July 16, 2018
Romania will forward opinion to the Venice Commission; Presidents Trump and Putin meet in Helsinki
România Internațional, 16.07.2018, 13:05
JUSTICE – Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announced on Monday that Romania will provide the Venice Commission with its official position before the latter issues its final report on justice legislation. The commission is a consultative body for the Council of Europe, and last week it issued a preliminary opinion, recommending to the authorities in Bucharest, among other things, to reconsider the decision to amend the laws governing the justice system, especially regarding the appointment and dismissal of head prosecutors, especially those involved in anti-corruption and organized crime. Stay tuned for more after the news.
HELSINKI – US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, meet today in Helsinki in a bilateral summit. The topics under discussion are Syria, Ukraine, arms control, and alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections in 2016. According to EFE, the meeting occurs in a climate of confusion, because of the contrast between Trumps conciliatory discourse with regard to Russia and sanctions slapped by his administration against the leadership in Moscow. A few thousand people protested on Monday in Helsinki for human rights, democracy and the environment. The capital of Finland has been the host of such meetings before. The first time was in 1975, when the two powers signed the Helsinki Accords, then in 1990, hosting the meeting between George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, and in 1997, when Bill Clinton met Boris Yeltsin.
SOCCER – France has become for the second time in its history world champion in soccer. The team coached by Didier Deschamps defeated on Sunday in Moscow Croatia 4-2. French player Antoine Griezmann was declared top player in the final game. The captain of the Croatian team, Luka Modric, playing for Real Madrid, was declared top player of this edition of the championship. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets all over France in celebration. In spite of the defeat of their team, Croatian fans also celebrated the achievement of their national team.
BRUSSELS — Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu takes part on Monday and the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels. The agenda will include foreign policy priorities, such as the Eastern Partnership and Lybia. At an informal breakfast, the ministers will also discuss evolutions in the Korean Peninsula.
BUCHAREST — Direct foreign investment in Romania went up 17.6% in the first five months of this year, over the same time last year, reaching 1.7 billion Euro, according to the National Bank. The number of foreign capital companies set up in this period went down by 1.8%, according to the Trade Registry. On May 31, 2018, Romania had over 218,000 foreign capital companies registered.
TENNIS — Romanian tennis players Mihaela Buzarnescu and Raluca Olaru are the main favorites in the WTA BRD Bucharest Open, kicking off today, with prize money totaling over 226,000 dollars. The two players, who won a WTA world title as a pair this year in Strasbourg, will play their first game against Alena Fomina of Russia and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan. Raluca is current champion in Bucharest, after winning in the doubles with Irina Begu. Six Romanians are still in the top 100 of the WTA rankings. Simona Halep is still number one, while Buzarnescu is in 25th position, the best of her career. Irina Begu is 42nd seeded, Sorana Cirstea 57th, Monica Niculescu is 59th, while Ana Bogdan is 66th.
POLO — Romanias water polo team faces standing champions Serbia in the first day of the European championships in Spain. Participating are the top 16 teams on the continent. Romania is in Group D, alongside Slovakia and Russia. At the 2016 edition, Romania came in 10th, while its top result was 4th place in 1993 and 2006.
BREXIT — A new round of negotiations on the Brexit starts on Monday in Brussels. British Prime Minister Theresa Mays government issued recently a new series of proposals, while the head of the EU delegation, Michel Barnier, said he would study them closely. The proposals are in relation to harmonizing trade in order to avoid placing controls at the Irish British border, as well as harmonizing British legal decisions with those of the European Court. The UK will impose tariffs, but favoring the EU. There will no longer be free circulation of persons, but an agreement will be signed easing access for workers, students, and tourists. Michel Barnier will present the stage of the negotiations to the General Affairs Council on Wednesday, when the negotiations end.
