Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen bid vetoed

euobserver.com
22.09.11 @ 17:44

BY VALENTINA POP

The Netherlands and Finland on Thursday (22 September) vetoed Romania and Bulgaria's bid to join the border-free Schengen area, a move the Polish EU presidency said represented a "sad conclusion about mutual trust among member states...more...
read more: eu observer.com
http://euobserver.com/22/113707

Fins Weigh In On Bulgaria-Romania Schengen

balkan insight
21 SEP 2011 / 09:18

Finland will follow the Netherlands' examples and veto Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession, Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi has revealed after meeting his Dutch and Finnish counterparts, according to Sofia News Agency.

Novinite (Sofia News Agency)

"However, we need consensus and we need a positive vote on behalf of all EU member states," Baconschi has declared after he met his colleagues at the UN General Assembly in New York....more...
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/finland-weighs-in-on-bulgaria-romania-schengen-entry

Romania's motorway blues

radio free europe
Romanian roads
Aug 16th 2011, 12:09 by V.P.

BUCHAREST
IF YOU want to discover Romania, don't drive, rent a helicopter. Such was the advice Traian Băsescu, the country's president, had for potential investors from the Gulf, back in March. "I've never discovered Romania the way I did from a helicopter," said Mr Băsescu, admitting that the country's transport infrastructure is badly underdeveloped.

It is certainly a sorry picture. Most of Romania's 300-odd kilometres of highway were built during the communist era, and are showing their age. The roads connecting Bucharest, the capital, with other cities are chronically clogged. Trains chug along at no more than 50-60km an hour, slower than when the railways were constructed. The Danube stuns the few cruise-ship tourists with its underexploited vastness....more...
read more: radio free europe
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2011/08/romanian-roads

E.U. Warns Bulgaria and Romania on Reforms

ny times
By STEPHEN CASTLE

Published: July 20, 2011
BRUSSELS — Bulgaria on Wednesday was warned of serious deficiencies in its judicial system, urged to get more convictions from its fight against organized crime and told that its battle against corruption had yet to lead to convincing results.
The warning, in a formal assessment from the European Commission, highlighted continuing worries about law and order in Bulgaria andRomania, four years after they joined the bloc....more...
read more: ny times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/21/world/europe/21iht-union21.html?ref=europe

Fake Slurs Fuel Albania-Romania Tensions

balkan insight
13 JUL 2011 / 14:57

Fabricated anti-Albanian diatribe attributed to Romania's President creates tension between Bucharest and Tirana.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest

Romania has voiced discontent over Albania's decision to summon its ambassador to Tirana for questioning, following Albanian media reports that wrongly attributed offensive statements about Albanians to President Traian Basescu....more....
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-albania-dispute-following-media-faked-reports

Romanian Plan to Wall Off Roma Stirs Protests

balkan insight
01 JUL 2011 / 10:48

Civic organisations are protesting against plans of authorities in Baia Mare to erect a wall around a Roma neighbourhood to keep down crime.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest
Local authorities in Baia Mare, in northwest Romania, have stirred protests by deciding to erect a concrete wall around a block where a large number of Roma/Gypsy people is living, in order to "stop so many crimes from happening" in the area....more...
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/protests-over-romania-s-mayor-plan-against-gypsy

Romanian MEP under investigation

se times
30/06/2011

Social Democrat Adrian Severin faces a corruption probe following a vote by the European Parliament.
By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest -- 30/06/11
The European Parliament (EP) voted last week to lift the immunity of Romanian Social-Democrat lawmaker Adrian Severin and refer him to a corruption inquiry in Romania for his involvement in what is known as the "money for lobby" scandal.

The vote came after a recommendation by EP rapporteur Francesco Enrico Speroni, whose report was approved by the Juridical Affairs Committee on June 23rd....more...
read more: se times
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/06/30/feature-02

Romanian Hungarians Snub Plan For Eight Regions

balkan insight
27 JUN 2011 / 08:09

Coalition in Romania may break up as ethnic Hungarians reject government's plan for regional re-organization.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest
“The administrative reorganization [of Romania] has to be done carefully and not accordingly to the plans proposed by the President and Prime Minister." So said Kelemen Hunor, president of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians from Romania, UDMR, on Saturday. “If there is no need for us to stay in the ruling coalition we should leave it, that is no problem,” he added....more....
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/hungarians-oppose-romania-s-administrative-organization-plan

Re-organisation plan divides Romanians

se times
25/06/2011

Bloggers scrutinize a government initiative that would reshape the administrative map.
By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest – 25/06/2011
A government territorial re-organisation initiative aiming to turn Romania's 41 counties into eight administrative regions has trigged a heated debate.

