March 6, 2015
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 06.03.2015, 12:00
Romania’s foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is attending a two-day informal meeting of EU foreign ministers hosted by the Latvian capital Riga. Talks focus on the crisis in Libya, the situation in Ukraine and the European Union’s relationship with Russia, the preparation of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga on the 21st and 22nd of May and the revision of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU Strategic Framework. The situation in the EU vicinity will also be discussed by the EU foreign ministers with their counterparts in the EU candidate countries.
Romania has received over 460 million euros from the European Commission this year, its absorption rate of European funds now exceeding 52% at the end of the February, the minister for European funds, Eugen Teodorovici, has announced. Romania reimbursed structural and cohesion funds as part of the Sector Operational Programmes for Transport and Human Resources Development and the Regional Operational Programme. In the opinion of the Romanian minister, Romania will reach an 80% absorption rate by the end of 2015, the last year when Romania can still use the funds allocated for the 2017-2013 programming period.
The European Central Bank will launch on Monday a 1,100 billion euro bond-purchase programme to stimulate the eurozone economy and steer the euro area away from deflation. The programme will encompass an asset-backed securities purchase programme and a covered bond purchase programme. The annual inflation rate in the eurozone dropped for the second consecutive month in January to minus 0.6% from 0.2% in December. If this trend continues, the eurozone will technically enter a period of deflation.
The UN Security Council meets today to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Three UN officials will present a review of the situation before the ambassadors of the 15 UN members. Since the start of the crisis in Ukraine almost a year ago, the Security Council has met around 30 times, failing to achieve major results because of the opposition between the western states and Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power. On the ground, the withdrawal of heavy weapons as part of the ceasefire agreed in Minsk has begun, notes the France Presse news agency. According to a UN report, more than 6,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict between the Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russian separatists in April 2014.
In Sibiu this weekend, Romania’s Davis Cup team faces Israel in the first round of Europe/Africa Zone Group I. In the first two singles matches held today, Adrian Ungur and Marius Copil play against Bar Tzuf Botzer and Dudi Sela, respectively. In Saturday’s doubles match, Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea face the pair Jonathan Erlich and Edan Leshem. On Sunday, Adrian Ungur plays against Dudi Sela and Marius Copil against Bar Tzuf Botzer. Romania has won all its previous three Davis Cup matches against Israel.
