16 June, 2017

The ruling coalition will next week hold a no-confidence vote against its own government. Pomanian president Klaus Iohannis meets Luxembourgs prime minister Xavier Bettel.

Newsroom, 16.06.2017, 13:49

Government. The prime minister of the leftist government in Bucharest,
Sorin Grindeanu, who refuses to resign, has called for a meeting of the Social
Democratic Party Congress as a solution to the ongoing political crisis.
Earlier, the ruling coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats decided to initiate a no-confidence vote in
Parliament against its own government, which is to take place next week. Also,
the National Executive Committee of the Social Democrats decided to exclude
Grindeanu from the party. The leader of the Social Democrats Liviu Dragnea and
that of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats Calin Popescu Tariceanu blame
the prime minister for lack of efficiency in the implementation of the
governing programme, an accusation Grindeanu has rejected. President Klaus
Iohannis has called on the ruling coalition to solve its problem internally.

Visit. Luxembourg’s prime
minister Xavier Bettel is on a visit to Romania until Sunday. Today, he meets
president Iohannis to discuss ways to consolidate and expand bilateral
cooperation and European affairs. Xavier Bettel also met his Romanian
counterpart Sorin Grindeanu. On Saturday, Iohannis and Bettel travel to Sibiu,
in the centre, to attend events celebrating 10 years since the city held the
title of European Capital of Culture.

Theatre. The International Theatre Festival continues in Sibiu,
where the city’s mediaeval streets and historic centre have been turned into
outdoor stages for shows and circus performances from companies from around the
world. More than 40 different performances are scheduled on Day 8 of the
festival. The famous dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov will again give his one-man
show based on the poems of Nobel Prize winner Iosif Brodski. The biggest
performing arts festival in Romania and one of the biggest in the world, the
Sibiu International Theatre Festival comes to an end on Sunday.

Inflation. The
annual inflation rate dropped in May to 1.4% in the eurozone and to 1.6% in the
European Union from 1.9% and 2%, respectively, in April, the Eurostat announced
today. Ireland, Romania, Denmark and Holland saw the lowest inflation rates in
the European Union. The highest levels were reported in Estonia, Lithuania and
the UK. According to Eurostat, the inflation rate in the eurozone is moving
further from the target level of the European Central Bank, which wants to
maintain price increases to around 2%, a level it sees as beneficial to
economic activity.

Tourism. The number of foreign
visitors who used accommodation in Romania in the first quarter of the year
stood at around 450,000. They spent around 220 million in the country,
according to the National Institute for Statistics. Last year, Romania received
2.4 million foreign visitors, who spent 530 euros per person on average.
Business was the main reason for the trips by non-residents visitors in the
first quarter of the year, followed by congresses, conferences, courses, fairs
and exhibitions, while the amount they spent in the country accounted for 66%
of the total.

Handball. The
Romanian men’s handball side were categorically defeated by Belarus 32-22 on Thursday
night as part of a Group 2 qualifying match ahead of the 2018 European
Championships hosted by Croatia. Romania are now in the third place in their
group. In their final match, they will face Poland on the 18th of
June, but have very slim chances to qualify. The two best-ranked teams, Serbia
and Belarus, will most likely qualify.