October 17, 2015
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

România Internațional, 17.10.2015, 12:00
Romanian vice-champions in women’s handball, HCM Baia Mare made an
excellent start in Champions League group A with an away win 33-27 against
Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana on Friday night. Champions CSM Bucharest have
also started off on the right foot with a 33-21 home win against Polish side
Selgros Lublin.
The trade agreement between Europe and
America also has a geostrategic component as it offers stability to the region,
Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Commissioner for Trade and Anthony Gardner, the
US ambassador to the European Union agreed on Friday during the international
conference in Bucharest on the partnership and investment agreement between the
United States and the European Union, currently under negotiation. Malmstrom
said the agreement’s first palpable effects would be the elimination of taxes,
duties or redundant and costly procedures, which would give an impetus to
companies. If the Transatlantic Partnership for Trade and Investment, which is
being negotiated at present, came into effect, Romanian companies from 130
cities exporting to the USA, would benefit from improved export conditions,
Malmstrom went on to say. In turn Anthony Gardner, the US ambassador to the
European Union, said the agreement equally meets economic and geostrategic
needs. According to him, the Kremlin doesn’t want this agreement to come into
effect, because it disarms Russia.
Hungary will temporarily reinstate border controls on its frontier
with Slovenia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has today announced
quoted by Reuters. The Hungarian official said the measure was necessary being
also within the framework of the Schengen agreement. He said the Hungarian
government had information that migrants already started moving towards
Slovenia’s border with Hungary, after the latter had sealed off its border with
Croatia on Friday night. Authorities in Ljubljana and Zagreb have said they
will not try to stem the flow of migrants as long as Germany and Austria are
ready to receive them.
According to credit insurer Coface, Romania will this year register
an increase in the GDP of 3.3% and an average inflation rate of 0.3%. The same
report points out that the domestic demand will be boosted by the fiscal
relaxation and the salary and pension rises in the public sector. Consumption
will all also see a boost thanks to assistance programmes for small income
households. However, Coface experts estimate that investment in the public
sector will remain low due to bureaucracy, which hinders European funds
accession and due to the lack of a proper structure.