Three Seas Initiative Summit opening in Romania’s capital
The third edition of the Three Seas Initiative Summit opens in Romania’s capital Bucharest on Monday. Three Seas Initiative is a flexible political platform, at Presidential level, launched in 2015. The summit aims at boosting connectivity and facilitating real convergence among EU Member States, thereby contributing to enhanced EU unity, increased EU cohesion and coherence, further EU integration, as a basis for the re-launching of the European project. The Three Seas Initiative is also a regional contribution to the strengthening of the transatlantic link. ,,I believe in the Initiative’s potential, as it builds on the real need of the 12 participating states to reach the real convergence of their economies with the western part of the EU”, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told an audience. The two-day summit hosted by Romania will be organised on 17-18 September and it aims at marking important progress in linking the high level political investment of Heads of States to concrete deliverables. Therefore, the summit will aim at achieving concrete progress in multiplying transport, energy and digital interconnections. The Initiative includes the 12 EU Member States located between the Adriatic, the Baltic and the Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Romanian senators back to work
Romania’s Senate resumes its sessions on Monday. Today’s session is expected to discuss a report of the Senate Foreign Policy Committee following a hearing last week of the country’s ambassador to Washington D.C., George Maior. Senate Speaker Călin Popescu Tăriceanu criticised Mr. Maior at a meeting last week and told commissioners he would ask the country’s foreign minister to recall the ambassador back to Romania. Mr. Tăriceanu’s move came after George Maior criticised a letter from former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Mr. Giuliani, who is also US President Donald Trump’s attorney, sharply criticised in the letter what he called “excesses made in the name of ‘law enforcement’” by Romania’s National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA). George Maior’s response angered the Romanian Foreign Ministry, which said in a statement his words “does not represent the position” of the government. It said Mr. Maior was being recalled to Bucharest to discuss his remarks.On the other hand, the Romanian ambassador to Washington dismissed all allegations while Alina Gorghiu, Senator of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL), said the dispute was a „reckoning”.
Today’s session also includes a legal initiative known as The Day of Giving. Charitable donations of food, clothes or other products along with volunteer activities such as blood donations will encourage an unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others, the author of the initiative said.
Also on the agenda is the government’s „Invest In You” project, providing access to finance for teens between 16 and 26 year old.
First ASF outbreak in Romania’s southern county of Dâmboviţa
Romanian authorities are on high alert after a first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was discovered in the southern county of Dâmboviţa on Sunday. The ASF case was discovered in the village of Lucieni where a pig already died of ASF. A protection area was established some 10 km. around the village. A fire last Monday killed some 10,000 pigs at a farm in Tichileşti, a village in Romania’s eastern county of Brăila, a county already affected by ASF last month. Following yesterday events, the number of Romanian counties affected by ASF hit 13.
Former Romanian president honoured in South Korea
Former Romanian President Emil Constatinescu was honoured at this year’s edition of the Global Peace Summit în South Korea. The organisers awarded Mr. Constantinescu as a sign of recognition of his efforts in promoting peace around the world. Participants in the event also included a Romanian delegation of local officials of the central Transylvanian town of Târgu Mureş. Emil Constantinescu is a Romanian academic and politician who was president of Romania between 1996 – 2000 after becoming a founding member and vice-president of the Civic Alliance.
Alexandru Danga
