Traian Basescu

US Vice-President Joe Biden on Tuesday arrived in Romania to reassure leaders of America’s continuing commitment in the face of Russia’s growing military assertiveness.

“It’s an obligation for us to stay close to you so, in the name of the US President, I should say, you can count on us,” Biden said shortly after he arrived in Bucharest.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has invited Moldova to sign an association and free trade pact with the European Union on June 27 in Brussels.

US Vice-President Joe Biden is to visit Bucharest for talks with Romanian leaders on the volatile situation in Ukraine, among other matters.

President Traian Basescu on Monday said he had invited Biden to Romania, but declined to specify the timing of the visit.

Romania’s Constitutional Court, CCR, is to decide on May 21 whether the President has the right to get engaged in the European election campaign, following government complaints about the issue.

Bulgaria and Romania are quite often paired up in European and regional powers' approach to the Balkans. They are said to be both wrapped in political, economic and social problems, but usually do not provoke a huge interest from EU politicians.

As armed clashes worsen in eastern Ukraine, and after parliament in the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria on Wednesday formally asked to join Russia, Romania has expressed growing concern about the situation on its borders.

"Romania entirely supports the independence and the teritorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova,” President Traian Basescu said on Wednesday.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Wednesday that the country needed to spend more on the armed forces.

Romania's excise on fuel, gas and tobacco has come into force, in compliance with an agreement that Bucharest struck with the IMF.

From Monday, fuel prices in Romania will increase with EUR 0.07 per liter, a pack of cigarettes will go up by EUR 0.6 to EUR per liter, and gas will be 2% more expensive for consumers Dnevnik.bg has reported.

Ten years after joining North Alliance Treaty Organisation, Romanian officials say the country has benefited from  membership overall, although they concede that the cost has been high in terms of the number of casualties during NATO missions and the money spent on military operations.

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said his centre-left government will not revoke a controversial fuel tax coming into force on April 1, but promised compensatory measures.

“The measure will help ‘fair' transporters, without a history of tax evasion, who will be able to recover most of the costs [of the new tax],” Ponta said, without offering further details.