US vice-president Joe Biden on Tuesday assured President Traian Basescu that the so called “restructuring” of the American anti-missile shield in Europe would not impact at all the plan agreed upon by Washington and Bucharest. The talks on the anti-missile shield in Europe, providing for the gradual implementation of missile interceptors and powerful radars in the eastern part of the continent, Romania and Turkey included, were held at the Vatican, at the inaugural ceremony of Pope Francis’ pontificate. In another development, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has confirmed that the United States’ decision to adjust the program will not affect the protection of Europe. Rasmussen has again invited Russia, which is strongly opposed to the project, to take part in the negotiations. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week said that the decision was made against the backdrop of the United States’ wish to beef up its defense system against the North Korean ballistic threat.

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies meeting in a plenary session on Tuesday rejected the simple motion entitled “The Anti-European Policy or how the ruling Social Liberal Union can live without Schengen.” The signatories to the motion, filed by Dan Diaconescu’s People Party and the Liberal Democratic Party, both in opposition, have accused foreign minister Titus Corlatean of having badly managed the country’s European Affairs and called on the political parties to adopt an agreement to support Romania’s Schengen accession. In turn, Corlatean has called on the opposition to take responsibility for Romania’s failed attempts to join Schengen, in 2010 and 2011, during the Liberal Democrats’ governance. The European Union’s Justice and Home Affairs Council has recently postponed making a decision on Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen Area by the end of the year.

Romanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development and Public Administration, Liviu Dragnea, on Tuesday attended the meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee for Regional Development, held in Brussels. The Romanian top-ranking official delivered a speech on the implementation stage of the European Union’s policies on territorial cohesion and regional development in Romania and also dwelt on Romania’s prospects for the 2014-2020 period. On this occasion, Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea also met with the European Commissioner for Regional Policies Johannes Hahn and with other European officials.

Sales of Romanian-made Dacia cars across the European Union registered an increase of over 15% in February 2013, on a dwindling European market, the European Carmakers Association announced on Tuesday. Only Jaguar and Honda registered bigger sales figures. According to the European Carmakers Association, last month, the registration of new cars across the European Union went down below the 800 units threshold, the lowest figure ever. The car market in Romania went down by 15.8 per cent last month.