Most important events that took place in Romania in 2019

Romania’s first EU Council Presidency (January-June). Romania – European Union Member State since January 2017 - has held its first six months rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, under the motto “Cohesion, a common European value” and with four priorities on its Agenda: Europe of convergence, Europe of safety, Europe - global actor, Europe of common values. Romanian EU Council Presidency managed to coordinate agreements on 90 legislative files on the EU Agenda, and Romanian representatives in Brussels organized lots of cultural, touristic and gastronomic and other successful events. European Summit in Sibiu on the future of the EU has helped shape up the Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024.

Visit of Pope Francis to Romania (May 31 - June 2). Pope Francis has been highly welcomed to Bucharest and other cities of Romania for his 3-day Apostolic Journey to this EU Member State. Holy Father met President Klaus Iohannis at the Presidential Palace, also the permanent Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, and prayed the Our Father with them at the new Orthodox Cathedral. Pope Francis then left to the northeastern part of the country, in Miercurea Ciuc (Transylvania region), to celebrate Mass at the Marian Shrine of Şumuleu Ciuc. He traveled to Romania’s second largest city, Iași, where he made a private visit to Our Lady Queen of Iași Cathedral, and held a Marian encounter with young people and families. On his last day of the trip to Romania, Holy Father arrived in Blaj, where he beatified seven Greek Catholic bishops who were martyred under the communist regime. He left Romania from Sibiu’s airport, returning to the Vatican.

Romanians in high-ranking positions

European Commission: Adina Vălean (51, Liberal) – Member of the European Parliament since 2007 – has been appointed EU Commissioner for Transport in the new European Commission that took over duties on December 1st. Vălean is the fourth Romanian EU Commissioner, after Leonard Orban, Dacian Cioloș and Corina Crețu.

European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). Laura Codruţa Kövesi, former Head of Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) has been appointed as the first European Chief Prosecutor. Her appointment was agreed upon by the European Parliament and the EU Council.

NATO. Mircea Geoană became NATO Deputy Secretary General in October 2019, after a distinguished domestic and international career. Mr Geoană is the first Deputy Secretary General from Romania, and the first from any of the countries that joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War.

Military

Saber Guardian 2019: 3-24 June: Around 8,000 soldiers from six countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and the United States of America) took part, on 3-24 June, in the Saber Guardian 2019 (SG19) Exercise - led by the Land Forces of the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) and the Romanian Land Forces Staff – at various locations in Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. SG19 has had as its main objective to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity of allied and partner countries in order to defend against any aggression, especially through possibility of rapid mobilization and concentration of forces in short time anywhere in Europe.

DEFENDER-Europe 20: NATO's most complex exercise after the end of Cold War: Approximately 37,000 U.S., allied, and partner nation service members participated with roughly 20,000 soldiers deploying from the U.S. Eighteen countries participated (Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, UK and the US), with exercise activities occurring across 10 countries. Aim of the exercise was to increase strategic readiness and interoperability by exercising the U.S. military's ability to rapidly deploy a large combat-credible force and equipment from the United States to Europe, and alongside its allies and partners, quickly respond to a potential crisis.

Social Democratic Party leader sent to prison

President of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea, was arrested and sentenced to three and a half years in prison, following abuse of power in a case involving fake jobs given to party members at the Teleorman County Social Assistance and Child Protection Directorate. Dragnea was sentenced for inciting abuse of office. More precisely, while a chairman of the Teleorman County Council, he made the heads of that public institution hire and keep on their payroll 2 Social Democratic Party members who cashed their salaries for years, although they never showed up to work.

New Liberal Government

On November 4, Romanian Parliament endorsed the new Government headed by the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban. The Orban team took over the Government from Viorica Dăncilă (PSD) on October 10, following a no confidence vote in Parliament, initiated by the Liberals and supported by MPs from many other parties, who had branded the Dăncilă Government as the most toxic in the last 30 years and had pledged to adopt a responsible governing program, focused on modernizing the country and improving the living standards of every Romanian.

Klaus Iohannis wins a second term as Head of State

President Klaus Iohannis, supported by the National Liberal Party, won the Presidential Election on November 24. In the second round, he got 66% of the votes, double his rival, former Social Democratic Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă. Two days after results of the elections, that showed a clear defeat of the Social Democratic candidate, Dăncilă resigned from the position of PSD President.

30 years since 1989 Revolution in Romania

Anti-communist revolution in Romania started in Timișoara, on 16 December 1989 and then rapidly spread to Bucharest on 21 December 1989. Protests took place all over the country. Headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party was surrounded by tens of thousands of demonstrators. On December 22, 1989, dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was forced out of power. He and his wife were convicted of genocide and abuse of power, sentenced to death and executed on Christmas Day, 1989. Revolution left more than 1,000 people dead and ended Ceaușescu's rule.

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei