March 20, 2017

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Newsroom, 20.03.2017, 13:40

DEFENSE — The country’s Supreme Defence Council is convening tomorrow in Bucharest in a meeting chaired by President Klaus Iohannis. The main topics on the agenda are outfitting the army and Romania’s presence at the NATO Summit in Brussels, to be held over May 24-25. Council members will also discuss progress reported last year as part of the program to upgrade and develop the army by 2026, as well as other national security topics. At the previous meeting of January 31, the Council gave a favourable opinion on the budgets of institutions operating in the field of national security, as per the state budget for 2017.

DECREES — The Government’s decrees no. 6 and 9, which triggered the opposition’s vocal criticism, are this week being debated in the Chamber of Deputies after being passed by the Senate. Decree no. 6 refers to the funding of the National Local Development Program, while decree no. 9 eliminates spending ceilings for public authorities. The Liberals in opposition claim the decrees are aimed at helping channel huge sums of money to the Social-Democratic Party’s political supporters, also nullifying fundamental articles in the law on fiscal accountability. In turn, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said the funds earmarked under decree no. 6 come in response to the high number of applications for funding filed by local authorities, including opposition mayors, and thus called on the opposition to support Romania’s development projects.

MILITARY EXERCISE — Over 1,200 Romanian and United States military are these days taking part in the Spring Storm 2017 joint military exercise involving naval, air and ground forces. Today’s training sheet includes launching anti-air missiles, mortar firing and infantry fire practice. The exercise, which will come to an end on March 22, is part of the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership action plan and reflects NATO’s efforts to ensure the security of its allies in the Black Sea area. The aim of the exercise is to increase the interoperability of participating forces. The exercise employs complex defence tactics carried out on the Romanian Black Sea coast and urban areas, with naval, ground and air support.

FRANCOPHONIE — The Romanian Foreign Ministry marks the International Francophonie Day by means of two diplomatic events open to the public. In central Bucharest, authorities will unveil the statue of Leopold Sedar Senghor, the co-founder of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), the precursor of present-day International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), and a well-established political and cultural figure of Senegal. The second event will be held this evening, when the Group of Francophone Embassies, Delegations and Institutions in Romania will organize the Francophonie Awards gala. Apart from other events held in Bucharest, Romania’s embassies abroad are organizing various events on this occasion. The International Francophonie Day is celebrated every year on March 20, the day when the institutional basis of La Francophonie was laid in 1970. At present, OIF totals 84 member and observer states and governments from across the world. In a 2014 report, the world’s French-speaking population was estimated to stand at some 274 million people. Romania has been member of the OIF since 1993 and hosted the 11th Francophonie Summit in 2006.

MEETING — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on Sunday in Hanover, central Germany, where they argued in favour of free trade and open and free markets, as a response to Donald Trump protectionist economic policies, France Press reports. The meeting comes ahead of the opening of CeBIT, the world’s biggest computer expo, where this year Japan is a guest. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is on a tour of Europe, said economic can grow by means of inter-connectivity, with Japan being a direct beneficiary of free trade and an advocate of open systems, along with Germany.

FOOTBALL — Romania’s national team today assembled in Bucharest to train ahead of Sunday’s match against Denmark, to be played in Cluj, north-western Romania. The match counts towards preliminary Group E as part of the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup to be hosted by Russia. After trouncing Armenia 5-nil, drawing 1-all against Montenegro at home and nil-all against Kazakhstan away from home, losing nil-3 against Poland in Bucharest, Romania is ranked 4th in the group tables, with 5 points. We recall that Romania is coached by German Cristoph Daum, the first foreign coach in the history of the Romanian team, after last year’s subpar performance at the 2016 European Championships in France. (Translated by V. Palcu)