June 28, 2016

The first EU Summit after Britain has decided to leave the bloc is being held in Brussels today.

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Newsroom, 28.06.2016, 12:00

The first EU Summit after Britain has decided to leave the bloc is being held in Brussels today. The 28 heads of state and government will assess the consequences of Brexit and will discuss the issue of Britain’s triggering article 50, the mechanism by which a member state leaves the union. The leaders of Germany, France and Italy have ruled out any chance of informal talks on the UK’s future relationship with the bloc until it gives formal notification of its intention to leave, France Press reports. Romania is represented at the summit by President Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian leader will emphasize the need for unity and solidarity within the EU and the fact that Romania firmly defends the principle of equal rights among all EU citizens, including the rights of Romanians living and working in Britain.

Top ratings agencies downgraded Britain’s sovereign credit score, judging last weeks vote to leave the European Union would hurt its economy. Standard & Poors stripped Britain of its top-notch credit rating, dropping it from “AAA” to “AA”. According to S&P, Brexit would lead to a less predictable, stable, and effective policy framework in the UK. Consequently, financial firms, especially foreign ones, might look to other destinations for investment after Britain leaves the EU. Fitch Ratings also downgraded its ranking for Britains creditworthiness by one notch, and said more cuts could follow. Another major ratings agency, Moodys, will downgrade the credit rating outlook for major British banks to “negative” because of the fallout from the vote to leave the EU.

The British vote to leave the European Union could have a profound impact on global security, weakening Europe’s most powerful military and altering the West’s approach to the challenges facing the continent, Wall Street Journal reports. The American journal also says that Britain’s exit from the EU is likely to erode the consensus on sanctions against Russia, meant to deter further military action by Moscow. In the long run, Brexit could leave Britain’s armed forces diminished, either by a break-up of the U.K. or by reduced military spending driven by economic woes, the paper also reports. According to current and former officials, Britain has been the biggest supporter of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hard line on sanctions, along with Poland and the Baltic states.

Two Romanian tennis players, Monica Niculescu and Sorana Cirstea, are making their debut today in Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year worth over 36 million euros. Niculescu will be up against Serbian Aleksandra Krunic, while Sorana Cirstea will play against the Czech Petrei Kvitova. On Monday, another Romanian player, Simona Halep, the competition’s 5th seed, made it to the second round after defeating Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-4, 6-1. Also in women’s singles, Irina Begu and Patricia Tig lost to German Carina Witthoeft and Italian Sara Errani respectively. In the men’s singles, Romania’s only representative is Marius Copil who is today playing against French Lucas Pouille.

Iceland’s national football squad, for the first time at a final tournament, was he big surprise of the round of sixteen of the European Championship in France, after defeating England 2-1 on Monday. On the same day, Italy beat Spain, 2-nil. In the quarterfinals Iceland will play against France while Italy will be up against Germany. The quarterfinals will also see Belgium against Wales and Poland against Portugal.

(Translated by Elena Enache)