February 19, 2014 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 19.02.2014, 12:00
STAND ON UKRAINE-Ukraine’s destabilisation is a serious issue not only for Romania, as the whole of Europe will be affected by it, Romania’s President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday. The president said that at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council due in Brussels on Thursday, Romania will agree with the imposition of individual sanctions on those responsible for the excessive use of force in Kiev. Basescu underlined it’s not time economic sanctions were imposed on that country which is facing an extremely difficult economic situation. President Basescu also announced that Romania can take over, in a first stage, 3,500 refugees from Ukraine and find them shelter. The Romanian head of state launched an appeal to Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, not to use excessive force and called on the opposition leaders not to mix their movement with the actions generated by extremist groups who have provoked the riot police.
UKRAINE–The Ukrainian security services on Wednesday announced they had launched a nation-wide “anti-terrorist” operation against extremist and radical groups which they hold responsible for the mounting violence, which took many lives in Kiev. A few hundred others got injured in violent clashes between the riot police and the protesters in downtown Kiev on Tuesday to Wednesday night. The OSCE has called on the Ukrainian authorities to ensure the journalists’ safety, after a journalist from a local newspaper was shot dead in Kiev. In the Western regions, pro-European demonstrators seized again the administrative buildings and captured weapons in a military unit. Pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych has accused the opposition of “getting out of line” hoping to take over power through street demonstrations. The UN has asked for an urgent and independent inquiry to be opened into the violent situation in Ukraine. Western chancelleries have made an appeal for calm and call on both sides to show restraint and refrain from using violence.
TRAVEL WARNING-The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced that, so far, the Romanian Embassy in Kiev has not received consular protection requests from the Romanian citizens in Ukraine. The Romanian Foreign Ministry recommends to Romanians going to Ukraine to avoid the protest areas. The Romanian Foreign Ministry insistently calls on Romanian citizens not to take part in the protests and not to go to Kiev because all means of transport are banned access to the city as from Wednesday at midnight.
POLITICAL ROW– Romanain Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Wednesday he will not step down if his partners in the ruling alliance, the National Liberals, withdraw from power. Ponta said he wants to preserve the ruling formula of the Social Liberal Union, the alliance which won the 2012 elections in Romania, but he considers that he has already made too many concessions to the Liberals, giving up, among others, on the idea that a member of the Conservative Party should hold a deputy prime minister office. In turn, Romanian Liberals reproach the Social-Democrats for trying to relinquish the current legitimate government made up of members of the Social Liberal Union. Liberal leader, Crin Antonescu, on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Victor Ponta is trying to build, alongside the other parties in the ruling alliance, the Conservative Party and the National Union for the Progress of Romania, a government made up of members of the newly created Social Democratic Union, set up by the three parties. Antonescu recalled that the Liberals condition their further participation in the government by the nomination of new interior, economy, finance and health ministers and of a deputy prime minister, offices they are entitled to, according to the political algorithm. They also want that the Social-Democratic Union be urgently dismantled. Against the backdrop of the Liberals’ refusal to nominate interim ministers, Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his party colleague Constantin Nita, the minister delegate for energy, have temporarily taken over the finance and economy portfolios, respectively. The government crisis is Romania has been lasting for nearly two weeks now.
ECONOMY-Political instability in Romania limits the effects of the efforts that have been made in recent years, by both the authorities and the population, to create a stable macro-economic environment and renders more difficult the attraction of foreign investors, the Secretary General of the Coalition for Romania’s Development, Steven van Groningen, has said. Some of the priorities promoted by the coalition, whose members contribute 50-60% of Romania’s GDP, include the non-introduction of new taxes in 2014, assuring the stability and predictability of the investment environment by publishing any change brought to the fiscal legislation at least 6 months before it takes effect. The Coalition for Romania’s Development brings together 20 business associations, among which four of the most important investors’ organisations in Romania.
THE INSURANCE MARKET-The largest insurance firm on the Romanian market, Astra has been placed under special administration. The measure has been taken by the Financial Surveillance Authority after irregularities were discovered through verification. Astra’s owner, Dan Adamescu said that the Authority’s decision was unacceptable and he would take legal action to have it cancelled.
MOSCOW-Russia will soon introduce visas for all members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, including the ex-Soviet Republic of Moldova, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak has announced. He has made it clear that Moscow thus wants to defend itself from interethnic conflicts. The measure is taken against the backdrop of Chisinau’s signing the Association Agreement with the EU this year. In a few months, the Republic of Moldova will get a visa waiver in the EU. On January 1st, Russia decided to limit the stay of immigrants who do not have labour patents or permits to 90 days, for six months. According to the media, the restrictions enforced by Russia might affect over 200,000 Moldovan citizens working in Russia.
SPORT-Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea, 27th WTA, has qualified to the quarter finals of the Dubai tournament, with 2 million dollar prize money. She defeated Italian Sara Errani and is due to meet Canadian Caroline Wozniacki. .
