September 13, 2016
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Newsroom, 13.09.2016, 12:00
FRENCH PRESIDENT VISITS ROMANIA – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Tuesday, fresh from a meeting in Bucharest with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, that the strategic partnership between the two countries has a special importance. In turn, President Hollande said his visit stood proof of the special economic, cultural and scientific relations between the two states. He announced that the Romanian and French defense ministers would meet regularly from now on, in order to strengthen the partnership in the field of defense. The two officials also tackled the dynamics of bilateral trade relations, Romania’s Schengen accession, the situation in Ukraine (Romania’s neighbor) and the EU summit to be held in Bratislava later this week. The common agenda of the two officials also includes a visit at the National Institute of Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering in Măgurele, near Bucharest, that hosts the most powerful laser in the world, and participation in the opening of the economic forum entitled “French-Romanian partnerships for the future”. Also on Tuesday the French Presdient will visit, together with the PM Dacian Cioloş, the Airbus helicopter factory in Ghimbav (in the center of Romania). The previous visit by a French president to Bucharest was that of Francois Mitterrand in 1991.
CIVIL LIABILITY INSURANCE – The price of civil liability insurance policies for Romanian car owners might decrease by 30% as compared to last year, if the authorities pass the amendments proposed to the current legislation. The draft law will be debated by the Senate as of Tuesday and will be subsequently forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision maker in this case. The amendments were made after the transporters challenged the huge price of civil liability insurance policies for car owners. Over the past days they protested on Romania’s ring roads and threatened to organize a nationwide rally on September 15. Under a draft emergency ordinance, compulsory civil liability insurance contracts will be concluded for a period ranging from one month to one year, and payment will also be made by installments. Furthermore, the contract can be suspended upon the request of the insured.
MIGRANTS – Two migrants, a 5-year old and a teenager, drowned and at least 6 are reported missing following a shipwreck on the Danube, on September 8, in the Bulgarian territorial waters, the border police in Ruse announced on Tuesday. The migrants were coming from Turkey, and chose to cross the Danube from Bulgaria to Romania in order to avoid Serbia, where border controls were strengthened this summer. Despite the fence built on 100 kms along the border with Turkey, Bulgaria reported, in 2016, more than 9,000 migrants who illegally tried to cross the border, most of whom were Pakistanis. The Romanian authorities also implemented further security measures on the border with Serbia after several groups of migrants attempted to enter Romania. On Monday 30 migrants, of whom 29 Afghan citizens and one Pakistani, were arrested by the Romanian border police while they were trying to enter Romania from Serbia, in their attempt to reach a state in western Europe.
FIC – Romania could become, in 20 years’ time, one of the first 10 economic powers of the EU, with an economy 4 times bigger, if it focused on three priorities and if the government implemented the necessary measures for a long-term plan, say the representatives of the Foreign Investors Council, as quoted by Agerpres news agency. The three key areas on which Romania should focus so as to have an economy worth 655 billion euros in 2036 are infrastructure, demography and human capital and public and private efficiency. To reach this goal the economy should grow at a rate of 4% yearly, for a period of 20 years. Foreign investors say this is the task of the Government which should be supported by the Presidency, Parliament, the National Bank and the political parties and following large-scale consultations with the academia, civil society and business environment.
(translation by Lacramioara Simion)
