April 24, 2018
Romanians working abroad sent home 4.9 billion dollars last year/ Bucharest hosts high level meeting
Newsroom, 24.04.2018, 14:11
MEETING — Bucharest is today hosting a high level meeting attended by representatives of Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. Talks will focus on regional interconnection projects, the stage of Serbia’s EU accession and the European perspectives of the entire region. PM Viorica Dancila will welcome the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and the Bulgarian PM Boiko Borisov. This is the third such meeting in this format after the ones held last year in Varna, Bulgaria and Belgrade, Serbia.
DECLARATION – The Romanian Senate and Chamber of Deputies speakers, Calin Popescu Tariceanu and Liviu Dragnea, respectively, signed in Tallinn, Estonia, the Declaration of cooperation among national parliaments of the three countries that will take over the EU Council Presidency next year. Paula Risikko, the head of the Finnish Parliament and Gordan Jandrokovic, the head of the Croation Parliament, represented the other two signatory states. The Declaration was signed on the sidelines of the Conference of the Speakers of the EU Parliaments held in Tallinn, Estonia, that comes to an end today.
REVENUES – Romanians who work abroad sent home 4.9 billion dollars last year. According to a report made public by the World Bank, after three years of constant decline, the amounts sent to Europe and Central Asia went up by 20.9% last year, with the biggest transfers being reported in Russia, Ukraine and Romania. The World Bank document also shows that the increase in these amounts was due to an appreciation of the European and Russian currencies as to the US dollar, the important economic growth and better employment perspectives in the countries where the people who send their revenues to Europe and Central Asia work. The perspectives for 2018-2019 are positive, but the increase will be moderate.
TALKS – French president Emmanuel Macron is on an official visit to the United States during which he tries to convince the White House leader Donald Trump not to walk out of the deal with Iran. Trump warned he would pull the US out of the nuclear agreement unless tougher conditions are imposed on Iran by the 12th of May. Washington says the agreement with Tehran should also impose restrictions on the Iranian ballistic missile programme. Talks are also expected to tackle Washingtons new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. These mainly target China, but other exporters can also be affected, such as the European Union. Washington temporarily excluded the EU from these tariffs, but the exemption expires on the 1st of May.
AGENDA – Romania firmly supports the continuation of the EU and NATO accession process in the southeast European region, a priority that will be high on the agenda of Romania’s EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2019. Romanian State Secretary for Strategic and Bilateral Affairs in the Euro-Atlantic Area, George Ciamba, made this statement at the meeting in Slovenia of the foreign affairs ministers participating in the South-East European Cooperation Process. The Romanian official also urged states in the region to carry on reforms. Talking about migration and terrorism, the Romanian official pleaded for solidarity and enhanced cooperation in the field and underlined the EU’s constructive approach in fighting these problems. (Translated by Elena Enache)
