December 14, 2013 UPDATE

A roundup pf domestic and international news...

România Internațional, 14.12.2013, 19:26

The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania has voiced concern at the way in which the Government in Bucharest adopted a series of measures that impact the business environment directly. The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania, made up of 350 companies, disapproves both the fiscal measures taken by the Government, without having consulted the business environment, and the attempts to pass in an improper manner, without previous debates, new laws in the field of fighting corruption and the conflict of interests. The investors’ stance comes a few days after the amendments to the Criminal Code by Romanian parliamentarians, stirred criticism both domestically and abroad.

The Romanian Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin is paying a 3-day visit to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, starting on Monday. He will take part, in Chisinau, in a series of informal consultations ahead of a Regional Conference for Europe of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, due in Bucharest in the spring of 2014. Minister Constantin will hold talks with the Deputy Regional Representative of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, Tony Alonzi, and with the organization’s future representative Vladimir Rakhmanin. The Romanian minister will have a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Vasile Bumacov.

Both the opposition and power in Kiev called on the Ukrainian citizens to take to the streets on Saturday. Two rallies were staged at the same time in the country’s capital city. The two sides that met on Friday for talks failed to reach an agreement. The Opposition continues to demand the resignation of president Viktor Yanukovici and of Mikola Azarov’s government, for having refused to sign the country’s Association agreement with the EU, preferring to strengthen ties with Russia.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Vietnam on Saturday. The visit is part of his tour of Asia, which also includes the Philippines. The tour is aimed at rebalancing the American foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific area, promoted by President Barack Obama. American MPs and Human Rights Watch asked Kerry to approach with the communist authorities in Hanoi the human rights issue.