May 28, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 28.05.2015, 12:05
The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis discussed on Thursday with PM Victor Ponta and the governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isărescu about the countrys switch to the European single currency. The presidency announced that the head of state is to hold consultations with the parliamentary parties in order to reach a consensus on this topic, so that Romania may be as well prepared for this as possible and the adoption of the euro may benefit all citizens. Thursdays talks focused on identifying the main stages and economic and institutional responsibilities in the switch to the euro, according to the commitments made by the Government as part of the Convergence Programme for 2015-2018. The decision was made to set up a Coordination Committee on the switch to the single currency. This Committee will be in charge with designing, coordinating and monitoring the stages and responsibilities involved in this process.
On Thursday in Bucharest PM Victor Ponta had a meeting with a US Congress delegation headed by Deb Fischer, chair of the Sub-Committee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities in the US Senate. Ponta expressed Bucharests appreciation for the active involvement of the US in strengthening the Strategic Partnership with Romania, on various levels, including political, military and economic. The members of the US Congress appreciated Romanias excellent political and military cooperation with the US, both at a bilateral level and as part of NATO. Opinions were also exchanged, during the meeting, with respect to the developments in the eastern neighbouring region, with a focus on the security situation.
A person died in the floods caused by the heavy rainfalls of the past few days, which affected 60 towns and villages in 4 Romanian counties. In the north, north-west and central Romania, rainfalls reached 50-60 litres per square meter, flooding hundreds of households, thousands of farming plots, village roads and bridges. More than 150 people have been evacuated and several schools have been closed down. Weather experts extended until noon Friday a code-red flood alert for a river that crosses two counties in northern Romania.
The Romanian Minister for Energy, Andrei Gerea, had a meeting on Thursday with the miners who have been protesting for two days in front of the Hunedoara Power Company (in the south-west) and with representatives of the management. The parties have signed a protocol that extends to 2024 the deadline for closing down the 4 mines in the Company, so as to enable it to access state aid as stipulated by a European Commission resolution. The authorities have also agreed with the protesters request to make mining operations and thermal power plant operations separate. The leaders of the coal workers say they will resume work, but they do not rule out new protests if Thursdays protocol is breached. On Wednesday, the Government of Romania approved state aid for the Hunedoara Energy Company, in the amount of nearly 40 million euro.
During his visit to the Council of Europe, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting in Strasbourg on Thursday with Thorbjorn Jagland, the Council of Europe Secretary General. Aurescu presented to him the ratification instrument for Protocol no. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, making Romania the 15th country to ratify this convention instrument. Also on Thursday, the Romanian Minister discussed with the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Dean Spielmann, about the long-term reform of the ECHR. While in Strasbourg, the head of the Romanian diplomacy presented on Wednesday, at the World Meeting of Societies of International Law, Romanias initiative to set up an International Terrorism Court. Aurescu said the rule of law and international justice are universal values that need specific instruments, such as international courts and tribunals, and that terrorism is a challenge that requires global response using law and justice as instruments.
The British PM, David Cameron, set out on Thursday on a tour of European capitals, which began in Netherlands and France, and which is aimed at winning support for an EU reform plan. Camerons planned meeting with the head of the Danish government, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, in Copenhagen, was cancelled on Thursday, after the latter announced snap elections for June 18th. On Friday, the British Prime Minister travels to Poland and Germany. Cameron plans to complete the tour of EU member states before a summit of EU heads of state and government scheduled for June the 25th and 26th in Brussels. Renegotiating the relationship of the UK with the Union is part of the list of proposed legislation presented by Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday at the State Opening of Parliament. Cameron primarily wants to change the rules for UE internal labour migration and to regain some of the powers transferred to Brussels. He promised to hold a referendum by 2017, on whether Britain should stay within the EU.
223 films from over 60 countries will be screened, as of Friday, in the 14th Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF), in Cluj, the largest such event in Romania. The festival will open with the national premiere of the film “Relatos salvajes / Wild Tales (Damián Szifron), Argentinas entry at the Oscars this year. Until June 7th, the public have a choice of the best recent films, concerts, exhibitions, masterclasses, roundtables and parties. The new projects of the festival are TIFF Campus – launched to celebrate Cluj as the European Youth Capital 2015, Cine-pool – a new way of film watching, and the Film Warehouse – reactivated last year as a consequence of a campaign called Save the Big Screen!
The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu Thursday qualified into the third round of the French Open. Begu, no. 30 WTA, outplayed the Croatian Ana Konjuh (no. 94) in two sets. On Wednesday Simona Halep, seeded third, was surprisingly kicked out of the competition, alongside another Romanian, Alexandra Dulgheru.
