March 16, 2018
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 16.03.2018, 13:55
ARCTIC ULTRA – The Romanian Tiberiu Useriu, aged 44, last night won, for the third time in a row, the 6633 Arctic Ultra, the most difficult marathon in the world, organized in the polar circle area. The race started on March 8th, and Tiberiu Useriu managed to conclude it after 7 days and 5 hours. Another three Romanians participated in the marathon: Avram Iancu, the first Romanian to swim the English Channel, and also Florentina Iofcea and Polgar Levente. Unfortunately, all three of them had to pull out before the end of the race.
IMF – Jaewoo Lee, the head of the IMF Mission for Romania, together with Alejandro Hajdenberg, the Resident Representative for Romania, are today presenting the conclusions of the visit that IMF experts have paid to Bucharest for a week. The IMF recommends a balanced mix of monetary and fiscal policies and support for investments, for the growth rate registered last year to be maintained this year. During talks with Romanian officials, the international experts highlighted the importance of improving budget collection and maintaining expenditure within reasonable limits. Currently, Bucharest no longer has a financing agreement with the IMF, but the latter carries out an annual assessment of the Romanian economy. This is a surveillance exercise that all member states must undergo.
DNA – The Superior Council of Magistracy has published the motivation for the negative opinion it issued with regard to the Justice Ministers request to remove Laura Codruta Kovesi from the office of Chief-Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). The Council states in the motivation that the request for dismissal made no reference to any violation of responsibility or to the managerial component targeted by the request. According to the prosecutors department of the Council, carrying out certain criminal procedures in a manner that is different from a previous interpretation of the Constitutional Court cannot be interpreted as a violation of responsibilities. The opinion issued by the Council of Magistracy is only advisory. According to the law, president Klaus Iohannis must make a decision with regard to Kovesis dismissal. He has stated though that both the National Anticorruption Directorate and its Chief Prosecutor have done a good job. We recall that Minister Tudorel Toader requested last month the removal of Laura Codruta Kovesi and presented 20 arguments to support his request. However, at the meeting of the Superior Council of Magistracy held two weeks ago, the Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi stated that the reasons invoked by Toader were unreal, ungrounded and unproven.
POVERTY – The risk poverty among the employed population in Romania was almost double in 2016 as compared to the EU average, according to data made public by Eurostat on Friday. Romania registered the highest rate in the EU (18.9%), followed by Greece, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy and Bulgaria. The lowest risk of poverty was registered by Finland, the Czech Republic, Belgium and Ireland. On the other hand, the annual inflation rate in the EU dropped in 18 member states, stayed flat in two countries, and increased in seven, including Romania. In Bucharest, data published earlier by the National Statistics Institute show that in February the annual inflation rate went up to 4.7%, from 4.3% in January 2018, against the background of consumption goods becoming more expensive. For the end of the year 2019, the National Bank of Romania estimates an inflation rate of 3.1%.
INVESTIGATION – British authorities have announced the resumption of investigations into a string of suspect deaths that have occurred in the past years on British soil, and also after the poisoning of the former Russian spy Serghei Skripal and his daughter. Great Britain, Germany, France and the US have issued a joint statement, saying that the only plausible explanation is Russias involvement. On the other side, Russia has termed the allegations a nonsense. The Salisbury attack will be the main subject on the agenda of the meeting that the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will have with the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Stoltenberg has stated that the incident is evidence of Moscows reckless behavior for years. The NATO report presented on Thursday states that Russia is the main threat to the organization, against the background of Crimeas annexation, the support provided to the separatists in eastern Ukraine, the military presence in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, the interference in the Western Balkan area and the attempts to undermine democratic elections and institutions.
BOOK FAIR – As of today, Romania is one of the 45 participants in the Paris Book Fair, which has reached its 38th edition. Under the logo “Romania as you have never read it before”, the Romanian stand presents more than 50 recent titles and some 20 events, enjoying the participation of writers, translators, editors and diplomats. Also, Romania is a guest of honour at the International Book Fair in Leipzig, Germany, which started on Thursday. “Zoom in Romania” is the motto of Romanias participation, aimed at promoting Romanian contemporary authors in more than 70 events.
