November 5, 2013
Click here for the latest domestic and international news.
Ştefan Stoica, 05.11.2013, 12:00
The programme with Romania is within parameters and all criteria for end-September have been met, chief of the IMF delegation in Bucharest, Andrea Schaechter, has said at the end of the first assessment mission of the new precautionary agreement with Romania. Andrea Schaechter has pointed pout that the economic forecast for 2013 has been revised upwards by 0.2 percent, to 2.2%. The domestic demand, however, keeps being low. The IMF forecast for 2014 indicates a current account deficit of 1.8%. Key measures announced by the government to reach the set deficit include an increase in fuel excise duty and taxes on special constructions, says Andrea Schaechter. The agreement signed with Romania for a 2-year period is worth about 2 billion euros, while another 2 billions come from the European Commission.
The European Commission says Romania’s economy will go up by 2.1% next year and by 2.4% in 2015, with the domestic demand also going up, according to the EC autumn forecast made public in Brussels today. Moreover, the EC is expecting a drop in the inflation rate next year to 2.5% and a budget deficit of 2% of the GDP. The domestic demand in 2014 will be a growth engine for the Romanian economy, even more important than exports. Unemployment levels will continue to stand at 7% over the next to years, according to the European Commission.
The Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean is today paying an official visit to Slovenia to hold talks with President Borut Pahor, with Prime Minister Alenka Batusek and with his counterpart Karl Erjavec. High on the meeting’s agenda are the EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans, the summit in Vilnius, energy security and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Also approached will be topics on the international agenda, such as the evolutions in Syria and Afghanistan and the peace process in the Middle East. Minister Corlatean will also take part in a conference on “Doing Business in Romania and Beyond” to be attended by representatives of the business environment in the two countries.
A delegation of the Romanian Parliament is paying a two-day official visit to Chisinau, starting today, to attend the 3rd meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee for European Integration. The Romanian delegation will meet with Chisinau officials, business environment representatives and Romanian invstors in the Republic of Moldova. We remind you that Moldova will sign the Association Agreement with the EU during the Eastern Partnership Summit at end-November.
The European Commission has told the Romanian News Agency Agerpres that Britain has not voiced its intention to maintain labour market restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers after January 1st, 2014. The specification comes a week after an online anti-migration petition launched by the British daily paper Daily Express. The European Commission has so far refused to comment on the paper’s calling on to the British Government to keep these restrictions in force and pointed out that starting the first day of 2014 the Romanian and Bulgarian workers will fully benefit from the EU legislation on the free circulation of labour force. Nine EU countries such as Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Malta, France, the UK, Ireland and Spain are currently restricting the Romanian and Bulgarian citizens’ access to their markets.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry is today expected in Israel and in Ramallah to hold talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Palestinian leaders. This is the American officials 8th visit in the region, in an attempt to encourage peace talks between the two sides. Kerry is currently on a tour of Asia, Europe and Africa, focused on the difficult peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, the war in Syria and the Iranian nuclear file. Previously, Kerry visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The next visits will be to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Morocco.
