January 9, 2014
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Leyla Cheamil, 09.01.2014, 12:01
Romania’s Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean on Thursday and Friday is taking part in an informal meeting in the Lithuanian city of Trakai, at the invitation of his Lithuanian counterpart Linas Linkevicius. The meeting will be focusing on the stage and prospects of the challenges posed by the European and global security environment in the following period of time. Titus Corlatean will be presenting Romania’s assessment of NATO’s future and will also be focusing on the situation in Afghanistan as well as on the commitments the North-Atlantic Alliance made after the ISAF’s mission ends in 2014.
Romania’s trade deficit in the first eleven months of 2013 went down by 3.5 billion Euro, as compared to the similar period in 2012 the National Statistics Institute has announced today. The export Romania made over January 1st and November 30 exceeded 45 billion euro, while imports accounted for 50 billion euro. As compared to the similar period in 2012, exports grew by 9%, while imports went down by 0.4%.
The Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian affairs at the United States Department of State Victoria Nuland on Friday and Saturday will be on an official visit to Bucharest, where she will be meeting President Traian Basescu, Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean and well as with other Romanian high-ranking officials and members of the civil society. Talks will be focusing on bilateral relations, regional problems as well as on Romania’s efforts to strengthen the rule of law. Victoria Nuland is on a European tour which also includes The Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania and France, states which alongside Romania are Unites States’ allies within NATO.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet will be considering implementing a new set of measures aimed at preventing immigrants from taking advantage of social benefits, in a bid to put an end to the rift that has recently occurred in the governing coalition regarding immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria. According to Reuters, the German government has set up a working group made of experts from 11 ministries whose task until June 11 is to set up the steps the government might take to avoid any abuse of social benefits by migrants. The Christian Social Union, among other things, does not want immigrants to receive social benefits in the first three months of their stay in the country. A survey compiled by the Federal Employment Agency has revealed that by mid-2013 almost 370,000 Romanians and Bulgarians were living in Germany. According to the aforementioned survey, 10% of those people opted for the social welfare program, that is significantly less as compared to the 15% average percentage of foreigners living in Germany, who benefit from that program.
