May 12, 2016 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 12.05.2016, 12:15

INAUGURATION The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian
Ciolos said on Thursday, at the inauguration of the US anti-missile defense
facility in Deveselu, southern Romania, that the unit was an essential
component of the bilateral strategic partnership and also a major boost to the
privileged relations between Romania and the US. Attending the ceremony, the
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the system in Deveselu was an
example of team work at Trans-Atlantic level. Also, he thanked Romania for its contribution
to the joint defense of the NATO countries, by agreeing to host the
anti-missile facility. In turn, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work
stressed that the defensive unit in Deveselu fully observed the current rules
regarding the control of armament. The event was also attended by the Romanian
Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc, the Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu and the US
Ambassador to Bucharest Hans Klemm.

CORRUPTION 50 countries,
including Romania, committed themselves to fighting corruption, by signing
a declaration at the end of the summit held in London on Thursday. Romania was
represented by the deputy PM Costin Borc and the Justice Minister Raluca Pruna.
On the eve of the summit, at the conference titled Together in the fight against
corruption, Raluca Pruna said that Bucharest could share from its decade long
experience of fighting top level corruption.

IMF The International Monetary Fund has forecast
an economic growth rate of over 4% for Romania this year and 3.6% in 2017.
According to IMF experts, the economy is on a cyclic upward trend boosted by
the latest pay-rises in the public sector and the VAT cut, which gave an
impetus to consumption. The latest IMF report shows that these favorable
circumstances of growth cannot be maintained in the absence of reforms. Experts
say that authorities should not cave in to social pressure.

BORDER CONTROL The EU on Thursday decided to extend
by another six months controls on the internal borders of the Schengen Area, at
the request of Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The measure was
taken after last week the European Commission started the exceptional procedure
under which such an extension is allowed, provided issues concerning the
management of the EU’s external borders persist. France Presse reports that the
five countries are still faced with the refugee issue, even if the Balkan route
has been closed and the number of refugees arriving in Turkey has decreased
significantly.

BAROMETER Institutions do not always know what
citizens may want, according to a local democracy barometer, carried out in
Bucharest by the Regional Centre of the Pro Democratia Association
jointly with the local branch of Hanns Seidel Foundation. According to the
barometer, citizens aren’t always aware of the measures taken by the local
public administration. The quality of democracy in local communities, shows the
report, is affected by institutional deficiencies, incompetence, corruption and
the type of management imposed by various decision-makers.

CANNES Five Romanian films take part in the 69th
Cannes Film Festival, which started on Thursday. The films Sieranevada,
directed by Cristi Puiu and Bacalaureat, by Cristian Mungiu, are competing
for the much -coveted Palme D’or. This is the first time that Cristi Puiu is running
for the big trophy. In 2005 he won the Un certain regard award for The Death
of Mr. Lazarescu. Cristian Mungiu, on the other hand, is already for the third
time part of the official competition, which he won back in 2007 with 4
Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Three other Romanian productions are competing in
Cannes: Dogs by Bogdan Mirica, in the Un Certain Regard section, 4:15 p.m.
the End of the World by Catalin Rotaru and Gabi Virgina Sarga in the
short-reel section, and All Rivers Flow into the Sea by Alexandru Badea,
competing for the Cinefondacion prize.

TENNIS On
Thursday, the only Romanian tennis player left in the singles competition,
Irina Begu, no.35 in the WTA rankings, qualified for the quarter finals of the
Rome tournament, with 2.7 million dollars in prize money. She defeated 2-0 the
33rd ranked Russian Daria Kasatkina. Also on Thursday, the pair made up of
Irina Begu and another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, defeated Yung-Jan Chen of
Taiwan and Anna-Lena Groenfeld of Germany 2-1.