May 3, 2016
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day
Newsroom, 03.05.2016, 13:43
The Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, is to submit to President Klaus Iohannis today a request to discharge Vlad Alexandrescu as Culture Minister and a nomination for his replacement. According to political sources, one of the favourites for this appointment is Corina Şuteu, former head of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York, and currently a state secretary in the Culture Ministry. The dismissal comes against the backdrop of a scandal at the Romanian Opera House in Bucharest, triggered by discontent with the successive appointments for the director post as well as with the substantial imbalances between the salaries paid to the Romanian and the foreign dancers. Protests led to the cancellation of three shows, and PM Ciolos asked for Vlad Alexandrescus resignation. In messages posted on Facebook or published in the media, Vlad Alexandrescu says he was forced out because he upset various interest groups. The head of government said he had not been informed of the problems Vlad Alexandrescu claimed to have been facing and promised he would urge the new minister to carry on the reforms initiated by Alexandrescu.
The second International Light Festival, Spotlight 2016, will take place in Bucharest between May 5 and 8. Apart from captivating shows, including 15 art installations, building lighting and video-mapping sessions prepared by the guest artists will transform representative buildings in Bucharest, such as the CEC Building, the National History Museum building and the National Military Society buildings. This year, Spotlight is part of the events supporting the candidacy of Bucharest for European Capital of Culture in 2021.
May 3 is the World Press Freedom Day. On this occasion, the Council of Europe Secretary General, Thorbjorn Jagland, called on the 47 member countries to make sure that their national legislation on defamation does not silence the media and does not weaken public debate. The Council of Europe says it is critical for democracy that the media carry on its monitoring and criticising of those in power. In Romania, some people continue to abuse the journalist profession in order to intimidate, blackmail or trade influence, and some public authorities have attempted to block the access to information on major topics in the recent history of Romania – the 1989 Revolution, the miners riots of June ’90 or the Colectiv tragedy, reads the latest FreeEx report released by ActiveWatch. The document also reveals that the global Press Freedom Index worked out by Reporters without Borders puts Romania in the 49th place in the world, up three positions since the previous year.
In Romania, companies that pay less than roughly 280 euros per month, the new national minimum wage for full-time employees, will be fined. Under a government resolution endorsed late last year, more than 1.1 million employees benefit from this increase, which took effect on May 1. The raise is intended to bring national minimum wages up to nearly 60% of the national average salary. Still, salaries in Romania remain some of the lowest in the EU, only higher than in Bulgaria, but below those in other former communist states. At the opposite pole, the highest national minimum wages are paid in Luxemburg, 1,923 euro/month, followed by Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Ireland, where national minimum wages are around 1,500 euro per month.
The European Commission has warned Turkey that the prospective lift of visa requirements for Turkish citizens may be quickly suspended in case Ankara fails to meet the criteria set by the European bloc. Turkey, which wants its citizens to be able to travel freely in the EU in exchange for enforcing the migrant deal, must meet 72 criteria set by Brussels. The European Commission will decide on Wednesday whether these criteria are complied with, and should the report be positive, it will draft a legislative proposal to be endorsed by the European Parliament and the EU member states.
Norway, as part of a US-headed international coalition with operations in Syria and Iraq, will deploy 60 troops to train Syrian rebels fighting against the terrorist groups in that country, the Norwegian PM, Erna Solberg announced, according to Le Figaro. The Norwegian troops selected into this special task force will be sent to Jordan, and the name of the groups they will train has not been disclosed. Norway is already present in areas where the international coalition is fighting against the IS group, particularly in Erbil (Iraq), where soldiers are training peshmerga fighters for countering terrorist groups.
The Romanian Irina Begu (no. 34 WTA) managed a surprising win against Spains Garbine Muguruza (4 WTA), 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, in the second round of the WTA tournament in Madrid, with 4.7 million USD in prize money. In the eighth-finals, Irina will be facing the American Christina McHale (59 WTA). Also qualified in the eighth-finals is another Romanian player, Patricia Ţig (134 WTA). Two other Romanians have qualified into the second round of the Madrid tournament, Simona Halep, no. 7 WTA, and Sorana Carstea (no. 127 WTA). Halep played the final of the Madrid tournament in 2014, when she lost to Russias Maria Sharapova.
