February 18, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.02.2019, 19:42

EU – The Romanian Economy Minister,
Niculae Bădălău, on Monday chaired in Brussels the first meeting of the
internal market and industry section of the Competitiveness Council (COMPET),
under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. The agenda of the
Council meeting included talks on competitiveness, artificial intelligence and
its impact on EU industry and the Commission’s communication A Clean Planet
for all: A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern,
competitive and climate-neutral economy. Moreover the Council also adopted the
conclusions on the Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence, which is part
of a Coordinated Plan on the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence
Made in Europe.

JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation
and Justice has once again postponed, to March 18, the appeal filed by the
Social Democratic leader Liviu Dragnea against a 3-and-a-half-year prison
sentence he had received from the court of first instance in a
corruption-related case. In June 2018, the Supreme Court sentenced Dragnea for
instigating abuse of office, in a case involving the fictitious employment of 2
individuals who were on the payroll of the Teleorman Directorate General for
Social Assistance and Child Protection, but who actually worked exclusively for
the Social Democratic Party. Liviu Dragnea, who was the head of the County
Council at the time, was accused of having ordered the hiring. He claims to be
innocent and has appealed the initial ruling, but the trial has been repeatedly
postponed, amid controversies regarding the membership of the 5-judge panels at
the Supreme Court. In 2016, Dragnea also received a suspended 2-year prison sentence
for attempted election fraud, but last summer the Supreme Court reversed the
decision to suspend his sentence.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – The Romanian Foreign Minister
Teodor Meleşcanu on Monday attended a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in
Brussels. The agenda included the developments in Ukraine and Syria. According
to Minister Melescanu, concerning Syria, everyone agreed that the EU needs to
get more involved in finding a political solution to the crisis in this
country, considering the impact the crisis is having on the EU, especially in
terms of migration and the return of military combatants from Syria. As regards
Ukraine, Teodor Melescanu said it is important the Council sends a clear
message of support by means of its resolutions that should focus on the
observance of Ukraine’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. Moreover,
the Romanian official said the best solution after the election in Moldova
would be a pro-European Parliament majority that should continue its EU
accession path.

STATISTICS – 1.6% of Romanian employees
were working in culture-related fields in 2017, as against the 3.8% the EU
average, according to data made public by the European Statistics Bureau,
Eurostat, on Monday. Around 8.7 million EU citizens were working in culture-related
fields or had professions in this field. The highest rates were reported in
Estonia (5.5%) and Sweden (4.8%). According to Eurostat, in 2017 EU households
allotted an average 8.5% of their total expenses to entertainment and culture,
with Denmark and Sweden spending as much as 11.5% and 11% respectively,
compared to Greece with 4.6% and Romania with 5.8%. The total expenses for
entertainment and culture across the EU in 2017 reached 710 billion euros,
accounting for 4.6% of the Union’s GDP.

FLU – In Romania, the number of
deaths caused by the flu has reached 131. According to the National Centre for
Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control, the last victims are a woman and 2
men. They had previous conditions and had not been immunized against the flu.
Romania is currently struggling with a flu epidemic.

NAVY – The Lieutenant Lupu Dinescu minesweeper on Sunday left
the port of Constanta to join the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group. The
mission is aimed at carrying out specific actions in the Black Sea to ensure
NATO’s collective defense on its eastern flank. Taking part are vessels from
Bulgaria, Germany, Spain and Turkey. The Group will also take part in the
Poseidon 19 Romanian-Bulgaria bilateral exercise. The crew of the Romanian
minesweeper comprises 78 military.

PIPELINE – Construction works for phase
II of the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau pipeline kicked off on Monday, the Romanian
Ministry of the Economy reports. The project is proof of Romania’s support for
the Republic of Moldova and of its efforts to consolidate energy security and
integration on the European single energy market. The first phase of the
pipeline was inaugurated in 2014 and can carry some 1,5 billion cubic meters of
natural gas.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep
is as of Monday world number 2 in WTA standings. She will play Eugenie Bouchard
of Canada in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships,
totaling 2.8 million dollars in prize money. Also on Monday, the pair made up
of Irina Bara of Romania and Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia advanced to the round
of 32 in the doubles competition, after easing past Belinda Bencic of
Switzerland and Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 2-6, 6-4, 11-0. They will next play
Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands, seeded 8th
in the competition, who ousted Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania and Alicja
Rosolska of Poland. Mihaela Buzarnescu on Monday also lost to Sofia Kenin of
the United States in the singles competition, 6-3, 6-nil.

(Translated by Ana-Maria Popescu
& V. Palcu)