January 8, 2016
German chancellor Angela Merkel says Romanian-German economic relations will expand if Romania continues to improve its legal system and fight against corruption.
Newsroom, 08.01.2016, 12:00
German chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday in Berlin that Romanian-German economic relations would intensify if Romania continued to improve its legal system and fight against corruption. She made this statement during a visit by Romanias technocratic prime minister Dacian Ciolos to Germany. In Ciolos opinion, Germany is a strategically important partner for Romania and the latters biggest trade partner, accounting for 20% of Romanias trade exchanges, at more than 20 billion euros a year. Dacian Ciolos also said he planned to visit other German lands in the future to stimulate bilateral economic cooperation.
The Constanta Tribunal, in the south-east of Romania, today sentenced Mircea Basescu, the brother of Romanias former president, to four years in prison for influence peddling. Another man was sentenced to three years in prison in the case for complicity to influence peddling. The ruling can be appealed. According to the National Anticorruption Directorate, between 2011 and 2012, during his brothers term, Mircea Basescu received a 250,000 euro bribe to use his influence with the judiciary and obtain a reduced sentence or the release of a convict.
Romanians spend more than one third of their income on food and 8% on alcohol and cigarettes, according to a survey conducted by the National Institute for Statistics published today. The average income of a Romanian family in the third quarter of 2015 stood at around 600 euros a month, with expenses accounting for 67% of peoples income. At 230 euros, Romania has the lowest monthly minimum gross wage in the European Union with the exception of Bulgaria. Right before the start of the new year, the government approved an increase in the minimum wage to 276 euros starting in May this year.
Romanian experts on stock market transactions have advised investors not to panic in these volatile times internationally and to wait instead for markets to settle down. Global markets were severely affected by strong fluctuations on the Chinese stock market as the countrys economic growth rate slowed down and the depreciation of its national currency continued.
Cristian Popa is Romanias candidate for the position of vice-president of the European Investment Bank, the finance ministry has announced today. For the last 16 Cristian Popa has been working for the National Bank years, where he has served as vice-governor for three consecutive terms. He was also a member of the banks expert teams in the negotiation and dialogue with the European Commission, the World Bank, the EBRD, the European Investment Bank and the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation. Mihai Tanasescu, Romanias former representative at the European Investment Bank, has been forced to step down, following his involvement in a corruption inquiry in Bucharest.
The Romanian-American pair Monica Niculescu and Vania King reached the final of the Shenzhen tennis tournament in China worth 430,000 dollars in prize money. In the semifinals, Niculescu and King defeated the all-Romanian pair Andreea Mitu and Patricia Tig before meeting the all-Chinese pair Yi-Fan Xu and Saisai Zheng in the final. Monica Niculescu won the Schenzhen doubles title in 2014, when she paired with the Czech player Klara Koukalova.
Romanian player Cristina Neagu has been designated the best female handball player in the world in 2015, based on the cumulative votes of 19 members of an international jury and visitors to the handball-planet.com website. The Norwegian players Nora Mork and Heidi Loke came second and third, respectively. Aged 27, Cristina Neagu was part of the Romanian team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 World Championship, where she won the best player title. She was also a key player for Budućnost Podgorica, the winner of the Champions League trophy in 2015.
(Translated by: C. Mateescu)
