15 July, 2016

Romanias president Klaus Iohannis sends his condolences after the terrorist attack in Nice, in which dozens were killed.

Newsroom, 15.07.2016, 12:15

President Francois Hollande has declared three days of
national mourning in memory of the 84 people killed in Nice last night. A Franco-Tunisian
man driving a 25-tonne lorry ram through the crowds who had gathered on the
city’s waterfront for a firework display to celebrate France’s National Day.
Around 100 people sustained injuries, including two Romanian nationals. People
from the European Union and Russia are reported to be among the victims. The UN
Security Council has described the attack as barbaric, while US president
Barack Obama said his country stands in solidarity with France, its oldest
ally. In Bucharest, president Klaus Iohannis sent a message of condolence to
the grieving families and said the scourge of terrorism, which seeks to plant
fear and despair, will not succeed in dividing Europe in its fight for and
belief in freedom and democracy. In a Facebook message, prime minister Dacian
Ciolos said that what was to be a day of national celebration became a day of
tragedy and that the French people were again put to the test by an attack of
extreme violence and barbarity. Romania’s foreign minister Lazar Comanescu also
condemned this new horrific barbaric terrorist act which confirms, once
again, the need for the international community to boost considerably its
efforts to fight terrorism.

Romania’s prime minister Dacian Ciolos attends the
Asia-Europe Summit in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator. 50 heads of state and
government from Europe and Asia are at the summit to discuss the current state
of world economy, climate change, the fight against terrorism and migration.
Ciolos will state the case for Romania’s becoming a nodal point for the
Europe-Asia interconnection projects, including freight transport
infrastructure, energy and communications. On the sidelines of the summit, the
Romanian prime minister has met some of his counterparts attending the meeting.
Earlier, he travelled to Vietnam, where he called for the relaunch of bilateral
economic and cultural ties.

The European
Investment Bank today signed three contracts with the finance ministry, the
ministry for European funds and the National Public Procurement Agency in
Bucharest, under which Romania is to receive funding worth 360 million euros
for priority projects as part of the European Union’s Operational Programmes in
the 2014-2020 period. The money will be used to partly cover investments to
boost growth. Since it has started to operate in Romania, the European
Investment Bank has granted around 11.4 billion euros in funding, including the
loan signed today. The pilot projects funded by the bank in Romania include the
Pirelli tyre factory in Slatina, the Bucharest underground, Enel’s green energy
project and energy efficiency programmes for apartment buildings in Bucharest.

CSM Iasi drew 2-all on Thursday against
the Croatian side Hajduk Split in the
first leg of the Europa League second preliminary round. CSM were leading 2-nil
at half time, but the equaliser came on the last minute. This is the first time
the Iasi team play in an international competition. The return match will be
held in Croatia on the 21st of July. In another development, the Swiss city of
Nyon today hosts the draws for the Champions League third qualifying round, where Romania is represented by
champions Astra Giurgiu and runners-up Steaua Bucharest. The draws for the
Europa League third preliminary round will also take place in Nyon. The
Romanian teams playing in the Europa League are, besides CSM Iasi, Viitorul
Constanta and Pandurii Targu Jiu.

The Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, no.
163 in the world, today faces the Spanish player Feliciano Lopez, no. 20 in the
world, in the first Davis Cup match between Romania and Spain as part of the
second round of the Europe/Africa Group I. Also today, Adrian Ungur, world no.
185, faces world no. 15 Roberto Bautista. On Saturday, the pair Horia Tecau and
Florin Mergea face the pair Marc Lopez and Pablo Carreno, while on Sunday,
Marius Copil plays Roberto Bautista and Adrian Ungur plays Feliciano Lopez. The
winner advances to the World Group play-offs, while the runner-up continues in
Group I. In the BRD Bucharest Open, world no. 5 Simona Halep of Romania tonight faces Danka Konici of Montenegro. Halep
is the only Romanian player still in this competition, which is 250,000 euros
in prize money.

The Romanian
women’s handball team today face Germany for the bronze medal at the World
Junior Championships in Moscow. The two sides have already met in the group
matches, when they drew 29-all, despite Romania leading at some point by as
much as 6 goals. On Thursday in the semifinals, Romania lost to Denmark 25-28,
while Germany were defeated by Russia 25-32. Earlier this month, the Romanian
men’s team won the World University Championship held in the Spanish town of
Malaga, while the women’s side won the silver.