A roundup of local and international news.
Government. The National Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party has approved the membership of Romania's new government proposed by the prime minister designate Mihai Tudose. The junior partner in the ruling coalition, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, said earlier it wished to maintain its previous portfolios, namely the foreign ministry, the environment, energy and the relationship with Parliament, as well as its occupants. The list announced by the Social Democrat Mihai Tudose includes many of the ministers serving under Sorin Grindeanu, who was removed from office last week following a no-confidence vote initiated by the ruling coalition itself. The Social Democrats' leader Liviu Dragnea said Parliament may vote on the new government on Thursday.
Law. Romania's president Klaus Iohannis has signed into law a bill on the salaries of public employees. He says he is in favour of increasing salaries in a sustainable manner to raise people's living standards and eliminate salary inequality and dysfunctionalities. In his opinion, the ruling coalition has to make sure that the new law does not generate an economic imbalance and does not have negative implications for the public budget. He says the law must be correlated with Romania's commitments under the Stability and Growth Pact to maintain the budget deficit under 3% of the GDP. The president has also warned that the more problematic aspects of the law will have to be addressed by the government and Parliament at a later date.
Romania-Bulgaria. Romania is ready to share with Bulgaria its experience with regard to the fight against corruption, president Klaus Iohannis said during a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev in Bucharest. He said he talked with president Radev about his recent visit to Washington, the two countries' common interest in having a strong transatlantic relationship as well as about the security challenges in the Black Sea region. The two leaders also discussed the issue of their countries' Schengen accession. On Thursday, the two presidents will attend the opening of the Romania-Bulgaria Business Forum. During his visit to Bucharest, the Bulgarian president Rumen Radev is also expected to meet ethnic Bulgarians living in Romania.
Russia sanctions. The European Union has officially extended the economic sanctions against Russia by another six months, saying Moscow has failed to comply with its commitments with respect to the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The EU leaders approved the move last week, saying Russia continued to support the rebels in eastern Ukraine. The decision came after the presentation of a report by the French president Emmanuel Macron and the German chancellor Angela Merkel at the EU summit held on the 22nd and the 23rd of June related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Tennis. Three Romanian tennis players were in action on Wednesday in the second round of the grass tournament in Eastbourne, worth 750,000 dollars in prize money. World no. 2 Simona Halep defeated the Chinese player Ying-Ying Duan in three sets and will next face the Bulgarian player Tsvetana Pironkova. The latter defeated Romania's Monica Niculescu, ranked 51st in the world, in straight sets. Sorana Cirstea, world no. 62, was herself defeated by the British player Johanna Konta, also in straight sets. The tournament in Eastbourne precedes the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon.
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