September 4, 2015 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 04.09.2015, 12:15

The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday sent a letter
to the heads of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, announcing his intention to address Parliament on September 16th . The head of state last
gave an address in Parliament on June 22nd, when he presented
Romania’s National Defence Strategy for 2015-2019.
Subsequently endorsed by the two chambers of Parliament, the Defence Strategy
brings forth the new concept of broadened security.

In
the first six months of the year 2015, Romania’s economy grew by 3.8%, as
compared to the same period last year, said on Friday the National Statistics
Institute. The sectors that contributed the most to the growth of the GDP, in
the first semester of the year, were trade, transport, vehicle maintenance, hotels
and restaurants, communications and industry. Exports, on the other hand,
impacted the GDP negatively, as they were lower than imports. Economic growth
was prompted mainly by household consumption, followed by the investments made
by companies in buildings and equipment.

Bucharest
may sign a new assistance agreement with the International Monetary Fund and
the European Union in 2016, to protect its economy against market shocks, the
Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici told Bloomberg. According to him, Romania
stands on its own and does not need IMF funding, but a flexible deal would be a
good idea, as a safety net against market instability. Since the start of the
economic crisis in 2009 to date, Romania has signed 3 consecutive loan
agreements with the IMF and the EU, which served as an anchor for the
governmental policies related to the budget, the privatisation of state-owned
companies and the economy, Bloomberg notes. The current agreement with the IMF
amounts to 2 billion euros, but so far Bucharest has not used these funds.

The
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is taking part in Luxemburg in an
informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers. According to the Romanian Foreign
Ministry, talks focus on topics like the EU eastern border, particularly the
recent developments in Ukraine and the relations with the Russian Federation,
the Middle East peace process, relations with Iran and the immigrant crisis.
Special attention will be paid to the stage of the reform process in the
countries on the east of the EU, particularly the Republic of Moldova, Georgia
and Ukraine, the security situation in east Ukraine and the measures required
for the immediate implementation of the Minsk agreements.

In the neighbouring Republic of Moldova the multi-national military
exercise Fire Shield has begun, with 26 troops from Romania and 150 from the USA taking part. The exercise marks
24 years since the formation of the National Army of Moldova, shortly after
Chisinau proclaimed its independence from Moscow, on August 27, 1991. Also
these days, more than 100 Moldovan military are taking part in the Sea
Breeze-2015 drills, taking place in Ukraine under the NATO aegis. According to
the Constitution, the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state, but it has been
cooperating with NATO since 1994. The capital city Chisinau hosts an Alliance
intelligence centre, and Moldovan troops took part in the post-conflict
reconstruction operation in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.

Great
Britain is ready to do more to help overcome the immigration crisis in Europe
and to provide resettlement to ‘thousands’ more Syrian refugees, the British
Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday. Cameron thus gave in to rising
pressure in Great Britain, favouring the provision of more aid for refugees. The
UN Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has urged for the resettlement
of at least 200,000 asylum seekers in the EU and has stated that all the EU
member countries should take part in this program. Since the beginning of the
year, at least 300,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean, and 2,600 have
died trying to do that. The EU is making efforts to deal with this
unprecedented flow, the largest after WWII. Many of the refugees are fleeing
countries devastated by war, such as Syria and Afghanistan, putting their
lives at risk in order to rich the West.

Romania’s national rugby team plays against Tonga in Bucharest on
Saturday, in the last test before leaving for England for the World Cup due to
begin on September 18. Romania is part of the competition’s Group D, alongside
France, Ireland, Canada and Italy. The Romanian rugby team has taken part in
all the World Cup final tournaments so far, but they never got past the group
stage.