September 28, 2015 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 28.09.2015, 12:15
The bilateral strategic partnership, the fight against terrorism and the refugee crisis facing Europe were the main topics of Monday’s discussions in Washington between the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis and the American vice-president Joe Biden. On an official visit to the US, Klaus Iohannis said the US could become one of the top investors in Romania, given that Romania has reported sustained economic growth, financial and monetary stability, a reduced public debt, and it has well trained labor force as well as many natural resources. Romania is an element of stability in the region, the president also added. Previously president Iohannis participated in New York in the UN Sustainable Development Summit. Iohannis announced that Romania would revise its national strategy in the field so as to focus on supporting the inclusion of people with disabilities, young people and women.
The Romanian Parliament is debating and voting on Tuesday the no-confidence motion filed by the Liberal opposition against the government headed by the Social Democrat, Victor Ponta. The initiators of the motion claim that the accusations of the anti-corruption prosecutors against the PM Ponta, namely forgery, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering- no longer entitle him to sign laws and approve the state budget and that the prosecution of the prime minister seriously affects Romania’s credibility. Just like the former Social Democratic senator Dan Sova, Ponta is accused of involvement, when he was a lawyer, in illegal actions at the Rovinari and Turceni energy companies, in the south of Romania, that caused the state losses amounting to more than 16 million euros. In order to be passed by Parliament, the motion needs a majority of 276 yes votes. Commentators are skeptical about the success of the motion filed by the Liberals which is supported only by opposition MPs as the parties in the government coalition have all expressed their support for the government.
The High Court of Cassation and Justice of Romania on Monday postponed for November 23rd the appeal filed in the case in which the interim president of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the government coalition, Liviu Dragnea, is accused of rigging the 2012 referendum on the impeachment of the then president Traian Basescu. In the court of first instance, Dragnea received a suspended sentence of one-year imprisonment for having used his influence and position in the party with a view to securing the minimum number of voters for the validation of the vote. Dragnea is also the main candidate running in the elections for the presidency of the Social Democratic Party to be held on October 11th, a position that remained vacant after the withdrawal of the PM Ponta who is facing corruption charges. Also on Monday the anti-corruption prosecutors decided to put to trial the former presidential advisor George Scutaru and the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, Dan Motranu, on charges of receiving bribe worth hundreds of thousands of euros, for funding the 2008 election campaign of the opposition Liberal party.
The Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, on Monday said he was ready to cooperate with the future Catalonian government and to discuss a wide range of topics but only within the limits of the law. He said that as long as he held the position of PM he would not discuss Spain’s unity- Rajoy warned, after Sunday’s regional elections when the secessionist parties obtained a clear majority in Parliament. They asked the Madrid authorities to accept holding a democratic referendum on the region’s independence. The Spanish Constitution does not allow for the break away of any region, therefore the prospect of Catalonia’s independence remains, according to experts, a mere hypothesis.
The Romanian women’s table tennis team will play Tuesday against Germany in the final of the Ekaterinburg European Championships. On Monday, in the semifinals, Romania defeated Ukraine while Germany defeated the host country’s team. A possible victory would bring the 4th continental title for the Romanians, after the titles they won in 1992, 2002 and 2005. However, Romania’s men’s table tennis team has not performed well in these championships and Tuesday they will play against the Ukrainian team in an attempt to get the 15th or 16th position in the classification.
The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep remains on 2nd position in the WTA classification made public on Monday. The classification is still dominated by the American player Serena Williams. The Romanian Irina Begu, who on Sunday won the Seoul tournament, went up 3 places up to the 26th position, the best position she has ever occupied in her career. The top 100 includes another 3 Romanian players: Monica Niculescu, ranked 47th, Alexandra Dulgheru, 55th, and Andreea Mitu 85th. In the Road to Singapore classification, for the Champions tournament, Halep remains on 2nd position, after Williams, and at a great distance from 3rd placed player, Russian Maria Sharapova.
