January 7, 2019

Romania's budget to be debated in Parliament; Brexit deal expecting vote in UK Parliament on January 15

România Internațional, 07.01.2019, 14:51

BUCHAREST – Romania’s budget deficit for 2018 will not
be over 3% of the GDP, said Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici. This
announcement comes after economists in the right leaning opposition
claimed that the deficit would reach 5%, a lot over the admissible
European level. At the same time, Minister Teodorovici said that the
draft budget for 2019 could be made public this week, and discussed
in Parliament in early February. Recently, President Klaus Iohannis
pointed out that the fact that a draft budget has not been issued is
a serious problem that has to be dealt with urgently, and that the
dominant party in the ruling coalition, the Social Democratic Party,
has to issue explanations.

JUDICIAL
– IN Romania, the Supreme Council of Magistrates rules today if
prosecutor Anca Jurma will continue to be the interim head of the
National Anti-corruption Directorate. She was delegated to the
position by General Prosecutor Augustin Lazar in July 2018, after the
dismissal of the former head, Laura Codruta Kovesi. The proposal to
prolong her appointment comes as Justice Minister Tudorel Toader sent
to President Klaus Iohannis for endorsement proposals for appointing
heads of five prosecutor offices, among them Florea for
anti-corruption. At the end of November, the head of state rejected
her appointment for reasons of legality.

LONDON
– The vote in the British Parliament related to the Brexit deal takes
place on January 15, according to the BBC, quoting British government
sources. In order to avoid a parliamentary defeat, PM Theresa May was
forced to postpone in December the vote to withdraw Great Britain
from the EU. Theresa May said that a rejection of the deal in
Parliament would lead her country into unknown territory. If the vote
turns out negative, the UK would have to either withdraw from the EU
with no deal, or to delay the Brexit for March 29. The government in
London tries at this point to convince MPs to support the agreement
that has been negotiated with Brussels, which does not seem to have
sufficient support at this time.

AWARDS
– Bohemian Rhapsody got the Best Film Drama Award at the 76th
Golden Globe Awards, while Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury in
the movie, got the award for best actor in a drama film. The film
Roma, by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, got the best foreign movie
award, which also won in the director category. The Assassination of
Gianni Versace won in the best limited TV series category. The best
actress in a film comedy or musical was won by Olivia
Colman for The
Favorite, while Christian Bale won in this category for the biopic
Vice. Darren Criss won the best actor in a limited TV series
category. The song Shallow, sung by Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born, got
the best original song award.

TENNIS
– Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, 67th
seeded, qualified today for the eighth finals of the WTA tournament
in Hobart, Australia, winning 2-0 against Heather Watson of the UK,
44th
seeded. Also today in the competition, another Romanian player, Ana
Bogdan, 76th
seeded, plays against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, 60th
ranked. WTA number one Simona Halep takes part in the tournament in
Sydney, starting Monday, in the Premier category, with 823,000
dollars in prize money. The best player in the world will play in the
second round with the winner of the match between Latvian Jelena
Ostapenko, 22nd
ranked, and Australian Ashleigh Barty, 15th
seeded.

BUCHAREST
– Romanian PM Viorica Dancila sent President Klaus Iohannis for
endorsement proposals for the transportation and regional development
ministries, according to a press release from the executive. Former
Minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb was the proposal for the
Transportation Ministry, while former Public Finance Minister Eugen
Teodorovici was the proposal for Regional Development and Public
Administration. The government claims that it is still waiting for
the reason for which the president turned down previous proposals for
these portfolios.

AWARDS- Bohemian Rhapsody got the Best Film Drama Award at
the 76th Golden Globe Awards, while Rami Malek, who played
Freddie Mercury in the movie, got the award for best actor in a drama
film. The film Roma, by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, got the best
foreign movie award, which also won in the director category. The
Assassination of Gianni Versace won in the best limited TV series
category. The best
actress in a film comedy or musical was won by Olivia
Colman for The
Favorite, while Christian Bale won in this category for the biopic
Vice. Darren Criss won the best actor in a limited TV series
category. The song Shallow, sung by Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born, got
the best original song award.