Co-operation deal between Radio France and Radio Romania
French public radio company Radio France and its Romanian counterpart Radio Romania (Romanian Broadcasting Corporation – SRR) have signed a four-year co-operation agreement on Tuesday. A signing ceremony was organised in the French capital between Radio France president Sibyle Veil and her Romanian counterpart, SRR’s president Georgică Severin.
„It is the result of a two-year effort designed to further strengthen lasting relations between France and Romania”, Ms. Veil told Radio Romania. „I am glad this partership starts along with France and Romania cultural season”. „Now, when Romania celebrated its 100th anniversary, we just started the French-Romanian cultural season. Radio Romania is making evrey effort in order to promote the French language and culture in Romania”, Georgică Severin pointed out. „We should not forget the French programmes of our Radio Romania International channel”, he added. Mr. Severin told Radio Romania that similar co-operation agreements were soon expected between Radio Romania and the Italian RAI and UK’s BBC.
Romania’s government to present its agenda as future president of EU Council
Romanian Prime Minister Vioroca Dăncilă is in Brussels where she is expected to present her government’s agenda on Wednesday at a time when Romania is preparing to become president of the EU Council on January 1 with „Cohesion, a shared European value” expected to be the country’s motto for its six-month EU presidency. Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici already took over on Tuesday the ECOFIN prresidency from his Austrian counterpart. „The Romanian Finance Minister will chair meetings of the Council for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Union during Janyary – June 2019”, according to a statement released by the ministry. However, the event comes after ECOFIN ministers also adopted the Commission’s recommendations for the next steps under the Significant Deviation Procedure for Hungary and Romania as both countries are recommended to do additional efforts to put their budget trajectories back on track. „Romania takes over the presidency of the EU Council in 2019 – a very honourable and demanding position, especially for the government – but we’re not prepared for it,” the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis, said at a meeting of local mayors in the capital Bucharest on November 12. At the same time, the leader of Romania’s left-wing governing Social Democratic Party (PSD), strong man Liviu Dragnea, reacted angrily and said the government was ready to manage the presidency of the EU Council. „Do not be fooled by the lies of Iohannis”, Mr. Dragnea pointed out.
Rising tensions in Romanian parliament’s lower house
A meeting of MPs in Romanian parliament’s lower house was marked by high tensions on Wednesday after the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) called for the removal of house speaker Liviu Dragnea, also leader of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD). PNL MPs accuse Mr. Dragnea of violating house rules and the constitution. The Liberals also called for the removal of Florin Iordache, the house deputy speaker and a former justice minister as he was illegaly presiding the session. The call was also supported by MPs of the Save Romania Union (USR) and Peoples’ Movement Party (PMP), junior opposition parties.
Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru Prunariu receives Doctor Honoris Causa title
Romania’s first ever cosmonaut Dumitru Dorin Prunariu was awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa title of the Titu Maiorescu University in the capital Bucharest on Wednesday. The event comes after Mr. Prunariu received a similar award at the University in the Romanian southern town of Craiova in November. A graduate of the Bucharest Politechnic University, Mr. Prunariu was selected for spaceflight training in 1978 as part of Russia’s Intercosmos programme. It was only in 1981 when he completed the mission along with Russian cosmonaut Leonid Popov. He joined the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) in 1985. „Twenty years after Gagarin’s spaceflight, I was fortunate enough to have had the chance to become the 103rd explorer of outer space, to subsequently take part in the foundation of ASE and to now lead its European branch. So, let us celebrate Gagarin, let us celebrate the 50th anniversary of a HUMAN BEING reaching outer space”. Mr. Prunariu told reporters of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Alexandru Danga
