January 18, 2019
President Iohannis to participate in ceremony for signing Aachen Treaty, Australian Open under way
Newsroom, 18.01.2019, 13:42
Aachen — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will participate on Tuesday in Aachen, Germany, in the ceremony for the signing of the French-German Cooperation and Integration Treaty upon the invitation of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and of the French President Emmanuel Macron. On this occasion, President Iohannis, in his capacity as president of the country holding the incumbent presidency of the Council of the EU, will deliver a speech. The ceremony will also be attended by the president of the European Council Donald Tusk and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. The Aachen bilateral treaty is based, from a political and juridical point of view, on the Elysee French-German Treaty of 1963 that set the basis for a historic reconciliation between Germany and France. The Aachen treaty will focus on adjusting the relations between the two states to the challenges of the 21st century, laying emphasis on the cohesion of the two countries’ action at European level.
Berlin fair — Romanian agri-food products will be displayed Friday at a Berlin fair called ‘2019 Green Week’. According to Romanian agriculture minister Petre Daea who is attending the event, several Romanian producers of traditional products are participating in the fair. Some of the traditional products to be displayed are the Topoloveni plum jam, the smoked Danube herring, the Plescoi sausages and the Dobrogea pie. On the sidelines of the fair, the Romanian agriculture minister will meet with his counterparts from other member states, German officials and representatives of farming associations in the EU. The Berlin Fair will come to an end next Sunday. Last year more than 400 thousand people visited the fair.
Dacia — In 2018 Dacia Company reported the best commercial performance in its history with total sales on the domestic and international market standing at more than 700 thousand cars, 7% more than the level reported in 2017. According to a Dacia communiqué, the Romanian brand has practically doubled its sales in only 7 years. Dacia sales on external markets have risen by 5.5% reaching more than 646 thousand cars, this being one of the best performances registered in Europe. In 1999, Dacia brand and Mioveni factory were taken over by the French group Renault. Dacia models are sold in 44 countries on 4 continents.
London — The British PM Theresa May continues Friday consultations with political parties and Monday she is going to present her new plan that, on January 29, will be debated and voted on. Talks are being held in the aftermath of the heated disputes of the past days in the British Parliament, which rejected the Brexit agreement. However, Mrs. May’s government has survived a no-confidence vote tabled by the Labor Party. PM May is trying to reach a consensus, but the leader of the opposition Labor Party, Jeremy Corbin, refuses to take part in the negotiations waiting for the government to totally eliminate the possibility of Brexit without a deal. In reply, Theresa May said the government could not provide such guarantees because that did not lie with the government. She added that such a scenario could be avoided in two ways: either a similar agreement with that already concluded with the EU is voted on or article 50 is revoked. But the government is not going to do that because they want to respect the results of the 2016 referendum.
Belgrade — The Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday visited Belgrade where he pleaded for the stability of the Balkans, which, in his opinion, is a region threatened by the West. He reminded that the Russian Federation was one of the biggest investors in the Serbian economy, energy being a key-domain of bilateral cooperation. Besides historical, religious and cultural ties, Serbs are grateful to Russians for the supported granted in relation to Kosovo’s independence. 20 years on since the war between the Serbs and the separatist Kosovo Albanians, Moscow still does not recognize the province of Kosovo. Moreover, Serbia, although a candidate for EU accession, refuses to back the sanctions of the EU bloc against Russia, which were imposed after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
Tennis — The Romanian pair Irina Maria Bara/Monica Niculescu qualified on Friday in Melbourne to the eighth finals of the women’s doubles of the Australian Open, the year’s first grand slam tournament. They defeated 6-4, 7-6 the 6th seeded Lucie Hradecka (of the Czech Republic)/Ekaterina Makarova (Russia). Next, Bara and Niculescu will take on the winners of the match pitting the pair Margarita Gasparian (Russia)/Daria Gavrilova (Australia) against Raquel Atawo (USA)/Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia). Also on Friday, in the second round, Sorana Cirstea and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko were eliminated by the Slovenian-Spanish pair Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 7-5, 6-3. On Saturday in the same stage, irina Begu and Mihaela Buzarnescu, 10th seeded, will play against the pair Alize Cornet (Franţa)/Petra Martic (Croatia). Also on Saturday, world’s no. 1 player Simona Halep will take on American Venus Williams (36 WTA) in the third round. (translation by L. Simion)
