June 26, 2014
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Ştefan Stoica, 26.06.2014, 12:14
Romania’s Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean in Vienna today, jointly with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz will be taking part in the opening ceremony of the third edition of the Annual Forum of the European Union’s Strategy for the Danube Region. Joining high-ranking representatives of the European institutions, as well as central, regional and local authorities representatives of the 14 countries taking part in the Danube Strategy are members of the academic and research community, of the business sector and those of associative structures. According to a Romanian Foreign Ministry press release, the forum will mainly be focusing on the revision of the Danube Strategy’s governing system, as well as on an increase in competitiveness in the region. Also, social inclusion is viewed as a pre-requisite to providing prosperity in the region.
Presidents and Prime Ministers from the European Union in Brussels today convene to agree upon the organization’ s strategy for the following years, as well as to commemorate 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War. Representing Romania is President Traian Basescu. The Summer European Council is held a day before the European Union’s association and free trade agreements with Georgia and Republic of Moldova are signed, as well as the European Union’s economic part of the bilateral agreement with Ukraine. We recall the political the Ukraine agreement’s political chapters had already been signed in April. Also tomorrow, the European Council could take a decision on the candidate to the position of European Commission president, to be voted by Parliament next month.
Trade unionists in the healthcare system today have again picketed the Health Ministrys headquarters in Bucharest. Unionist have mainly claimed a 10 per cent pay rise but also the unblocking of the budget-financed job vacancies. The timeline of the protests was opened on June 13 by Romania’s Sanitas Federation National Council. Following today’s negotiations, trade unionists have said progress has been made regarding the claims unionist have repeatedly made know to the government. SANITAS unionists have decided to call off the protest rally scheduled for Friday morning in front of the Finance Ministry, while also on Friday negotiations will begin with representatives of the aforementioned Ministry, the outcome of which will be crucial for the future line of action unionists will take.
The mayor of Bacau, a city in eastern Romania, was detained by anti-corruption prosecutors under five counts of taking bribes from businesses for awarding public contracts. At the same time, prosecutors have introduced new counts in the Romgaz case, accusations such as evading sequestration, conspiracy to abuse of public office, as well as money laundering, all against businessman Ioan Niculae. Niculae had initially been indicted alongside 40 other people. They are all public servants with management position in state energy company Romgaz, The National Energy Regulatory Authority, the Economy Ministry, as well as representatives of a company in Bucharest. They have all been accused of the major infraction of plotting to undermine the national economy. The group includes a former minister of the economy, Adriean Videanu.
Romanian tennis player, WTA 3-rd seed Simona Halep today will be facing Ukraine’s Lesia Turenko, in a game counting towards the Wimbledon tennis tournament’s second round. We recall the Wimbledon tournament is the year’s third Grand Slam event. Also today, Irina Begu will be fighting for the third position, against German Andreea Petkovic. In the women’s doubles, the Italian -Romanian pair made of Irina Begu and Karin Knapp in the first round will be facing the all-Russian pair made of Ekateran Makarova and Elena Vesnina. In another confrontation, the Romanian-Russian pair made of Sorana Carstea and Maria Kirilenko will be taking on Dominika Cibulkova from Slovakia and Kirsten Flipkens from Belgium. Having already made it into the women’s doubles second round are Monica Niculescu from Romanian and Klara Koukalova form the Czech Republic. In the men’s doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecau and the Dutch Jean Julien Rojer on Friday will be taking on the Spanish-Austrian pair, made of Jurgen Melzer and Feliciano Lopez, in a second round game.
