Romanian PM Viorica Dancila to travel to Brussels for first foreign visit./ Romania has strong presence in 68th Berlin Film Festival.
Brussels trip. Romania's prime minister Viorica Dancila next week travels to Brussels for her first foreign visit. She will have talks with European leaders, including the head of the European Commission Jean Claude Juncker, the president of the European Council Donald Tusk, the speaker of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu. Dancila said recently she was planning to intensify foreign policy actions and the economic relations with the partner states.
Munich Security Conference. Romania's defence minister Mihai Fifor is attending the Munich Security Conference, a major forum for the discussion of security policy. On Friday, Fifor had a series of bilateral talks where he presented Romania's priorities in the area of defence. According to a defence ministry press release, Fifor met the US senator and Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ron Johnson for talks on the relations between Romania and the US, with emphasis on cooperation within the North Atlantic Alliance. Minister Fifor used the opportunity to highlight the good discussions he had with the US Defence Secretary James Mattis at a recent NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels. He also assured the American partners that Romania is committed to its pledges as a NATO member and to the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. At a meeting with the representatives of the Atlantic Council, retired general James Jones and Alexander Vershbow, minister Fifor underlined the importance of security in the Black Sea region for the agenda of the forthcoming NATO summit in July in Brussels. Talks also focused on the importance of the top-level meeting of the Three Seas Initiative to be hosted by Bucharest this year.
Republic of Moldova. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the prime minister of the Republic of Moldova Pavel Filip today met the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn. The two officials discussed Moldova's progress in carrying out the required reforms, including the requirements for receiving macro-financial assistance from the EU. Progress was noted in respect of the reform of the judicial system, the implementation of a new money laundering law and the passing of legislation to regulate the activity of NGOs. Prime minister Filip said these examples confirm the determination of the Moldovan authorities to continue on the path of European integration. He also reiterated his country's commitment to fulfil the goals established at the Eastern Partnership summit in November last year. Commissioner Hahn welcomed the progress made and the commitment of the Moldovan government to the implementation of reforms at a fast pace and maintained the EU's support for its Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova.
Meeting. The Romanian foreign minister Teodor Melescanu attended an informal meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in the Gymnich format held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Melescanu welcomed the idea of a new conference on Syria in Brussels and said the European Union must play a proactive role in the political process taking place under the NATO aegis and later in the post-conflict reconstruction process. He also said Romania was in favour of a continuation of the EU enlargement process and that this was one of its priorities during its first presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year.
Berlin Festival. Romania has a strong presence this year in the 68th edition of the Berlin Film Festival which got under way on the 15th of February and comes to an end on the 25th. Touch Me Not, Adina Pintilie's feature film debut, runs in the Competition section. A winner of the Golden Bear in 2013 with Child's Pose, the Romanian helmer Calin Peter Netzer will this year be part of the jury. Touch Me Not, which will be shown for the first time in Berlin, is a personal exploration that questions our preconceived ideas about intimacy as a fundamental aspect of human existence. Ioana Uricariu's Lemonade has been selected in the Panorama section, which rewards artistic vision and the courage to be different. Corneliu Porumboiu's documentary Infinite Football will be screened in the non-competitive sidebar Forum. Two more Romanian productions are being shown in the Generation Kplus competition for children and young people. Last year, Dana Bunescu won the Silver Bear for the editing in Calin Peter Netzer's Ana, mon amour.
Tennis. The Romanian tennis player and world no. 2 Simona Halep pulled out of the WTA tournament in Doha after she defeated the American player Catherine Bellis in straight sets on Friday night. Halep said she had to pull out because of a leg injury and that she would neither play in the Dubai tournament next week. Because of Halep's withdrawal, Spain's Garbine Muguruza, no. 4 in the world, has automatically qualified for Sunday's final.
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