July 7, 2017 UPDATE
For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.
Newsroom, 07.07.2017, 19:43
G20 — Hamburg, in northern Germany, plays host to the G20 meeting. World leaders will discuss trade, climate change, as well as the North Korean nuclear threat. The main event was Friday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The German authorities have taken strict security measures, after security forces last night faced off against protesters against capitalism.
INVESTIGATION — Anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi on Monday will appear before Parliament’s Committee charged with investigating the presidential election of 2009. Committee Chairman Oana Florea said unless Kovesi shows up, the Committee will refer the matter to the Ministry of Justice or take criminal action against her. This is the third time Kovesi has been summoned for a hearing to account for her actions in 2009, when she was Romania’s Prosecutor General. Kovesi claimed her absence was motivated by rulings of the Superior Council of Magistrates and the Constitutional Court. The Committee continues its investigation although the Prosecutor’s Office has recently closed its investigation. Both actions were started following revelations made by a controversial journalist, who claims the 2009 election was influenced by high-ranking officials including the heads of some important institutions. The election was won by Traian Basescu.
GDP — Romanias GDP in the first quarter of the year was 5.7% higher than the similar period in 2016, according to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics issued on Friday. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, the GDP in the first quarter of 2017 was higher by 1.7% in real terms. In its latest report, the World Bank adjusted its prediction for economic growth to 4.4% for this year, compared to the figure issued in January, which was 3.7%. The IMF also adjusted its expectation for economic growth this year from 3.8 to 4.2%. In Bucharest, the National Forecast Commission said that this year Romanias economic growth was 5.2%.
PROGRAM — The ruling coalition, made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, on Monday will decide on the governing program for the upcoming period. Attending the meeting will be Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and several members of his Cabinet. In another development, the Liberal Party has announced its plans to file a no-confidence motion against the newly-sworn in Government, unless the Cabinet gives up its plan to introduce a tax on turnover and the so-called solidarity tax.
DISTINCTION — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Friday signed the decree whereby German MP Hartmut Koschyk is awarded the Romanian Star Order in Rank of Officer. The award was offered “as a sign of gratitude for his crucial contribution to consolidating Romanian-German relations in several fields, fostering a constructive approach to observing and preserving the cultural and linguistic identity of the German minority in Romania”. Koschyk is the representative of the Federal Government for immigrants and national minorities and co-chair of the mixed Romanian-German Government Committee on German ethnics in Romania. Awarding the distinction was the initiative of Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu.
FESTIVAL — Over 150,000 people are expected to attend the Neversea music festival, taking place in Constanta this weekend, the biggest of the festivals taking place on the Romanian Black Sea beach this summer. The three-day event gathers over 100 famous artists, such as Tiesto, Afrojack, Jason Derulo, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Fatboy Slim, Years&Years, and Ella Eyre. At the same time, the village of Garana is the venue for the 21st edition of the International Jazz Festival, the most complex outdoor event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing to the stage 18 bands.
TENNIS — The best-rated tennis player from Romania right now, Simona Halep, WTA no. 2, on Friday qualified to the round of 16 of the Wimbledon tournament. Halep knocked out Shuai Peng of China, 37 WTA, in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6. Halep will next play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Another Romanian tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, 63 WTA, will play Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 15 WTA on Saturday. In the men’s doubles, the pair made up of Florin Mergea and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has qualified to the second round, where they will play Julian Knowle and Phillipp Oswald of Austria. (Translated by V. Palcu)
