18 August, 2016

Romania rejects allegations of nuclear weapon transfer, car sales in Romania go up 15%

Corina Cristea, 18.08.2016, 11:59

NUCLEAR — The Romanian Foreign Ministry rejected information according to which the United States started to transfer nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania. EurActiv.com, quoting two independent sources, wrote that the US started the transfer of weapons stationed in Turkey to Romania against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Washington and Ankara. According to one of the sources, the transfer raises numerous technical and political issues. Another source told EurActiv.com that US- Turkey relations deteriorated so much after the attempted coup in July that Washington no longer trusts Ankara to harbor its nuclear weapons. These are about to be transferred to the airbase in Deveselu, in southern Romania, according to EurActiv.com.

CAR SALES — Car sales in Romania went up almost 15% in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to the Automobile Makers and Importers Association. Production for domestic brand Dacia, made by Renault, went down 6.6%, but continues to be the best selling brand in Romania, with a market share of over 30%. Next come Volkswagen, Skoda and Renault.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, 4th seeded, plays today against Daria Gavrilova of Australia, 47th seeded, in the eighth finals in Cincinnati. Also today, Horia Tecău (Romania) with Jean-Julien Rojer (Holland) play against Dominic Inglot (Great Britain)/Marcin Matkowski (Poland), while Florin Mergea (Romania) paired up with Rohan Bopanna (India) to take on Treat Huey (Filippines), paired up with Maxi Mirnyi (Belarus) in the games coming up in the eighth finals of the mens doubles in the same tournament. At the same time, Monica Niculescu of Romania, pairing up with Vania King of the US, and the French pair Caroline Garcia- Kristina Mladenovic, play in the eight finals of the womens doubles. This tournament is the last ahead of the US Open, the last major competition of the year.

OLYMPICS — Today is the 13th day of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and Romania has a single athlete running, Andrei Gag, in the shot put event. After 12 days, Romania still has only four medals in Rio: : the gold obtained by the womens epee team, the silver obtained by the pair Florin Mergea/ Horia Tecau in the mens tennis doubles, and two bronze medals, obtained by Gabriel Sincraian in weightlifting, and by the womens coxed eight rowing team. Romania did not get any medal in gymnastics at this edition, which happens for the first time in the last 44 years.

FOOTBALL — Romanias football champions Astra Giurgiu play today at home against English team West Ham United, in the qualifiers for the Europa League groups. Vice-champion Steaua Bucharest has secured its place in the groups of the second continental competition. On Tuesday, Steaua was crushed by another major English team, Manchester City, nil to five, in the first leg of the play-offs of the Champions League. Three other Romanian teams, CSMS Iasi, Viitorul Constanta and Pandurii Targu Jiu, were eliminated in the preliminaries of European cups.

MINORITIES — Debates continue today at the Summer University dedicated to Romanians living abroad. Items on the agenda include preserving Romanian identity in the Hungarian majority counties of Covasna and Harghita, as well as that of Roman Catholics in the region of Moldavia. One other issue raised was that of illegal restoration of property in Transylvania, claimed by Hungarian citizens.

TRADE — Romanian Minister of the Economy, Costin Borc, receiving in Bucharest Turkish Minister of Development Lutfi Elva, discussed Turkeys role as the premier trade partner for Romania outside the EU. According to a press release, Minister Borc said that the Romanian offer for the Turkish market is generous, and suits its needs. The two offiicials convened to continue these talks this autumn in Ankara, at the meeting of the mixed government commission that supervises economic relations between the two countries. In 2015, Turkey, aside from being the most important trade partner outside the EU for Romania, was the fifth most important such partner overall, the sixth most important export market, and the 9th most important supplier.

TURKEY — The Turkish economic police this morning ran numerous raids in Istanbul against companies suspected of supporting financially Fethullah Gulen, in exile in the US, accused by the government to be behind the attempted coup last month. 200 arrest warrants were issued in the raids. This is the second such operation this week, mostly against prominent business people. On Wednesday, Turkish PM Binaly Yildirim said that over 40,000 people have been detained after the failed coup, half of them being placed under arrest, facing prosecution. According to the head of government, over 4,200 companies and institutions with ties to Gulen have been shut down. The purges in the army, police, the judiciary and public administration removed 80,000 people from public service, the PM announced.