Politics
Romanian MP in custody and facing a five-year jail term for corruption and money laundring
The local police have taken Romanian MP Virgil Pop into custody. He will serve jail time for corruption and be the first acting MP sent to jail while in public office. Pop, a former Cluj country counselor, suspended himself from the National Liberal Party (PNL). The Police took him into custody on Tuesday (March 27 [...]
Romanian president, among 52 state leaders at Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul
Romanian president Traian Basescu, who is currently attending the ongoing Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, said all countries have the obligation to improve the safety of nuclear equipment they own and convince citizens that they don’t pose any risks. Romania is one of the 15 EU states invited to the summit, and one of the [...]
Former UK PM Tony Blair: Countries like Romania teach the world about freedom
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (in picture, left), who attended a conference in Bucharest on Monday (March 26 ), said countries like Romania teach the world what freedom means, but also, that Romania’s problems are also known to the entire world. Blair mentioned the infrastructure issues and the bickering that dominates political debate. Romania [...]
Anti-Corruption prosecutors demand compulsory jail time for former PM Nastase and his wife
Romania’s Anti-Corruption prosecutors (DNA) have asked the Supreme Court to hand down mandatory jail time to former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and his wife Dana Nastase in the Zambaccian case file, where the two are accused of corruption. The sentence would not allow the two to benefit from any potential suspended sentence. The former PM [...]
Romanian President: I’m not offended by comments about my looks
Romanian President Traian Basescu recently said, during a TV show, that he has never been offended by the comments related to his physical appearance. “Why should I feel offended? This type of attack doesn’t bother me,” said the Romanian President. He explained that he has a “congenital paresis” to his left eye, a broken muscle [...]
Barosso: Fair to give Romania Schengen member status, but ‘painfully low’ EU funds absorption rate
The President of the European Commission (EC), Jose Manuel Barosso has recently said, after a meeting in Brussels with the Romanian Prime Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu, that Romania’s current absorption rate of structural funds of 7.8 percent is ‘painfully low’. In the same meeting, he said Romania can count on the European Commission for a final [...]
Cost of local elections in Romania this year, one third higher than in 2008
Local elections will require a EUR 23 million budget this year in Romania, one third higher than in 2008, according to Mediafax newswire. Authorities will organize local elections on June 10 this year. Candidates have until May 1 to register and election campaigns will start on May 11. Last year, Emil Boc’s pre-protest Government assumed [...]
Local elections set for June 10 this year in Romania
Romania will organize local elections on June 10 this year, according to Mediafax, quoting official sources. Last year, Emil Boc’s pre-protest Government, assumed responsibility in the Parliament for organizing joint local and Parliamentary elections. The country’s Constitutional Court however ruled that joint elections would be unlawful. The then Government said joint elections would save the [...]
Hungarian minority party and Romanian PM agree on Hungarian language section at local university
The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) and Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu agreed on a Government decision to set up a Hungarian language section at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Targu Mures. The decision should be approved by the Government on Tuesday (March 13) and on public debate for ten [...]
Romanian president: Presidency brought the biggest humiliation in my life
Romanian president Traian Basescu will withdraw from politics after ending his current president mandate and would not consider a role in any future Government, he said during a TV show on Sunday morning. “Being a president brought the biggest humiliations of my life. What happened from 2007, the daily insults have humiliated me. I have [...]
Romanian president booed during speech in Parliament
Romanian president Traian Basescu was booed during his speech in the Romanian Parliament on Wednesday ( March 7 ), by a group of protesters on the Parliament’s balcony. The protesters threw over 200 pieces of paper with signatures, demanding Basescu’s resignation and the reinstatement of the monarchy. Around ten people, who call themselves protesters from [...]
Romanian president asks ruling coalition to restore public sector salaries by June 1
Romania will have to find solutions to increase salaries of state employees by June 1, after the austerity measures taken in 2010 prevented Romania suffering the same fate as Greece, said Romanian president Traian Basescu during his speech in the Parliament earlier today (March 7). Some of the cuts in public sector salaries were reversed [...]
Chevron meets Romanian PM to talk about drilling for shale gas
Romanian prime minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu met representatives of oil and gas company Chevron in Bucharest yesterday (March 6) to discuss a potential start of drilling for unconventional gas in Romania. Chevron, the second largest oil and gas company in the US, has been recently canceled a license for exploring shale gas in neighboring Bulgaria [...]
Romanian president visits ExxonMobil’s ‘Star Trek’ – like drilling ship in Black Sea
Romanian president Traian Basescu will visit the ExxonMobil’s Deepwater Champion – the ship drilling for oil and gas in the Neptune block of the Black Sea. Invited by ExxonMobil and Petrom, which have discovered 84 billion cubic meters of gas in the Black Sea, Basescu will step onboard on Monday ( March 5 ), after [...]
