July 4, 2016

President Iohannis holds post-Brexit vote talks in Bucharest with PM, politicians and central bank chief

Newsroom, 04.07.2016, 00:00

CONSULTATIONS – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has invited today in Bucharest PM Dacian Cioloş, the National Bank Governor Mugur Isărescu, and the leaders of parliamentary parties to a new round of talks after the Brexit vote. According to the Presidency, Klaus Iohannis will suggest the set-up of a task force to assess the impact of Britains decision to leave the EU on Romania, as well as the opportunities entailed by this decision. At the end of the EU Council held last week, Klaus Iohannis said a new post-accession country project was necessary. This is the second round of consultations initiated by the head of state Klaus Iohannis, after the one held right after the results of UKs EU vote were published on June 24.

GOVERNMENT – The Government of Romania is working on a strategy for the development of the country, PM Dacian Ciolos has today announced. Attending the Forum of Local Public Administration, held in Bucharest, he said he would like this strategy, entitled “Polycentric Romania 2035, to be a framework for regional development. Ciolos added that clearer legislation is needed in terms of the resources allotted to local authorities, given that squander, incompetence and corruption make the spending of these funds rather inefficient. De-centralising certain fields, like agriculture, tourism, youth and sports and encouraging inter-community associations are among the priorities of the Government, Ciolos said.

NATO – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihnea Motoc, has talks in Belgium today with General Curtis Scaparrotti, NATOs Supreme Allied Commander Europe. According to a news release, the Romanian minister will discuss, among other things, the advanced presence of NATO on the eastern flank in the context of the current security challenges, as one of the central topics of the Warsaw Summit due late next week. The same summit, due to take place on Friday and Saturday in Poland, will be the topic of a press conference given by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels today.

WIMBLEDON – The best ranking Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, no. 5 WTA, is playing today against Madison Keys from the US, no. 9 in the world, in the eighth-finals of the Wimbledon tournament. If she qualifies into the quarter-finals, Halep will take on the winner of the match between Japans Misaki Doi and Germanys Angelique Kerber. In the mens doubles, the Romanian Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna are playing today, in the eighth-finals, against Henri Kontinen (Finland) / John Peers (Australia).

EURO 2016 – France is the last country to qualify into the semi-finals of the European Championship, after having defeated Iceland, the team that was the major surprise of the Euro 2016. In the semi-finals, the host country will take on Germany, whereas Portugal will play against Wales. Romania left the tournament as early as the group stage. After this failure, the Romanian Football Federation decided not to extend the contract of manager Anghel Iordanescu, whose successor will be a foreign coach, said the Federation president, Razvan Burleanu. His name will be announced by the end of the Euro 2016 final tournament, on July 10, Burleanu said.

HANDBALL – Romanias mens handball team won the World University Championship held in Malaga (Spain), after defeating South Korea in the final, 28 – 20. In the semi-finals, Romania outplayed the host country, 29 – 26. In the womens competition, Romania lost the final to Spain 14 – 20.