May 29, 2015 UPDATE
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
Newsroom, 29.05.2015, 12:15
EUROZONE – Romania wants to join the Eurozone in 2019, and for this goal to be reached, a political consensus is needed, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said. Secondly, this requires the involvement of the business community, including employers, trade unions, and small and medium enterprises, Ponta added. The Prime Minister discussed about Romanias switch to the European single currency with the President Klaus Iohannis and the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu.
VISIT – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis on Sunday will receive British Crown heir Prince Charles, the presidency reports. Prince Charles pays frequent visits to Romania, where he also holds various estates. The prince has a passion for Romanias medieval Saxon architecture, typical of Transylvania, where German colonists in the Middle Ages built citadels, fortified churches and houses. President Iohannis is a descendant of their lineage.
BILATERAL RELATIONS – Minister Delegate for Romanians Abroad Angel Tilvar starting Saturday is paying a four-day official visit to Portugal. The visit is a good opportunity to consolidate bilateral relations in all fields. The agenda includes meetings with Education Minister Nuno Crato, with High Commissioner for Migration and Intercultural Dialogue Pedro Calado and with Deputy Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Manuel Castro. Tilvar will also meet with representatives of Romanian associations and will attend the Day of Romanians in Portugal, an event held in Lisbon and commonly bringing together both Romanians and Moldovans.
PEACEKEEPERS – Romanias participation with civilian and military personnel in peacekeeping operations is evidence of our countrys commitment to values and principles underlying the UN Charter, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Friday, on the occasion of the International Day of ‘Blue Helmets, the commonplace name for the UN peacekeeping corps. Romanias contribution to UN-led peacekeeping operations started in 1990 and totalled 96 participants, law-enforcement officers and military.
MOLDOVA – Moldovas EU aspirations do not go against Russia, Moldovan Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici said on Friday, upon meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev in Kazahstan, as part of the Summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gaburici said both economic areas are compatible, and that cooperation with Russia will benefit both states. This is Gaburicis first meeting with a high-ranking Russian official since he took office in February this year. Moldova last year signed Association and Free Trade Agreements with the EU, hoping to join the Union by 2020.
CORRUPTION – Gheorgheni Mayor Janos Janos on Friday was indicted and placed under house arrest for abuse of office, blackmail and embezzlement entrapment. Anti-corruption prosecutors say the town hall secretary is also a suspect. Previously, Tulcea Mayor Constantin Hogea was arrested for bribe-taking. The mayor allegedly received an apartment as bribe for approving a building permit for a company in Tulcea. Prosecutors also ordered the detention of the manager of the respective company, for bribe giving. Another 3 people, including the mayors wife, have been placed under court supervision for 60 days.
TENNIS – The pair made up of Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru and Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia lost to Silvia Soler-Espinosa and Maria Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain, 6-1, 6-nil on Friday, in the second round of the Roland Garross women doubles. Irina Begu and Lara Arruabarrena of Spain also lost to Caroline Garcia of France and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, 7-6, 6-4. Irina Begu and Andreea Mitu will play in third round of the womens singles, Begu against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Mitu against Francesca Schiavone of Italy. In the mens doubles, Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna of India, seeded 9th in the competition, will play Austin Krajicek and Donald Young of the United States.
TIFF – Over 200 productions from 60 countries will be screened starting Friday as part of the 14th edition of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) in Cluj, the largest event of its kind in Romania. Opening the festival will be Damian Szifrons Wild Tales, which was Argentinas nomination for the 2015 Oscar Awards. The guest list this year includes actress Nastasia Kinski.
FIFA – A false bomb threat disrupted on Friday the proceedings of the FIFA Council taking place in Zurich. The Council resumed to elect its new president. Running for office re the current president Sepp Blatter of Switzerland and Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein. Blatter is trying to secure his fifth mandate, despite opposition from European federations and against the backdrop of the rising scandal marring FIFA. High-ranking FIFA officials and representatives of a sport company were arrested in Switzerland at the initiative of the US judiciary. They are facing charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering, and suspected of having received and distributed over 150 million dollars starting 1991, especially as televising rights for World Cup editions. If the accusations prove grounded, they risk going to prison for 20 years. The media rights it is only a question of days before new evidence emerge related to corruption in the organization of the World Cups of South Africa, Russia and Qatar.
TOUR – British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday met with his Polish counterpart Ewa Kopacz in Warsaw and with German chancellor Angela Merkel, as part of his tour to promote the reform of the EU. Cameron wants to alter labour migration within the EU and to make British laws outweigh EU regulations. He promised he would hold a referendum by 2017 on Britains EU membership and on reducing the Unions attributes. The Polish official said Poland wanted Britain to remain in the EU, also to the interest of the 800,000 Polish citizens living in the UK. On Thursday in Paris Cameron met with French president Francois Hollande.
