March 9, 2017 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.

Newsroom, 09.03.2017, 19:44

SPRING COUNCIL – European leaders, including Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday re-elected Donald Tusk as European Council president. Other topics on Fridays agenda are employment, economic growth and competitiveness, migration, institutional matters, as well as the EUs foreign relations. The Council will convene on Friday in the 27-member formula, without Great Britain. Before the Spring Council meeting, President Iohannis reiterated the fact that Romania believes in a strong, united Union, and opposes the idea of a multi-speed Europe. According to the Romanian head of state, it would be completely counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union.

MEETING – Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu on Thursday met in Brussels with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. The two discussed mainly about the Governments priorities and bilateral cooperation in the economic, social and cultural fields. On this occasion, the two agreed that Prime Minister Grindeanu should pay an official visit to Vienna for a comprehensive discussion on the future of the EU, given that Romania will be taking over the rotating presidency of the EU in 2019, from Austria. Talks were held on the sidelines of the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. Prime Minister Grindeanu insisted on the need to reform the EU and explained that cohesion funds and the Common Agricultural Policy are extremely important for Romania. The Romanian Prime Minister also met with French President Francois Hollande, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini and with the president of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanshev.

MOLDOVA – Moldovan officials on Thursday sent a letter to Moscow signaling a series of abuses against Moldovan MPs, Government members, special service employees and governing coalition politicians. According to a Parliament release, the complaints were voiced during the meeting between Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu and Russian Ambassador to Chisinau, Farit Muhametshin. The letter describes the way Moldovan officials are abusively detained upon entry into Russian Federation, interrogated, searched and subjected to humiliating treatment. The harassment of Moldovan officials and their being monitored internationally by means of Russias bilateral relations with third countries have escalated after investigation made headway into the the laundering of some 22 billion dollars from the Russian Federation via a Moldovan Bank.

HEALTHCARE – Since its EU accession in 2007, Romania has been faced with a mass exodus of medical staff, drawn by higher salaries and better work conditions to Western Europe, Reuters reports. The effect are telling, as Romania ranks among the EU states with the lowest number of doctors, although it ranks amongst its first in terms of the number of medical school graduates. Some 30% of positions in Romanian hospitals are vacant, while a third of Romanians have insufficient access to basic medical care. Former Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu is quoted as saying that entire cities lack a family physician. In 2016 the Health Ministry came up with a multiannual plan providing, among other things, for simplifying recruitment procedures and assistance for those who are not willing to practice medicine in rural areas, but the current Government has not adopted it yet, Reuters reports.

UNITARY PAY LAW – Salaries in Romanian education will grow, on average, by 57%, said the president of the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation Marius Nistor after todays negotiations with the Labour Ministry on the unitary pay law. On Friday, the talks will continue with trade unions from culture. So far, ministry officials have discussed with representatives of the defense, public order and health-care sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st, next year. According to the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, state employees salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the health-care sector.

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW – The 87th Geneva International Motor Show opened its doors on Friday. For ten days, visitors will have the opportunity to admire 900 automobiles, of which 148 are European and even world firsts. There are some 180 exhibitors attending the show in Geneva this year, an event supported by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. At the Romanian stand, visitors can see the Stepway version of the Dacia Logan MCV make, the fourth most successful of the range. Also, Renault has come up with a new concept, Zoe e-Sport, a super sport version of the electric model, and Peugeot-Citroen is displaying in Geneva the Peugeot 3008, declared the car of the year in Europe.

TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, ranking 11th in the ATP classification, has for the first time reached the main draw of the ATP Masters tournament in Indian Wells, the US, with 6.9 million dollars in prize money. In Thursdays qualifiers, he defeated the American Denis Kudla, no. 130 in the rankings, and will play in the first round against the Argentinean Horacio Zebalos (73 ATP). In the same tournament, the Romanian Monica Niculescu, no.45 in the WTA rankings, has qualified for the second round, after defeating another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, no. 66 in the classification. In the next round, Monica will play against the Swiss Timea Bacsinzky, no. 16. The best ranked Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 4 in the WTA classifications, will go straight to the second round to play against the winner of the match between the Croat Dona Vekic and the American Alison Riske. Irina Begu (31 WTA), also of Romania, will meet in the second round the US player Louise Chirico (65 WTA) and Patricia Tig (99 WTA) will play in the first round against the Colombian Mariana Duque Marino (112 WTA). (Translated by M. Ignatescu and V. Palcu)