June 8, 2018 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

România Internațional, 08.06.2018, 20:00

B9 FORMAT- On Friday in Warsaw, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda participated in the meeting of the Bucharest 9 Format, which includes NATO members from central and Eastern Europe. The participants adopted a joint declaration, about which the Romanian President said it reflects common evaluations and objectives focusing on strengthening Euro-Atlantic security. He also stated that NATOs eastern flank must be further consolidated. Also, the Romanian head of state has said that earmarking 2% of the GDP for defence and investing in modernizing the military capability are investments in a countrys own security and Romania has fulfilled its commitment to ensuring that. In turn, the Polish President Andrzej Duda has stated that the joint declaration will help the decision-making process at the NATO summit due in Brussels next month.

CORRUPTION – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest has postponed for June 21st its ruling in the case in which the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea is accused of acts of corruption. Its the second time that the court postpones its verdict. The reason invoked was that part of the defendants in this case filed some written conclusions on June 7th, and the judges need time to study them. Last month, prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested a sentence of 7 years and 5 months in prison for abuse of office and 2 years and 6 months for forgery. They say that Liviu Dragnea, during his term as president of the Teleorman County Council, ordered the fictitious employment of two Social Democratic party members by the Directorate for Social Work and Child Protection. The two were paid from public money although they allegedly worked exclusively for the Social Democratic Party. Dragnea claims he is innocent and has denied prosecutors accusations. In 2016 Dragnea received a 2-year suspended prison sentence for attempted electoral fraud.

DEFENCE – The very good cooperation in the field of defence, with focus on the British military contribution in Romania, was high on the agenda of the talks held in Brussels on Friday between the Romanian Defence Minister Mihai Fifor and the British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. The Romania – Great Britain bilateral meeting was held on the second day of the NATO Defence Ministers summit, at the general headquarters of the Alliance, reads a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry. Minister Fifor appreciated Great Britains active participation in air-policing missions and also its constant presence in the Black Sea, thus proving its commitment to NATOs deterrence and defence posture in the region. In turn, the British secretary of defence stressed that the fact that Romania is a regional stability factor and has a substantial contribution to maintaining security in the Black Sea and Western Balkans regions.

CEREMONY – General Nicolae Ciuca, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Army, will attend on Saturday the ceremony occasioned by the anniversary of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, at the invitation of Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart William Peach, according to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defence Ministry. This is recognition of the good cooperation between the two armies and an opportunity to promote at military level the interests of the Romanian Army in the relation with the British Army, one of its most important allies, the communiqué also reads.

G7 – At the opening of the G7 summit hosted by Canada, the President of the European Council Donald Tusk blamed the US President Donald Trump for defying world order, France Presse reports. On Friday, the first day of the two-day summit, Donald Trump urged G7 to reintegrate Russia, which was expelled from the format in 2014, after annexing the Crimean Peninsula. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that she expects difficult discussions at the summit, between Washington and its partners, especially with regard to international trade, climate protection, development and external policies.

FESTIVAL- Almost 13 million Euros is the budget of this years edition of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which started on Friday. Until June 17, the audience will have the opportunity to watch some 524 performances. The 25th edition of the festival has brought to Sibiu 3,300 artists from 73 countries. This is the first year when the festival has two honorary patrons: the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, a former mayor of Sibiu, and Prince Charles, the Heir to the British Crown, who is famous for his passion for the region of Transylvania, in central Romania.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 in the WTA rankings and first-seed at the Roland Garros, will play in the final against the American Sloane Stephens, no.10 in the WTA classification. In the semifinals, Halep defeated the Spanish Garbine Muguruza, number three in the world, and winner in Paris in 2016, while Sloane Stephens defeated her co-national Madison Keys (no.13 WTA). This is the third Roland Garros final for Simona Halep, after the ones in 2014 and 2017, which she did not manage to win.