January 30, 2016 UPDATE

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România Internațional, 30.01.2016, 12:15

LETTER – Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Saturday sent a letter to his Moldovan counterpart Pavel Filip detailing the reforms Chisinau must carry out in the shortest time possible in order to receive the first instalment worth 60 million euros as part of a reimbursable 150-million-euro loan Romania will give to Moldova. According to a Government release, there are 7 measures that need to be adopted, including the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agenda, the adoption of laws to improve the business sector, setting a roadmap for signing an agreement with the IMF, reviewing vulnerabilities in the banking sector and adopting a legal timetable for correcting them, appointing a National Bank Governor by means of a transparent and reliable process and adopting an anti-corruption law package. On Tuesday, the Moldovan Prime Minister paid his first official visit to Romania.

ELECTIONS – The National Union for the Progress of Romania will have its own separate candidates in the local elections, hoping to obtain 10% of the votes, party president Gabriel Oprea said on Saturday. At the legislative elections however his party will submit joint candidates with the Social-Democratic Party. While Oprea didnt rule out an alliance with the Social-Democrats for the locals, he said it was the organizations that had a say in the matter. On the other hand, Gabriel Oprea said he opposed the switch to the two-ballot vote for the local elections, as the Liberals have proposed. The Social-Democratic Party has firmly opposed the move. Besides the Liberals, only the Peoples Movement Party has argued in favour of the new system. Local elections are scheduled to take place in early June. Legislative elections will be held later this year in Romania.

MIGRANTS – At least 33 migrants died on Saturday in a new shipwreck in the Aegean Sea, after their boat capsized, a Turkish coast guard official has announced. Originating from Syria, Afghanistan and Burma, the migrants left from Cankkale in Turkey trying to reach Lesbos Island. On Thursday, 24 migrants, including 10 children, drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of the Samos Island. The head of FRONTEX Fabrice Leggeri told Der Spiegel that approximately 1 million migrants are expected to arrive in Europe this year via Turkey. The FRONTEX official said the Government in Turkey doesnt have the means to keep the migration flows at bay, despite an agreement in this sense agreed with the EU. In 2015, over 1 million immigrants arrived in Europe.

PHOTOGRAPHY – Famous British photographer Richard John Seymour, the recipient of several photography awards, has recently visited the Turda salt mine in central Romania, as part of a project to take photos of the most spectacular anthropical landscapes. In an article published on thespaces.com carried by the CNN, the salt mine is described as an unusual attraction, visited every year by thousands of tourists. People go down in the mine to treat various respiratory diseases, others to play mini-golf, bowling or to take a boat ride on the underground lake. In 2014, Business Insider ranked the Turda salt mine among the top 25th most attractive tourist destinations in the world.

VOTE – Minister Delegate for Romanians Abroad Dan Stoenescu on Saturday, invited Romanians abroad to register with the election register and recommended they used postal voting as an alternative to the traditional voting system. In a live-video dial dialogue on his official Facebook page, Minister Stoenescu highlighted that unless they submitted the necessary documents for the authorities to take them in evidence or if they changed their home address before the deadline for signing up for the election register expires, they will only be able to vote in voting polls at embassies, consular offices and cultural institutes of Romania. Voters can register starting April 1, while the deadline for registering expires two days before the election campaign starts.

EBRD – The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Suma Chakrabarti is paying an official visit to Romania on Monday and Tuesday. He will meet with President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, Finance Minister Anca Paliu Dragu and National Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu. The EBRD official will also discuss with representatives of the business sector the investment climate, the pace of reforms and the economic context in general. According to the EBRD, in 2016 Romanias economic growth will be the most robust at European level. EBRD is one of the biggest institutional investors in Romania, with 7 billion euros invested so far and another 14 billion from other funding sources. Last year the EBRD adopted a new strategy for Romania, prioritising investment for the next years by expanding access to financing, cutting back on regional imbalances by improving infrastructure and stepping up competitiveness in the private sector.

TENNIS – German tennis player Angelique Kerber won her first Grand Slam tournament today after defeating Serena Williams of the US in the womens finals. For her win Kerber will step up to 2nd place in WTA standings, replacing Romanian Simona Halep. Serena Williams will remain world leader. On the other hand, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Coco Vandeweghe of the US on Sunday will play fifth-seeds Elena Vesnina of Russia and Bruno Soares of Brazil in the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Tecau and Vandeweghe knocked out Treat Huey of the Philippines and Andreja Klepac of Slovenia, 6-4, 6-4 in the semis. In 2012 Horia Tecau won the mixed doubles at Australian Open together with Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US.

(Translated by V. Palcu)