May 30, 2015
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
Newsroom, 30.05.2015, 12:00
BILATERAL RELATIONS – Minister Delegate for Romanians Abroad Angel Tilvar starting Saturday is paying a four-day official visit to Portugal. The visit is a good opportunity to consolidate bilateral relations in all fields. The agenda includes meetings with Education Minister Nuno Crato, with High Commissioner for Migration and Intercultural Dialogue Pedro Calado and with Deputy Mayor of Lisbon Carlos Manuel Castro. Tilvar will also meet with representatives of Romanian associations and will attend the Day of Romanians in Portugal, an event held in Lisbon and commonly bringing together both Romanians and Moldovans.
FIFA – Sepp Blatter of Switzerland, aged 79, was elected yesterday president of the International Football Federation. In the first ballot of the FIFA Council, Blatter secured 133 votes as compared to his opponent, Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, who grabbed only 73 votes. Al-Hussein withdrew before the second ballot, thus allowing Blatter to win his fifth consecutive mandate. Blatter however is facing growing opposition from European and American football federations as well as a huge corruption scandal. The US judiciary has indicted 14 people, including two FIFA vice-presidents in a corruption case. European federations speak of boycotting the 2018 World Cup in Russia, while several major sponsors have announced they would cancel their contracts with FIFA.
INVESTMENT – Romania has reported a significant increase in foreign direct investment, Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said. Ponta next week will present the quarterly economic report in the Chamber of Deputies. According to the Prime Minister, investor trust in the private sector has hit its highest level in recent years, and Romania must continue its economic measures to remain among the regions economic leaders. On Monday, a 9% slash in the VAT for foodstuffs and services in the food industry will come into force. At present the VAT stands at 24%, with the exception of bread and bakery products, which already have a 9% VAT. The National Forecast Committee has upgraded its economic growth forecast for 2015 and 2016, to 3.3% this year and 3.4% next year. Previously, the committee last winter had announced a growth of the GDP of 2.8% for this year. In 2017, the Committee expects an economic growth of 3.7% and of 4% in 2018.
TENNIS – Romanian tennis players Horica Tecau and Florin Mergea will play each other in the round of 16 of the Roland Garros mens doubles. On Friday, Mergea and his partner Rohan Bopanna of India eased past Austin Krajicek and Donald Young of the US and will face Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands. Mergea and Michaella Krajicek will also play in the round of 16 of the mixed doubles, where Tecau and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia are also competing. The only other Romanians left in the competition are Irina Begu and Andreea Mitu, who are playing in the third round of the womens singles.
RUSSIA – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the list banning entry to Russia also includes Romanian citizens. The Ministry says it will demand an explanation for this list, which the Romanian embassy in Moscow received from the EU Delegation in Moscow. According to a document posted by former presidential advisor Iulin Chifu on his Facebook page, the list includes people such as Chifu himself, former Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu, Romanian Air Force commander Tiberiu Liviu Chondon, Diaspora MP Eugen Tomac, born in the former USSR as well as the deputy chairman of Transgaz, Gheorghe Hategan. The list also includes officials from Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom. The list comes as a response to EU sanctions on Russia after the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014. Romania has repeatedly argued in favour of observing the integrity and territorial sovereignty of neighbouring Ukraine and has severely criticized Moscows ingressions.
TOUR – Prime Minister David Cameron has completed the first phase of his diplomatic tour of Europe, whereby he intends to talk with all 27 heads of state and government in the EU ahead of the summit in June, where he will be presenting a detailed reform package, in the context of the referendum on the United Kingdoms EU membership. The Financial Times daily writes that this first phase has allowed the Prime Minister to see how far he can push his EU reform aspirations, the most controversial of which is the revision of the EUs underlying treaties. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised to engage in a contructive dialogue to find a solution, without ruling out the possibility of revising the treaties. On the other hand, French president Francois Hollande said France did not support this idea, an opposition also shared by Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, who said Poland wanted the UK to remain in the EU. The Polish official argued against limiting Britains social welfare for foreingn immigrants. David Cameron wants to put a cap on migration and to toughen labour market and social welfare access.
