January 15, 2015 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Bogdan Matei, 15.01.2015, 19:37
Romania can and must become part of the Schengen zone – Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said in Brussels on Thursday following talks with the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk and the European Commission president, Jean Claude Juncker who voiced support for this objective. This is the Romanian president’s first visit to the European institutions after being sworn in last month. His talks agenda includes among other things, ways of improving community funds absorption and having the monitoring of Romania’s legal system lifted. On Friday Iohannis will be holding talks with NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
Until January 31st, 20 Romanian policemen will be participating in a new operational support mission in Paris. They will join their French colleagues in various missions and also assist them in dealing with cases involving Romanian nationals. Before going to France, the Romanian policemen went through rigorous selection including tests on language skills as well as their level of knowledge in legislation and the European standards of police work.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Thursday announced he would discuss with his counterpart in Chisinau, Iurie Leanca, ways of supplying electricity to the Republic of Moldova, a former soviet country with a Romanian-speaking majority. Ponta said that Romania produces enough electricity to export to its neighbour, but the problem is the transport infrastructure, which is underdeveloped. The Romanian Prime Minister’s statement comes after Ukraine decided to suspend electricity exports to the Republic of Moldova and Belarus due to its diminished domestic production.
The Association of Romanian Financial Services Users has called on both the government and Parliament in Romania to come up with solutions for people with credits in Swiss francs, after the 30% appreciation of this currency against the euro. There are 150 thousand Romanians with credits in Swiss francs. Romania’s Central Bank on Thursday announced that one Swiss franc was traded for 4.32 lei, 60 bani higher than in the previous day. According to Adrian Vasilescu, advisor for the Central Bank’s governor, the Romanian banking sector will not be affected because loans in Swiss francs do not exceed 5% of the total crediting. We recall the Swiss Central Bank’s decision to scrap its exchange rate control has sent the franc through the ceiling against the euro. The Swiss currency has also seen a 25% appreciation against the US dollar.
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has urged the Romanians living outside the borders to preserve Romanian cultural values and defend the symbol of national aspirations, poet Mihai Eminescu. Aurescu conveyed the message on the National Culture Day and the celebration of 165 years since the birth of Mihai Eminescu, one of the last representatives of European Romanticism. January 15th became Romania’s Culture Day in 2010, under a Parliament decision. Every year, diplomatic and consular offices, as well as Romanian cultural institutes abroad stage events devoted to this day.
