December 4, 2016 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 04.12.2016, 12:15

ELECTION – Legislative elections will be held in Romania on December 11, under the new legislation in force, marking a return to the 2004 party-list voting system. New representation quotas are also being introduced, as follows: 1 deputy per 73,000 inhabitants and 1 senator per 168,000 inhabitants. Running for the 466 MP seats are 6,493 people. The Romanian Diaspora, accounting for over three million people, will be represented by 2 senators and 4 deputies. All Romanians residing abroad will as of this year be able to vote by post.

REFUGEES – 17 Syrian refugees were apprehended by the Romanian border police while trying to illegally cross from Serbia into Romania. Nine of the 17 are children aged between two and ten. On Saturday, the border police also identified a Turkish national accompanied by a Serbian guide. The man was trying to enter Romania on route to Germany. Over the last year, over 300 refugees, mostly Syrian, have tried to enter Romania. Most of them are trying to cross from Serbia, currently home to over 7,000 immigrants.

ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN – An anti-corruption campaign is being held on Monday in 14 border crossing points in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. For the course of five days, flyers and leaflets will be handed out with the purpose of raising the awareness of citizens with respect to the risk they expose themselves when dealing in border-related crimes. Organized by the General Anti-Corruption Directorate in Romania, the Anti-Corruption National Centre in Moldova and the State Border Police Service in Ukraine, the campaign is carried out also with help from Romanian high-school volunteers.

EUROSTAT – One in three Romanians cannot afford to eat out with friends every month, shows the latest Eurostat survey. Figures indicate the same figures for Hungary and Bulgaria. In Romania, those affected are the elderly, of whom 43% lack the funds to eat out in a restaurant every month. Over a third of young people below 25 cannot afford to go out to a pub every month. Nearly one in ten European citizens lacks the money for such monthly activities.

GREECE – Structural reforms will help Greece get sustainable growth instead of a debt-cutting deal, the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Bild am Sonntag on Sunday. Greeces outstanding debt currently amounts to 300 billion euros, accounting for 180% of its GDP, the highest in the Eurozone. A Eurozone Finance Ministers meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday in Brussels, aimed at reviewing the progress Athens has reported in implementing the line of reforms demanded in exchange for granting financial assistance. Germany is unlikely to discuss a cut in Greeces debt ahead of the elections of September 2017. For the first time since 2014, Greece has reported a growth of its GDP for two consecutive terms, thus ending the economic slump.

HANDBALL – Romanias national womens handball team are participating in Sweden between December 4 –18 in the European Handball Championship. Romania will take on Norway, in Group D, on December 5th, Russia on the 7th of December and Croatia on the 9th. The three top-ranking teams in each group will qualify to the second stage. Romanias team is coached by the Spanish Ambros Martin, who last month replaced the Swedish Tomas Ryde, who led the Romanians to victory at the 2015 World Championship hosted by Denmark, when they won bronze. Ambros Martin was designated the best coach of the world in 2013 and 2014 and won two times the Champions League with the Hungarian team Győr that he is also coaching. The teams of Norway and Denmark have won the most continental titles, 6 and 3 respectively. Romanias best result at the European Championship was the bronze medal in 2010.

(Translated by V. Palcu)