September 17, 2016

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 17.09.2016, 12:04

SUMMIT On Friday in Bratislava,
EU leaders stated they wanted to turn the Union into a more attractive and
safer space for its citizens, after one of its major members, Great Britain,
decided to leave. They established a number of guiding lines for strengthening
security and economic development, which should result into a strategy to be
adopted at the special summit due in Rome in March. The final declaration in
Bratislava highlights immigration control measures, as well as measures aimed
at fighting terrorism and radicalisation and at boosting economic growth by
means of investment and single market consolidation. At the end of the summit,
in which Great Britain did not participate, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
said that, despite the existing crises, the Union was not a chronic patient,
but a success. The head of state also said that he’d held informal talks with
some European leaders also about Romania’s joining the Schenghen agreement, and
developments in that direction were positive.

TIMISOARA The Romanian Foreign
Ministry has hailed the designation of Timisoara, in western Romania, as the
European Capital of Culture in 2021 and has stated that promoting the city will be one of its priorities. Thus, Romanian diplomatic missions, consular
offices and cultural institutes abroad will help prepare and promote the
prestigious status acquired by Timisoara, which is a model of
multi-culturalism, diversity, contemporary creativity, innovation and European
spirit. Timisoara ran for European Capital of Culture alongside other three
cities in Romania: the capital Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Baia Mare in the
north-west. Timisoara will share the title with one city in Greece and one in Montenegro. In 2007, another Romanian city, Sibiu, was European Capital of Culture, together with Luxembourg.

GDP GROWTH The Romanian National
Forecast Commission has revised up to 4.8% its estimates regarding economic
growth this year. In spring, the Commission had announced a GDP growth of 4.2%.
For the next three years, the commission has maintained its forecasts regarding
the growth of the GDP at 4.3%, 4.5% and 4.7% respectively. The GDP per capita
is to grow constantly in the coming years, from 8,581 Euro in 2016 to 10,587
Euro in 2019.

CORRUPTION The former head of the
Romanian Lottery, Gheorghe Benea, will be investigated for bribe taking and
office peddling, with aggravated consequences. He was previously detained by
anti-corruption prosecutors, who had called for his temporary arrest, but will be
prosecuted without being detained, and subject to legal restrictions, pending
trial. The case is about a fake tender for the renewal of the Lottery’s car
fleet. The damage estimated by investigators stands at more than 500,000 Euro.

OKTOBERFEST The German police
tightened security measures before Oktoberfest, the biggest beer festival in
the world, which starts today in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, the BBC
reports. In early summer, the Germans were terrified by a string of violent
attacks perpetrated in Bavaria, of which two committed by asylum seekers
inspired by the Islamic State terrorist organization. The festival organizers
have stated they have no information that Oktoberfest might become a target for
terrorist attacks, but have nonetheless enhanced security by up-sizing security
forces and by installing surveillance cameras. For the first time, the area
hosting the festival will be fully surrounded by security fences.