June 11, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 11.06.2015, 12:15
Sustainable development and the post 2015 development agenda, the conclusion and modernization of bi and multilateral trade agreements, the eradication of poverty and the fight against climate change were the main topics on the agenda of the summit of the EU — the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, where Romania was represented by its president, Klaus Iohannis. Two joint declarations were adopted at the end of the meeting, one of principles and one political, which establish the political grounds of this inter-regional partnership. Also, an action plan was adopted, for the implementation of the declaration of principles, a document which provides for joint initiatives in fields such as IT research and technology, social inclusion, urban development and migration. The Romanian head of state said that at the summit he stressed the need for change, for updating the inter-regional cooperation mechanisms, in order to maintain cooperation between the two continents viable and effective, as a strategic tool, not only for this process, but also for a more active and aggregated action towards solving global issues.
The World Bank has revised its world economic growth forecast for this year downwards, to 2.8%, 0.2 lower than before. For Romania, though, the bank anticipates above average growth: 3% in 2015, 3.2% in 2016, and 3.5% in 2017.
The Romanian Transport Minister, the Social Democrat Ioan Rus has resigned, following the insulting statements he made during a TV show about the Romanians who are working abroad. His resignation, which has been accepted by the Prime Minister, had been called for by the opposition and the Diaspora, which termed his statements as irresponsible and showing that Ioan Rus knew nothing about the situation of the Romanians living abroad and felt no responsibility whatsoever for those people. Ioan Rus has apologized in a press release, saying that his intention was merely to stress the serious situation facing many Romanian families.
Romanian retirees members of the ‘Unirea’ National Federation protested on Thursday in Bucharest, demanding a national action program to ensure decent living conditions for the Romanian pensioners. According to the federation, pensions in real terms in 2014 were lower than even in 2009, with fewer and fewer treatment vouchers each year. The federation claims that the general state of health among seniors has been deteriorating because of poverty, with rising mortality and morbidity rates, with the number of civilian retirees dropping from 6 million 12 years ago to 5.18 million at present.
The Romanian Interior Minister, Gabriel Oprea, on Thursday met his counterpart from the Republic of Moldova, Oleg Balan. At the meeting, the former said that Moldova was a privileged partner for Romania, specifying that fighting cross-border organized crime was still a priority for the two countries, adding that Romania would open up more positions for Moldovan students to attend the Romanian Police Academy. Also, the Romanian deputy PM assured the Moldovan minister of Romania’s full support in his country’s bid to join the EU. In turn, Oleg Balan welcomed all the support granted by the Romanian authorities to the efforts to reform the Moldovan police.
Citizens from NATO member states believe Moscow is responsible for triggering the Ukrainian crisis and see Russia as a threat to its neighbours, as indicated by a Pew Research poll quoted by press agencies. 39% of the respondents believe that the situation in Ukraine was provoked by Russia, while 18% believe the responsible party is the pro-Russian separatist faction. About half of the people polled said that Russia was a threat to neighbouring countries. Moscow’s aggressive action in the ex-Soviet space was harshly condemned on Wednesday in the European Parliament.
Standard and Poor’s lowered Greece’s rating from CCC+ to CCC, emphasizing that, lacking an agreement with its creditors, Athens would go bankrupt in the next 12 months, France Presser reports. Athens is under negotiations with its lenders to get the 7.2 billion Euros in due payments as part of the second financial assistance program.
The Romanian — Spanish pair made up of Monica Niculescu and Arantxa Parra Santonja has qualified for the quarter finals of the doubles event of the WTA tournament in Nottingham, Great Britain, with over 226 thousands dollars in prize money. The defeated Hao-Ching Chan and Ala Kudriavtzeva of Taiwan and Russia respectively, 6-4, 7-6. In the quarters, the two players will be taking on the British pair Jocelyn Rae/Anna Smith. On Wednesday, Monica Niculescu qualified for the singles quarters, beating Olga Govortova of Byelorussia 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. Next she is to play against the British Johanna Konta.
On Saturday in Berlin, Romania’s national football squad will be taking on the national team of Northern Ireland. The game counts towards the Euro 2016 preliminaries and is rated a final of sorts in Group F, which also includes Hungary, Finland, Greece and the Faeroe Islands. With four wins and a draw in their first five fixtures, the Romanians top the table with 13 points, followed by Northern Ireland, with 12. the last time when Romanian took part in a final tournament of a European championship was 2008.
