27th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Shortly after the Romanian Government presented its programme I tweeted on @HMAMartinHarris my pick of the top five priorities to be taken forward in 2013. In five tweets: 1. Implementing the IMF agreement. RO has done well on fiscal consolidation. Now it’s time to progress on structural reforms and tax evasion. 2. Judicial reform. Implementing […]
Read more on My pick of Govt. priorities in 2013 | Reply (2)
27th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On Tuesday last week I gave up my seat as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Romania to Nicoleta Ghita, a very confident and capable young lady from Sector 5 in Bucharest. This was part of Child Takeover Day – an initiative that started in the UK and has been brought to Romania for the first time […]
Read more on Nicoleta Ghita – British Ambassador for a Day | Reply (4)
26th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I gave a lecture to a very engaged and smart group of students at the Institute for International Relations at Cluj University on Wednesday last week. You can find the text here. It draws on my experience working in countries in transition over the last twenty years, and draws the conclusion that the concept of […]
Read more on From the Communism we never had to the Capitalism we’ll never achieve | Reply (3)
25th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Across Europe, from Romania to the UK – more specifically from Sighisoara to Shropshire – there is a fraternity between the fire services of our different countries. On Saturday I was privileged to attend a ceremony to hand over three fire engines donated by the people of Shropshire for use in Mures and Brasov counties […]
Read more on The Fraternity of Firefighters | Reply
24th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
Read more on The Future of Europe – for Romania | Reply (3)
18th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
Read more on End Slavery Now | Reply (1)
1st October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
Read more on A drive into the future | Reply
27th September 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
Read more on Parliamentary Rules | Reply (2)
24th September 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
Read more on More power to the Pumas | Reply
3rd September 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]
Read more on Golden Edi! | Reply (6)
