January 18, 2016
The US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, visits Romania/ Romanian foreign minister, Lazar Comanescu, is attending the Foreign Affairs Council, underway in Brussels/ Cold snap is sweeping Romania
Newsroom, 18.01.2016, 12:00
DIPLOMACY – Romanias president, Klaus Iohannis, is today receiving in Bucharest, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland. Also today, the American official is due to meet representatives of the new cabinet in Bucharest. Victoria Nuland will approach, together with defence minister, Mihnea Motoc, issues referring to bilateral military cooperation within the framework of the Romanian-US Strategic Partnership and the security situation in the region. On Sunday, the US official had an informal meeting with prime minister, Dacian Ciolos, who briefed her on the priorities of the technocratic government in Bucharest. The agenda of the talks also covers such issues as ways to improve the investment climate in Romania, the situation in the region, particularly that in the Republic of Moldova (with a predominantly Romanian speaking population), as well as Bucharests relations with Ukraine and Russia.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COUNCIL– Romanian foreign minister, Lazar Comanescu, is today attending, alongside counterparts from the EU member states, the Foreign Affairs Council, hosted by Brussels. The agenda of the talks covers such issues as the Syrian file, the situation in Iraq, the stage of reforms enforced in Ukraine. Also in Brussels, the Romanian minister of agriculture and rural development, Achim Irimescu, is today meeting with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Development, Phil Hogan, and with the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis. The National Rural Development Program and the African swine fever are among the topics to be approached during the talks.
VISIT– Romanian prime minister, Dacian Ciolos, is paying a two-day official visit to Paris, as of Wednesday. He will be accompanied by economy minister and deputy prime minister Costin Borc, and by foreign minister, Lazar Comanescu. On the first day of the visit, Ciolos is due to meet French president, François Hollande, prime minister, Manuel Valls, and the speakers of the two Chambers of the National Assembly, Gérard Larcher and Claude Bartolone. Talks will focus mainly on economic issues. Ciolos will also meet with representatives of the Romanian community living in France. On the second day of the visit, the Romanian prime minister is due to meet CEOs and managers of big French companies. We recall that France is the fifth largest foreign investor in Romania.
MOLDOVA– Negotiations for the formation of a new government are started today in Chishinau, after on Friday, the president of the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, Nicolae Timofti, designated a new candidate for the position of prime minister, Pavel Filip. The Liberal Democratic Party announced it goes into opposition and does not back Filips candidacy, whereas the Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the 14 MPs who left the Communist Party, will participate in the formation of the new government. If a new government does not get endorsement by Parliament until January 29, the president will have to dissolve Parliament and call for snap elections. Protest movements against the corruption and inefficiency of the political class and also in favour of early elections were held in Chishinau on Saturday.
CAR INDUSTRY– The largest car manufacturer in Romania, Dacia, a brand owned by the French group Renault, registered record high sales in 2015. Some 551,000 units were sold worldwide last year, registering a 7.7% increase, as compared to 2014. Ranking first in the classification of best selling makes of the Dacia brand, at global level, is Sandero, followed by Duster and Logan. Most sold units were cars, being followed by light commercial vehicles. We recall that in 1999, Renault bought 73% of the shares in Dacia. Re-launched in 2004, with the Logan make, Dacia became a prominent player on the European car market.
TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu has today qualified for the second round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. In the debut match, Niculescu defeated Brazilian Teliana Pereira, 6-2, 6-1. Romanias four other representatives, Simona Halep, WTAs no.2, Irina Begu, Alexandra Dulgheru and Andreea Mitu on Tuesday will play matches to qualify for the second round of the tournament. In the mens double, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer is first seeded in the competition, and the Romanian –Indian pair Florin Mergea / Rohan Bopanna is fourth seeded.
WATER POLO– Romanias national water polo team has today defeated Malta 12-7, in a qualification match for the 9-16 positions, at the European Championships hosted by Serbia. On Sunday, Romania failed to qualify for the quarterfinals, after sustaining a defeat from Greece, 15-9. With two wins, to Georgia and Germany, and one defeat, to Italy, Romania had completed the Group C on the second position.
COLD SNAP– It is snowing on limited areas in Romania, with only 12 counties in the south-east being still placed under code yellow alert. Meteorologists have issued a warning against extremely cold weather and gusty wind in most regions, valid from Sunday evening until Thursday morning. The lowest temperatures will drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius, in places, in the south and the centre. The highs of the day range from minus 8 degrees Centigrade to plus one degree. The south and east of the country, including the capital city, have been affected by heavy snow falls and blizzard. Tens of localities have been left without electricity and many roads have been closed. Air and sea traffic have also been disrupted.
(Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)
