March 6, 2016 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 06.03.2016, 12:15

VISIT As of Sunday, Romania’s President Klaus
Iohannis is on a formal visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He
will meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials, as well as with members of
the Romanian communities living in the region. According to the Romanian
President, the talks he is about to hold in Israel with the President, the
Prime Minister, the Parliament Speaker and other officials are aimed at
improving the relations between the two countries, which have enjoyed a good
collaboration in many fields. Later, president Klaus Iohannis will also hold
talks with the president of the Palestinian Authority.

SUMMIT Romania’s PM Dacian Ciolos will
attend in Brussels on Monday the EU – Turkey summit and the informal meeting of
members of the European Council. On Tuesday, the Romanian MP will hold talks
with the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, about EU internal
matters, with focus on the economic situation, employment, the refugee crisis,
the Schengen area, the relation between the EU and Great Britain and the Energy
Union. Also, talks will be held on foreign affairs, such as the eastern
neighbourhood, the Republic of Moldova and Syria. Also on Tuesday, PM Ciolos
will meet with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, with whom he will
discuss regional security issues: NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe, the Black
Sea Region, the strategic relation between NATO and the EU. The Prime
Minister’s agenda also includes a working visit to the Hague on Wednesday,
where he will meet with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.

DIASPORA Romanian authorities are preparing several
projects aimed at allowing the Romanians working abroad to come back home, says
the Minister Delegate for Relations with Romanians Abroad, Dan Stoenescu.
During the visit he has paid to Italy lately, Stoenescu has had meetings with
local authorities in Rome and Bologna, as well as with representatives of the
Romanian community in northern Italy. According to a communiqué issued by the
Romanian Foreign Ministry, the meetings highlighted the importance of
constantly promoting the members of the Romanian community within the Italian
representative and administrative structures.
Minister Stoenescu has appreciated the integration support granted by the Italian authorities to the
members of the Romanian community. The significant contribution of the Romanian
community to the good functioning of the Italian society and economy has also
been highlighted.

ELECTION Starting April 1st, Romanians
who are living abroad can register in the Voters’ Registry, to thus announce
they wish to vote at the parliamentary elections due in December 2016.
Information is available on the Foreign Ministry’s website: www.mae.ro, under the section titled 2016
Parliamentary Elections – voting abroad. This section contains the most
important information about the legislative background, including with regard
to postal voting, and useful information provided under the information
campaign run by the Romanian Foreign Ministry in partnership with the Permanent Electoral Authority.

CORRUPTION Romanian businessman Florian
Walter has been placed in temporary police custody for 30 days, after being
extradited by the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Under a ruling on Sunday,
the judges confirmed the arrest warrant issued on his name in May last year.
Walter is accused of setting up a crime group which, between 2012-2014, carried
out financial operations involving tax evasion and money laundering. The damage
is estimated at some 4.5 million Euros.

EXERCISES The
largest military exercises ever organized by South Korea are due to start on
Monday, against tensions with the communist regime in Pyongyang. Some 300,000
South-Korean soldiers and 15,000 American will take part in the maneuvers,
which will last until late April. The UN Security Council decided to Wednesday
to impose fresh sanctions on Pyongyang, following the latter’s recent nuclear
and ballistic tests. The draft resolution presented by the US was adopted
unanimously and was also supported by China, which is North Korea’s only ally.

TENNIS Romania has won 4 to 1 the round of matches
against Slovenia, held in Arad, western Romania, in the first stage of Davis
Cup’s Europe-Africa Zone Group I. On Saturday, the decisive point was won by
the pair made up of Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea, who defeated Tomislav Ternar
/ Alijaz Radinski 6-3, 7-6, 7-6. On Friday, Marius Copil had defeated in three
sets Blaz Rola, and Adrian Ungur had
won the match against Grega Zemlja.
On Sunday, Marius Copil defeated Tomislav Ternar 2-0, while Adrian Ungur lost to Blaz Rola. Romania’s next adversary is Spain.