March 28, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 28.03.2014, 12:01
The Romanian government continues talks on Friday with the representatives of Romanian transporters regarding the measures meant to diminish the impact of the increase in the excise duty on fuels by 7 eurocents which is to take effect as of April 1st. The government is to pass a law on recuperating part of the excise duty and will propose legislative changes meant to fight tax evasion in the field. Dan Manolescu, secretary of state with the Finance Ministry, said the government agreed with the recuperation of part of the excise duty according to the model of other European states, so as not to affect the competitiveness of Romanian transporters. The money obtained from increasing the excise duty on fuels, namely almost 2 billion lei to be collected up until the end of the year, will go into the state’s consolidated budget. In the EU the excise duty on diesel oil can be recuperated in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Slovenia.
The World Bank intends to approve on Friday a loan worth 250 million euros for the reform of the Romanian healthcare system, said the WB representative in Romania, Elisabetta Capannelli, in an interview to Bloomberg television. The money will be used for modernizing hospitals, improving management in the healthcare system and fighting various diseases among which cancer. The WB is currently working with the Romanian government on a new partnership strategy for the period 2014-2017, which could include funding worth one billion euros per year.
Romania will officially change clocks on March 30th. Therefore daylight saving time will start on Sunday morning, 3.00 hours becoming 4.00 hours, which makes Sunday the shortest day of the year, with only 23 hours. The official difference between Romania’s official time and GMT will be 3 hours. 70 trains, of which 8 international trains, will have their schedules changed. Given that in Romania’s neighboring countries the daylight saving time starts at the same time, trains will run between the stations at the border with the Republic of Moldova, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine and Bulgaria according to the train timetables in force. In Romania the daylight saving time has been applied since 1979 with a view to making best use of natural light and reducing artificial lighting.
The US Congress has passed legislative measures that provide for granting financial aid to Ukraine worth 1 billion dollars and for imposing sanctions on several Ukrainian and Russian officials after Crimea’s annexation by the Russian Federation. Also the US Congress will convey a unitary message to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and to the international community against the backdrop of Ukraine’s concern over possible future aggressions coming from Russia. In another development, Moscow has labeled as counterproductive the resolution passed Thursday by the UN General Assembly, which denounces the referendum in Crimea and Crimea’s annexation by Russia. According to the Russian foreign minister, this initiative does nothing more than complicating the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.
The US president, Barack Obama, is today having talks in Riyadh with King Abdallah against the backdrop of differences over the Syrian and Iranian files, according to France press. The talks focus on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, re-launched under the auspices of the US, as well as on the situation in Egypt, where a marshal supported by Riyadh despite Washington’s reticence, announced leaving the army and running for president. President Obama ends in Saudi Arabia a tour that also included the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
The Turkish authorities have blocked YouTube access one week after they did the same with the Twitter network. This happens ahead of Sunday’s local elections considered critical by the Turkish prime minister. The decision to block YouTube access comes after the posting of an audio recording between 4 high-ranking officials who were allegedly discussing a possible military operation in Syria. The Turkish foreign ministry claims the recording is ‘fabricated’ and denounces an attack against Turkey’s national security. The image of the government was already affected at the end of last year by a corruption scandal involving people in the PM’s entourage. Blocking access to the Twitter network has caused criticism all over the world.
