April 13, 2017 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.04.2017, 20:03

EU FUNDS– Romania currently has some 6.8 billion Euros available for investments in the transport sector, of which 5.1 billion from EU funds, the European Commissioner for regional policy Corina Cretu has stated. According to a news release issued by the Representation of Romania to the EU, Creţu discussed in Brussels on Wednesday with the Romanian Transport Minister Răzvan Cuc, and emphasised the need to spend up the funds provided by the EU. Corina Creţu also mentioned the benefits entailed by the programmes in this sector, which allowed for the transport network in Romania to be extended and improved. In turn, Minister Răzvan Cuc presented the commitment of Romanian authorities to finalising the current investments and starting new projects.

FINANCE– The Romanian Financial Oversight Authority on Thursday sanctioned NN, the largest private pension fund in the country, with a fine of 750,000 lei, accounting for 1% of the companys registered capital, for transmitting information aimed to destabilise the pension fund, Ion Giurescu, the vice-president of the Authority has announced. The decision was made as a result of the fact that on Wednesday, NN sent an e-mail to its clients warning them about an alleged nationalisation of private pension funds. Also, the Financial Oversight Authority decided on Thursday to witdraw the authorisation of Raluca Tintoiu as general manager of NN Pensions and to give her a fine of 100,000 lei. In the coming days, Romanias Parliament will initiate the procedures to dismiss the entire management of the Financial Oversight Authority. The announcement has been made by the president of the governing Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea, following the scandal about the alleged nationalisation of private pension funds. According to Dragnea, the head of the Authority Misu Negritoiu was the one who started the rumours. Both the Social Democratic leader and the Finance Minister Viorel Stefan have denied that such a scenario is being considered.

CORRUPTION – Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday approved the request made by the National Anticorruption Directorate to start the prosecution of Gabriel Sandu, a former minister of communications and IT between 2008-2010. He has been investigated for abuse of office in a new case of corruption, known as Microsoft 2. On Tuesday, anticorruption prosecutors started the prosecution of another 5 people, among whom the former tennis player Dinu Pescariu and the businessman Claudiu Florica, also accused of abuse of office. Prosecutors say that the two allegedly paid Gabriel Sandu, the communications minister back then, more than 2 million Euros, through another businessman, to help them win a public tender. In this case, the estimated damage stands at some 51 million Euros. Gabrel Sandu already got a prison sentence in October 2016 in the case known as Microsoft 1, one of the biggest cases of corruption in Romania. In that case, bribe stood at 60 million Euro, and the damage to the Romanian state was estimated at 27 million.

FDI – Foreign direct investments in Romania went up by 85% in the first months of the year, as compared to the same period in 2016, reaching 655 million Euros, according to a press release made public on Thursday by the National Bank of Romania. According to the Bank, between January – February 2017, the current account of the balance of payments registered a surplus of 204 million Euros, as compared to a deficit of 139 million in the first two months of the year 2016.

EXPORTS– Romanian exports to Syria were 80% lower in 2016 than in 2011, when civil war broke out in that country. In 5 years, Romania has lost at least 500 million euros in exports, the daily Ziarul Financiar reports. Syria mostly imported livestock from Romania, sheep and goats, as well as dairy, eggs and fish. The daily also mentions that Romania has stayed uninvolved in the conflict in Syria, and in 2012 the then President Traian Băsescu would not close the Romanian diplomatic mission in Damascus, arguing that the country hosted a large Romanian community. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, 10,000-12,000 Romanians live in Syria, mostly women married to Syrian citizens. The Embassy of Romania also provides consular assistance to citizens from other countries, like Canada, France and Australia.

COOPERATION Airbus Helicopters and the Romanian company IAR Ghimbav on Thursday signed an agreement on the manufacturing in Romania of the multi-role twin-engine helicopter H 215 M. The embassies of France and Germany in Bucharest have hailed the agreement and have stated they support this cooperation. According to the French Ambassador to Bucharest Francois Saint-Paul, the agreement strengthens the strategic partnership and is a symbol of Romanias, Frances and Germanys European commitment in the field.

BORDER SECURITY– Romanian check points are getting crowded, because of a new European regulation tightening border checks, which took effect last week, and because of increased traffic ahead of the Easter holidays, the General Border Police Inspectorate reports. Waiting times for the trucks entering Romania at the Siret checkpoint in the north-east reach 10 hours. Problems are also reported at Giurgiu in the south and Petea in the north-west, where waiting times are around 90 and 60 minutes, respectively, while in Albiţa, in the north-east and Ostrov, in the south-east, those who want to cross the border have to wait for at least 30 minutes. The longest automobile queues are reported in Giurgiu and Petea. Border police say they are trying to strike a balance between citizen security and smooth traffic.

AFGHANISTAN – In a video conference on Thursday, the Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel Les addressed the Romanian soldiers deployed in Kandahar and Kabul on the occasion of the Easter holidays. He thanked them for the way in which they had been serving their country, far from their families and the loved ones. Currently, Romania has in Afghanistan infantry, advisers to the Afghan military, intelligence structures, logistical support staff and special operations forces.

GOOD FRIDAY – Christians all over the world, including in Romania, which is a predominantly Orthodox country, will recollect on Good Friday Christs crucifixion. Some believers drink only water on this day and many attend the religious masses symbolizing the carrying of Jesus to his tomb. On Thursday, Christians commemorated Holy Thursday, when the Saviour washed the feet of his disciples, had the Last Supper and was arrested following Judass betrayal. On Saturday night Christians will celebrate Easter, the Resurrection of Christ. This year, the Orthodox and Catholic Christians celebrate Easter on the same day.