March 4, 2018 UPDATE
Romanian officials renew call on the Ukrainian authorities in relation to education law, Multinational drills organized by the Romanian Naval Forces
Newsroom, 04.03.2018, 18:31
Economic estimates — Standard&Poor’s rating agency estimates an economic growth rate for Romania of 4.7% in 2018 and a slow decrease towards 3.5% per year in the 2019-2021 period. The agency experts mention as main vulnerabilities the frequent political changes and especially the worrying attempts at changing the legislation. According to Standard&Poor’s these can have a major impact on institutional balance and may delay structural reforms, which are so necessary. The agency confirmed Romania’s ratings for long and short-term debts in hard currency and local currency at BBB minus (Stable).
Kiev — The Romanian Minister for Romanians Abroad, Natalia Intotero, has again called on the Ukrainian authorities to modify the article in the Education Law restricting the right of the Romanian community to learn in its mother tongue. The Romanian minority in Ukraine, in the historical regions of Cernăuţi and Transcarpatia (west), is well integrated and should have to right to learn in its language, said Mrs. Intotero, following her visit to the two regions. Almost half a million ethnic Romanians are living in Ukraine, mostly in the eastern Romanian territories annexed in 1940 by the former Soviet Union following an ultimatum. The territories were subsequently taken over by Ukraine as a successor state.
Drills — More than 1,700 Romanian and foreign soldiers will be participating, as of Monday until March 15, in one of the largest multinational drills organized by the Romanian Naval Forces in the southeast region of Dobrogea and in the Black Sea international waters. Spring Storm 18 is based on a unique concept of joint training of the naval, air and ground forces. The drill is part of the plan of NATO immediate assurance measures adopted at the NATO summit held in Warsaw in 2016. The Romanian soldiers will be training alongside soldiers from the US, France and Bulgaria as well as from partner states such as Georgia and Ukraine.
Commemoration — Romania commemorated on Sunday 41 years since the devastating earthquake of March 4, 1977. The 7.2 magnitude quake killed 1,579 people, mostly from Bucharest, and caused material damage estimated at the time at 2 billion dollars. 230 thousand residential buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. The quake caused an economic and social crisis which, according to historians, the Communist dictatorship could no longer cope with, until it was toppled in December 1989. Experts warn that hundreds of buildings might collapse in Bucharest in the event of a similar quake.
Handball — Romania’s women’s handball champions CSM Bucharest on Sunday defeated, on home ground, the Danish team FC Midtjylland, 29-24, in a match in the main group 1 of the Champions League. The first 4 teams in the group will qualify to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which CSM Bucharest won two years ago, at their first participation in the championship. On Saturday another two Romanian women’s teams played on home ground in the first round of the EHF Cup quarterfinals. HC Zalău defeated the Turkish team Kastamonu Belediyesi 29 — 28, and SCM Craiova lost to Lada Togliatti of Russia 23-25.
Flu — Vaccination against flu can save lives, said the director of the Institute of Infectious Diseases in Bucharest, Adrian Streinu-Cercel, after the number of deaths caused by the flu virus exceeded 70. He again made an appeal for the vaccination of those categories of population at high risk. Almost all the victims were suffering from chronic disease and had not been vaccinated. Over 800 people have been diagnosed with flu. Most of them are from Bucharest, Constanta (southeast), Olt (south), Brasov (centre) and Iasi (northeast). The health minister Sorina Pintea claims that Romania is not currently faced with a flu epidemic.
Berlin — The French President Emmanuel Macron has hailed the fact that the German Social Democratic Party agreed with the formation of a new government coalition together with Angela Merkel’s Conservatives, adding that that vote was good news for Europe. The vote allows Germany to break an unprecedented political deadlock, more than 5 months after the legislative elections, following which no parliamentary majority could be formed. Angela Merkel, whose Conservative bloc reported a very low score in the September 24 elections, will be able to start her 4th term in office as chancellor in the near future. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)
