April 27, 2018

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has announced he withdraws the confidence granted to PM Viorica Dancila and is publicly calling for her resignation/ Romanian foreign minister Teodor Melescanu in attending the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers

Florentin Căpitănescu, 27.04.2018, 14:30

POLITICS– Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, has said he withdraws the confidence granted to the Social Democratic PM Viorica Dancila, approximately three months since she took office, and is publicly demanding her resignation. The president said that, in his opinion, Viorica Dancila does not live up to the standards of the position of PM, which is a vulnerability for Romania. Klaus Iohannis requested the resignation of the government after the prime minister declined the invitation extended by the president to take part, today, in consultations on the dispute between the government and the National Bank of Romania, relative to inflation. The president considers that the government and the Social Democratic Party, the main ruling party, want to take the central bank in their political grip. The president has also mentioned the foreign policy memorandum recently endorsed by the government, a document which mentions the relocation of the Romanian Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The decision has produced rumour and confusion at national level. President Klaus Iohannis, who has not been consulted on the issue, has said holding exploratory discussions on this issue is not a bad thing to do, but the international legislation in the field should be observed. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has said consultations are now to be held with all institutions and relevant actors. In a first reaction, Social Democrat MP, Eugen Nicolicea has said the president has no prerogatives as to withdrawing the confidence to the prime minister or the government, and his move to demand the resignation of the prime minister is a “propagandistic issue. We recall that PM Dancila took over her mandate in January, after president Iohannis had endorsed the nomination made by the Social Democratic Party.

NATO MEETING – The NATO foreign ministers, among whom Romanias Teodor Meleşcanu, are today meeting in Brussels. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the participants will approach the security situation at Euro-Atlantic level, NATOs “open doors policy as well as evolutions in the Western Balkans and Afghanistan. The meeting will also be an important landmark in preparation for the NATO Summit due in July, says the communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. Attending the meeting will also be the new US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, just a day after he was sworn in. According to Reuters, he will hold talks with key allies in Europe on Russias growing aggression and ways to strengthen NATO.

ECONOMY – Managers in Romania estimate a moderate growth in all sectors of the economy from April to June, a survey made public today by the National Institute of Statistic shows. Moderate increases in the number of employees working in constructions and retail are also forecast. The demand of services will also see a moderate rise, the sociological survey also shows. In another move, the National Forecast Commission has revised upward from 2.6% to 3.2%, the estimated inflation rate for the end of the year.

SEOUL – The North-Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae In have agreed that their countries should cooperate for the complete denuclearisation of the Peninsula. The two sides have also agreed to attract the international communitys support and cooperation for their approach. The agreement is part of the joint declaration issued fresh from the meeting, in the demilitarised zone, on the site where the inter-Korean armistice in the wake of the 1950-1953 war was signed. It is for the third time in history that an inter-Korean summit is held, against the backdrop of a thaw in bilateral relations being reported in recent months. The summit might be followed, in a couple of weeks, by a meeting between Kim Jong Un and US president Donald Trump. North Korea has recently announced it will end its tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

US-GERMAN RELATIONS – German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is today meeting in Washington with US President, Donald Trump. According to international news agencies, the visit is considered to be the last European attempt to convince president Trump to give up on the idea of imposing customs duties on steel and aluminium imports from the EU and not to abandon the strategic agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. The meeting takes place after the three-day visit to the US by French president Emmanuel Macron, who seems to have failed to get concessions in these two major files, the news agencies also report.

PRIZE – The French-language journalist and head of the French Section of Radio Romania International, Ileana Ţăroi, has been awarded the National Order of Merit by the French ambassador to Bucharest, Michèle Ramis, in a special ceremony hosted by the French embassy in Bucharest on Thursday evening. Ileana Ţăroi received the French National Order of Merit in token of appreciation for her relentless activity in the service of Francophony, and for producing high quality journalism. The quality of your shows, their variety, rich and up –to-date content should be acknowledged and rewarded, said the French ambassador to Bucharest, Michèle Ramis.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, WTA no.1, will meet later today, CoCo Vandeweghe of the US, in the quarter finals of the WTA Stuttgart tournament with some 816,000 dollars in prize money up for grabs. In the earlier stage of the competition, Halep outperformed Slovakias Magdalen Rybarikova (no. 18 WTA), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. In last years edition of the Stuttgart tournament, Halep reached the semi-finals.