Romania and Republic of Moldova join forces to support Black Sea ring highway
Romania and the Republic of Moldova have agreed to promote and support a route of the future Black Sea ring-highway that would include capitals Bucharest and Chisinau, respectively. Romanian Transport Minister Alexandru Nazare and his Moldavian counterpart Anatol Selaru signed last week a joint letter to the Technical Secretary of the Black Sea ring-road, to [...]
Romania signs EU Fiscal Governance Agreement
Romania signed the Fiscal Governance Agreement earlier today ( March 2 ) in Brussels, where president Traian Basescu is attending the EU summit. According to the agreement, the deficit of countries that join the treaty will have to stay below 3 percent of the GDP and each country will have to create a correction mechanism [...]
Romania and Serbia reach agreement on minority issue, allowing EU to approve Serbia’s candidacy
Romania and Serbia have worked out their ‘vlah’ minority differences which had initially led to Romania blocking Serbia’s candidacy to the EU. All EU member states voted for allowing Serbia to prepare for joining the European Union. The two countries signed a protocol about minorities on Thursday in Brussels, where EU member states representatives met [...]
Romania’s Schengen entry decision further pushed to autumn
EU leaders decided to further delay a decision about Romania’s entry into the Schengen area until September this year, according to AFP. The Netherlands continued to oppose Romania joining the passport free zone, but the EU will help Romania and Bulgaria identify the measures which should be taken to allow Schengen entry in the fall. [...]
Romania blocks Serbia’s EU accession on minority issues, media suggest retaliation over Schengen
Romania has blocked the decision on Serbia’s EU accession during the European Affairs Ministers’ meeting, demanding guarantees for the Romanian ‘vlahi’ minority’s rights in Serbia. Romania’s opposition to Serbia becoming an EU candidate came as a surprise. The country’s decision to block Serbia’s accession to the EU could be a ‘tit for tat’ retaliation against the [...]
Romanian Government approves signing the EU Fiscal Governance Agreement
The Romanian Government recently approved the signing of the EU Fiscal Governance Agreement by Romania, according to Mediafax newswire. The document will also have to be signed by the country’s President Traian Basescu. About a week ago, the governing coalition parties in Romania signed a protocol to support accession to the EU Fiscal Governance Agreement. [...]
Lebanese investments in Romania reach EUR 2 bln, country ready to donate ammunition to Lebanese army
Fraternal rhetoric ruled when Romanian President Traian Basescu welcomed his Lebanese counterpart President Michel Sleiman (in picture, left) to Bucharest today ( February 28 ). Basescu promised military equipment and training for Lebanon and named the country as the top Arab investor in Romania, pointing out that Lebanese business people have invested over EUR 2 [...]
Romania’s new Cabinet will stand by commitments to IMF and EC, says new PM
Romania’s new Government will continue former Cabinet’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission (EC), the Romanian Prime Minister, Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, told officials from the two financial institutions today (February 22). The Prime Minister also introduced the new Finance (Bogdan Dragoi), Economy (Lucian Bode), Transport (Alexandru Nazare) and Justice (Catalin [...]
Romanian Government plans to liberalize notary tariffs
The Romanian Government recently adopted a memorandum for a pilot project that aims to liberalize tariffs on public notaries, and to foster stronger competition between notary offices, according to the Minister of Justice, Catalin Predoiu (in picture). Up until March 6 the Ministry of Justice will identify the notarial papers and proceedings subject to the [...]
Reuters suggests new Romanian PM is following the “Putin Plan”
A recent Reuters article by Romanian writer Radu Marinas compares President Basescu’s backing of new PM Ungureanu with former Russian President Boris Yeltsin backing Vladimir Putin and tips Ungureanu as a likely presidential candidate. Calling the move the “Putin Plan,” Marinas points out the similarities. “The president of a former communist country in economic turmoil [...]
New Romanian PM asks IMF mission chief back to Bucharest soon after previous visit
Romanian Prime Minister Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu ( in picture) invited the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Romania, Jeffrey Franks, and Istvan Székely, the director for Romania with the European Commission, to a meeting in Bucharest between February 21 and 22, to talk about ‘current economic issues’. The invitation comes soon after Franks [...]
Romania strikes gold, silver and bronze at European Gymnastics Championship, wins title after four years 
‘Magic mentalist’ wins ‘Romania’s got talent’ competition after flat-lining during live show 
Three trams collide, derail in Bucharest accident, at least 86 injured 
‘The Avengers’ epic movie almost covers production costs with first week-end box office revenues 
Athletic Bilbao files official complaint over Bucharest airport delays after Europa League final 
Wajiha Haris, Scheherazade Foundation president: “No” is never an option 
Romania’s Education Minister accused of having plagiarized three international research papers 
German STEAG buys wind farm from Romanian Monsson, plans EUR 200 mln investments 
Romanian actor Serban Ionescu left bed bound after catching Lyme’s disease from tick bite 
S Immo to put EUR 66 mln into The Mark – Bucharest office building with intelligent facade
