August 3, 2016 UPDATE

BREAKING NEWS: A woman has been killed and five others have been injured in a mass stabbing in the centre of London.

Newsroom, 03.08.2016, 12:15

UPDATE: A woman has been killed and five others have been injured in a mass stabbing in Russell Square, in the centre of London, on Wednesday night. Metropolitan police sources mention mental health a significant factor in the attack, although another line of investigation is related to terrorism.The perpetrator of the attack, a 19 year old man, has been taken into custody. Special security measures have been taken, including increased police presence on the streets of London, including armed officers. Those travelling to London are also asked to remain calm and vigilant.

ROYAL FUNERAL The Romanian
Government has declared August 13th, the day of Queen Anne’s
funeral, national day of mourning. Queen Anne was the wife of former sovereign
Michael I, the last king of Romania. The Romanian Royal House has announced
that the coffin will first be taken to Peles Caste in Sinaia, the former royal
summer residence, then to Bucharest, to the Throne Room of the former Royal
Palace. Queen Anne will be buried at Curtea de Arges
Monastery, the necropolis of Romanian royalty. The royal family has announced
they would be in deep mourning for seven days after the funeral, and then in
mourning for another 40 days. Three books of condolence will be available for
the general public for 40 days, one at Peles Castle, and two in Bucharest. President
Iohannis and premier Ciolos, Patriarch Daniel, the head of the Orthodox Church,
as well as political leaders and public figures, have transmitted messages of condolence.
Former president Emil Constantinescu has also sent condolences. Back in 1996,
he was the first Romanian leader to hand the royal couple their Romanian
diplomatic passports.

COUNTRY RATING Coface rating
company has improved Romania’s rating from B to A4, a level that Romania has
not reached since 2009. A4 represents the lower limit of the category
recommended for investment and indicate the fact that the business environment
is solid enough, but the probability of companies being unable to make payments
in due time still exists. Even if Romania’s rating has improved, the company’s
country manager Eugen Anicescu warns
that the recent economic developments are based too much on the increase in
consumption, which might have negative effects in the future.

ECONOMY Retail in Romania
went up 16% in June as compared to the same month in 2015, the highest growth
in an EU member country, according to Eurostat. In the whole of the EU the
growth was 2.4%. At the same time, Romanian banks are among the most profitable
in Europe. According to the European Banking Authority, in the first quarter of
the year the Romanian banks registered an average return rate of 13.5%, as compared
to the European average of almost 6%. Economists say this happens because
guarantees and interest rates are 50% higher in Romania than in the rest of
Europe. Romanian banks registered profits of over one billion lei in the first
three months of the year, the equivalent of 222 million Euro.

LOAN The Romanian
Government has approved the disbursement on August 24th of a first
60 million Euro installment from the reimbursable financial assistance loan for
the Republic of Moldova, the Government spokesman Liviu Iolu announced on
Wednesday. The two parties also agreed on a series of obligations that Moldova
needs to fulfill in order to benefit from the first installment of the loan.
Among them to establish the road map for reaching an agreement with the IMF, to
develop a legislative package aimed at improving the business environment, to
start an analysis of vulnerabilities
facing the banking system and to establish a legislative calendar to fix these
issues.

UNREST Road transporters
in Romania, who accuse the tripling in the past year of car insurance costs,
met on Wednesday with the two vice-premiers and with representatives of the
National Financial Supervisory Authority. Transporters called on the Government
to freeze tariffs at the level calculated in June, which is some 2000 Euro for
a lorry and 700 Euro for a coach per year. In the absence of an agreement
regarding the situation of insurance premiums, road transporters threaten with
national protests as of September. In another development, at two mines in western
Romania, which are to be closed within two years, 155 employees got
notices on termination of employment. The restructuring program also includes
another 90 lay offs in autumn. The miners who will be made redundant will get
severance packages and a monthly income for a period of two years, besides
unemployment benefits.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Secretary
General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland said on Wednesday in Ankara
that Turkey must take measures against those who perpetrated the failed coup
last month, but this must be done by observing the rule of law and human
rights. He made the statement during a joint press conference with the Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The European official stated that
there had been little understanding in Europe on the extent to which a secret network had infiltrated the Turkish army and judiciary. Jagland is the
most important European official to visit Turkey after the failed military coup in July. As a result of the attempted military coup, the Erdogan regime started a cleansing operation among its political opponents,
a measure criticized by the West.

(Later edit: Diana Vijeu; Translation: Mihaela Ignatescu)