August 17, 2015

For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.

Newsroom, 17.08.2015, 12:00

DROUGHT – Romanian Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin on Monday is meeting with leaders of the agricultural companies to discuss the severe drought this year and the possibility of handing out compensations. Previously Prime Minister Victor Ponta had said the Government was preparing to compensate farmers for their crops destroyed by the drought. Farmers claim hundreds of thousands of hectares have been lost, with losses amounting to over 2 billion euros. After a long period of extreme heat, meteorologists have issued a warning against heavy rainfall in place until Tuesday evening. The highs will range between 23 and 33 degrees Celsius.

FISCAL CODE – Representatives of parliamentary parties in Romania are on Thursday holding talks on the new Fiscal Code. The code was sent back to Parliament for reanalysis on July 17. President Klaus Iohannis believes the fiscal relaxation measures provided by the code would have serious consequences on the budget planning for the next years. Although the Code enjoyed nearly unanimous support in Parliament at first, several political leaders then suggested the possibility of reviewing its provisions. Prime Minister Victor Ponta says the code is sustainable, and that the estimated cost of its implementation, standing at 2.5 billion euros, can be offset by economic growth and a better tax collection rate. Parliament will convene in a special session to discuss the code on August 24.

A-WEB – The Romanian Permanent Election Authority is running for the vice-presidency of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB). Romania wants to play host in 2017 to the General Assembly meeting of the organization. A decision in this repesct will be taken this week during a conference hosted by the Dominican Republic, bringing together representatives of election bodies all over the world. Talks will focus, among others, on the challenges facing election bodies as part of election processes, the funding of political parties or the responsibility of the media. Founded in 2013, A-WEB is the largest organization of its kind in the world. Comprising over 100 member states, its underlying principle is free, fair and transparent elections.

BACCALAUREATE – Some 55,000 high school graduates are today sitting their Baccalaureate exam, as part of the second session in 2015. The first exam will test students linguistic and communication skills in Romanian and in the mother tongue of ethnic minorities. The success rate for the June session was 66%, accounting for 106,000 students. The success rate went up by 7% as compared to the 2014 session.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player WTA 3rd ranked Simona Halep on Sunday lost the final of the Toronto tournament to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. Halep had to retire early into the third set due to health problems. This was Simona Haleps fourth final this year, after she won the WTA tournaments in Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells.

GREECE – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she expected the IMF to get involved in the bailout package for Greece. Her statement follows against the backdrop of concerns regarding the participation of the IMF to the bailout programme worth 86 billion euros that is to be disbursed to Athens. The IMF said its involvement depended on Europes decision to cut back on Greeces external debt. On Friday, the Greek Parliament adopted the agreement Athens has agreed upon with its international lenders regarding a new bailout programme, in exchange for severe austerity measures. Eurozone Finance Ministers too have greenlighted the programme, which must nevertheless be sanctioned by national Parliaments, including that of Germany.

TERRORISM – The US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have jointly criticized the barbaric actions of the Islamic State terrorist cell in Libya and have called on insurgents in this country to agree on a National Union Government, France Press reports. The reaction of the six countries follows last weeks violent clashes, when jihadist militias took control of the city of Sirta in the north and executed at least 34 people. Since the demise of Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in a state of chaos, the country being torn between insurgent militias the authorities cant seem to control. At present, Libya has two Governments, one recognized at international level, headquartered in Tobruk in the east, and another Islamic Government in the capital Tripoli.