April 7, 2016 UPDATE
European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Bucharest, has talks with PM Ciolos
Newsroom, 07.04.2016, 12:05
The European Commissioner for internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, who is on a two-day visit to Bucharest, had a meeting on Thursday with PM Dacian Ciolos and the economy minister, Costin Borc. The main topics approached were the Governments goal to improve the investment climate and the measures designed to ensure the predictability, transparency and stability of the business environment in Romania. Ciolos and Bienkowska also discussed ways to improve the public procurement system and the industry digitisation project. Ciolos talked about the importance of the automobile parts production facilities in Romania and reaffirmed the interest in the European Commissions work in the GEAR 2030 High Level Group.
The Romanian interior minister, Petre Tobă, and his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, discussed in Bucharest on Thursday about ways to enhance security at the EUs external borders. Both Romania and Poland are responsible for protecting EU external borders, which makes them security providers not only to their own citizens, but for the Union as a whole, Polands interior minister said. In turn, minister Toba said Poland is a major partner for Romania, a traditional ally with shared strategic interests within the EU and NATO, which helps strengthen the bilateral relation, including in terms of safety and security.
Romania remains financially stable, but the risks to this stability have grown since the previous year, indicates a report on financial stability made public by the National Bank of Romania. Governor Mugur Isarescu warned that for the first time Romania is facing a severe systemic risk, which has to do with the uncertain and unpredictable legislative framework in the financial-banking sector. According to Isarescu, over the past six months the number of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating the sector, through a retroactive intervention on contracts signed between banks and their clients has increased. Other risks mentioned in the report concern a prospective change in investors confidence in the emerging markets and the refugee crisis.
The EC announced it would consider re-introducing travel visas for the citizens of the US and Canada. Reuters quotes an EU source saying the matter will be discussed by the Commission next Tuesday. The two North-American countries refuse to waive visa requirements for 5 EU member states, namely Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Poland. The analysis comes one week before President Barack Obama is due to travel to Europe to discuss the so-called trans-Atlantic investment and trade partnership, and commentators believe the topic might make negotiations on the free-trade agreement between the EU and the USA more tense. Negotiations are at a crucial point, and the parties believe the agreement stands chances of adoption before the end of Obamas term in office, in January 2017.
Romanias National polo team drew against Russia, 8-8, in its last game in Group A of the Olympic qualification tournament in Trieste (Italy), and qualified into the quarter-finals. In the previous four matches, Romania beat Slovakia 13-11, tied against Canada 10-10, and lost against France (11-12) and Hungary (8-12). The first four teams in each group will qualify for the quarter finals. The semi-finalists will qualify to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer.
