March 7, 2018 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 07.03.2018, 19:35

ROMANIA AND THE EU — Romania has made limited progress as regards the implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations over 2017-2018, reads a Commission report made public on Wednesday. Bucharest will have to increase its efforts to fulfil its fiscal and tax-collection obligations, so as to achieve the mid-term budget objectives. Moreover Romania needs to curb black market labour. Another pending recommendation is the adoption of legislation to balance the retirement age for women and men. Romania also needs to improve access to quality education, especially for children in rural areas. In the field of healthcare, Romania will have to continue to combat informal payments and favour outpatient treatment. Over the coming period, Brussels will hold bilateral meetings with each EU Member States and will issue a new set of recommendations in May.

MEETING — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday is meeting his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, who is paying an official visit to Bucharest. According to the Presidency, the two officials will discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation at political, economic and sectorial level. Talks will also focus on Bucharest support for Serbia’s EU accession process, ahead of Romania’s holding the European Council presidency in 2019. Iohannis and Vucic will also tackle the issue of the two countries’ national minorities, topics of mutual interest regarding cooperation in the Western Balkans and the developments in Kosovo.

PROTESTS — The SANITAS Trade Union Federation has warned the Government that ignoring the demands of healthcare unionists could lead to further protests. Representatives of unions have called on Parliament in a public letter to support the amendments pushed to the law on public sector salaries and to end discrimination against certain professionals in the fields of healthcare and social assistance. Trade unions claim that as of March 1, certain healthcare employees, such as pharmacists, biologists, psychologists and nurses, have stopped receiving some of their benefits. Authorities say that starting March 1 salaries of medical and auxiliary staff have gone up tantamount to the salary cap provided in the salary grid for 2022. In another development, the last shot of immunoglobulin was used in Romania, and the only solution to deal with the shortage was to call for the EU and NATO for help. Health Minister Sorina Pintea has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism in an attempt to cover the necessary 10,000 shots for the next two months.

MOLDOVA — Moldovan President Igor Dodon on Wednesday accused Romania of fuelling the unionist movement in Moldova, which may pose risks to the country’s statehood. Dodon threatened to notify the UN and the Council of Europe so as to put an end to this development. According to our correspondents, Dodon expressed concern with the unionist rallies scheduled for late March. The accusations follow as the number of local authorities that have passed symbolic declarations for reunification with Romania has exceeded 100. Recently Dodon accused Romania’s consul in Balti, Mihail Baciu, of corrupting local officials and political bias. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest says the accusations have an election stake, ahead of the Parliamentary elections scheduled for late 2018 in Moldova.

SEARCHES — Romanian prosecutors on Wednesday conducted searches in Timis and Arad counties to bring down a wide network of immigrant traffickers. According to a press release of the anti-mafia directorate (DIICOT), a think tank was set up jointly with German authorities so as to dismantle the network. Set up in 2017, the group was ensuring the transit of illegal immigrants from Turkey to Germany via Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Hungary and Austria. The illegal migrants were put up in guesthouses in Timisoara, signed up for political asylum in Romania, and were eventually taken to Hungary.

COLLEGE — The Romanian Intelligence College, a school unit subordinated to the Romanian Intelligence Service, will be disbanded, sources with the Service have told the media. According to the National Intelligence Academy, for the time being activity at the College has been suspended in the wake of an internal affairs investigation triggered by the October 2017 public declarations of acting Social-Democrat Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, who claimed to have graduated the college with zero attendance. The Academy’s Press Office further states it will withdraw Teodorovici’s degree. A large number of politicians have graduated the college, including former Prime Ministers Sorin Grindeanu and Mihai Tudose.

VISIT — Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu on Thursday is paying a two-day official visit to Croatia. His agenda includes the opening of Romania’s Honorific Consulate in Split, meetings with local authorities and the Economy Chamber Chairman, Luka Burilovic. On Friday Melescanu will hold talks with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Pejcinovic Buric, with President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic. Melescanu’s agenda includes a visit to the Romanian Orthodox Church in Zagreb and meetings with members of the Romanian associations in Croatia.

POLO — The Romanian men’s polo team was drawn in Group D at the European Championships in Barcelona alongside the defending champions Serbia, Russia and Slovakia. The tournament will take place over July 14-28. Romania’s team qualified after grabbing a double-leg win against the Czech Republic in the playoffs, 20-5 on home turf and 17-6 away from home. (Translated by V. Palcu)