August 31, 2016 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 31.08.2016, 12:30

FUNERALS Romanias Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos on Tuesday participated in the national funerals held in Amatrice, Italy for the 37 victims of the earthquake in Italy. Ciolos also visited the Romanians whose shelters were destroyed by the quake, pledging support. The Romanian Labour Minister Dragos Pislaru, also on a visit to Italy, said the families left without shelter after the earthquake in Italy can benefit from financial support offered by the authorities in Bucharest after applying for it. The application is available at Romanias diplomatic missions and consular offices in Italy as well as at the county agencies for payment and social inspection in Romania. September 2nd has been declared a day of national mourning for the victims of the earthquake in Italy, which includes 11 Romanians.

ELECTION Parliamentary election is to be held in Romania on December 11th 2016, under a decision the Bucharest government made on Wednesday. According to the spokesman for the Executive, Liviu Iolu, the date of December 11th has been accepted by all Parliamentary parties. The members of the cabinet of ministers have also adopted an emergency ordinance allowing for the setting up of election polls abroad in areas where voters were reported in large numbers in the past. The ordinance gives the voters abroad the possibility of voting in any poll, by enlisting in additional lists. Under the same law, the application of enlisting in the election registry and the copies of identity papers can be send also electronically.

EDUCATION A series of cultural and educational programmes and events are held by the Romanian authorities, public institutions, diplomatic representations and cultural institutes abroad to celebrate Romanian Language Day on the 31st of August. Celebrations include Romanian traditional music shows, theatre performances and poetry readings both in Romania and abroad, in countries with large ethnic Romanian communities, such as Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The ex-Soviet, majority Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova, where Romanian became the official state language in 2013, also celebrates Romanian Language Day.

CONTRIBUTION Romania must have an active contribution to the efforts of the international community, the European Union and NATO, that is the community of values it belongs to, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis told the Annual Meeting of Diplomacy in Bucharest. Romanias interests as a state located on the external border of this community obliges us to act in such a way as to ensure the security of the nation and that of the essential organisations, the EU and NATO, of which we are part of. At the same time, Romanias stability and economic growth, its low energy dependence, democratic predictability and support for the rule of law, as well as its actions in the areas of foreign policy and security are very important assets, especially in this region. They must be used wisely and in a visionary way so that Romania becomes stronger and more efficient, president Iohannis also said. At their annual meeting, Romanias ambassadors and consuls are looking at the main challenges, such as the relationship with the countrys main partners, the development of the international institutions Romania is part of, security and economic development. Both prime minister Dacian Ciolos and the foreign minister Lazar Comanescu said that in the face of the crises threatening Europe, Romania would continue to urge for a process of reflection so as not to deepen the already existing rifts between various states and groups of states.

UNDESIRABLE The Bucharest Court of Appeal has declared the Pakistani citizen Shahzad Ahmed undesirable in Romania for a period of 10 years. This ruling came after the intelligence service had discovered that he carried out on-line propaganda for terrorist groups active in Pakistan, supporting the supremacy of extremist Islamism. Shahzad Ahmed, who is married to a Romanian national, has been placed under public custody prior to his removal from Romania.