July 9, 2015 UPDATE
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Mihai Pelin, 09.07.2015, 12:30
Romania has to consolidate its strategic credibility secured by predictability and continuity both in its foreign, defence and security policies and in the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in the present ‘extremely sensitive’ geopolitical context, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said. In an interview to the European Times media agency, the Romanian president said the strategic partnership with the United States of America, as well as NATO and EU memberships make up the cornerstone of Romania’s foreign policy, a country that lies in a region long characterized by the existence of frozen conflicts and it is currently marked by active conflicts and the deteriorating relations between NATO and the Russian Federation. Referring to Romania’s access to the Schengen zone, president Iohannis said that Romania had for some years met the technical criteria for the Schengen accession, but voiced regret that there were political decisions from some countries, which have determined the postponement of actual accession.
Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean Julien Rojer on Thursday qualified for the finals of the men’s doubles in Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam tournament. The two have outperformed Romanian-Indian pair, Florin Mergea — Rohan Bopana in a dramatic game. Tecau and Rojer will be playing the winners of the game pitching British-Australian pair Jamie Murray – John Peers against Israeli-German pair made up of Jonathan Erlich and Philipp Petzschner. This would be Horia Tecau’s fourth Wimbledon finals after those he played together with Swedish Robert Lindstedt in 2010, 2011 and 2012; we recall the Romanian failed to win the title every time.
On Friday Romania is to sign a decision on approving the Big Infrastructure Operational Programme for the period between 2014 and 2020. The European Commission will be represented by the commissioner for regional policies Corina Cretu. The components funded through this programme are the infrastructures of transport, environment and energy. According to the authorities, Romania has been allotted 12 billion euros out of community funds for infrastructure development.
Romanian PM Victor Ponta has resumed his full attributions, taken over for the last three weeks by deputy PM Gabriel Oprea. Ponta returned to Romania on Wednesday, after undergoing knee surgery in Turkey late last month. On 15th June, when he had the operation, the official had been summoned for an interview with anti-corruption prosecutors, after being informed ten days previously that he was under official investigation for forgery, aggravated conspiracy to commit tax evasion and money laundering. The alleged violations date back to when he acted as a lawyer and came up as part of another case, one involving his party colleague, Senator Dan Sova.
The Greek government said it would comply with the deadline for submitting to Eurozone partners a concrete and credible plan for reform, in a hope to persuade foreign lenders to release rescue funds. The President of the European Commission had called on Athens to submit its proposal until midnight tonight, allowing the executive to study them ahead of Sunday’s European summit, which many see as Greece’s last chance to sidestep bankruptcy. The Greek state issued an official request for a three-year loan from the Eurozone emergency fund, the European Stability Mechanism. In its letter to the community body, the Greek Finance Ministry promised to reform, starting Monday, the taxation and pension system.
