July 29, UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 29.07.2014, 12:12
The Romanian Social Democrat PM, Victor Ponta, on Tuesday officially announced he would be running for president in the November presidential election. In his electoral program, Ponta intends to pay increased attention to strengthening and consolidating the strategic partnership with the US, increasing the budget of the Interior Ministry, complying with the commitments Romania made in the theaters of operations in Afghanistan, and ensuring the national security and supporting the Republic of Moldova. Most probably the PM will compete with the president of the National Liberal Party, Klaus Iohannis, in the second round of voting. Other people who announced their intention to run for president are Kelemen Hunor, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Cristian Diaconescu, former foreign and justice minister, representing the pro presidential People’s Movement Party.
Ethnic Romanians in western Ukraine threaten to block again the roads around Cernauti and continue protests until they receive written guarantees they will not be sent to fight against the pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. They first took to the streets last week after hundreds of ethnic Romanians in the region, both young men and women with medical background, received conscription orders. The foreign ministry in Bucharest says it is keeping a close eye on the situation, which is of great concern for public opinion in Romania. The Romanian side believes conscription should not be selective and discriminatory on ethnic grounds. Numbering around half a million people, the Romanian community in neighbouring Ukraine is concentrated in the western part of the country, in the territory annexed by the former USSR in 1940 which was later taken over by Ukraine in 1991 as a successor state.
The Ukrainian forces carrying out an anti-terrorist operation against the separatists in eastern Ukraine continue to gain ground. On Tuesday morning, the government troops said they took over control of strategic positions near the site of the plane crash of July 17th, when 298 people were killed. An ongoing investigation into the incident confirmed that this was the result of the plane’s decompression after being hit by a missile. According to a United Nations report, more than 1,000 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine in recent months, while 800 have been abducted, detained, tortured or executed by the separatists in an attempt to intimidate the local population. Other 100,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in the conflict area.
The European Commission has proposed the doubling of the quota for Moldovan duty-free exports of apples, plums and grapes to the European Union, according to the EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development, Dacian Ciolos. He says this proves the Union’s solidarity with Moldovan producers, who requested help to compensate for the losses caused by Russia’s ban on imports of fruit and vegetable from Moldova. The European Commission also announced the annual aid package for the Republic of Moldova, worth 101 million euros. This is the 1st financial assistance package part of the cooperation program between the EU and the Republic of Moldova for the period 2014- 2017.
The EU ambassadors on Tuesday reached an agreement regarding the enforcement of economic sanctions against Russia. The sanctions aim the oil, defense and sensitive technologies industries, Reuters, DPA and AFP report. The sanctions will be revised in 3 months’ time, a diplomat has pointed out. At the end of last week the EU extended the list of Russian and Ukrainian people and entities who had their accounts frozen and were banned entry into the community space.
Romania has improved its legal framework and its ability to freeze and seize illegal assets, according to a Council of Europe report published in Strasbourg. The document also writes that the number of investigations, indictments and convictions for money laundering activities has increased in Romania in recent years. The report points out, however, that the competent authorities should be more efficient in their financial inquiries and the investigation of the criminal activities generating illegal profits. Romania’s underground economy is estimated at 30% of the GDP per year, which accounts for 40 billion euros worth of losses. Experts say the situation is made worse by the fact that Romania lies on the EU’s eastern border and has land, river and sea borders with three non-EU states — Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia.
Romania has won a gold medal and 3 silver medals at the 46th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad that unfolded between July 20th and 29th in Hanoi, Vietnam. This is the best result at team level, the National Education Ministry reports. Maria Andreea Filip, a student with the International IT High School in Bucharest won the gold medal after she won silver in the previous 2 editions of the Olympiad. Dumitru Călugăru, a student with the “Tudor Vladimirescu” National College in Targu Jiu won silver like in 2013. the other winners of silver medals are Vlad Mihai Mandric and Bogdan Ştefan Ivan students of the “Saint Sava” National college and “Tudor Vianu” IT National College in Bucharest. 201 students from 77 countries participated in this year’s competition held in Vietnam.
Romanians on Tuesday marked the National Anthem Day by various ceremonies, including military ones, organized in several towns across the country. The National Anthem Day, celebrated each year on July 29th, was proclaimed in 1998. The current anthem, considered a national symbol, is called “Awaken Thee, Romanian!” and it was chosen a national anthem after the December 1989 events in Romania and subsequently acknowledged by the 1991 Constitution.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry informs the Romanian citizens who are in West Africa or intend to travel there about the risk of getting infected with the Ebola virus. The biggest number of cases was reported in Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Sierra Leone, which were confirmed by lab tests and also in Mali, where there is no lab confirmation of the virus presence as yet. So far no efficient vaccine or treatment has been found to fight the virus.
