Romania

 Liberal MEP Ramona Manescu was named Transport Minister, after Romanian president Traian Basescu approved the proposal made by the Prime minister Victor Ponta earlier on Monday (August 26). Manescu was already sworn in, and will start her mandate on Tuesday, August 27.

Romania’s National Liberal Party PNL recently made two nominations for the Transport Minister position, namely Liberal MP Nini Sapunaru and MEP Ramona Manescu (in picture).

All around the world, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) partners with civil society organizations dedicated to empowering women and protecting women's rights. In the western Romanian city of Timişoara, APOWER is one organization doing just that. Each November and December, activists on the streets of Romania's cities send a critical message to the world: violence against women and girls affects everyone.

Despite being an EU member since January 2007, Romania placed 67th out of 134 countries in the World Economic Forum's 2010 World Gender Gap report. The ranking marks a three-place improvement from last year but shows little substantive progress.