August 18, 2014 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.

România Internațional, 18.08.2014, 12:05

DECISION — The Romanian Senate on Monday decided to grant a one month postponement for the extraordinary session aimed at debating the law on the 5% slash of social security contributions to be paid by employers as of October 1. Chamber of Deputies Speaker Valeriu Zgonea believes the opposition’s request to hold this session on Tuesday has no judicial grounds, arguing the agenda of the Chamber he presides over contains no such debate. The law was sent back to Parliament by President Traian Basescu because it did not specify the means of covering those sums of money that cannot be collected from the state budget. If Parliament votes in favour of the law once again without any modifications, the President can challenge it at the Constitutional Court before promulgating it. The initiative of calling extraordinary Parliament meetings belongs to the opposition. The government coalition claims the extraordinary meeting is nothing but an electoral move.

PROSECUTION — In Romania torturer Ion Ficior, accused of crimes against humanity perpetrated during the Communist years has been sued. He headed the labour colony in Periprava between 1958- 1963. According to prosecutors he set up and coordinated a repressive, abusive and inhuman detention regime that led to the death of 103 political detainees. Ion Ficior is the 2nd torturer sent to court in Romania. Previously Alexandru Visinescu, a former commander of the Communist prison in Ramnicu Sarat, was sent to court by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, being accused of crimes against humanity. Ion Ficior and Alexandru Visinescu are among the 35 torturers identified by the Institute for the Investigation of Communism Crimes, who are accused of crimes and political abuse during the Communist regime.

FOOTBALL – Three Romanian football sides are playing their opponents in the playoffs of the European cups this week. In the Champions League, Steaua Bucharest, on their own turf, will be up against Bulgarian side Ludogoretz Razgrad, while in the Europa League on Thursday Petrolul Ploiesti will be squaring up to the Croatians from Dinamo Zagreb also in a home game. Astra Giurgiu will travel to Lyon, in France, to meet local side Olympique. Romanian champions, Steaua, have secured their presence in the groups of Europe’s second football tournament irrespective of the playoffs results. The Romanians are playing for the 11th time in a row in an inter-club European competition.

CANDIDACY — Former Foreign and Justice Minister Cristian Diaconescu on Monday announced his withdrawal from the pro-presidential People’s Movement Party as well as his candidacy for the presidential elections as an individual candidate. Originally nominated as the party candidate, Diaconescu was criticized by certain colleagues for his self-effacing election campaign and his lack of popularity among voters. Party leader Elena Udrea said she regretted Diaconescu’s resignation, adding though she was ready to fill in the vacant candidacy, expressing high confidence with her chances of winning the elections.

OLYMPIAD — Romania has scooped four medals, one gold and three silver, at the Balkan Computer Science Olympiad held in Ankara, Turkey. The gold medal went to Mihai Iulian Andreescu, a student with the Computer Science High School in Bucharest. The three silver medals were won by three high school students from Bucharest, Lugoj and Sighetu Marmatiei. A total of 13 teams from 11 countries took part in the competition.

MEASURES — The European Commission on Monday disbursed 125 million euros to supporting the common agricultural sector, currently affected by the embargo imposed by Russia on all imports of Western farm products. Also on Monday the Commission introduced a series of exceptional measures for certain perishable fruit and vegetables. The decisions were taken after the talks held on Thursday in Brussels between EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Romanian Dacian Ciolos and agriculture experts from EU Member States. According to a European Commission press release, the measures include market withdrawals especially for free distribution, compensation for non-harvesting and green harvesting. The financial assistance will cover all producers whether they are organised in producers’ organisations or not. The measures will have a retroactive affect as from August 18 and will apply until the end of November.

MEDAL — Romanian judoka Stefania Dobre won the silver medal in the 63 kg category at the Youth Olympic Games underway in Nanjing, China. This is the fourth medal for Romania in this competition. A total of 41 athletes are representing Romania in athletics, basketball, boxing, weight lifting, canoeing, wrestling, swimming, artistic and aerobic gymnastics, fencing, taekwondo, table tennis and tennis. The Youth Olympic Games address young people aged between 14 and 18. Taking part in this year’s edition are over 3,500 athletes from 204 countries.

STATISTICS — Overall car sales in the first 7 months of the year have gone up by nearly 31% as compared to the same period of 2013, according to the latest data made public on Monday by the Association of Car Manufacturers and Importers. The hike in personal car sales stands at 32.7%. Among the best-selling brands are Dacia, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Ford and Renault. Dacia Logan remains the best-selling car model this year.

UKRAINE — Western powers should maintain sanctions on Russia to prevent the situation in Ukraine from escalating, German Chancellor Angela Markel said in Riga on Monday as part of a joint press conference with her Latvian counterpart Laimdota Straujuma. On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine met Sunday in Berlin to work out a solution to the Ukrainian crisis. The talks focused on finding out solutions to stop the hostilities and on the humanitarian aid necessary for the civilians. A Russian convoy is still blocked on the Ukrainian border against the backdrop of Ukraine’s suspicions that the convoy is actually an undercover attempt for a military intervention. The Ukrainian government forces have been involved since early April into an anti-terrorist action against the secessionists in the east of Ukraine. On Sunday they took control over a large part of Lugansk, one of the main hotbeds of pro-Russian separatism. The conflict in the east of Ukraine has left more than 2 thousand people dead so far and hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes.

ROMANIANS ABROAD — Prime Minister Victor Ponta believes the Romanian Diaspora should remain united and showcase Romania’s assets, and not its problems. The statement was made in Eforie Nord seacoast resort on the Black Sea Coast, where the Prime Minister attended the second edition of Diaspora Festival, an event devoted to Romanians abroad. Over 200 representatives of Romanian communities worldwide are taking part in the event.