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| THE WEEK IN REVIEW 17-23/03/3008 |
| (2008-03-21) |
| Last updated: 2008-03-24 10:58 EET |
Preparations for the NATO Summit, due to take place in Bucharest between April the 2nd and the 4th, are in full swing, as Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu announced Thursday. He pointed out that impressive financial, human and technical resources were allocated for this event, the largest ever organised by Romania and also the largest in the history of the Alliance. A few figures convey the scale of the operation: a budget of over 25 million euros, 23 thousand police, guards, experts, special service and intelligence service troops. The master of ceremonies for the meeting, State Secretary Victor Micula of the Foreign Ministry, announced that so far some 3,000 delegates confirmed their participation, representing 25 allied states and 23 Euro-Atlantic Partnership states, the countries contributing to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and leading international institutions and organisations. In addition there will be 3,500 journalists from around the world in attendance. Micula explains:
“The Summit begins on the evening of April 2nd, with a working dinner; in the morning of April 3rd we have the North-Atlantic Council meeting, at noon the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, and later that afternoon the 26 plus N meeting on Afghanistan. On April 4th, the NATO-Ukraine Commission session kicks off in the morning, then at noon the NATO-Russia Council convenes.”
Romania's commitment to the Republic of Moldova remains the same, regardless of the Government in office in Chisinau, with Bucharest being willing to support any coherent project intended to bring the neighbouring state across Prut River closer to the European Union. The statement was made by the Romanian Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu, and came shortly after the Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev resigned. He explained his decision, stating that the time had come for a change of government and for new solutions in Chisinau. On the other hand, Cioroianu referred to a number of comments included in the latest report by the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to which the American military bases located in Romania will strain the political dialogue between Moscow and Bucharest. The document also states that Russia has worked steadily to counter Romania's initiatives as regards the establishment of structures on the Black Sea, including work with members from outside the region. Adrian Cioroianu:
“According to our analysis, the specific aspects tackled in the assessment by the Foreign Ministry in Moscow are not strictly related to the Romanian-Russian bilateral relation. This is a rather general document, which does not change our determination to further promote a very pragmatic approach to these relations. I am confident that a top-level meeting may remove some of these smaller or larger stumbling blocks.”
A Romanian soldier was killed and another one injured when their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in the province of Zabul, in southern Afghanistan. Belonging to the 300 infantry battalion St. Andrew, headquartered in Galati, eastern Romania, the two were on their second mission in Afghanistan. The incident raises the toll of the Romanians killed in action in Afghanistan to six. Romania has deployed a 650 strong contingent to that country.
The US carmaker Ford has this week became the official owner of the Romanian car manufacturer in Craiova, after taking over the majority shares, representing 72.4% of state-owned capital; the Romanian state has received 57 million euros in the transaction but the privatisation of this company wasn’t an easy one. After the plant’s first owner, the South Korean consortium Daewoo, went bankrupt, the plant was bought back by the state. In September 2007, Ford signed the privatization contract, but several weeks later, the European Commission ordered an investigation into the privatisation process. Brussels called on Bucharest to recover 27 million euros in state aid from the US company, considered illegal by the EU officials. Ford has pledged to invest 675 million euros in streamlining the factory and creating new jobs.
The Bucharest stock exchange crashed on Thursday, with 1 billion dollars lost in a single trading session. The crash came as a surprise against the background of the slight growth seen by international stock markets in recent days. The BET index of the most traded shares dropped more than 7% while the BET-C index, recording the price evolution of all the companies listed, went down 6%. The BET-FI, index recording the evolution of financial investment funds lost 4%. Pundits believe that the Bucharest stock exchange can be easily influenced due to its small size. The total capitalization of the Bucharest Stock exchange stands at 30 billion dollars, while the daily volume of sales reaches, on average, several dozen millions of euros daily.
Romanian football has witnessed an unprecedented event; a first league game was interrupted by the behaviour of several hooligans. The football game pitching Steaua Bucharest against Rapid on Thursday night ended after 74 minutes, after the referee was hit on the head by an object thrown by a supporter. At that moment the score was one-nil for Rapid Bucharest. The incident has triggered the resignation of the host’s manager, Mircea Rednic. It was a very important game for the designation of the side to represent Romania in the Champions League.
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