18 May, 2016

Pres. Iohannis visits Lithuania, teacher unions protest in Romania

Newsroom, 18.05.2016, 11:59

PRESIDENT – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis holds talks today in Vilnius with his Lithuanian counterpart, Dalia Grybauskaite, on regional security and the common position their two countries will have at the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw. The head of state said that a balanced approach was needed to consolidate both the northern and the eastern flank of NATO. Speaking about the refugee crisis, the Romanian head of state said that sanctions against EU states who oppose refugee relocation did not solve anything. As an alternative, Klaus Iohannis proposed strengthening the EUs external borders, referring mainly to the FRONTEX agency, in charge of controlling the outer borders of the union, to which Romania is the second largest contributor after Germany. In turn, the Lithuanian leader said that Romania and Lithuania had similar positions on this issue.

PROTEST – Romanian trade unions in education are holding on June 1 a march, as announced by union leadership. Employees in education are angry at the draft government order on the structuring of state wages, which went under public debate. PM Dacian Ciolos said that this order would only partially correct the dysfunctionality in the system.

FOOTBALL – CFR Cluj won the 78th Romanias Cup in football on Tuesday on the National Arena. On the National Arena in Bucharest defeated Dinamo Bucharest 5-4 in the penalty shootout. This is CFRs fourth cup, while Dinamo had gathered 13 of them. The game was particularly important for Dinamo, being its first days since the death 10 days ago of its player Patrick Ekeng, who collapsed on the pitch because of heart problems, expiring shortly after. Romanias Cup is the second trophy this season, after Astra Giurgiu won the title of champion. Steaua Bucharest and Concordia Chiajna contend for the League Cup, the third domestic competition this season.

DISINFECTANTS – The Romanian Defense Ministry announced today that it has been using subpar disinfectants sold by the Hexi Pharma company, which is at the center of the scandal around diluted disinfectants used for years in Romanian hospitals. The ministry said that it had used the products both within the country and in its theaters of deployment, but that it is now using different disinfectants. According to their press release, the ministry obtained the Hexi Pharma products by centralized public tender.

COUNCIL – Undersecretary for Strategic Affairs Daniel Ionita, with the Foreign Ministry, leads the Romanian delegation attending the EC Council of Ministers, taking place today in Sofia. The topics under debate are democratic security for all citizens on the continent, human rights in conflict areas, and Europes response to the migrant crisis. The meeting in Sofia also marks the handover of the rotating presidency of the Committee from Bulgaria to Estonia for the next six months.

TENNIS – Two Romanian players are today in the second qualifying round in Roland Garros, the years second Grand Slam. Marius Copil (190th seeded) plays against Belgian Kimmer Coppejans, 196th seeded, while Adrian Ungur, 204th seeded, plays against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, 205th seeded. In the womens games, two Romanian female players won games in the inaugural round of the qualifiers. Sorana Carstea, 99th seeded, easily overcame in two sets Chinese player Yuxuan Zhang, 167th seeded, while Andreea Mitu, 114th seeded, defeated in three sets Polish player Paula Kania, 148th seeded.

FILM – Romanian director Cristian Mungius latest film, Baccalaureate, will have its Romanian premiere on Thursday, the same day it has its world premiere as part of the official selection for the Cannes film festival. A part of the film crew will be at the premiere in Bucharest, with the red carpet ceremony being broadcast live. Cristian Mungiu is at his third nomination at Cannes. He won the Palme dOr in 2007, as well as awards for script and female lead in 2012. Other Romanian films nominated at this edition are Cristi Puius Sieranevada, and Dogs by Bogdan Mirica, both of them critically acclaimed by the French press.