The Congress Of Romanian Americans and the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) have invited candidates George W. Bush to dinner in Detroit, and Al Gore to dinner in Cleveland. The CEEC consists of 19 national member organizations, whose American members have their ethnic origins in Central and Eastern Europe. The CEEC has met weekly since 1994. The purpose of the dinners is to acquaint the candidates with our community and national leaders. These dinners are not fund-raisers. We want our people to attend and are hoping for an attendance of 750 people at each dinner. They are planned for July or early August.

The CEEC has provided each of the candidates with a questionnaire covering the subjects of our common interests. We are awaiting reply to determine how they feel about issues important to us.

Over the last several months, the CEEC members have met with congressional members in connection with increasing foreign assistance. NATO enlargement has, and continues to be, at the forefront of CEEC pressure on both the White House and the Congress.

A month and a half ago, a fierce flood left eight people dead with 502 villages and more than 400,000 acres of land under water. Some 5,030 farms, 3,830 houses, 703 bridges and 175 roads were destroyed. The infrastructure of the telephone, electric, and tap water networks suffered major damage. Nearly total devastation occurred to an already suffering people in Banat, Crişana, and Maramureş.

We are appealing to your understanding and generosity toward these people who have lost so much. We ask that you contribute to the "Help the People of Romanian Fund". Rev. Richard Grabowski is, and has been the coordinator for some 62 million dollars of humanitarian and financial aid that this fund has delivered since 1990. His telephone number in Warren, Ohio is (330) 394-8575.

Please make your tax-deductible contribution to the "Help the People of Romania Fund", but mail it to CORA. We will record your contribution and forward it immediately to Rev. Grabowski. In this way, we will know that you intended your contribution to be used specifically to aid the flood victims.

Ambassadors Mircea Geoană and James Rosapepe have announced the following: the Romanian Government and the US Government, in cooperation with the World Bank and the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund will organize the follow-up Conference of the Romanian-American Business Network (RABN) in Los Angeles, September 2, 2000. The launching Conference of the Romanian-American Business Network (Washington, DC, January 15, 2000) was a significant success. The relations developed subsequent to that event have revealed the great potential on both sides to create a conducive climate for business and cooperation. The Romanian President, Emil Constantinescu, sent a special message to the Conference, acknowledging the importance of this event. Mr. James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, has personally welcomed this endeavor as the startup of an important project on business networking. The representatives of the Romanian-American business community agreed that the Business Network can significantly advance the success of their endeavors, both in identifying new business opportunities and local partners, and in helping the improvement of the business climate in Romania.

This first Conference highlighted the potential for enhancing Romanian-American business links, as well as the convergence of the Romanian and the US administrations' objectives to encourage and support the fulfillment of this potential.

The main goal to attain during the second conference in Los Angeles is to turn the RABN into a fully operational, self-sustaining entity.

The follow-up Conference will open with a Plenary Session followed by two panel discussions: one on Information Technology and Telecommunications, the other on Manufacturing Trade and Investment.

On the same Labor Day weekend, on the occasion of the National Convention of the Union and League of Romanian Societies of America, the oldest and largest organization of Romanians in the United States and Canada, the participants will be offered a full schedule of cultural events. Those interested are welcome to join the festivities.

For further details and registration, contact Mugurel Stănescu and/or Arieta Dumitrescu at the Embassy of Romania in Washington, tel: (202)332-4852, fax: (202)232-4748, e-mail: mstanescu@roembus.org, adumitrescu@roembus.org, and/or the Union and League of Romanian Societies of America, Inc., e-mail: ulcague@aol.com, Mr. Cristian Călugăriţa, e-mail: calugarita@aol.com, tel: (323)254-3886.

A conference sponsored by USAID was held July 7^th and 8^th in Bucharest. Armand Scala participated on one of the panels. The topic was Romania as a Model.

Romania is considered to have done a very respectable job in bringing its minorities into the country's democracy. Almost 90% of the country is Romanian and 10% are minorities, including 7.6% Hungarians. The Hungarian-Romanian minority holds its proportion of seats in the Parliament, several ministerial level positions in the Executive branch and 10 State Secretariats. Romania provides that each of the remaining minorities has a seat in the Parliament.

Romania's Constitution provides that International law on the treatment of minorities is dominant over Romanian law. These, and other policies and laws of Romania reflect Romania's success in the treatment of ethno-cultural minorities.