Proponents argue the move will reduce excessive bureaucracy and facilitate greater absorption of EU funds, as well as dismantling long-established "clientele networks" in the counties....more....
read more: se times
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/blogreview/2011/06/25/blog-03

Romania To Axe Railways to Save Money

balkan insight
24 JUN 2011 / 09:11

Tenth of the network is to be closed or leased out in order to close budget holes.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest
A sharp fall in the number of people traveling by train and lack of money to improve the lines are among the main reasons behind Romania’s decision to lease out or close over 10 per cent of its railway network....more...
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-to-close-10-per-cent-of-its-railways

Europe to Rule on Suspect Romanian MEP

balkan insight
23 JUN 2011 / 10:32

A decision to remove the parliamentary immunity of Adrian Severin, the Romanian MEP suspected of corruption, will help Bucharest’s drive to fight against graft at home, analysts say.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest
The European Parliament was expected to vote on Thursday to lift Adrian Severin’s immunity following media claims that he offered to propose legislation in exchange for cash. The decision is anxiously waited by Romanian anti-corruption activists....more...

read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/european-parliament-to-decide-over-romanian-mep-immunity

Romania's Parliament Shines Light For Refugees

balkan insight
21 JUN 2011 / 09:37

As Romania's parliament symbolically acknowledges the plight of refugees, activists note its policies towards newcomers leave much to be desired.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest
The second largest building in the world, home to Romania's Parliament, was lit up in blue during the night of June 20 to raise awareness about the poor situation of around 10 million refugees across the world. Blue is the colour commonly associated with the United Nations....more....
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bucharest-still-needs-to-improve-standards-for-migrants

Romania Puts up Gas Price For Industry

balkan insight
20 JUN 2011 / 09:31

Bucharest has taken first steps towards deregulating the gas market, as agreed with the International Monetary Fund, by freeing up prices for industrial consumers.


Marian Chiriac Bucharest

Bucharest is to announce a nine-month freeze on gas prices for household consumers, while the price for industry will go up by 30 per cent, the government said last week....more....
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-to-freeze-gas-prices-for-household-consumers

Romania still fumes at Szekler office opening in Brussels

se times

14/06/2011

Bucharest asks the EU not to accredit or recognise the new mission.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest -- 14/06/11

Reactions in Romania do not seem to be subsiding after the June 1st opening of a Szekler Land representatives' office in Brussels. The move was taken at the initiative of three Romanian EU parliamentarians of ethnic Hungarian origin....more..

read more: se times 
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/06/14/feature-04

EU Blocks Bulgaria, Romania Schengen Entry

balkan insight
09 Jun 2011/ 17:11
EU Interior Ministers decided on Thursday to keep Schengen hopefuls Bulgaria and Romania out of Europe's borderfree zone, a day after the Eropean Parliament approved their bid
Novinite (Sofia Press Agency)

In a move effectively determined by opposition from the Netherlands, the European Union decided to keep the two youngest EU members out of the Schengen zone, even though they have met all technical requirements.....more....

read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/eu-gives-bulgaria-romania-cold-shoulder-on-schengen

Romania Plans Administrative Reorganisation

balkan insight
09 JUN 2011 / 08:06

The government in Bucharest is set to discuss a draft law aimed at restructuring the country’s administrative organisation.

Marian Chiriac Bucharest


The draft law, which the center-right government debated at the first reading on Wednesday, would dissolve the current 41 counties and define instead eight regions based on common historical and economic characteristics.....more....
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-plans-administrative-reorganisation

Romania to Start Mulling Constitutional Changes

balkan insight
03 Jun 2011 / 08:14

Opposition say they will oppose President Traian Basescu's draft bill, revising the constitution, as it gives the head of state too much power.

Marian Chiriac

Bucharest

“There is a clear need to change the Constitution, but the best way to do it is seen differently by different groups. That’s why I'm putting forward a draft, which I hope will be discussed by parliament by the end of this month,” President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday.

The draft proposes scrapping the Senate, creating a single-chamber parliament and cutting the number of deputies from 471 to 300....more...

read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bucharest-to-start-debate-over-changing-the-constitution

Romania Invests in Tourism Promotion Campaign

balkan insight
02 Jun 2011 / 09:20

Romania aims to improve its image as a tourist destination through a 5 million euro promotional campaign.
Marian Chiriac
Bucharest

Starting this month, Romania’s Tourism Ministry is to promote the country’s tourism with commercials on CNN, Euronews and Eurosport TV channels, which will be aired over the next 12 months....more...

read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/romania-starts-international-tourism-promotion-campaign

Greek OTE Drops Plans to Buy Stake in Romania Telecom

balkan insight
31 May 2011 / 08:57

The crisis in Greece has deprives Romania of some Euro 1  billion after a sale of telecom shares fails

Marian Chiriac

Bucharest

Cash-strapped Romania was dealt an unexpected blow after Greek group OTE decided not to buy the 46 per cent share the government holds in Romanian telecoms monopoly Romtelecom....more....

read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/greek-ote-not-buying-stake-in-romanian-telecom-company

Romanian Hungarians Plan Own Office in Brussels

balkan insight
30 May 2011 / 07:24

Plan by ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania to open a representative office in Brussels angers Romanian politicians.

Marian ChiriacBucharest
Three ethnic Hungarian members of the European Parliament from Romania have annoyed Romanian officials by announcing plans to open a representative office for the mainly Hungarian Szekler region in Brussels on June 1....more....
read more: balkan insight
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/disputes-over-romanian-hungarians-planned-representation-at-eu