January 4, 2016 UPDATE

Three people died from the cold and scores have been hospitalised with hypothermia in Romania/ Romanias national currency, the leu, will maintain its stabilization trend against the Euro, but it will slightly depreciate against the US dollar

Newsroom, 04.01.2016, 12:15

COLD WEATHER – The wave of cold weather which is sweeping the region has hit Romania, where temperatures dropped to minus 16 degrees Celsius. Three people died from the cold and scores have been hospitalised with hypothermia. Bucharest authorities decided to start offering hot tea and hot soup to the homeless. Snow has disrupted road traffic in the south and south west of the country and rendered air traffic difficult. Speed restrictions have also been imposed in places and many trains have failed to arrive on time. Several ports on the Black Sea Coast have also been closed down.

CURRENCY – Romanias national currency, the leu, will this year maintain its stabilization trend against the Euro, but it will slightly depreciate against the US dollar. The forecast was made by the Financial – Banking Analysts Association in Romania, according to which the national currency will be mostly influenced by external factors. The President of the Association, Radu Craciun, has said that, although Romanias perception at international level is very good, the leus exchange rates will very much depend on the dynamics of the volatile currency markets. On the other hand, he has warned that certain promises made in the run-up to the 2016 local and legislative elections might raise worries among the foreign investors, and this could impact the evolution of the exchange rate.

MOLDOVA– The Prime Minister Designate of the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population), the technocrat Ion Sturza, could not ask for a vote of confidence in Parliament on Monday because of a lack of quorum. The Sturza cabinet had however stood slim chances to get Parliaments endorsement, because the Prime Minister Designate failed to secure the needed 51 votes in order to take office. We recall that on December 21, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, designated Ion Sturza, a businessman and former Prime Minister in 1999, for the position of Prime Minister, in the absence of a parliamentary majority willing to assume responsibility for the new cabinet. If President Timofti nominates a new candidate for the position of Prime Minister, who fails again to get Parliaments endorsement, the Moldovan President will be forced to dissolve Parliament and to call snap elections. The former cabinet, led by Liberal Democrat Valeriu Strelet, was sacked on October 29, under a no-confidence motion filed by the pro-Moscow left and voted by the Democratic Party.

SEVERED DIPLOMATIC TIES – The EU and the US have launched an appeal for calm after Saudi Arabia, a country with a majority Sunni population, severed diplomatic ties with Iran, a country with a predominantly Shia population. The EU calls on the two sides to show restraint and responsibility, and the US Department of State said diplomatic relations are instrumental in solving differences between the two sides. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran, after its embassy in Tehran was stormed by violent protesters, discontent with the execution by the Riyadh authorities of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Sheikh Al Nimr, a harsh critic of Saudi Arabias ruling Sunni dynasty, was accused of terrorism, conspiracy and breaking the oath of allegiance to the sovereign.

REFUGEES– The Swedish authorities, overwhelmed by the huge inflow of migrants, on Monday instated new controls on the border with Denmark, France Presse reports. Everybody who crosses the Ostersund Bridge, which is the main gateway used by the refugees, must present an ID. The measure also applies to those who come on board ships departing from the Danish and German ports on the Baltic Sea. Sweden, where over 20% of the residents are of foreign origin, received over 160,000 refugees in 2015 alone. In turn, Denmark on Monday temporarily introduced controls on the border with Germany, to prevent the entrance of migrants without valid travel papers.

(Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)