December 6, 2016 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 06.12.2016, 12:30

GROWTH
In the third quarter of this year, Romania saw the
biggest growth in the EU, 4.6%, as compared to the same period in 2015,
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union said on Tuesday. This is
the third quarter in a row when Romania had the biggest yearly growth in the
EU. However, the growth pace registered by the Romanian economy slowed from
5.8%, in the second quarter, down to 4.6% in the third quarter. According to
Eurostat, the Eurozone economy grew by 1.7% in the third trimester of the year
against the same period last year, while the European Union registered an
annual economic growth of 1.9%.

PROTEST Miners from the Romanian mines of Paroseni and
Uricani have stopped the sit-down protest they began on Tuesday morning amid
discontent for having not received their pay for November. The miners got
assurances they would get their salaries shortly, though trade unionists fear
the situation might get repeated on December 15th as well, because
the Hunedoara Power Compound, which should be paying the miners’ salaries, has
its bank accounts blocked. The European Commission has recently greenlighted
almost 100 million euros in grants by the Romanian state with a view to closing
down two unprofitable coal mines, Lonea and Lupeni in the Jiu Valley,
south-western Romania.

ATOMIC
ENERGY Over December 5th and 6th Romania’s state
secretary for strategic affairs, Dan Neculaescu, was in Vienna attending the
International Conference on Nuclear Security staged by the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA). In his speech, Neculaescu has highlighted the importance
Romania attaches to the implementation of the commitments assumed during the
summits over nuclear security; the Romanian official also highlighted the
country’s role as a donor to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund. He also evoked the
active role Romania plays at a regional level in terms of nuclear
security.

MEETING The two-day meeting
of NATO Foreign Ministers in Brussels, which involves the participation for the
first time of Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on Tuesday issued a statement on
implementing a decision made at the Alliance’s Summit in Warsaw over cooperation
between NATO and the EU. The document shows that at this moment, the security
of Europe and North America is more interconnected than ever and the alliance
will have to face challenges coming from south and east through joint actions
and cooperation. The document comprises 42 measures leading to concrete
cooperation between NATO and the EU also mentioning that NATO is the
organisation that remains for the allies the essential framework for collective
defence, consultations on security and decisions.