The Week in Review, July 6-10
Click here for a roundup of the week's main stories.
Corina Cristea, 11.07.2015, 14:05
Romania under the effect of a heat wave
A hot week followed by storms is the meteorologists forecast for this week. Wednesday was the hottest day of the year, with temperatures that exceeded 39 degrees Celsius in western Romania, and two counties under a code yellow alert. Code yellow and orange alerts were in place for the whole of Romania, with temperatures frequently reaching 35 to 37 degrees Celsius. Also, the temperature humidity index exceeded 80 units. Speed limits were set for trains to ensure traffic safety. Meteorologists have warned that the month of July will be defined by very warm weather dotted with thunderstorms.
Victor Ponta resumes his tasks as Prime Minister
Romanias Prime Minister resumed, on Thursday, his tasks as head of the government, which, for the past three weeks, had been taken over by deputy PM Gabriel Oprea. Ponta returned to Romania on Wednesday after having undergone a knee surgery in Turkey in mid-July. On the day of the surgery, July 15th, the Romanian PM was supposed to appear before the Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors as ten days before he had been informed he was being prosecuted for forgery, accessory to fiscal evasion and money laundering. He allegedly committed the crimes while a lawyer and they are related to a case involving his party colleague, Dan Sova, former transport minister in the Ponta Cabinet.
European money for Romanias infrastructure
Nine million and a half euros in European funds will be made available to Romania by 2020 for the construction and upgrading of motorways and water and energy networks. The money can be accessed after the signing on Friday in Bucharest of the Large Infrastructure Operational Program. This is the largest investment program in Romania and the second largest one in the EU in terms of investment volume. The European Commissioner for Regional Policies, Romanian Corina Cretu, has said in Bucharest that under this program, the Romanian Government has committed to making running water available to all Romanians, from public sources, by 2020. The priority infrastructure projects for the European Commission as far as Romania is concerned are the motorways connecting Sibiu to Pitesti, Bacau to Pascani and Targu Neamt to Ungheni. The latter will be connecting Romania to the Republic of Moldova. With the Romanian government co-financing these projects, the total investment will stand at 12 billion euros.
The National Statistics Institute makes public fresh economic data
Romania’s Gross Domestic Product went up in the first quarter of 2015 by 4.1% as compared to the same period last year with the Romanian economy also seeing a 1.5% growth as against the last quarter of 2014, according to a second provisional report made public by the National Statistics Institute (INS). Romania’s economy last year saw a 2.8% growth as compared to 2013. The National Forecast Committee has upgraded to 3.3% its forecast on the country’s economic growth. According to the IMF, Romania’s economy will go up by 2.7% this year. The World Bank has also upgraded Romania’s economic growth rate from 2.9% to 3% for this year. According to the National Statistics Institute, the annual inflation rate stood at minus 1.6% in June, down from 1.2% in April, while the monthly inflation rate has reached 2.95%. The inflation rate in June shows a drop in prices by over 2% as against May, while the annual index will stand at around minus one percent. However, it is important for the population not to perceive this drop as deflation, Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu has said.
Romanian and Italian foreign ministers hold talks in Bucharest
Businesspeople in Italy have confidence in the stability of the Romanian economy, for which reason over 100 new Italian companies are adding to those already operating in Romania almost on a monthly basis. The statement was made by the head of Italian diplomacy, Paolo Gentiloni who held talks in Bucharest with the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on the bilateral ties. Romania and Italy have an excellent relationship, that of a consolidated strategic partnership, Bogdan Aurescu said in his turn. The Greek crisis and the migration issue were also discussed by the two officials. The value of the Romanian-Italian trade exceeded 12 billion euros.
Romania supports the Republic of Moldova
Romania is the staunchest supporter of the Republic of Moldova in its EU integration process, said Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis in Suceava, in the north-east, where his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Timofti, received the Doctor Honoris Causa title from the city’s Stephen the Great University on Tuesday. President Timofti received the Doctor Honoris Causa title at the ‘Stephen the Great’ University in Suceava, for special merits in promoting the Republic of Moldova’s EU integration efforts, for deepening its relations with Romania, as well as for his focus on education and the training of the young generation. President Iohannis hailed the democratic manner in which local elections were held in Moldova and said that the country needed to make efforts to reform the state.
