April 13, 2016 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 13.04.2016, 12:15

CONSULTATIONS – Romania’s
president, Klaus Iohannis continues his consultations with the parliamentary
parties on the national security laws. On Wednesday, president Iohannis had talks with representatives of the National
Party for the Progress of Romania, of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in
Romania and of the national minorities. On Tuesday, the Romanian president met
with representatives of the Social-Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party
and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. The Social-Democrats
stated their readiness to participated in drafting the package of national
security laws. The leader of the Social-Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea
proposed the establishment of a think tank to include two members of each party
and representatives of relevant institutions in the field. The Liberals agreed
to join the think tank to be set up by Parliament and advocated the need for a
stronger parliamentary control of secret services in Romania. In turn, the
leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor
stood for what he called ‘a rethinking’ of the control of the secret services.

DEFENSE – The
Romanian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the adoption of the White
Defense Charter by the Romanian Parliament was a major step in the process of
ensuring an effective and coherent planning of activities in the field. A
communiqué issued by the ministry reads that the document observes both the
national security interests and the NATO and EU standards. The document was
drawn up on the basis of the country’s National Defense Strategy for 2015-2019
and includes, among other things, the goals of the defense policy, the missions
of the armed forces and the necessary financial resources. The White Charter was
adopted in plenary parliament session on Monday, by a large majority.

GIVING IN PAYMENT – The giving in
payment law was adopted in plenary Chamber of Deputies session on Wednesday. The
law had been reexamined by Parliament at the request of the head of state and
only applies to loans which did not exceed 250,000 euros when they were contracted.
Furthermore, people who contracted a loan in order to buy or have a dwelling
built and those who guaranteed a loan with a dwelling can also make use of the
debt discharge provision. On the other hand, people who are already subject to
forced execution can also benefit from the law. Bank representatives have stated
that a long series of trials will probably take place and the law will be
challenged for each client.

FDI – Foreign direct
investments stood at 354 million Euros in the first two months of 2016, by
13.4% less than in the same period in 2015, according to data made public on
Wednesday by the National Bank of Romania. Last year, FDI stood at 3.03 million
Euro, 25.3% more than in 2014. The total foreign debt dropped by 404 million
Euro in January – February 2016, the Central Bank has also announced. Although
the foreign debt has decreased, public debt has gone up by over 200 million
Euros.

INVENTIONS – 40 countries
are attending the international exhibition of inventions in Geneva, which will
last until April 17th. Romania is present with 30 inventions at the
44th edition of the exhibition. On Thursday, the Romanian stand will
host the second Romanian-Swiss business forum and on Friday, a round
table-discussion involving the Romanian participants will be held. Last year,
the Romanian inventors won 28 medals, of which 18 were gold and 7 silver.

DAKINO – The 25th
DaKINO International Film Festival is under way in Bucharest between April 12th
and 17th. The festival starts with the screening for the first in
Romania of the film Room directed by Lenni Abrahamson, starring Brie Larson and
Jacob Tremblay. The film got three nominations to the Oscar awards and Brie
Larson, won the 2016 Oscar for best actress in a leading role, the Golden Globe
and BAFTA awards. Bucharest is also the venue for the Cinepolitica
International Film Festival. The films to be screened include The Fool directed
by Yuriy Bykov and The White Knights directed by Joachim Lafosse.

DOPING – Romanian
biathlonist Eva Tofalvi tested positive for meldonium at a drug test in Oslo in
March, the International Biathlon Union has announced. She participated in five
winter Olympic Games, as well as in European and World Biathlon Championships.
Her greatest performance is victory at the World Cup in 2008. Eva Tofalvi is
the second Romanian athlete who tested positive for meldonium after athlete
Mirela Lavric tested positive at the World Indoor Championships in Portland in
March, where she had won the bronze medal with the 4×400 m relay team. Mirela
Lavric is one of the most talented Romanian athletes in the last ten years,
having won medals at under 21 competitions. Meldonium has been on the World
Anti-Doping Agency list of substances banned from use by athletes since January
1st.