July 18, 2017 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 18.07.2017, 20:01
PRESIDENCY– Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Tusday stated he favoured administrative decentralization but not autonomy on ethnic criteria, which would be an obstacle to development. During his visit to the counties of Harghita and Covasna, in central Romania, the only Romanian counties with a predominantly Hungarian population, President Iohannis has stated he is concerned about the future of the young people there, who do not speak Romanian and who thus have fewer opportunities on the labor market. Iohannis has also said that intolerance and the rejection of people with different ethnic origins, by either a minority or a majority group, tend to block the country as a whole. He has also said that, in spite of their tourist potential, the counties of Harghita and Covasna hardly attract any investors. The Hungarian community in Romania, made up of around 1.5 million members, is concentrated in Transylvania, in central Romania. This community has been represented in Romanias Parliament uninterruptedly, since 1990, by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) which has been part of many coalition governments in Bucharest.
BRUSSELS– Four months after the European Commission presented its White Paper on the future of the EU, the debate on the future of Europe is picking up speed with potentially over 30 million citizens involved, the European Commission announced in a communiqué on Tuesday. In the White Paper, the European Commission presented five scenarios for how the EU could develop in the next decade. A broad debate has since been taking place, supported by political institutions and by civil society. To date, over 270,000 citizens have attended some 1,750 events organised or supported by the Commission with many more participating online. Citizens are invited to continue to express their views, notably prior to the annual State of the European Union speech on 13 September 2017, when President Juncker will outline his vision for the future of Europe.
PROJECT– Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has proposed his Bulgarian counterpart, Boiko Borisov to connect Bucharest to Sofia and Athens through a high speed railway. The two PMs have also talked over the phone about speeding up projects for the construction of two new bridges over the Danube. Tudose and Borisov have agreed to hold a joint meeting of the Romanian and Bulgarian governments in September, when the details of a Romania, Bulgaria, Greece trilateral cooperation are to be set.
ANAF – Romanias Prime Minister Mihai Tudose has appointed Mirela Calugareanu as President of the National Fiscal Administration (ANAF). She is replacing Bogdan-Nicolae Stan, who was sacked under a Prime Ministers decree. On Monday, the president of the main party in the ruling coalition, the Social Democrat Liviu Dragnea, stated that he had called on PM Tudose to conduct a rigorous analysis of ANAFs activity and to take the necessary measures to render the institution more effective. Dragnea was unhappy mainly with the level of taxes and fees collected to the state budget.
MEASLES – The Romanian Health Minister Florian Bodog has announced that a set of measures will be implemented, in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, to curb the effects of the measles epidemic. Also, this week the Health Ministry has started an information campaign aimed at encouraging vaccination. Romania is faced with the biggest measles epidemic of the past years. So far, some 8000 cases have been reported. 31 patients have died.
SABER GUARDIAN 17 – Saber Guardian 17, one of the largest and most complex NATO exercises in recent years continues in Romania. Some 8,000 Romanian and foreign soldiers are participating in the exercise, which also unfolds on Hungarian and Bulgarian soil. In the past day, soldiers have taken part in training sessions at the bases in Borducani and Cincu, in central Romania, but also in a MASCAL simulation held at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, in the south-east of the country.
RATING– Fitch Ratings has improved Romanias economic growth outlook for 2017 from 4.8% to 5.1%. The Agency forecasts that Romanias budget deficit this year will reach 3.7% of the GDP, which is more than the Romanian governments target of 2.9% of the GDP. Structural deficit is expected to reach 3.9% of the GDP, the current account deficit 3.1% of the GDP and the public debt 39.9% of the GDP, Fitch agency has also announced. The Romanian governments projection for 2017 is a 5.2% economic growth rate, as compared to the one estimated by the European Commission, of only 4.4%.
IRAQ – Iraq needs massive investments to rebuild the towns and cities destroyed in the fights with the Islamic State terrorist organisation, said the Iraqi ambassador to Romania Hussain Sinjari. He has called on Romanian business people to take part in this effort, in particular to rebuild schools, hospitals and roads. Investments in agriculture are also needed, especially with regard to irrigation. Hussain Sinjari has stated that the Iraqi embassy in Romania is ready to ensure rapid access to such potential investors, by speeding the visa grating process.
