March 25, 2019

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.03.2019, 13:46

CONTROVERSY – King
Abdullah II of Jordan has cancelled his three-day visit to Romania, which
should have started today. The decision was made after the Romanian Prime
Minister Viorica Dancila has announced that Romania will move its embassy in
Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. President Klaus Iohannis has stated that the
move will take place only after the completion of the analysis that is
currently being made, and which has not been submitted to the president yet.
The final decision lies with the president of the country, who, according to
the Constitution, is the one that makes Romania’s foreign policy decisions and
is Romania’s representative abroad, reads a communiqué issued by the
presidential administration. Viorica Dancila announced in Washington, on
Sunday, that the Romanian Embassy in Israel would be moved from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem. At the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Romanian PM also said that a law would be drafted granting the Romanian citizenship to the Jews
who left the country during the communist regime and pensions for the survivors
of the Holocaust. The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has congratulated Ms.
Dancila for the statement. The Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, Saeb Erekat, on the other hand, has criticized the Romanian
official and has called on the EU to take measures. In October 2018, the
Romanian Foreign Ministry sent to the Government an analysis on the effects of
moving the Romanian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The idea was launched
by the first man in the ruling coalition in Romania, the president of the
Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, in late 2017. In reaction to that, the
Palestinian Authority has temporarily recalled its ambassador to Bucharest.

MEETING – Over March 26th-27th, EU transport ministers
and secretaries of state will attend in Bucharest the informal transport
ministers’ meeting, against
the background of Romania’s holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the
EU. Among other things, the participants will discuss topics relating to
mobility in the EU and strengthening connectivity and cohesion through the
TEN-T network. According to a communiqué issued by the organizers, the building
of an extended and connected trans-European transport network helps strengthen
territorial cohesion and ensures the accessibility and connectivity of all EU
regions, including the peripheral ones, which will in turn boost investment and
bridge development gaps.

PROTEST – The Romanian Transport
Operators’ Federation (FORT) has
announced it will hold protests in Strasbourg, on March 27th, alongside
other trade unions from Romania and the eastern countries, against Mobility
Package 1. Among other things, the federation is against the provision stating
that drivers must return home at least once every four weeks or, in case the driver
opts for shorter weekly breaks, after three weeks on the road. FORT is also
calling for a reassessment of the normal weekly rest period in the vehicle’s
cabin and it also stands against applying the rules of posting to road
transport.

FINANCES – This
week, the Romanian Government is adopting changes to the famous Emergency
Decree no. 114. The ROBOR index (the Romanian Interbank Offer Rate) will be
disconnected from the tax on bank assets and will be established based on
actual transactions, not on quotas, as it is now, the Romanian Finance Minister
Eugen Teodorovici has explained. As regards the provisions concerning energy,
more specifically the cap on the price of gas and the contribution of 2% of the
turnover, Eugen Teodorovici has stated that talks are still being held on
whether the decision should be applied as of April 1st. If everybody
agrees, these provisions too might change next week. Another issue is that
concerning the pension fund known as Pillar II. The finance minister has stated
that if the administrators of pension funds accept what’s been discussed so
far, the new emergency decree will stipulate a prorogation of the
implementation deadline, which means that the administrators will have time until
the end of the year to increase the registered capital and will be able to
invest 2% of this capital in state projects.

PSD – The
National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party gathers today in
Bucharest to decide upon the list of candidates for the European Parliament
elections, due on May 26th. Among the potential candidates are the
Minister of European Funds Rovana Plumb, the leader of the Romanian Social -
Democratic Euro-deputies Dan Nica, or the former Minister Delegate for European
Affairs, Victor Negrescu. According to a recent poll, the ruling Social Democratic
Party and the opposition National Liberal Party are almost on the same position
in terms of voting intentions for the European Parliament elections, with 26.9%
and 26.3% respectively. Next comes the Alliance 2020 USR-PLUS with 15.3%, the
co-ruling Alliance of Liberals and Democrats with 9.3% and the Pro Romaia
Party, made up of Social Democrat dissidents with 9.1%. The only party above
the electoral threshold would be only the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
with 5%.

MEDALS – Romania has won two medals
at the European Shooting Championship in Osijek, Croatia. Athlete Laura Coman
walked away with gold, and the women’s team won the bronze. Laura Coman won the
10 meter air rifle event, followed by the Swiss Nina Christen and the Austrian
Franziska Peer. The women’s team ended the competition on third place, in the
same event. The gold went to the Russian team.

TENNIS
– World’s number three tennis player, the Romanian Simona Halep, today takes on the American Venus Williams (WTA 43rd-placed), in a match counting towards the
round of 16 at the Miami tournament, an event with more than nine million USD
in prize money. Simona Halep and Venus Williams have previously faced off six
times, with the head-to-head level at three wins apiece, yet the Romanian has grabbed clear-cut wins
in the last three confrontations. In the women’s doubles, the Romanian
-Croatian pair made of Raluca Olaru and Darija Jurak reached as far as the
quarterfinals, having defeated the Spanish – British couple made of Lara Arruabarrena and Heather Watson. Also in the
women’s doubles in Miami, Simona Halep and Germany’s Julia Goerges will face
Monica Niculescu, also of Romania, and the American Abigail Spears, in a match
counting towards the tournament’s round of 16.

FOOTBALL
– Romania’s Under-21 national team, currently in a training stage in Spain,
today takes on the similar team of Denmark, in a friendly confrontation. This
past Thursday, the Romanian lineup sustained a nil-1 defeat by host country
Spain. We recall that Romania’s Under-21 team is part of Group C at the
European Championship 2019, alongside England, France and Croatia. This past
Saturday, in its debut fixture as part of the 2020 European Championship’s
preliminaries, the Romanian seniors’ team sustained a 1-2 away defeat, in a
Group F match against Sweden. This coming Tuesday, the Romanians are scheduled
to play a home match against the Faeroe Islands, in the north-western Romanian
town of Cluj. Also part of Group F are Spain, Norway and Malta. The first two
teams in descending order go through to the final tournament. Romania’s capital
city Bucharest on November 30 will host the drawing of lots for EURO 2020.
Bucharest will also host four fixtures of the final tournament, three in the
competition’s group stage and another one, counting towards the round of 16.

(translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)