Other participants in the conference included Mugur Isărescu (Prime Minister), Petre Roman (Foreign Minister), and Teodor Meleşcanu (Senator and candidate for President of Romania). Leaders of all minorities and all principal political parties in Romania, members of the Hungarian-American community, and members of the US Congress, among others, also participated. Excerpts of Armand Scala's presentation will be included in the next newsletter.

CORA representatives met with high level US officials several times in the year 2000. NATO enlargement was the topic of those meetings. Our purpose was to pressure our government to push for further NATO enlargement and for Romania's inclusion in the next round. CORA also met with others from the "Working Group for NATO Expansion".

Both "informed" groups have argued that, although pressure should be sustained, it should not peak until the next summit when the subject should come up. It is maintained by sources in the government and by non-governmental sources, that this may not be soon, probably in the year 2002. Our allies are not all in support of further enlargement at this time.

It is also said that, among the nine countries still hoping to be invited, there are attempts to spoil the possibilities for one another's acceptance.

In view of the above, the "Big Bang" was the purpose for the Vilnius meeting - that all nine nations be included in NATO and that this concept be endorsed by all candidate nations. This would be a show of unity, not divisiveness - an unexpected unity to enlargement. The key is to intensify the pressure nearer 2002, for support of our allies for enlargement and to discourage the influence of NATO's adversaries.

When CORA's representative was in Romania, Ambassador Rosapepe spoke about the launching of a program for stimulating cooperation links among Romanian and American non-governmental organizations. The Grant Partnership Program will be funded through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and will be implemented by World Learning, an American organization with rich experience in developing democracy-related programs in Romania. The goal of the program is to foster partnerships between US and Romanian non-governmental organizations, universities and other non-profit organizations in areas such as health, child welfare, environment, local government, energy efficiency, democracy and private sector development. The ultimate objective is to help the partnering organizations develop a strategy for ongoing sustainability of their cooperation well beyond the close of the program.

The program will be 2 years long, with a budget of 1.2 million dollars. Of this amount, World Learning will allocate grants that, according to the program's procedures, will be provided to the American organization selected for developing a partnership with a Romanian counterpart. World Learning is currently working on a database and is looking for organizations that have existing relationships or would like to develop a partnership with an organization from Romania. CORA has been asked to suggest organizations with potential interests in developing a partnership with a Romanian counterpart. If you have such an interest, please e-mail us with info about your organization at romanians@aol.com.

The Romanian-American and Moldovan-American Chambers of Commerce are expanding services to members in the US and Romania with the establishment of local networking chapters in major cities. RACC Chapters are currently active in New York, Atlanta, Washington, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco and Chicago.

In addition to its chapters in the USA, the RACC is taking its chapter development program to the major cities of Romania. Acting in partnership with local Chambers of Commerce and Industry, these chapters will give local Romanian businesses an opportunity to network with potential American investors and business partners in a range of industries. For more information on RACC membership and how to create a Networking Chapter in your city, contact RACC Vice President, Elias Wexler, at (718) 585-3230. For detailed info on RACC membership and how it can benefit you, contact RACC Associate Director, Loren Hurst, at (301)656-9022.

CORA hosted dinner at a local hotel to give Romanian Americans an opportunity to meet Teodor Meleşcanu, candidate for President of Romania. Each guest paid to attend. Meleşcanu is running second in the Romanian polls behind Iliescu. Meleşcanu, the former Foreign Minister in the Iliescu government, broke ranks with him and formed his own party.

One of the most profound announcements made by Meleşcanu at the dinner involved a change in the manner in which the Parliament of Romania Deputies and Senators were to be elected. In Romania, members of the Parliament are elected by political party. If a party gets 25% of the vote, the leadership of the party selects those who will sit, not the people. Unlike in the United States where the elected official represents a specific area and the people of that area, there is no connection between the representative and the people thus, there is no direct accountability to a constituency.

Although CORA supports no one candidate, we certainly support a change of this sort.

Romania and many of the nations in central and eastern Europe are anxious to become members of the European Union. At a meeting sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Dr. Erhard Busek, Austrian Vice Chancellor Emeritus and Government Representative for European Enlargement, presented a very candid and enlightening picture of the progress of the EU. He discussed bringing in new members. What appears to be happening is a formula for failure, however, not by the aspirants but by the current members and its bureaucracy. According to Mr. Busek, duplicating and competing entities (which are very nationalistic) are making the road to completing a European Union very difficult.

