20 February, 2019

A look at some of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 20.02.2019, 13:55

Summit. The Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis will be attending a meeting of the EU and the Arab
League of States held on Sunday and Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt. This
is the first meeting to be attended by the EU member states and the members of
the Arab League of States and will be chaired by the Egyptian president Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi and the president of the European Council Donald Tusk. The
summit will look at issues such as migration, ways to combat terrorism, the
sustainable resolution of regional crises, multilateralism and climate change.
Klaus Iohannis is expected to give an address presenting Romania’s vision on
the cooperation between the EU and the League of Arab States so as to find
common solutions to current challenges, as well as those in the medium and long
run. The goal of the summit is the creation of a platform of cooperation
between the EU and the Arab world as an important strategic partner in the EU’s
southern neighbourhood.

Nominations.
Prime minister Viorica Dancila has today sent president Klaus Iohannis new
nominations for minister of transport and minister of regional development. She
proposed Razvan Cuc for the former position and Daniel Suciu for the latter. If
accepted by the president, Suciu will also serve as deputy prime minister.
Razvan Cuc also led the transport ministry during Sorin Grindeanu’s and Mihai
Tudose’s cabinets, in 2017. Olguta Vasilescu and Mircea Draghici were the
initial proposals to head the two ministries, but they were rejected several
times by Klaus Iohannis and eventually decided to withdraw their candidacies.

ROBOR.
The 3-month ROBOR index, which is used to calculate the cost of consumption
loans in lei with variable interest rates, has today grown to 3.25% a year,
from 3.19% on Tuesday. This is the second day the index has gone up, according
to data published by the National Bank of Romania. Also, the 6-month ROBOR
index, which is used in the calculation of mortgage loans in lei with variable
interest rates, on Monday went up to 3.39% a year from 3.36%. ROBOR
(the Romanian Interbank Offer Rate) is the average interest rate for loans in
lei on the interbank market and its evolution is mainly linked to the level of
liquidity on the market. Since 2010, this index has been established by the
government as a reference point in the establishment of the rates on loans.

EU. EU trade ministers meet in
Bucharest on the 21st and 22nd of February in the context
of Romania’s holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The
informal meeting will be chaired by Stefan-Radu Oprea, the Romanian minister
for the business environment, trade and entrepreneurship. European Commissioner
for Trade Cecilia Malmström will also attend. The
participants will discuss, among others, about the modernisation process of the
World Trade Organisation and the trade relations between the European Union and
the United States.

Black Sea. The US
destroyer Donald Cook is in the Black Sea for the second time since the beginning
of the year. According to the US Navy’s 6th Fleet, its presence in
the Black Sea will consolidate stability in the region. The vessel will conduct
joint manoeuvres with NATO allied vessels. A group of vessels from Russia’s
Black Sea Fleet has begun a mission of constant monitoring of the US destroyer.
According to the Russian defence ministry, the monitoring mission is carried
out by a corvette equipped with missiles and a recognisance vessel.

Meeting.
The Romanian interior minister Carmen Dan has attended the opening of the
ministerial conference of the so-called Budapest Process held in Istanbul,
Turkey. The meeting has brought together representatives of more than 50 states
in Europe and Asia and of regional, European and international organisations.
The conference has been an opportunity to discuss the trends regarding
migration and the management of migration flows in the states situated along
the silk road, namely Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh. On the
sidelines of the meeting, minister Carmen Dan has had talks with her Turkish
counterpart, Suleyman Soylu, during which she hailed
Turkey’s efforts in the management of the migration crisis, given that this
country is hosting more than 4 million refugees. Carmen Dan has also emphasised
that Romania and Turkey are cooperating very well in respect of the prevention
and combating of illegal migration at the Black Sea.

Flu. The
flu death toll has risen to 142, according to the latest figures published by
the National Centre for Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases from
the National Institute of
Public Health. The most recent victims are an 18-year-old young man from
Prahova county and a 60-year-old woman from Arges county. A type A virus was
confirmed in both cases. Each of the victims had a pre-existing medical
condition and had not been vaccinated against the flu. Romania is confronted
with a flu epidemic.

Tennis. World no. 2
Simona Halep has today defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, world no. 23, in the
third round of the TWA tournament in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which
is worth a total of 2.8 million dollars in prize money. Also today, the
Romanian-Slovenian pair Irina Bara and Dalila Jakupovic meet the German-Dutch
pair Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Demi Schuurs in the third round of the doubles
competition.