Bucharest is playing host to the Extraordinary Congress of the Social Democratic Party, one of the ruling coalition parties. The main points on the agenda are electing a new leadership of the Party, with a mandate until the 2016 elections, as well as amending the party statute. Current leader Prime Minister Victor Ponta is expected to be reconfirmed at the helm of the party. Under the new statute, a total of eight vice-presidents will be designated to take over the new administrative units and eight vice-presidents at national level.

A potential shift in Romania’s position with respect to the recognition of Kosovo’s independence involves close political dialogue among all parliamentary parties, between the Government and the Presidency. The statement was made today by Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean. Minister Corlatean said Romania should carefully “weigh” the resolution issued on Thursday by the European Parliament, in which the European legislative body urges five member states including Romania to recognize the independence of Kosovo, officially declared in 2008.

During his visit to Bucharest, US Army Europe’s Commanding General Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell awarded medals to 10 Romanian soldiers who took part in military operations in Afghanistan. The Romanian soldiers had been previously decorated by US military structures during their participation in missions in Afghanistan. Campell thanked the Romanian soldiers for their remarkable military achievements in this country. At present Romania has some 1,500 Romanian soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.

The US-NATO anti-ballistic shield does not target the Russian Federation, Romanian State Secretary for Strategic Affairs Bogdan Aurescu reasserted at the international security conference held in Bratislava. The Romanian official highlighted Romania’s contribution to allied efforts to secure anti-ballistic defence, including cooperation with the United States in building the anti-ballistic shield. The statement follows several days after Russia and the United States agreed to resume dialogue in the field in ballistic defence. Moscow had previously demanded written guarantees from Washington that the anti-ballistic US shield deployed in Europe did not target the country’s dissuasion capacity. We recall that shield interceptors are due to be set up at the military camp in Deveselu, southern Romania.