September 18, 2014 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.

România Internațional, 18.09.2014, 12:05

PROMULGATION — Romania’s president Traian Basescu on Thursday promulgated the law on the reduction of social security contributions for employers by 5%. The president recalled that he sent back the law to Parliament because although beneficial, it is not sustainable in the current context. Most MPs voted the law, expected the People’s Movement Party. Basescu said that by the end of the year the Government would have no problems covering the pension budget deficit, and has warned that in 2015 it would go up from 5 billion to 17.5 billion lei. The president believes that the only solutions to cover the deficit is to either cut social security contributions after the presidential elections of November, or to raise taxes. On the other hand, the president again criticized the Government for the low rate of absorption of EU funds, 37.5%. Basescu says that of the total of 19 billion euros, Romania still has to absorb 12 billion euros by the end of 2015.

FORECAST– The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EBRD, has maintained its forecast regarding a 2.6% economic growth for Romania this year and 2.8% next year, in a report assessing the effects of the conflict in Ukraine on central and east European states. According to this report, the five months of clashes in Romania’s neighbouring country will have a negative impact on economic growth in Eastern Europe. The continuing crisis between Russia and Ukraine is weighing on the economies of the EBRD region, with only a modest recovery expected in 2015 after a sharp slowdown in growth this year.

DRAFT LAW — The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania Kelemen Hunor on Thursday presented the draft law regarding the autonomy of the Szekler Land. Kelemen Hunor said this was not a breakaway region, but an independent one, therefore the draft law is both constitutional and legitimate. The document provides for the autonomy of the region made up of Harghita, Covasna and Mures counties in central Romania, an area with a majority Hungarian population, as a legal and independent entity within Romania. The draft law also stipulates that the region should fall under the administration of a regional Council and an executive one, which should have a president attending any sessions of the Romanian Government on matters of interest to the Hungarian community. The draft law also provides for the introduction of bilingualism, and the principle of equal representation of ethnic groups in different institutions, as well as the introduction of Hungarian as a separate subject in schools. Social Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea has recently said the project has zero chances of being adopted, and that it helps little to consolidate the partnership between the Social-Democratic Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, both in the ruling coalition.

EBOLA — The UN Security Council on Thursday is examining a bill aimed at preventing Ebola from spreading in Africa. EU Member States have committed to earmarking another 78 million euros to help fight this epidemic. The United States in turn has announced the setup of a command centre in Liberia, the country currently the worst hit by Ebola. The unit will help coordinating activities in the region. The IMF says that Liberia and Sierra Leone might receive an additional 127 million dollars to help keep the epidemic at bay. Ebola has so far killed 2,600 people of the 5,400 people diagnosed.

OSCE — The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday called on Russia to guarantee the security of its journalists operating on Russian territory. This comes after a team of BBC reporters in Astrakan, southern Russia, were assaulted while conducting a survey. The OSCE representative for freedom of the press Dunja Mijatovic has labelled the aggression as unacceptable, demanding Moscow authorities to start an investigation. The incident is the latest in a series of several assaults targeting journalists in Russia, particularly in the context of the Ukrainian crisis.

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian president Petrol Poroshenko on Thursday delivered a speech before the US Congress in an extraordinary joint session of the two chambers. The Ukrainian president said Ukraine needed the solidarity of the entire world, calling for political support and military equipment to help Ukrainian troops fight the rebels in Eastern Ukraine. President Poroshenko said the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Moscow was “a cynic act of betrayal” on behalf of Moscow.

Also on Thursday the White House announced, ahead of president Obama’s meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, the disbursement of 46 million dollars worth of aid for supplying Ukrainian security forces with weaponry. President Poroshenko arrived in the United States after his visit to Canada, where he examined the possibility of supplying Ukraine with various types of non-lethal weapons and the prospects of cooperation in the field of technology.

IRAQ — The European Parliament has called on Member States to help Iraqi authorities combat Islamic State terrorists, including through military assistance. According to a resolution voted in on Thursday, MEPs have called on the international community to eradicate the resources of the Islamic States in order to put an end to the series of assassinations. In another development, Islamic State terrorists made public on Thursday a video depicting the British journalist John Cantlie, kidnapped in November 2012, shortly after his arrival to Syria. Last week the Islamic Sate posted a video of the beheading of British aid worker David Haines. Last month the terrorists beheaded another two US journalists, James Foley and Steven Sotloff, after holding them hostage in Syria.

TENNIS — Romania’s Davis Cup team will take on Israel in the first match of the 2015 edition of the Davis Cup in Group 1 of Europe/Africa zone, following Thursday’s draw in Dubai. Romania will play Israel on home turf between March 6-8. Romania last week defeated Sweden 3-1 in Bucharest in the Group 1 playoffs.