July 26, 2015
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Newsroom, 26.07.2015, 12:00
The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, who is on a two-day visit in Salzburg, had a meeting today with his Austrian counterpart, Heinz Fischer. The two discussed the latest developments in the EU and the world, emphasising, among other things, the interest to strengthen regional cooperation and coordination, considering that in 2019 Austria and Romania will successively hold the presidency of the EU Council. The two also stressed the interest in closer cooperation within the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the Western Balkans. Klaus Iohannis and his wife are also taking part in the official opening of the Salzburg Festival, as guests of honour of President Heinz Fischer.
The budget deficit target for next year, of 1.2% of the GDP, would not be missed by much if the new Fiscal Code took effect in the form endorsed by Parliament, the Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said. In an interview to a TV station, he explained that after drawing up the 2016 budget bill, the Government could take a number of measures to keep the budget deficit as close to 1.2% as possible. President Klaus Iohannis has recently sent back to Parliament the Fiscal Code bill, on grounds that it was not sustainable and was not approved by the IMF and the European Commission. PM Victor Ponta criticised the Presidents decision. The Cabinet wants the document to come into force early next year at the latest, and announced all lawful means will be used to this end.
The Minister Delegate for relations with the Romanian diaspora, Angel Tîlvăr, carried on his official visit to Italy, where on Saturday he met with representatives of the Romanian community and mass-media in the central and southern parts of the country. Previously, the Romanian official discussed with representatives of the Rome City Hall. An agreement has been reached, on getting Italian business people operating in Romania involved in programmes aimed at workplace reintegration of the Romanian workers who wish to return to their home country. The Romanian community in Italy, of nearly one million people, is the largest group of Romanians living abroad.
The 23rd Sighişoara Medieval Festival concludes today with an interactive show. For 4 days, under the motto Minstrels and Troubadours – Five Centuries of Medieval Music and Theatre, the streets and squares of the only inhabited medieval citadel in south-eastern Europe hosted concerts, street performances, fine arts exhibitions, book launches, and film screenings. The largest pretzel in the world made in a medieval festival was also baked in Sighisoara and will be included in the Book of World Records.
Extreme heat is being reported in Romania today as well. The capital city Bucharest and 12 counties in the south and south-east are under a code-orange alert, with highs expected to reach 39 degrees, and 33 degrees Celsius recorded in Bucharest at noon. Temperatures are dropping in the west, north and centre of the country. Weather experts announced the heat wave will continue to affect the south and east of Romania in the coming days. Emergency measures have been taken, with first-aid points placed across Bucharest and traffic restrictions in the regions under code-orange alert.
Romania will play against Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia and Kazakhstan in Group E of the 2018 football World Cup preliminary stages. The draw took place on Saturday in Sankt Petersburg, and Romanias team was the top seed in its group, but managed to avoid very powerful opponents like Italy and France. Meanwhile in sports, Romania won on Sunday two other medals at the Under-23 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in the mens and womens pair races. On Saturday, the young Romanians raced to gold in the mens coxless four. In Portugal, at Montemor-o-Velho, Romanian athletes also won on Saturday three silver medals at the World Canoe Sprint Junior and U-23 Championships.
