May 15, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 15.05.2015, 12:15
Pope Francis, who on Friday received at the Vatican the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, accepted the latter’s invitation to pay a visit to Romania, which is a predominantly orthodox country. According to the Romanian presidency, the date of the visit will be established using the diplomatic channels. Pope Francis would thus become the second pope to visit Romania after John Paul II, who in 1999 was the first head of the Catholic Church to visit an orthodox country. Also on Friday, Klaus Iohannis met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. During the talks, which took place on the day celebrating 25 years since the resumption of diplomatic ties, the good relations between Romania and the Holy See were stressed, as well as both parties’ intention to carry on their good collaboration, focusing on promoting religious freedom, inter-confessional dialogue and fighting fundamentalism. President Klaus Iohannis’s program on Friday also included a visit to Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he observed a moment of silence at the tomb of Pope John Paul II. On Thursday, the Romanian President visited Romania’s pavilion at the 2015 Universal Exhibition in Milan and met with representatives of the Romanian community in northern Italy.
The High Court in Bucharest on Friday sentenced development minister Liviu Dragnea to a one year suspended jail sentence for his involvement in the “Referendum” case, but the ruling is not final. After the ruling was made, Dragnea tendered his resignation from the government and stepped down from all political positions he held in his party. Dragnea was brought to justice by prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, being accused that in his capacity as Secretary General of the ruling Social Democratic Party he used his influence, in conditions other than the legal ones, to influence the referendum of July the 29th 2012, on the impeachment of the then president Traian Băsescu. In the same case, 74 other people, mostly members or former members of the Social Democratic Party, who got involved in the campaign for the referendum, have been either acquitted or received suspended jail sentences. Although 87% of the voters stood for the impeachment of president Basescu, the referendum of 2012 was not validated because of a lack of quorum.
On Friday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu participated in Bratislava in the meeting of the Visegrad Group, made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The guests were representatives of the Eastern Partnership and of some EU member countries. In the run to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, on the 21st and the 22nd of May, minister Aurescu talked about the need for the Partnership to become stronger against the current difficult security context in the region. Also, the Romanian minister reiterated Romania’s support for a stable, democratic and predictable development of its eastern neighbors. The Eastern Partnership is made up of the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has improved Romania’s economic growth forecast for 2015 up to 3%, from 2.8%, as it was in January, a report issued by the aforementioned financial institution shows. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development estimates that in 2016 the Romanian economy will grow by 3.2%, one of the highest growth rates in emerging Europe, whereas for the other 35 states included in the report, the EBRD estimates a growth of only 1.4% in 2016. Since the start of its activity, EBRD has invested some 7 billion Euros in 368 projects in Romania.
The Romanian Government has decided to give up the plan to tax tips, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici announced on Friday. He said that, although the measure had been requested by the business environment, its implementation would have been extremely difficult. The Bucharest executive had recently passed an emergency ordinance providing for the taxation of all forms of income, including tips, by 16%. The employer would have decided to whether keep the tip or give it to the employees. Subsequently, the Ombudsman challenged the ordinance at the Constitutional Court.
The NATO foreign ministers decided at the meeting in Antalya to extend the presence of the alliance in Afghanistan post 2016, when the current mission of training Afghan military and policemen, involving over 12,000 military, comes to an end. The next mission will be civil-led, smaller than the current one and will include the participation of both civilians and military. They will provide counselling and training services for the Afghan security structures. 625 Romanian military are currently deployed in Afghanistan, most of them protecting the base in Kandahar and counselling the Afghan security forces. 23 Romanian military have been killed in the line of duty and over 150 others have been injured in Afghanistan so far.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranking 2nd in the WTA classification, has qualified for the semifinals of the Rome tournament, with 2.4 million dollars in prize money. On Friday she defeated her compatriot Alexandra Dulgheru, ranked 72nd. Also on Friday in the men’s double, the Romanian –Dutch pair Horia Tecau/Jean -Julien Rojer was defeated by the pair made up of Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and David Marrero of Spain, 6-7, 4-6, 10-5.
