July 3, 2014 UPDATe
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 03.07.2014, 19:42
The Romanian Foreign Ministry has hailed the endorsement on Thursday by the Romanian Parliament, of the laws ratifying the EU association agreements with the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, which stands proof of Romania’s solid and constant commitment to supporting those countries’ European integration. The Romanian Parliament is the first such body in the EU to finalize the ratification procedure. The Romanian Foreign Ministry hopes that the other 27 EU member states too will soon ratify the documents.
The Romanian state railway company in charge of freight trains will downsize by 2,500 employees, part of their restructuring and re-organization program. The people who lose their jobs will get 12 to 14 monthly salaries as part of their severance package, around 370 Euros per month. They will also get six gross worth monthly salaries matching their pay grade, worth around 205 Euros. The restructuring aims to restore the balance between the volume of freight and the number of employees, in order to increase competitiveness. The freight division of the national railroad company holds 54.8% of the market at this point, with a turnover last year of around 210 million Euros, 5% less than 2012.
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the assassination of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem, possibly in retaliation for the abduction and killing of three Israelis on June 12 in the West Bank. The ministry condemns firmly the violence and loss of life on both sides, appealing to calm. Israel threatened Hamas with heavy handed retaliation. As a first measure, the IDF demolished the homes of the suspects, and bombed the Gaza Strip. Hamas denied having anything to do with the kidnapping, at the same time endorsing the killing.
The former president of the National Tax Agency Administration of Romania, Sorin Blejnar, has been indicted by anti-corruption prosecutors, accused alongside others of conspiracy to commit tax fraud and organized criminal activity. Damages to the state were estimated to be 56 million Euro. According to prosecutors, Sorin Blejnar supported the crime ring, which avoided paying taxes for around 90,000 tons of diesel fuel, sold as inferior grade fuel.
On Thursday, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angel Merkel called on the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to encourage the pro-Russia separatists in the east of Ukraine to reach a cease-fire agreement with the Kiev authorities. In the meantime Ukraine has intensified its anti-terrorist offensive in the east of the country. On Monday President Petro Porosenco had announced the termination of the truce set on June 20th and the resumption of anti-terror operations. Since the onset of the special operations in April, over 200 soldiers have died and another 600 have been wounded.
Representatives of 30 French makers of automotive equipment and the Romanian branches of French, German, American, Italian and Japanese automotive parts makers met in Bucharest on Thursday to discuss cooperation. The meeting was organized in cooperation with the French group Renault-Dacia, the company with the biggest turnover in Romania in 2013. According to the Dacia President, Nicolas Maure, the Romanian Government is an active supporter of the industry. On the other hand, though, the transport infrastructure should be developed and administrative procedures rendered less complicated. In turn, the president of the Car Makers’ Association in Romania, Constantin Stroe, stated that without foreign direct investment, the automotive industry could not develop further. In 2013 some 400 thousand cars were made in Romania.
Romania’s best tennis player, Simona Halep, ranked 3rd in the WTA classification, has failed to qualify for the final of the Wimbledon tournament, the third Grand Slam of the year. She was defeated in two sets by the Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard, ranked 13th. For reaching as far as the semi-finals, Simona will get 780 WTA points and 440 thousand pounds.