With the cooperation of the Romanian Embassy in Washington, CORA has been able to expedite the issuance of Romanian passports in emergency situations. We failed in a recent case because the old Romanian passport had expired some time earlier. That expiration date was too long ago. The Romanian Consul needs to have the confidence that the individual is still a legal citizen of Romania before they can issue a "Consular Passport" in the U.S. They cannot make the mistake of issuing a passport to a non-Romanian citizen . A "Consular Passport" is valid for only 6 months. If there is a chance you may need your Romanian passport anytime in the future, renew it now. Contact the Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC, the Consulates in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles now if it has expired or is due to expire in the near future. Do not contact CORA. This is your responsibility.

The Board of Governors of the VOA has canceled the American message to the Romanian countryside and the entire country of Moldova. The short-wave broadcasts of the US messages to the rural areas of Romania are especially important in this year of elections in that country.

Every bit as important is Moldova, where there are serious problems with Russian influence and the breakaway Transniester province. Because of the cut, the Romanian majority in that country will hear messages from the US only in the Russian language. This is illogical and harmful. Write to your Congressmen asking them to restore "short-wave" broadcasts of the "Romanian Services" to Romania and Moldova.

CORA and the CEEC supports S.2407 and similar efforts by Congress to give permanent residency, or "green cards" to undocumented aliens residing in the US for 15 years. Only those persons who have paid their taxes and have not committed crimes would be eligible. Because eligibility for the current amnesty program was tied to residency in the US before 1986, this legislation would give many undocumented aliens "green cards". Many members of our ethnic communities would benefit from S.2407 and would become rightful members of the American society.

Co-Chairpersons, Peter Georgescu, Chairman Emeritus of Young and Rubicam, and John Rakolta, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Walbridge Aldinger, led the business leaders attending the conference July 6^th and 7^th in Bucharest. This meeting brought together some of the most successful Romanian American and Romanian entrepreneurs. Leaders of Romania and the World Bank addressed the meeting and visits were made to Romania's President, Emil Constantinescu. The meeting was the idea of Romania's Ambassador to the US, Mircea Geoană, and was a worthy project. Ambassador James Rosapepe was a keynote speaker.

The Round Table and the USAID Conference, both held coincidentally at the time of the annual Helsinki Commission meeting, were fortunate to have the participation of several members of the US Congress including Senator George Voinovitch (R-OH) and Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and US Chairman of the Helsinki Commission.

If your organization is engaged in activity toward the contribution of assistance to Romania's people, please send us information so that we may share the information with others.

"Romvest", an organization out of Romania, held its fourth annual meeting in New York on April 10-14, 2000. Over 30 Romanian entrepreneurs attended the meeting and met with their American counterparts. CORA was given the opportunity to invite several Romanian-American businesspersons to attend. Dan Miclău, John Sânteiu, and Elias Wexler attended on CORA's invitation. Mark Meyer, a CORA board member presented at the meeting on the legal and tax environment in Romania for US businessmen and women.

The interests of the US partners in the "face to face" after conference meetings was disappointing to the Romanians as few US businessmen stayed to participate in the individual meetings.

• The Central and East European Coalition
• The Romanian-American Task Force: This Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Campaign to Preserve US Global Leadership
• Romanian and Moldovan - American Chambers of Commerce
• "One America" President's Initiative

CORA encourages all of you to respond to the Census form delivered to your home. This is not an intrusion into your privacy. A majority of households has received a short form, and one in six, a long form. The long form asks ethnic origin. If you have the long form, it is important to our community that you mark your origin as Romanian. In 1990, approximately 350,000 Romanian Americans noted their origin in the census. We feel this figure was greatly understated. Please fill out and return your forms. It is the law. Should you fail to return your census form, a Census representative will call upon you. Please cooperate. Your answers are confidential.

CORA's next annual meeting will be held in Washington, DC on October 26 - 27, 2000. Please contact CORA in advance to announce your participation, the deadline for registration is October 12^th. The meetings will take place at Best Western Falls Church Inn, 6633 Arlington Blvd. (RT 50), Falls Church, VA 22042, Tel. (800) 528-1234. Please mark your calendars.