May 24, 2017 UPDATE

President Klaus Iohannis to attend NATO Summit in Brussels

Newsroom, 24.05.2017, 20:09

Presidency – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday will attend the NATO Summit in Brussels. The Romanian President will point out at the meeting the fact that Romania is a predictable, serious and responsible ally and that it has increased the budget alloted to defense to 2% of the GDP. Also, President Iohannis will emphasize the importance of consolidating NATO’s eastern flank and will plead for increasing the Alliance’s role in fighting terrorism. On the sidelines of the meeting Iohannis will hold talks with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda.

Meeting – European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, received on Wednesday in Brussels the Romanian Finance Minister Viorel Stefan. On this occasion, Commissioner Cretu said that over one half of Romania’s budget for public investment is covered by EU funds and that it is vital for these funds to be earmarked strategically, in keeping with the country’s investment priorities. Romania needs high quality projects that require simplified procedures and improved management capability, Corina Cretu has said.

Attack – For the first time in 10 years, the terror threat in the UK has been raised to the highest possible level, from severe to critical, meaning an attack is “expected imminently”. Up to 5,000 soldiers will be deployed on the streets amid fears that the Manchester suicide bomber had accomplices preparing further attacks, British prime Minister Theresa May has announced. The man believed to be the attacker is the British-born Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old of Libyan descent. Romania has firmly condemned the attack and voiced solidarity with the British people. We remind you that a bomb exploded in the foyer of Manchester Arena, killing 22 people.

Corruption — The former minister of development, Elena Udrea, the daughter of Romania’s ex-president Traian Băsescu, Ioana, and his former political advisor, journalist Dan Andronic, have been arraigned together with another 3 people by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate’s prosecutors, in a case regarding the funding of the 2009 election campaign. Considered the most influential person in the entourage of the former president and the protagonist of some already famous corruption cases, Elena Udrea has now been accused of abetment in corrupt payment and money laundering, charges also brought against Ioana Băsescu. In turn, Dan Andronic has been accused of false testimony and of being accessory after offence. Recently, the disclosures made in the press regarding the 2009 presidential election led to the setting up of a special parliamentary committee that is investigating the circumstances in which Băsescu then defeated the Social Democrat Mircea Geoană.

Estonian PM in Bucharest — Romania and Estonia have similar outlooks on the future of the EU, said Wednesday the Romanian PM Sorin Grindeanu, fresh from a meeting with his Estonian counterpart, Juri Ratas, who is paying a visit to Bucharest. PM Grindeanu expressed Romania’s support for the ambitious agenda of the Estonian presidency of the EU in the second half of 2017. Another topic on the agenda of talks of the two officials was Brexit, the Romanian PM highlighting that Bucharest had to protect the rights of the Romanian citizens who work or study in Great Britain and to make sure that Romanians are not being discriminated against. The two officials have agreed to consolidate bilateral economic cooperation as well as cooperation in such fields as security, defense, culture, tourism, education and cyber security.

Swine fever — Romania has been included on the official list of countries with no classical swine fever, and Thursday it will receive a certification diploma in the plenum of the World Organization for Animal Health –the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea wrote on his Facebook page. He pointed out that, after more than 10 years, the main barrier in the way of pork exports would be removed, and thus Romania has all the chances for a comeback on the international pork markets, after a period of many years when pork imports were higher than exports. States like Japan, the US, Canada and Mexico have already expressed their interest for the start of bilateral negotiations.

(Translated by Elena Enache)