September 23, 2015 UPDATE
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Lăcrămioara Simion, 23.09.2015, 12:15
The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis says Bucharest can manage the number of refugees the EC wants to send to Romania, but deplored the fact that the decision to impose compulsory migrant quotas was made within the Justice and Internal Affairs Council through the vote of the majority and not through negotiations. Romania has now to receive 2,400 immigrants besides the 1,785 it had initially pledged to receive. Romania is obliged, under the European legislation, to accept the migrant quotas, the Romanian president underlined. He represented Romania at the extraordinary meeting of the European Council held in Brussels on the issue of refugees. After the meeting in Brussels, the Romanian president goes to New York to attend the UN Organization General Assembly. The head of state will hold several speeches there, also meeting American investors. Iohannis will also hold a meeting with Vice-President Joe Biden to talk about the refugee crisis faced by Europe, alongside the issue of terrorism.
The European Commission on Wednesday started infringement procedures in the case of 19 member states, Romania included, for failure to observe the right to asylum, shows a EC communiqué, in the context in which Europe is trying to deal with the biggest wave of immigrants and asylum seekers after WWII. The only countries that have not been sanctioned by the EC are Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia. The official notification letter is the first step of the infringement procedure and member states have 2 months at their disposal to notify the EC that they have implemented the respective legislation, unless they want to be brought before the European Court of Justice, which can decide on a penalty to be paid by each country.
The gathered chambers of the Romanian Parliament have rejected the 2014 activity report and budget of the Romanian public television, with 115 votes in favor and 222 against it. According to the law, the Board of Directors and the president and director general of the state TV channel, Stelian Tanase, has been practically dismissed by the move. The interim chairman of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea said that his party wanted the positions of president and director general to be separate, with the director general position to be occupied follwoing a public contest.
Romania’s national rugby team will be taking on the defending vice-champions France, on London’s Olympic Stadium, in their debut fixture at the World Rugby Cup. In pool D on Wembley Stadium, Romania will also be taking on the Six Nations Trophy holder Ireland on September 27, in Leicester on October the 6th they will be facing Canada, while in Exeter on October 11 Romania will be playing its last group fixture against Italy. Also known as the Oak Leaf Knights, the Romanians took part in all previous six editions of the World Cup, yet they have never succeeded to go past the group stage.
The Romanian tennis player, world’s no. 2, Simona Halep, qualified on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Guangzhou, China, which has prizes up for grabs totaling 226,750 dollars, after having defeated the Hungarian Timea Babos, 6-4, 6-0. Another Romanian player, Monica Niculescu, qualified in the quarterfinals after defeating Swedish Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 6-2.
The newly re-elected PM of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, formed a new coalition government alongside the nationalist right leaning party, the Independent Greeks. The new executive has the difficult task of applying the provisions of the agreement signed in August with international lenders, providing Greece with 86 billion dollars. Tsipras is keeping in place his former finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, appointing George Chouliarakis as deputy finance minister and main negotiator of Greece in charge of implementing the 3rd rescue plan of the country.
