June 25, 2016 UPDATE

The minister for the relation with the Romanian Diaspora, Dan Stoenescu, assures the Romanians in Great Britain that there is no imminent change in their situation/ Representatives of the six EU founding states met in Berlin on Saturday

Corina Cristea, 25.06.2016, 12:20

ROMANIANS IN THE UK – The minister for the relation with the Romanian Diaspora, Dan Stoenescu, has assured the Romanians in Great Britain that there is no imminent change in their situation and nothing will change in the interaction between the two states in the ensuing period of time. He underlined that, during the forthcoming negotiations, Romania will take into consideration several elements, among which: the social dimension and the impact this referendum will have on the rights and freedoms of Romanian citizens, economic and trade-related issues, the possible effects on Romanian exports as well as indirect effects on the European economy. Romania will be holding the presidency of the EU Council in 2019 and will have a say in the Brexit process, Stoenescu went on to say. He urged the Romanians willing to leave the country to work abroad to carefully analyse each offer and to accept a job based on an employment contract with clearly set out terms.

LONDON- Representatives of the six EU founding member states met in Berlin on Saturday, following the Britons’ decision to leave the European community block. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands discussed the process of implementing the necessary procedures entailed by Brexit and said the negotiations should start as soon as possible. After the Berlin meeting, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the decision to leave the EU is the choice of Britons, but the perfect Europe that we all dream of, with all the necessary changes and improvements, should be kept alive. In Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, accepted the resignation tendered by the British Commissioner for Financial Stability, Jonathan Hill, and announced he would offer the portfolio to vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis. According to the EU Treaties, a country can nominate only one commissioner for a portfolio in the commission, and president Juncker expressed openness to discuss with the British Prime Minister about a new nomination and about allotting another portfolio in the European Commission. In another move, Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, expressed her wish to start immediate talks with Brussels in order to “protect Scotland’s place in the European Union”, following Great Britain’s decision to leave the European community block.

EXCHANGE RATE– In Bucharest, the national currency, the leu, has lost ground against the Euro, which stands at 4.53 lei, the National Bank of Romania announced on Saturday. The impact is lower than expected, against the backdrop of turmoil on financial markets, following Brexit, economic analysts say. The depreciation of the leu against the dollar is considerably higher, a dollar being traded for 4.70 lei. The result of the British referendum has also led to an increase in the ROBOR index, which is used to calculate interest rates for credits in lei, with a three-month maturity. The reference index stands at 0.85, as compared to a constant level of 0.75 in the past months.

PRIZE– Romanian translator Constantin Geambasu grabbed the most prestigious Polish prize for making Polish literature better known abroad- Transatlantyk. The jury appreciated the 45 year-long activity carried out by professor Constantin Geambasu, from the Bucharest University. Constantin Geambasu, a Polish studies expert, has translated over 50 volumes from the Polish language. Thanks to him, Romanians can now read, in their own language, the books by three Polish winners of the Nobel Prize for literature.

ROMANIANS AROUND THE WORLD — Reverend Marius Livanu of Italy on Saturday was elected president of the Council of the Romanians Around the World. He received the vote of the delegates of the Diaspora and historical communities gathered in Bucharest for a first congress. Marius Livanu said the role of a president is to unite people and therefore he will fight to achieve the unity of the Diaspora. Savici Alexander of Serbia was elected Secretary General. The participants elected the six vice-presidents of the Council, who will represent the Diapora and the historical communities in the relation with the Romanian authorities.

ARREST – Relu Fenechiu, former transport minister, and Ion Krech, former director with the Justice Ministry, on Friday evening got temporarily arrested for 30 days. The ruling is not final. Fenechiu is accused of influence peddling and money laundering, after he reportedly received 620,000 Euros, between 2012 and 2014, from a software company, that is a 15% quota from two contracts promoted by the Justice Ministry. (Translated by Diana Vijeu )