November 11, 2015 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 11.11.2015, 12:15
In Romania, the independent prime minister designate Dacian Ciolos held talks on Wednesday with the political parties to secure parliamentary support for his cabinet. The National Liberal Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the national minorities’ group have promised Ciolos to support his government. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania said they would support the Ciolos cabinet, but they will make a decision after they see the names of the new ministers. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats pointed out that they would make a decision regarding their support for the new cabinet after they find out the governing program and the government makeup. A former European commissioner for agriculture, Dacian Ciolos was nominated for the position of prime minister following the resignation of the coalition government led by the Social Democrat Victor Ponta in the wake of massive street protests against the political elite after the tragic fire at a Bucharest nightclub on October 30th.
The death toll has risen to 51 following the deadly fire in Bucharest. More than 70 people, including 20 in critical condition, are still in hospital. 36 people have been transferred to hospitals in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Britain, Norway, Israel and Switzerland. All expenses related to transport and treatment are covered by the Romanian state. A crisis group made up of specialist doctors has also been created to provide psychological counseling to the injured and the families of the victims. In another development, judges decided on Wednesday to release the former mayor of Bucharest’s sector 4 where the fire occurred. Cristian Popescu Piedone was arrested last Saturday on charges of abuse of power and intellectual forgery. The magistrates’ decision is final.
The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is in Malta until Thursday to attend a summit tackling the root causes of illegal migration. European leaders and representatives of 30 African countries are discussing the situation of the people fleeing conflict areas and the repatriation of refugees. On Thursday, an extraordinary council meeting will look at ways to strengthen control on the European Union’s external borders and the management of the refugee flow and the refugee reception centres. Romania’s president conveyed his country’s solidarity with the other EU states, saying it wishes to find the best solutions to the refugee problem. He gave assurances that Romania conducts tight border controls and is involved in actions to tackle the migration crisis. He also said that keeping the refugee crisis under control should involve close cooperation with both the transit countries and the countries of origin.
Military and religious ceremonies took place on Wednesday in garrisons in Romania to celebrate Veterans Day in the theatres of operations. Tribute was paid to the 26 Romanian military killed in action in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia Hertegovina. 11th of November 2003 saw the first death of a Romanian soldier in the theatre of operations in Afghanistan in an attack on his armoured vehicle. A government decision has declared 2015 War Veterans’ Year.
NATO expressed concern over the complicated situation the Republic of Moldova is currently in and urged Chisinau to boost efforts to overcome the political crisis and to form a pro-European parliamentary majority, NATO officials stated as quoted by Radio Chisinau. The vice-president of the NATO parliamentary assembly, Paolo Alli, underlined that the Republic of Moldova can continue to rely on NATO’s assistance but Chisinau will have to implement the necessary reforms to fight corruption and reform the judiciary. A NATO delegation was in Chisinau on Tuesday and Wednesday to examine the reconstruction program of the defense capabilities of Moldova. The program, which involves the funds and expertise of such countries as the US and Germany, is developed in accordance with the decisions of the 2014 summit when NATO also included in its own security strategy the defense capabilities of the partner states, among which the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.
Romania has the highest insolvency rate in Central and Eastern Europe although the number of companies that started this procedure in the first 9 months of the year dropped by more than 54% ac compared to the same period of 2014. These are the conclusions of a study launched Wednesday by the Coface Company, specializing in commercial risks and a world leader in credit insurance. Over 7,500 companies have resorted to the insolvency procedure and more than 90 thousand ceased their activity by means of other procedures, the Coface Romania manager Iancu Guda explained. According to the study most companies that stopped their activity were dealing in trade, car and motorbike servicing, constructions or in the processing industry.
