January 18, 2019 UPDATE

Four Romanians died in a car crash in southern Italy / Simona Halep is taking on Venus Williams in the third round of Australian Open

Newsroom, 18.01.2019, 19:46

MEETING – Romanian PM Viorica Dancila, paying a working visit to Israel, met on Friday with her counterpart Benjamin Netaniahu. The two officials hailed the excellent bilateral ties that also mirror in the frequency of the high-level meetings. In this respect, the staging, in the first part of 2019, of a joint meeting of the Israeli and Romanian governments was discussed. PM Dancila reconfiemd Romania’s interest in consolidating the relations with Israel in fields such as strategic cooperation, cyber and energy security, medicine, research and innovation.

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 at 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 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.

FAIR — Romanian agri-food products are displayed as of 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.

ACCIDENT – Four Romanians died in southern Italy and one is in serious condition after the car they were using to run away from the police, shortly after having committed a burglary, collided with a truck. The accident took place in the region of Campania, north of Naples. Jewellery was found in the Romanians’ car. A woman driving another car involved in the accident was also injured and she is receiving medical care.

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.

Tennis — World no. 1 Simona Halep is taking on American Venus Williams (36 WTA) on Saturday in the third round of Australian Open, the first Gland Slam of the year. Also on Saturday in the second round, Irina Begu and Mihaela Buzarnescu, 10th seeded, will play against the pair Alize Cornet (Franţa)/Petra Martic (Croatia). On Friday the Romanian pair Irina Maria Bara/Monica Niculescu qualified to the eighth finals of the women’s doubles. Also on Friday, in the second round, Romanian Sorana Cirstea and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko were eliminated by the Slovenian-Spanish pair Andreja Klepac/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 7-5, 6-3.

(Translated by Elena Enache)