October 16, 2015
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Newsroom, 16.10.2015, 12:00
EU STATISTICS – 17 of the 28 EU member states have reported negative inflation rates in September 2015 as compared to the same month of 2014, and Romania had the 2nd negative inflation rate in the EU, show data published on Friday by Eurostat. The annual inflation rate both in the euro zone and the EU stood at minus 0.1% in September, after the 0.1% growth in August. The countries reporting the highest annual inflation rate were Malta (1.6%), Belgium, Portugal and Sweden (all reporting an annual price increase of 0.9%). The lowest annual inflation rates were reported in Cyprus (minus 1.9%), Romania (minus 1.5%) and Spain (minus 1.1%). According to data provided by the Romanian National Institute of Statistics the annual inflation rate remained at a negative level in September, namely minus 1.7%, up from minus 1.9% reported in August. The monthly inflation rate was 0.26%.
CHISINAU — The Alliance for European Integration, the governing coalition in the Republic of Moldova, made up of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party will not be dismantled following the arrest of the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vlad Filat, the former prime minister, who resigned his position within the party on Thursday. The statement was made by the president of the Liberal Party, Mihai Ghimpu, on a local TV station. Vlad Filat was taken into custody for 72 hours, on Thursday, after the Parliament voted for the lifting of his immunity. He is accused of corruption and influence peddling in the case of the disappearance of one billion dollars from the country’s banking system.
BUCHAREST — The Romanian defense minister, Mircea Dusa, is taking part today in Campia Turzii (northwestern Romania) in the training of the Romanian and American pilots. On the occasion he will have talks with the NATO Deputy Secretary General, ambassador Alexander Vershbow. The drill “Dacian” Viper started on Tuesday and will come to an end on October 30th. The Romanian Air Force is participating in the drill with as many as 200 military pilots and technical staff, six MiG-21 LanceR planes and three IAR-330 helicopters while the Alabama National Air Guard is participating with 200 soldiers, eight F-16 planes and related military equipment. This is the 3rd such drill after the ones held in 2012 and 2014 and it is aimed at increasing the Alliance’s interoperability level, at boosting experience exchanges and improving the training level of the Romanian and American military through joint flights in accordance with NATO standards.
WASHINGTON — The US is waiting for the allies’ contribution to the military presence in Afghanistan, said Thursday in Washington the head of the Pentagon, Ashton Carter, as quoted by France Press. The statement follows the announcement made by President Barack Obama according to whom the pullout of American soldiers from Afghanistan would be postponed in 2016, thus extending a military intervention that began 14 years ago. At present 12,500 soldiers of whom 10,000 American, are participating in the NATO mission in Afghanistan. After 2016 only 5,500 soldiers will be maintained in several bases in that country. The American president explained that the Afghan forces are not yet strong enough to ensure the country’s stability. One of the promises made by Barack Obama when he won the 2008 elections was to put an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Romania has 640 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. At the latest meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense it was decided that in 2016 Romania would contribute 200 officers to the Allied mission to train the Afghan soldiers.
SOFIA — The Afghan refugee shot Thursday night by the Bulgarian border police after illegally crossing the border with Turkey, was hit by a bullet that rebounded from the warning shot fired by the police, say the representatives of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry. The warning shot was fired after a group of 54 migrants who had illegally entered the country was heading towards the meeting venue of traffickers. None of the migrants had valid travel documents, prosecutors said. The incident, the first one reported after the migrant waves started to come to Europe, is being investigated by Bulgarian prosecutors. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has condemned the use of force against migrants and has called on the Bulgarian authorities to start a transparent and detailed investigation.
