November 3, 2014
A look at the main stories in Romania today.
România Internațional, 03.11.2014, 12:34
Romania’s Social Democrat prime minister Victor Ponta will face the Liberal mayor of Sibiu, Klaus Johannis, in the second round run-off on the 16th of November. In the first round of the presidential elections on Sunday, they ranked first and second, respectively, out of a total of 14 candidates. With almost all votes counted, Ponta got 40.33% and Johannis 30.44%. Voter turnout stood at around 53%. Romanian nationals voting from abroad went to the polls in large numbers. Many of them complained they had to wait in queues for hours and, in some cases, didn’t even manage to cast their votes. The Romanian embassy in Paris requested the intervention of the French police to defuse the situation. In Bucharest, prime minister Ponta today said the authorities would take steps to ensure better voting conditions in the second round.
The separatists in eastern Ukraine won the presidential and parliamentary elections held on Sunday in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. The elections were described as illegal and illegitimate by the West, but were supported by Russia, who says it will acknowledge the result of the vote. The new EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the European Union would not recognise the elections held by the pro-Russian rebels, saying they are a new obstacle to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. At least 4,000 people have been killed in the 6 months of conflict between government troops and the rebels in the east of the country.
The Commissioner for Regional Policy and Romania’s representative in the European Commission Corina Cretu today holds the first meeting in her new capacity with the Romanian minister for European funds, Eugen Teodorovici. The two officials will discuss the preparations ahead of the launch of the Partnership Agreement with Romania on the 7th of November, during an official visit by Cretu to Romania. The new European Commission, headed by Luxembourg’s Jean Claude Juncker, took office on 1st of November. According to Juncker, the Commission’s main goal is economic recovery. He also wants to reduce bureaucracy and explain to people why they need the European Union amid growing anti-European feeling in Britain, France, Italy and Hungary.
Registrations of Dacia cars in France rose by 6.8% in October compared to the same period last year, according to the data published today by the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers. With almost 87,000 cars sold, Dacia sales between January and October 2014 grew by 19.8% compared to last year. The Romanian Dacia factory was taken over by Renault in 1999. Following the launch of its revamped Logan model in 2004, Dacia became an important player on the European car market within the following 8 years.
More than 60 Romanian companies take part as of today in the 35th World Travel Market in London. The four-day event will be attended by over 50,000 travel industry professionals from 180 countries. Romania has taken part in the fair ever since its first edition, and this year, for the first time, it will promote here the Romanian seaside resorts, the Danube Delta and the city of Sibiu as a cultural and tourist destination. World Travel Market is one of the world’s best known and most important travel fairs, which facilitates business meetings, partnerships and networks of tour operators and travel agents from around the world.
The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has maintained her third place in the WTA ranking, after Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. Three other Romanian players are to be found in the WTA top 100: Camelia Begu on the 42nd place, Monica Niculescu on the 47th place and Sorana Cirstea, who is up 2 places from last week, on the 93rd place.
