the whole Middle East is deeply worrying. That is why all countries must be united in their battle against terrorism, Prime Minister Ponta has concluded.
Romania’s Presidential Candidates
Tuesday at midnight was the deadline for the submission of candidacies at the Central Electoral Bureau for the presidential election due in November. 14 candidates will compete for the country’s presidential seat. The nearing elections will be quite different from the previous ones for a number of reasons. It is the first time when two women are running for president. One of them is Monica Macovei, currently a member of the European Parliament, who runs as an independent. The other one is Elena Udrea, the leader of the pro-presidential People’s Movement Party. A first is also the presence among the presidential candidates of a former intelligence service chief, Teodor Melescanu, who has just resigned his position. Prime Minister Victor Ponta, representing the Social Democratic Party, and Klaus Iohannis, the candidate of the centre-right opposition representing the Christian Liberal Alliance, have the highest chances to win the elections. The mayor of the central Romanian city of Sibiu, Iohannis is waiting for the verdict of the High Court of Cassation and Justice in a file in which he has been declared incompatible by the National Integrity Agency. Klaus Iohannis is holding two official seats simultaneously, one of Mayor and one of representative of the municipality in the board of two companies.
Romanian-Chinese cooperation
Romania wants to collaborate with China in the field of infrastructure projects. Among them is the construction of a high-speed railway connecting the capital city Bucharest to the northeastern city of Iasi and then to the border with the Republic of Moldova with the prospect of extending it towards Chisinau. The construction of a railway belt around Bucharest is also among the projects. After talks with the Chinese vice president Zhang Gaoli, who is paying an official visit to Romania, the Romanian Minister of Regional Development, deputy prime minister Liviu Dragnea, has said that a meeting between Romanian and Chinese experts is due in the first half of October. The two infrastructure projects might cost around 6 or 7 billion euros each.
Romania and the EU funds
As of next year farmers owning between 5 and 30 hectares of land will get higher subsidies, from both EU funds and the state budget, of 210 euros per hectare, Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin has announced. Minister Constantin has explained that the measure is aimed at encouraging the clustering of farmland, so as to allow people who own smaller plots of farmland to join efforts so as to get higher subsidies. As regards state support for cultivating Romanian varieties of vegetables, the Ministry of Agriculture has announced that more subsidies are pending the approval of the European Commission. Private projects for European funding will be processed based on the “first arrived- first served” algorithm, which will mark a premiere at European level, Romanian Minister for European Funds, Eugen Teodorovici has explained. According to Minister Teodorovici rules will be very strict and tough but also simple. The new rules are aimed at ensuring a better absorption of EU funds.
30 Romanian children saved from traffickers’ hands
Romanian policemen took part in an extensive operation coordinated by Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union. Europol announced that 1027 individuals were arrested as part of the largest ever coordinated operation against organised crime. Between 15 and 23 September, law enforcement authorities from 34 countries, coordinated and supported by Europol from its headquarters in The Hague, joined forces in Operation Archimedes. As many as 10 thousand immigrants were checked, over 1,000 traffickers arrested and hundreds of victims rescued, among whom 30 children from Romania. According to the Romanian General Police Inspectorate, checks were carried out in the area of the Henri Coanda International Airport in Bucharest and at several border checkpoints. Out of almost 100 people heard by prosecutors, 14 were seized on grounds of involvement in human trafficking. Romanian policemen confiscated over 4 kilograms of suspect pills and substances, as part of the same operation.
