19 July, 2017

European Investment Bank approves 1 bn euro loan to Romania for transport infrastructure./ Romania hosts NATO Tobruq Legacy air defence exercise.

Newsroom, 19.07.2017, 13:38

Republic of Moldova visit. The Romanian prime minister Mihai Tudose travels
to the majority Romanian speaking Republic of Moldova on Friday. He is due to
meet this country’s pro-western prime minister Pavel Filip for talks on
expanding bilateral cooperation and Bucharest’s support for Moldova’s European
path. The media in Chisinau note that the agenda of the Romanian prime minister
does not include talks with the republic’s pro-Russian and Socialist president,
Igor Dodon. Moldova is the second foreign trip made by Tudose since he took
office at the end of June. He first travelled to Brussels last week, where he
told EU officials that Romania has the immense task of ensuring that Moldova
stays on its pro-European course.

Romania-Serbia. Romania supports neighbouring Serbia in
its bid to join the European Union and is ready to intensify cooperation for a
further development of its traditionally good relations with Serbia, said
Romania’s ambassador in Belgrade Oana Cristina Popa during talks with the
Serbian labour minister Zoran Đorđević. The latter thanked Bucharest for its
support and called for better cooperation in his field. A constant supporter of
Serbia’s territorial integrity, Romania is one of the five EU member states yet
to recognise the independence of the southern province of Kosovo with a
majority Albanian population, but has urged Belgrade to respect the rights of
the sizeable ethnic Romanian minority in Vojvodina and in Timoc Valley, in the
east.

Brexit effects. The Brexit effect on the local
economy may translate into a drop in external demand for Romanian products and
in the flow of direct foreign investments, the National Bank of Romania
estimates. In a report assessing the implication of Brexit on the Romanian
economy, central bank experts believe the direct and predictable negative
effect in the medium run includes the diminution of the European budget and
thus of structural funds. The amount of Romania’s trade exchanges with the UK
is relatively low, with exports to Britain accounting for less than 5% of total
exports and imports accounting for 2% of total imports. On the other hand, the
UK has become a destination for Romanian migrants relatively recently, when
labour restrictions were lifted on the 1st of January 2014. The UK
is expected to leave the European Union in the first half of 2019, when Romania
will be holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council.

Loan.
The European Investment Bank is to
grant a loan of 1 billion euros to Bucharest to co-finance priority transport
infrastructure projects benefiting from European structural and investment
funds. The loan has a maturity of up to 25 years, including a 7-year period of
grace, with each withdrawal being considered a loan in itself, with its own
maturity and period of grace. The loan will cover the state budget contribution
that co-finances priority transport projects under the Large Infrastructure
Operational Programme 2014-2020. The investments will benefit from
non-reimbursable funds from the EU and will be used to promote sustainable
transportation and eliminate obstructions in the transport infrastructure
network. Emphasis will be placed on multimodal transport systems and reducing
the impact of transport on the environment, the relevant Romanian ministry says
in a press release.

NATO exercise. Around 1,000 military from 16 NATO member states are
participating in an air defence exercise known as TOBRUQ LEGACY 2017. Drills
are held today as part of this exercise at the shooting range in Capul Midia,
south-eastern Romania, and involve troops from Romania, the US and Slovenia.
TOBRUQ LEGACY 2017 is hosted by three countries, the Czech Republic, Lithuania
and Romania, and forms part of the Saber Guardian 2017 exercise. Aimed at
enhancing interoperability between different air defence forces in Europe, Saber
Guardian is the largest exercise carried out in this part of Europe, involving
25,000 military from 22 allied and partner states.

Ranking. Romania is one of the countries to
make greatest progress in terms of the ability to adjust to significant changes,
shows a report published on Wednesday by the consultancy firm KPMG and quoted
by Reuters. Romania now ranks 49th, up 32 places from 2015, in a
ranking made by KPMG. Romania is behind countries like the Czech Republic,
Poland and Hungary, and ahead of Turkey, Russia and Ukraine. The study measures
the ability of 135 states to respond to short-term shocks and long-term
tendencies such as natural disasters, economic crises and climate changes.

Football. The
Romanian side Astra Giurgiu are in Azerbaijan, where they are due to play
against Zira FK on Thursday, in the final leg of the Europa League second
preliminary round. In the fist leg at home, Astra won 3-1 and if they qualify
they will face the Ukrainian side FK Oleksandria in the third preliminary round.
Also in this round, CS Universitatea Craiova will play against AC Milan, while
Dinamo Bucharest face the Spanish side Athletic Bilbao. In the Champions
League, the new Romanian champions FC Viitorul are to face the winner between
APOEL Nicosia from Cyprus and F19 Dudelange from Luxemburg. Vice-champions FCSB
(formerly known as Steaua Bucharest) will meet the Czech side Viktoria Plzen.