18 October 2018

A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 18.10.2018, 12:53

EU summit. The EU Council meeting continues in Brussels, with the EU
heads of state and government today discussing migration, security and the
future of the eurozone. Last night, Brexit negotiations ended with no result.
According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, the EU leaders are focusing on
combating human trafficking, the European Commission’s proposals on the return
of migrants, the cooperation with the countries of origin and transit and the
consolidation of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. As far as internal
security is concerned, talks focus on legal cooperation and combating
terrorism, border security and the fight against cyber attacks. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis, who is attending the summit, is expected to highlight
in his address the fact that the prevention and combating of radicalisation and
terrorism must remain a priority for member states. The EU Council summit will
be followed by the Euro summit in expanded format. On that occasion, president
Iohannis will say that Romania supports the objective of consolidating the economic
and monetary union, closely following the impact of all initiatives targeting
this area, given Bucharest’s goal of joining the eurozone as soon as possible.

Visit. The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila today continues her
visit to the United Arab Emirates. On Wednesday, the heads of government in
Bucharest and Abu Dhabi adopted a joint declaration on the establishment of a
strategic economic partnership between the governments of Romania and the
United Arab Emirates. The document underlines the important regional role
played by the latter and Romania’s membership of the EU, which provides
significant opportunities of bilateral cooperation in priority sectors for
Bucharest, such as trade, investments, industry, agriculture, the financial and
banking sector, energy, transport and infrastructure, the IT sector, education,
culture, research and innovation and tourism. The declaration also highlights
the important role of the Romanian and Emirati communities in the respective
countries in the economic, social and cultural development of the two states.
Also on Wednesday, the Romanian prime minister visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, after on Tuesday she travelled to Dubai for
talks with the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, whom she presented with the most recent investment
opportunities in Romania. Viorica Dancila will next travel to Kuwait, the last
leg of a tour that also took her to Turkey. She said the purpose of these
official visits is to promote economic relations.

EU funds.
Romania has managed to recover 220 million euros accounting for around a
quarter of the European funds allocated under the Regional Operational
Programme, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu told
Radio Romania. Thus, some of the 800 million euros available under this
programme and which Romania was no longer able to spend by the end of the year
due to a lack of applications, have been redirected to the development of small
and medium sized enterprises and to purchasing medical equipment and ambulances
for all counties in Romania. The European official also said the programme was
modified at the request of the Romanian government.

Erdogan visit. Turkey’s president Recep
Tayyip Erdogan is paying a two-day visit to the Republic of Moldova, where he
was welcomed with military honours by his counterpart Igor Dodon. During their
talks, the two presidents spoke about the importance of the Strategic
Partnership declaration signed by Chisinau, which in the opinion of the Turkish
president, will change the relationship between the two states. News agencies
write that none of the two officials mentioned the recent scandal about the
expulsion of seven Turkish citizens working for the Orizont schools in the
Republic of Moldova. Erdogan did mention the alleged coup in Turkey from two
years ago, saying it was led by a terrorist organisation that also had members
in the Republic of Moldova. He also said that two Turkish state banks would
open branches in Moldova. The Turkish president also met prime minister Pavel
Filip. Bilateral agreements in various fields, including military, were also
signed.

Tennis. Romanian and world no. one in women’s tennis Simona Halep has
withdrawn from the WTA Finals held in Singapore between the 21st and
the 28th of October and which brings together the world’s best eight
players in 2018. Halep was recently diagnosed with a herniated disk injury
which also forced her to forfeit the Moscow tournament and withdraw in the
first round in Beijing. Halep, who won the French Open this year, ends the year
in the top position regardless of the result in Singapore. Playing in the WTA
Finals are Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Angelique
Kerber of Germany, Naomi Osaka of Japan, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech
Republic, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Sloane
Stephens of the United States and Kiki Bertens of The Netherlands.

Youth Olympics. Romania’s delegation to the Summer Youth Olympics in
Buenos Aires finished the Games on the 27th position in the team
ranking, with a total of 8 medals, including 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze. The
Romanian Olympic team was made up of 34 athletes, who competed in 14
disciplines. 4,000 young athletes aged between 15 and 18, from around the
world, competed in this third edition of the Summer Youth Olympics hosted by
Argentina.