November 9, 2015 UPDATE

Bucharest fire The death toll rose to 47 on Monday
following the deadly fire at a Bucharest nightclub on October 30th.
Dozens of injured, many in serious condition, are still undergoing treatment at
several hospitals in Bucharest, while 30 have been transferred to hospitals abroad.
Toxicology tests have shown that all victims, apart from burns, had high levels
of carbon monoxide and cyanhydric acid in their blood. The concentration of
these substances in the case of 18 victims exceeded the lethal levels. In
another development, the government approved on Monday the amount of financial
assistance needed for the treatment of the people in hospital. The interim
prime minister Sorin Cimpeanu said the ministry of labour was working on an
assistance and reintegration programme for those injured in the fire.

Newsroom, 09.11.2015, 19:48

Bucharest fire The death toll rose to 47 on Monday
following the deadly fire at a Bucharest nightclub on October 30th.
Dozens of injured, many in serious condition, are still undergoing treatment at
several hospitals in Bucharest, while 30 have been transferred to hospitals abroad.
Toxicology tests have shown that all victims, apart from burns, had high levels
of carbon monoxide and cyanhydric acid in their blood. The concentration of
these substances in the case of 18 victims exceeded the lethal levels. In
another development, the government approved on Monday the amount of financial
assistance needed for the treatment of the people in hospital. The interim
prime minister Sorin Cimpeanu said the ministry of labour was working on an
assistance and reintegration programme for those injured in the fire.

Politics The Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis on Monday started a new round of talks with the
leaders of parliamentary parties to designate a new prime minister. He met the
representatives of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party,
the largest parties in Parliament. The Social Democrats proposed Liviu Voinea,
the deputy governor of the National Bank, aged 40, for the position of prime
minister. Between 2012 and 2014, he was a junior minister for budget in Victor
Ponta’s cabinet, having previously worked as a state secretary in the finance
ministry. The Liberals said they were in favour of early elections, but that
they would also support the idea of a technocratic prime minister. On Tuesday,
the president is having talks with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in
Romania, the National Union for the Progress of Romania, the Alliance of
Liberals and Democrats for Europe and the parliamentary group of ethnic
minorities. A first round of talks was held last week, but the main political
parties were reluctant to take on the responsibility of government. The
president also held talks with representatives of civil society and the people
demonstrating for the past week across the country. Protests continued on
Monday in Bucharest.

Military cooperation A DUNCAN destroyer of British make is in
the Romanian port of Constanta until November 11th. Over this
period, Romanian and British sailors will exercise joint operation procedures
in Romania’s territorial waters and the Black Sea international waters. The
destroyer is ready to take part in operational missions around the globe. Its
propulsion system is able to produce enough energy to supply a small town. The
current missions of such ships in the international waters include fighting
piracy and drug trafficking, as well as providing humanitarian aid to people
faced with natural disasters in various parts of the world.

The Republic of Moldova The President of
the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, continued talks with parliamentary
parties on Monday with a view to designating a new candidate for the position
of prime minister. Last week, the Moldovan president held talks with the
leaders of the pro-European parties in the former ruling alliance, namely the
Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party, whom he
called on to reach a consensus. The former government led by the
Liberal-Democrat Valeriu Strelet was dismissed at the end of last month following
a no-confidence motion initiated by the socialist and communist opposition
which was passed in Parliament with the help of the Democratic Party.

Loan Against
the backdrop of political uncertainty in the Republic of Moldova, the Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis on Monday called on Parliament to reassess a bill
under which Romania is to grant a loan of 150 million euros to this country.
The president explained there is no certainty at the moment that Moldova would
continue its European integration efforts and the necessary reforms. Romania
continues, however, to support Moldova’s pro-European path, the president also
said, adding that the loan could still be granted, depending on the political
developments in Moldova.