December 15, 2018 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 15.12.2018, 18:50

WEATHER – A code orange alert against
heavy snowfall, freezing rain and drizzle is in place until Sunday evening
targeting areas in the southwest, center and south. Snowfall was reported on
Saturday all across the country, with strong wind reportedly drifting the snow
in the mountain areas. The highs on Saturday varied between minus 3 and plus 9
degrees Celsius. Saturday’s snowfall also affected rail and road traffic.

SUMMIT – The informal summit of EU member
states in 2019 will be held in Sibiu on May 9, Foreign Minister Teodor
Melescanu announced at the Forum in Doha. The meeting will focus on the future
of Europe. The EU is working on organizing a conference to deal with the Gulf
crisis, Melescanu went on to say. In June 2017 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the
United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the
country of supporting Islamic radical terrorism in cooperation with Iran. The
18th Forum in Doha also tackled issues that have to do with the economy, trade,
mass-media, human rights and food safety.

UKRAINE – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on
Saturday announced the creation of the Orthodox Ukrainian Church free from the
Moscow Patriarchy, following a decision of the Reunification Council, made up
of Ukrainian clergy. The new church will be headed by Bishop Epifany, aged 39,
supported by the current leader of the Orthodox Ukrainian church, Filaret. The
Council thus implemented the historic decision of the Patriarchy of
Constantinople in mid October to recognize the Orthodox independent church of
Ukraine, after a period of 332 years under Moscow’s religious rule. In the wake
of this decision Moscow will sever ties with Constantinople, press agencies
write.

HEALTHCARE – The Sanitary Solidarity Federation in Romania on
Saturday threatened to launch new protests before launching an all-out strike
if the Government passes an emergency decree to freeze salary income at the
level of the month of December, with no salary increase provided for employees
in the healthcare sector in 2019. Unionists say the healthcare sector is
shocked by the effects of disparaging salary increases for different types of
medical staff. We recall the authorities have raised the salaries of medical
staff to stop the exodus of Romanian doctors abroad.

KOSOVO – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed
concern after the Kosovar Parliament decided to muster an army and has called
on all stakeholders to show restraint. An unofficial meeting of the Security
Council was held at the request of Serbia. NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg condemned the decision of the Parliament of Kosovo to create an
army, saying NATO will reexamine its level of commitment with the Security
Force in Kosovo. The European Union too has criticized the decision. The
Foreign Ministry in Bucharest said efforts to initiate the transition process
for the Security Force in Kosovo, despite repeated messages from the NATO and
the EU, have had negative impact on the situation in the Western Balkans and
the Euro-Atlantic integration of countries in this area. According to the
Ministry, all efforts must be directed towards continuing a dialogue between
Serbia and Kosovo, to avoid declarations and initiatives that risk escalating
tensions at regional level. We recall Romania has not recognized the
independence of this former Serbian province with a majority Albanian
population.

AFRICAN SWINE FEVER – A new outbreak of African swine fever was
confirmed on Saturday in southern Romania, raising the number of towns and
villages affected to 300 in 18 counties. There are over 1,100 outbreaks and
over 400 cases reported in wild animals. Some 51 million euros have to be paid
in damages to pig farmers.

VISIT – Romanian Minister for the Business Sector, Trade and
Entrepreneurship, Stefan Oprea, met the US Secretary of Trade, Wilbur Ross in
the United States. Minister Oprea presented Romania’s priorities at the helm of
the EU Council, which include promoting trans-Atlantic economic and trade
relations. Minister Oprea thanked Washington for its constant and transparent
support for Romania’s efforts to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD). The two officials also discussed partnership agreements
signed between the two countries’ industry sectors, as well as cooperation in
the energy field. One of the biggest US investments in the energy field is
currently in development in Romania.

PARIS – Thousands of yellow jackets protested in Paris on
Saturday for the fifth consecutive weekend against the increase in the cost of
living, France Press reports. Hundreds were arrested. Over 8,000 members of the
riot police were deployed in the French capital city, to try to ease public
tension. The Eiffel Tower and other museums remain open as well as general
stores. The past weeks’ protests were marked by acts of violence, with over
1,700 people arrested nationwide last week alone.

PROTESTS – Hungarian opposition parties have urged participants in
Friday’s antigovernment protest in Budapest to continue protests, Kossuth Radio
reports. The crowd of protesters marched for several hours in downtown
Budapest, at times clashing with the riot police. For days people are
protesting against Parliament’s draft law on increasing the number of
additional working hours for employees. Dubbed the slavery law, the project
was allegedly designed to favor car manufacturers, protesters say.

HANDBALL – Romania’s handball team is playing the
Netherlands in Sunday’s bronze final at the European Championship underway in
France. On Friday, in the semi-finals, Romania lost to Russia while France won
against the Netherlands. Romania and the Netherlands previously played in the
main group phase, Romania losing the match. Romania has a chance of matching
its best performance at the European championships, namely the bronze medal won
in 2010. By qualifying to the semi-finals, Romania has secured qualification to
the World Cup in Japan next year. We recall team captain Cristina Neagu
sustained a serious injury and will be unavailable for the remainder of the
season. The goals scored in this year’s edition have earned Neagu the title of
all-time top scorer at the European Championship.

(Translated by V. Palcu)