November 19, 2013 UPDATE
For an update on domestic and international news, click here.
România Internațional, 19.11.2013, 19:49
EU BUDGET – The EU budget for 2014-2020 was approved on Tuesday by the European Parliament after months of debate between EU institutions over planned spending cuts. Known as the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), the European Union budget provides for 908 billion euros in payments against 960 billion euros in funding commitments, 3.7 percent and 3.5 percent less respectively than in the previous 2007-2013 budget. The last step for the seven-year blueprint, which sets out the 28-nation blocs spending priorities will be formal approval in the next days by EU states.
DEFENCE – Romania has a special interest in integrating its defence industry into the European system, Romanian Defence Minister Mircea Dusa said Tuesday in Brussels. Dusa pointed out there are 25 Romanian enterprises with production activities in the field, which need to be integrated into the European defence industry. Dusa has underlined the Romanian army’s contribution to stabilizing the situation in Mali and to the anti-pirates operations, off the coast of Somalia. Minister Dusa made these statements during a meeting with his counterparts in the EU countries.
FOREIGN RELATIONS – The Moldovan Prime Minister Prime Minister Iurie Leanca thanked Romania for supporting his country’s bid to the European Union. Leanca discussed Tuesday in Chisinau with the Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean about priority projects in the bilateral cooperation. The talks took place ahead of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, where the Republic of Moldova is to sign the Association and the Free Trade agreements with the EU.
HOME AFFAIRS – The Government of Romania on Tuesday took responsibility in Parliament for the Decentralisation Bill. The areas to be subject to decentralisation include public healthcare, agriculture, environment, culture, youth, sports and tourism. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has said this bill will simplify the administrative system and will render it more efficient. The Liberal Democrats in opposition announced they would take the bill to the Constitutional Court. This is the second time that Victor Ponta’s government seeks a vote of confidence in Parliament, after using the same procedure in April, to pass legislation on returning property abusively seized by communist authorities to their rightful owners.
CYCLONE – Italian authorities declared a state of emergency in Sardinia on Tuesday, a day after cyclone Cleopatra struck the Mediteraneean island killing at least 16 people and leaving hundreads homeless. Hundreads of people have been evacuated and flights to and from Sardinia have been suspended.
BOOK FAIR – The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organised every year by Radio Romania, starts on Wednesday in Bucharest. Over 400 Romanian and foreign publishers are attending this 20th edition of the most important book fair in Romania and one of the top 10 in Europe. Adding to these are multimedia companies, literary agents, cultural and educational NGOs, trade associations, bookshops and libraries. Events will include book launches, conferences, film screenings and various creative workshops. For the first time this year, the guest of honour is a group of five countries, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and the motto of the fair is “Cool Nordic Bucharest.”
FOOTBALL – The match between the Romanian and Greek national football teams ended in a 1-1 draw, with Romania thus failing to qualify to the 2014 World Cup. Romania’s national football squad took on Greece on Tuesday at home in the last leg of its Brazil 2014 qualifying play-offs. In the first leg, hosted by Piraeus last week, Romania lost 1-3. Romania hasn’t played in a world championship since 1998, and its last qualification play-offs were in 2001.
