November 18, 2018 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.11.2018, 18:42

VISIT – The President of the European Court of Auditors, Klaus-Heiner Lehne is paying a visit to Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday, in the run-up to Romanias taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council, on January 1st, 2019. Klaus – Heiner Lehne will meet with Romanias president Klaus Iohannis, Prime-Minister Viorica Dancila, the Speakers of the two parliament chambers, the Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici and the Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba. Several high-ranking officials will travel to Bucharest next week, including the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani. The officials will discuss topics of interest for the future of the EU and the good management, during Romanias presidency, of major files, such as the multi-annual financial framework, Brexit, the future of the EU post Brexit and the evolution of the security policy.

ECONOMY – Several statistical data concerning the development of Romanian economy in the first 9 months of the year have been published in the past week. Figures show that the economy slightly accelerated its growth, reaching 4.2%, according to preliminary estimates of the National Institute of Statistics. The positive trend was reported in manufacturing, trade and services. The construction field registered a 2% drop as compared to the similar period last year. In another move, the Romanian Central Bank has announced that, in the first 9 months of the year, the current account of the balance of payments registered a deficit 1.8 billion Euro bigger than the one registered in 2017, due to the increase in imports. Fitch rating agency, however, has maintained Romanias rating to a level recommended for investment, with stable prospects for the future.

INVESTIGATION – The Romanian Directorate for Investigating Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) is investigating into the circumstances in which a painting signed by Picasso, worth some 800,000 Euro, was found in Tulcea county, in south-eastern Romania. The painting has been seized by the Romanian authorities and will be analyzed by experts. It might be one of the seven paintings stolen in 2012 from a Dutch museum. According to a DIICOT communiqué, on Saturday, two Dutch people came to the Dutch Embassy in Bucharest with a painting they said they had found buried, following instructions put down in an anonymous letter. We recall that six Romanian citizens got final sentences for stealing in 2012 from a museum in Rotterdam seven paintings, signed among others by Picasso, Matisse and Monet.

GAUDEAMUS – Humanitas, Polirom and Nemira publishers, the AGERPRES news agency and translator Vali Florescu were among the winners of the prizes awarded at the 25th Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organised in Bucharest by Radio Romania. Also, Litera publishing house got the award for the most wanted book at the fair: “Six Stories with Devils” by Igor Bergler. The media awards went to the publication Dilema Veche, ProTV station and Mediafax online news agency. Vali Florescu got the Antoaneta Ralian prize for translation, for “Women with Men” by Richard Ford. The excellence award went to Prut, Stiinta, Arc and Cartier publishing houses in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, and Scoala Ardeleana and Casa Cartii de Stiinta publishers in Cluj, central Romania, for their admirable national editorial activity, this year when Romania celebrates 100 years since the Great Union.

RADIRO – The 4th International Festival of Radio Orchestras – RadiRo-, organized by Radio Romania, is underway in Bucharest. This year, the festival celebrates Radio Romanias 90th anniversary and also the Great Union Centennial. Until next Sunday, the Radio Hall and the Auditorium Hall of the National Art Museum will be hosting 8 symphonic and 4 jazz concerts. The list of prestigious guests includes the oldest European radio orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the BBC Philarmonic, Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, and RTE National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, participating for the first time in the festival. All concerts will be broadcast live by Radio Romania, recorded and subsequently broadcast by the Romanian Television and other radio broadcasting companies members of the European Broadcasting Union.

CELEBRATION – An event celebrating the Great Union Centennial has been hosted by Gyula in Hungary, the town that is home to the largest Romanian community in that country, which has its own Romanian school and newspaper. The event has been attended by Romanian cultural figures, university professors and local authorities. The Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi Institute for Romanians Worldwide has organized a conference on the contribution of Romanians in Hungary to the Great Union. A festivity was also held on the occasion, during which representatives of the Romanian community in Hungary, including headmasters of schools with teaching in Romanian, were awarded by the Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi Institute, for the efforts theyve made to preserve Romanian cultural values.

CONSECRATION – The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomeu, is expected to Romania on the 23rd of November, for a four-day visit, according to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Patriarchy. Together with the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, and other Romanian hierarchs, Bartholomeu will attend on November 25th the consecration of the newly-built Peoples Salvation Cathedral. Bartholomew has been to Romania ten times, last time in 2010.

PROTEST – Hundreds of thousands of people have staged protests across France on Sunday, against rising fuel taxes. Protesters called for the resignation of president Macron, whom they accuse of the drop in the purchasing power. Mobilized through social media, protesters wore yellow vests and set up roadblocks around villages, towns and cities. Dozens of people were wounded in clashes with the police, and one protester died after a driver surrounded by demonstrators panicked and accelerated. More than 100 people were detained.

FOOTBAL – On Saturday night, in Ploiesti, in the south, Romanias national football team defeated the Lithuanian squad 3-nil, in a match part of the Nations Leagues group 4. As a result, Romania went up to the second place in the group, and will play a decisive match against Montenegro, in Podgorica on Tuesday. Romania will be able to keep fighting for qualification to EURO 2020 as holder of the second position in the group if Serbia, the leader of the group, qualifies directly to the European Championship.