February 11, 2015

News and current affairs from Romania

Bogdan Matei, 11.02.2015, 12:00

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is on a trip to Brussels, attending tomorrow the summit of the European Popular Party and the informal meeting of the European Council. Yesterday the head of the Romanian state had an official meeting with French President Francois Hollande and representatives of the Romanian diaspora.

Romanian PM Victor Ponta is on a visit to the US to attract investors to Romania. The head of government will be meeting the US Commerce Secretary and business representatives. Ponta said he wanted to promote investment opportunities in Romania in a wide array of venues. He called on ministers to remove bureaucratic barriers in order to make Romania more attractive to American business. The latest data from the National Bank shows that in 2013 American investments in Romania went down by 800 million Euros, and Americans are in the 13th place in investments, with a total of one billion invested.

Minister of the Interior who fills in as deputy PM, Gabriel Oprea, attended a ceremony for the return of the Romanian contingent in Afghanistan, a 24 strong group of officers and NCOs of the Interior Ministry. He handed out decorations for the duration of the mission that ended in 2014. The Higher Defense Council has provided in 2015 for 1,183 soldiers and police from Romania who are available for NATO, UN and OSCE missions and operations.

The only feature length film from Romania, Aferim by Radu Jude, in the Berlin International Film Festival, has its world premiere today. The leading actor, Teodor Corban, was nominated for the Silver Bear Award. The film was made in collaboration with Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, and talks about Rroma slavery in the 1830s. One other Romanian film, Why Me?, premieres at the Berlin Festival, inspired by a real case involving high level corruption.