April 14, 2015 UPDATE
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Valentin Țigău, 14.04.2015, 12:15
London Book Fair, one of the most important events of this kind hosted by Britain, is taking place until Thursday. According to the Romanian Cultural Institute, Romania has been participating for the 8th year in a row and this year’s special invitee from Bucharest is famous Romanian poet Ana Blandiana.
Financial rating agency Standard and Poor’s has confirmed Romania’s rating for long and short-time debt in hard and local currencies at BBB minus/A-3’ with a stable outlook, shows an agency communiqué. According to the same sources, Romania has kept this rating thanks to its low foreign debts against the backdrop of stabile growth prospects. In another development, Standard and Poor’s believes Romania’s ratings are limited by low-quality governance in spite of recent anti-graft efforts as well as the country’s low GDP as compared to the other states in the region. Another setback is a big debt, although decreasing, in the private sector. According to S&P Romania’s stable outlook reflects a balance between the probability of some fiscal consolidation risks and prospects of robust growth.
The Budgetary Committee of the European Parliament on Monday hosted public discussions on the way in which Romania and Bulgaria are implementing measures aimed at fighting corruption and strengthening the judiciary. Romania was represented by Justice Minister Robert Cazanciuc and the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi. The event, which was attended by European Commission officials in charge of justice-monitoring reports, was moderated by former Romanian Justice Minister Monica Macovei. Macovei has recently stated in a communiqué that Romania’s legal institutions could today serve as an example for other countries. Set up in 2007, upon Romania’s and Bulgaria’s joining the EU, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism has been assessing key domains of the judiciary that need reforms.
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has been pleading for the consolidation of the strategic and political profile of the European Neighborhood Policy. Attending the ministerial conference in Barcelona with partner countries in the EU’s southern neighborhood, Aurescu explained the European Neighborhood Policy contributed to promoting peace, security and stability at EU borders. According to a Foreign Ministry communiqué, the Romanian official has reiterated a proposal on setting up an International Court aimed at fighting terrorism.
Russia’s decision to cancel the ban on selling S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran tends to fuel unrest in the Middle East, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzachi Hanegbi cautioned on Tuesday. Other sources hint at the possibility of an Israeli preemptive strike against some military installations in Iran before they can get under the protection of the Russian missiles. Russia’s decision has triggered similar reactions from the Pentagon and the US Department of State.
The Group of States Against Corruption, a body of the Council of Europe has published in Strasbourg a report assessing the measures taken by Romania with a view to implementing recommendations on the transparency of funding political parties and sanctioning corruption. According to the report, Romania has properly implemented only seven out of all 20 recommendations comprised in the assessment report of the third round adopted in 2010. Nine recommendations have been partially implemented or are still pending while four haven’t been implemented yet.
