September 26, 2015 UPDATE
Click here for a round-up of domestic and international news
Bogdan Matei, 26.09.2015, 12:15
VISIT –Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, who is currently on a visit to the US, on Saturday met with representatives of the Romanian community in New York. His Saturday’s agenda also included talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and his participation in a dinner offered by Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. On Friday, he attended the opening of the UN Summit, which adopted an ambitious sustainable development plan for the following 15 years, whose annual estimated costs stand at thousands of billions of dollars. Romania’s President, whose visit will come to a close on September 29, is also due to meet US Vice-President Joe Biden, for talks on the refugee crisis Europe is facing and the fight against terrorism.
COOPERATION — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has met in New York, with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguli Berdamuhamedov, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the two presidents underlined the interest they take in further boosting bilateral relations and in capitalising on the economic cooperation potential more efficiently, especially in such domains as energy, infrastructure and agriculture. In this context, the two officials mentioned the importance of implementing a joint project aimed at setting up a freight transport corridor from the Black-Sea to the Caspian Sea. They have also expressed their wish to cooperate more actively within the framework of the EU Strategy for Central Asia.
FINANCIAL — Romania’s agreement with the IMF, which was blocked in mid 2014, expired on Saturday, with experts saying we will soon have a clear image of the future evolution and direction of the relations between the two sides. A revision of the current 4 billion Euro agreement with the international creditors has been blocked since June 2014, in the lack of an agreement on the Romanian Government’s fiscal plans. In the first part of the year, the Romanian authorities tried to adopt a complex package of tax reductions included in the new Fiscal Code, but the representatives of the international financial institutions, as well as those of the Fiscal Council and the National Bank of Romania have been critical of such an approach. This month, finance minister Eugen Teodorovici, has made public Romania’s intention to start talks with its international creditors to reach a new assistance agreement, to take effect in 2016. In his opinion, the agreement is needed to protect Romania’s finances from fluctuations and shocks on the market.
MIGRATION — Romania is currently under no migration pressure, and the Romanian authorities have taken all necessary measures to maintain national safety and security, Romanian deputy prime minister and interior minister, Gabriel Oprea said on Saturday. As regards the refugee crisis, he underlined that Romania pledged to take in some 1,785 people and voted alongside Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, against the introduction of mandatory refugee quotas, by means of which Brussels directs some more 2,475 migrants to Romania. Gabriel Oprea recalled that 6 refugee reception centres are functioning in Romania, alongside two newly laid out camps in Timis County, (in the south-west, near Romania’s border with Hungary and Serbia, respectively).
REFUGEE CRISIS — New laws to manage the increasing number of asylum seekers in Germany might take effect on November the 1st, said Peter Altmaier, Chief of Staff of the Federal Chancellery in Angela Merkel’s cabinet. The measures, which will include additional financial support as well as stricter rules for asylum seekers in Germany, have been agreed upon during a meeting between the German chancellor and the heads of government of most German states. Germany expects between 800,000 and one million asylum seekers to be registered this year, a record high for this country and for Europe, in general. A conference on the refugee crisis focussing on the Western Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean route that the migrants follow on their way to Europe, will be held in Luxembourg, on October 8. Attending the conference will be foreign and interior ministers of the member states, Turkey and the Balkan states. Since the start of the year, some 500,000 migrants from the Middle East and North Africa fled war and poverty in their native countries and headed for the EU.
RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team will face Ireland in London on Sunday, in a second Pool D game of the Rugby World Cup 2015. In the debut match played on Wednesday, Romania was defeated by the vice-champion, France, 38-11. Playing in Pool D are also Italy and Canada. Dubbed the Oak Leaf Knights, the Romanian rugby players participated in all the seven editions of the World Cup, but they never went past the group stage.
DANCESPORT — Between September 25 and 27, the central Romanian town of Sibiu is hosting the Transylvanian Grand Prix, the most important dancesport competition of the year in Romania, which enjoys the participation of over 1,500 dancers from 25 countries. The competition is structured on age categories, from 6 year olds to professionals. 20 pairs are taking part in the World Open Competition destined for professionals, all of them being included on the Top 50-World Ranking List. Dancing on Sunday, the last day of the Transylvanian Grand Prix, will be, among others, the Show Dance world champions, Romanians Roman Ciflicli and Mirona Gliga. The pair has recently won the world title in Chengdu, China.
