January 16, 2014 UPDATE

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Corina Cristea, 16.01.2014, 12:05

SCHENGEN – Romanian president Traian Basescu on Thursday discussed with European Council president Herman van Rompuy regarding Moldova’s association with the EU, developing the EU southern natural gas pipeline corridor and Romania’s Schengen accession. President Basescu has recently announced in the meeting of foreign diplomats in Bucharest that Schengen accession is an important element of EU integration, and that Romania will not accept any additional prerequisites, other than technical accession criteria. Originally slated for 2011, Romania’s accession to the passport-free travel area was repeatedly postponed, due to pointed opposition from Member States, calling for stepping up the reform of the judiciary and intensifying efforts to combat corruption.

RESOLUTION – The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution regarding free movement, calling on Member States not to discriminate EU jobseekers and to use European funds to promote social inclusion. The resolution urges member states to “comply with Treaty provisions on EU rules governing freedom of movement and to ensure that the principles of equality and the fundamental right of freedom of movement are upheld for all Member States”. The European Parliament “strongly contests the position taken by some European leaders calling for changes and for restriction of the free movement of citizens” and “calls on the Member States to refrain from any actions that could affect the right of free movement which is based on core EU legislation”. We recall that all labour market restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers were lifted on January 1, 2014.

CSM – The declarations of Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta regarding the prison sentence of former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase in a corruption court case have affected the independence of the justice system, reads a recent report issued by the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM). Prime Minister Ponta said on January 6, the day the sentence was issued, that Nastase’s sentence was a political move, while the former Prime Minister was a victim of president Basescu’s campaign against him, similar to that orchestrated against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Prime Minister of Romania in the 2000-2004 period, Nastase is currently president of the National Council of the Social-Democratic Party, led by Victor Ponta. In response to the Council’s report, Prime Minister Ponta said the Romanian judiciary was independent and that no person could influence it at present.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has qualified to the third round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, after brushing aside Varvara Lepchenko of the United States. In the next round Halep will go up against Zarina Dias of Kazakhstan. Also in Melbourne, Monica Niculescu has advanced to the third round after a surprising win over WTA 15th-ranked Sabin Lisicki. In the fourth round, Niculescu will go up against Ekaterina Makarova, ranked 22. In the men’s competition, Victor Hanescu lost to 11-seed Milos Raonic.

MEETING – Romania’s Minister Delegate for Higher Education Mihnea Costoiu during the final part of his visit to the US held talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry’s advisor for science and technology issues William Colgrazier, as well as with other high-ranking officials in Washington. Talks focused on the joint work in the fields of applied research and higher education, aimed at bringing together Romanian and US institutions. Throughout his visit Mihnea Costoiu held talks with representatives of several American universities, mainly targeting the conclusion of partnerships in the field of education. Costoiu also stated the American Spatial Agency NASA would develop joint projects with the Romanian Space Agency ROSA.

SALES – The sales of Dacia automobiles, the Romanian car make owned by the French group Renault in 2013 reported the biggest growth across the EU. According to the European Carmakers’ Association, in 2013 Dacia sales went up by more than 23%, reaching almost 300,000 cars sold. Data provided by the aforementioned association also revealed that in December 2013 Dacia’s market quota in the community area reached 3.2%.