September 10, 2018 UPDATE

In Romania, 3 million school and pre-school children started a new school year

Newsroom, 10.09.2018, 19:09

VISIT – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will meet on Tuesday in Bucharest with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, on the occasion of an official visit he pays to Romania. The two officials will discuss topical European issues, the future of the EU, the Union’s budget, Brexit and migration. Also approached will be bilateral ties and regional cooperation.

2018-2019 SCHOOL YEAR — Some 3 million school and pre-school children started on Monday a new school year. State Secretary with the Education Ministry Florian Lixandru told Radio Romania that 80% of pre-university schooling units have public health permits, while the remaining 20% are in the process of obtaining one or don’t have one. In another development, the Chamber of Deputies’ Education Committee next week will hear the head of the Pedagogical Publishing House after serious errors were identified in several textbooks.

SWINE FEVER VIRUS — The African swine fever virus has spread to Giurgiu County as well, the 12th county were fever hotbeds have been identified. So far 160,000 pigs have been culled. Last week the Prosecutor General’s Office launched an investigation into the epidemic, with actionable negligence and reckless misconduct being considered as possible offences. Under harsh criticism from pig farmers, the opposition and President Iohannis for the way it handled the crisis, the Government has promised compensations. In order to prevent the disease from spreading the authorities have decided to hunt until December 1st, over 80 thousand wild boars. Hunters, however, say the measure cannot be applied in such a short time and that the hunting fund for the next few years will be seriously affected.

CAR CRASH — Moldovan Police has opened a criminal case following Sunday’s car accident in which Moldovan President Igor Dodon sustained minor injuries. Presidential adviser Maxim Lebedinschi said Dodon didnt require medical treatment after the crash, which occurred near the town of Straseni, north of the capital, Chisinau. The collision occurred as cars in the presidential motorcade collided with an oncoming vehicle.

TRADE DEFICIT — Romania’s trade deficit in the first seven months of the year stood at 7.6 billion euros, up by 10% as compared to the similar period in 2017, the National Statistics Institute reports. Exports to EU member states exceeded 30.5 billion euros while imports stood at 35.5 billion. Trade with EU states accounted for 75% of total trade.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS — Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu will attend on Tuesday a new round of talks with his Polish and Turkish counterparts. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the three officials will tackle the NATO actions in the region and the international security context. This is the fifth such meeting of the Romanian, Polish and Turkish foreign ministers. On Monday Melescanu met in Bucharest with his Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis. The agenda for talks focused on bilateral relations and EU topics. Finalizing negotiations over a framework agreement between the EU and Switzerland is one of the priorities of Romania’s term at the helm of the EU Council, Minister Melescanu said at the meeting. In turn, Minister Cassis argued in favor of improving two-way trade, considering Switzerland is Romania’s 8th investor. Ignazio Cassis also met with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila who highlighted the good cooperation between the two countries within the Romanian-Swiss Cooperation programme on bridging economic and social gaps within the EU.

MANEUVERS — Russia on Tuesday will commence its largest series of military maneuvers, criticized by NATO as a rehearsal for a large-scale conflict. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, some 300,000 military will take part, including Chinese and Mongolian soldiers, 36,000 vehicles, a thousand aircraft and 80 navy vessels. Titled EST-2018, the military exercise will end on September 17. Maneuvers are underway against the backdrop of tense relations with the Western powers, marked by the Ukrainian crisis, the Syrian conflict and the numerous allegations of involvement in the internal politics of numerous states, including the USA.