24th October 2012
The Foreign Secretary gave a speech yesterday setting out his vision for the future of Europe. Let me just highlight three points which I think are particularly relevant here in Romania. Firstly, William Hague highlights the power of EU enlargement in entrenching democracy and the rule of law in Europe after the Cold War. And […]
18th October 2012
179 years ago today the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act, outlawing the slave trade after years of courageous campaigning by William Wilberforce and others who spoke out against the exploitation of men and women and opposed the vested economic interests in this vile business. Unfortunately this trade continues today, here in Europe. Last […]
1st October 2012
Last month, I hosted a reception with Inchcape Motors. This is one of the oldest British companies in the automotive business, and here in Romania it is the distributor for Toyota and Lexus. The international automotive industry has great potential to deliver growth for Britain’s economy, and so the reception was to introduce Lexus’ new […]
27th September 2012
Members of Parliaments across Europe are finding themselves subject to more and more scrutiny these days from public institutions, the press and from their own electorates. Romania has the National Integrity Agency (ANI) which is setting new standards in public life. This month an MP’s mandate was revoked on the grounds of incompatibility, implementing ANI’s […]
24th September 2012
The Royal Air Force is about to take delivery of one of its newly upgraded helicopters from the Eurocopter plant at Ghimbav, near Brasov. I was there on Friday to see the helicopter make its first flight post-upgrade, along with Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta and Lord Davies, chairman of the All-Party Group on Romania […]
3rd September 2012
Last weekend was a great weekend for Romania at the London 2012 velodrome. Many congratulations to Eduard Novak for first beating the world record in the qualifiers for the Men’s Individual C4 Pursuit, and then going on to win Romania’s first ever Paralympics Gold Medal in the final. Eduard is an amazing athlete, making his […]
29th August 2012
Tonight is the opening ceremony of London 2012 Paralympic Games. Romania will be competing with its largest ever paralympic team, almost double the size of its delegation to Beijing four years ago. And this will be the largest Paralympic Games ever, with over two million tickets sold, and all the venues selling out fast. I […]
23rd August 2012
The Foreign Office made a statement yesterday evening on the political situation in Romania. Romania has had a long, hot summer. My hope (as an optimist) is that temperatures will fall in the autumn and that the focus will be on economic and institutional reform and strengthening the rule of law. There are important decisions […]
16th August 2012
I’ve just returned from two weeks in the UK, when our whole nation was on the edge of our seats watching the captivating spectacle of the London 2012 Olympic Games – whether at the venues themselves, in the big parks where the events were screened live or at home in front of the TV. Let […]
23rd July 2012
I spent last weekend with friends in Bran, the favourite mountain refuge of Queen Marie of Romania in her later years. I’m reading her biography at the moment, and came across a lovely entry in her diary in 1934. Queen Marie was in the UK in the spring of that year to promote her book, […]