November 9, 2016 UPDATE
Click here for an update on domestic and international news
Newsroom, 09.11.2016, 12:15
US ELECTION – The Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, aged 70, has won the general elections in the US. He secured victory against the Democrat Hillary Clinton, a frontrunner in the race, after having received over 270 Electoral College votes, the necessary threshold to become president. In his victory speech, Trump promised to make America great again, after an electoral campaign, which divided the nation, and thanked his Democratic opponent for her service to the US. The successor to the Democrat Barack Obama at the White House expressed readiness to take over and said he had great plans for the country that he will lead as of January 2017, among which doubling the economic growth rate and reconstructing the American infrastructure, to create millions of new jobs. The Republican tycoon has given assurances that the American Administration will pursue friendly policies with all countries willing to do the same. The United States will lay emphasis on its own interests, which are a priority, and will be a fair partner, Trump also said. The Republicans continue to have the majority in the House of Representatives as well as in the Senate.
ROMANIA ON US ELECTIONS – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, on Wednesday conveyed a letter of congratulations to the US President elect, Donald Trump. The Romanian President highlighted the solid relation between Bucharest and Washington under the Strategic Partnership for the XXI century, a key element for the development of Romania’s strategic profile, in its capacity as NATO and EU member. Also, President Iohannis underlined Romania’s firm commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in the field of security and to continuing to take action, as an ally and strategic partner of the US, while being aware of all the consequences deriving from its status. Klaus Iohannis expressed willingness to cooperate with the new American president for promoting common objectives and a strong and dynamic trans-Atlantic relation. He said that the US could count on Romania’s solid support for promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The Romanian PM, Dacian Cioloş, also conveyed a letter of congratulations to the new American Vice-President, Michael Richard Pence, in which he underscored the importance of the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US. The European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, said the EU would continue its cooperation with the US after Donald Trump’s victory. The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, invited Donald Trump at a EU-US summit as soon as that is possible and underlined that strengthening trans-Atlantic relations was more important than ever.
STOCK EXCHANGE – Stock markets opened sharply lower on Wednesday, after Republican candidate Donald Trump won the race for the White House. The stock exchange in Tokyo dropped by some 5%, and those in Sidney and Hong Kong, by over 3 percentage points. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange also opened sharply lower, amidst the investors’ fears of Trump becoming president. The Mexican currency dropped by more than 12% against the dollar, this being the most dramatic drop reported in one day for the past 20 years. Donald Trump had warned that, if he became president, he would oust millions of illegal Mexican migrants and would have Mexico pay for the fence to be built on the common border.
STATISTICS – The European Commission has revised upwards to 5.2% the estimates related to the growth of the Romanian economy for 2016, but the pace of growth will slow down to 3.9% in 2017 to reach 3.6% in 2018, show the autumn economic predictions made public on Wednesday. According to the EC’s spring estimates, the Romanian economy was to report growth of 4.2% in 2016 and of 3.7% in 2017. As regards Romania’s current account deficit, it is expected to double this year, reaching 2.2% of the GDP from 1.1% in 2015, show EC data. The current account deficit will continue to grow in the next two years to 2.6% of the GDP in 2017 and to 2.8% in 2018. In another move, the EC estimates that inflation will reach minus 1% in 2016 as against minus 0.4% as estimated in spring.
PAY RISE CONTROVERSY – The Romanian MPs on Wednesday rejected the Liberals’ request to resume vote on certain laws among which that on the pay rise for certain state employees. The Liberals claim that these laws were adopted without the legal quorum but the Permanent Bureau decided the vote was correct. The Liberal group notified the Constitutional Court on the unconstitutionality of the law on the salaries of the personnel paid from public funds in 2106. The Liberals pointed out that the vote cast in the plenum of the Chamber of Deputies did not comply with the regulations in force and that they infringed the constitutional jurisprudence. The PM Dacian Cioloş also said he would challenge at the Constitutional Court the law on the pay rise for the education and healthcare employees, if the law is promulgated. The PM explained that the MPs did not ask for the government’s opinion on the matter, according to procedures, and did not have a transparent debate on the draft law. (translation by L. Simion)
