August 31, 2019 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 31.08.2019, 19:23

IMF The International Monetary Fund
recommends the Romanian authorities to kick off a process of sustainable fiscal
consolidation to reassess the new pension law, which is to come into effect on
Sunday and to improve management in state-owned companies. According to an IMF
report, the Romanian economic growth would stay around 4% in 2019 and slow down
to 3% on medium term. According to the IMF, against the backdrop of raising
vulnerabilities the Romanian authorities need to capitalize on the present economic
progress to kick off a sustainable process of fiscal consolidation. According
to estimates, Romania’s budget deficit will account for 3.7% of the GDP in 2019
unless additional measures are taken. Furthermore the IMF experts believe the
fresh pension law passed in June 2019 needs to be reassessed as it may
jeopardize the fiscal sustainability.

FESTIVAL Between August 31st and
September 22nd Bucharest will be playing venue for the 24th edition of the
George Enescu International Festival, the biggest edition of this event so far.
This edition’s central theme is ‘The world in Harmony’ and the festival’s
artistic director is Vladimir Jurowski. Bucharest and 10 other cities in
Romania and abroad in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the
Republic of Moldova are also to be hosting events associated with this
prestigious international festival of classical music in honor of Romania’s
greatest composer. The festival is expected to bring together 25 hundred of the
world’s best musicians who will be performing in 84 concerts and recitals. 24
concerts will be hosted by Romania’s major cities, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara,
Iasi, Sibiu, Targu Mures, Bacau, Barlad, Targoviste, Satu Mare and Piatra
Neamt. The 2019 edition of this festival is expected to include 34 premieres
and 25 first performances by artists like Marion Cotillard, Kiril Petrenko,
Mitsuko Uchida as well as nine of the world’s best orchestras. Concerts and
recitals have been grouped in six big sections: ‘Greatest World Orchestras’,
‘Midnight Concertos’, ‘Chamber Music Recitals and Concertos’, ’21st Century
Music’, ‘Mozart Week in Residence’ and ‘The Composers International Forum’. The
festival will also include conferences, book and album launches as well as
other events.

LANGUAGE Cultural events staged
concurrently in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and the Romanian communities
abroad on Saturday marked the Romanian Language Day. The event, which was
endorsed by the Romanian Parliament in 2013, is held concurrently with the
national celebration in the neighboring Republic of Moldova to honour the
national awakening movement in the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. We
recall that on August 31st 1989 during the Soviet Union, under the
pressure of 750 thousand protesters, Parliament in Chisinau declared Romanian
as the country’s official language choosing the Latin alphabet instead of the
Cyrillic one imposed by the Soviet invaders after the country’s annexation in
1940.

PSD Leaders of the ruling Social-Democratic Party (PSD) on
Saturday convened in Mamaia on the Romanian Black Sea coast for talks over the
future PSD strategy after their main partner ALDE had left the ruling
coalition. Romanian Prime Minister and PSD leader Viorica Dancila announced she
would talk over the phone with the country’s president Klaus Iohannis about the
ministers who are to take over the seats left by the outgoing ALDE ministers.
Dancila said she would notify the Constitutional Court unless the president
accepts the PSD nominees. Dancila said she wouldn’t rush to the Legislature to
get a confidence vote for the government. The president sent the Executive to
Parliament for this vote after the cabinet’s political formula had changed.
Iohannis on Friday signed a decree acknowledging the resignation of the three
ALDE ministers, for the Environment, Energy and for the Relation with
Parliament. The fourth ALDE minister, Ramona Manescu, stepped down from the
party and is still heading the Foreign Ministry. The right-wing opposition
announced its intention to table a no-confidence vote for the Executive. The
National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union have shown readiness to
assume the responsibility of ruling agreeing with the idea of snap elections.

MEDAL Romania’s men quadruple scull on
Saturday walked away with silver from the World Rowing Championships in Linz
Ottensheim, Austria. Poland won gold and Britain went third in the race.
Romania has so far had seven crews qualified for the Olympic Games 2020. The
Romanian women’s and men’s double sculls as well as its eight are to compete on
Sunday. The Romanian eight stands good chances to qualify for the 2020
Olympics.

(translated by bill)