September 10, 2015
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 10.09.2015, 12:00
The Romanian
interior minister attending the EU Justice and Internal Affairs meeting on the
14th of September has been instructed not to express Romania’s
support for the obligatory migrant quotas, said president Klaus Iohannis. He
did not welcome the announcement of the European Commission about the
introduction of obligatory quotas for member states. Under the emergency
refugee relocation scheme, Romania is to receive 4,646 refugees, compared with
the 1,785 initially agreed. In his annual State of the Union address before the
European Parliament, the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude
Juncker urged EU countries to reach an agreement on the distribution of the
160,000 refugees who have arrived in Greece, Italy and Hungary.
The Bucharest Tribunal judges have today published the
rationale behind their decision to approve the temporary 30-day arrest of
Bucharest’s mayor Sorin Oprescu. Judges say the latter knew the 25,000 euros he
received constituted bribe, not a loan, as he claimed. The court argues it was
necessary to arrest Oprescu because he could have influenced the witnesses in
the investigation, all the more so as some of them are his subordinates in the
City Hall. Sorin Oprescu is accused of receiving 10% of all contracts involving
public funds as bribe. The Court of Appeal will rule on Oprescu’s appeal
against his temporary arrest on Monday.
Romania’s annual inflation rate saw a 1.9% drop in August compared with
1.7% in July. According to the National Institute for Statistics, the monthly
inflation rate reached 0.51%. The governor of the National Bank Mugur Isarescu
has said recently that the inflation rate will remain below the minimum
variation range of 1.5% until the beginning of 2017. In his opinion, despite
estimates that the inflation rate will continue to drop over the next three
quarters, Romania is not faced with the risk of deflation because consumption
has increased by 6% and will grow even further by the end of the year, to 10%.
The EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis had
talks in Bucharest today with the Romanian health minister Nicolae Banicioiu about the purchase of medicines, vaccination
and the bill on doctors’ incomes. He voiced his support for an improvement in
the quality of Romanian healthcare services and sanitary infrastructure. He
also met members of the health and European affairs committees in Romania’s
Parliament and participated in a citizens’ dialogue focusing on European issues
such as health and food safety, access to quality healthcare services,
antibiotic resistance, medical and sanitary staff and chronic diseases.
Second seed Simona Halep of Romania qualified to the US Open semifinals
for the first time in her career. She defeated former world no. 1 Viktoria
Azarenka of Belarus in three sets. Tonight, Halep faces Italy’s Flavia
Pennetta, world no. 26, for a place in the final. In the second semifinal,
first seed Serena Williams faces the Italian player Roberta Vinci.
The series of
outdoor events as part of the George Enescu International Festival opens today
with the National Radio Orchestra and chamber concerts and recitals. The
highlight of the day is the performance by the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic
Orchestra at the Grand Palace Hall, as part of the Great World Orchestras
series.
