October 20, 2019 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 20.10.2019, 19:15

CORONATION Romanian president Klaus
Iohannis will be attending the coronation ceremony of Japan’s new emperor
Naruhito in Tokyo on Monday and Tuesday. According to the Romanian presidency,
on the sidelines of this event, the Romanian official will be having a series
of bilateral talks. Naruhito will thus become Japan’s 126th emperor
after the decision to abdicate the chrysanthemum throne of his father, the
country’s emperor emeritus, Akihito.

ELECTION Romania’s Permanent Election
Authority (AEP) announced in a communiqué on Sunday that upon suggestions
coming from diplomatic missions and consulates it approved 835 polling stations
abroad for the presidential election in Romania in November. These suggestions
had been conveyed in several stages by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest and
approved through successive AEP decisions. According to the Foreign Ministry,
the countries with the largest number of polling stations are Spain, Italy,
Germany, Great Britain, France, the USA and the Republic of Moldova. According to the same sources, besides the
polling stations in operation theatres in Afghanistan, a new polling station
will be added this year for the Romanian troops serving in UN peace-keeping missions
in Mali.

HANDBALL Romania’s handball champions Dinamo Bucharest on Sunday
ended in a 26-all draw their away game against Polish side Orlen Wisla Plock in
the Champions League. In the women’s competition, SCM Ramnicu Valcea of Romania
lost their away match 23-19 to Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro and is
currently ranking third in group C. Vice-champions CSM Bucharest secured a
35-19 home win against Polish side Perla Lublin and are currently topping the
Champions League group B. The first three sides of each group will qualify for
the competition’s next stage.

TALKS Romania’s designated Prime Minister Ludovic Orban will be
holding talks with representatives of civil society and state institutions on Monday
and Tuesday. Orban is expected to have a second round of talks with political
parties in the next two days to get support for the new cabinet to be sworn in.
The Prime Minister has already held a round of political talks. In order to be
sworn in the new cabinet needs 233 votes out of a total 465. On Sunday Orban
and several high-ranking members of his party came up with a strategy meant to
enable the new cabinet to commence activity as soon as possible. After the
meeting Orban said he hoped to be able to present the new cabinet in the next
four-five days. We recall that the PSD minority government led by Viorica
Dancila was sacked through a no-confidence vote.

BREXIT The EU ambassadors who convened in Brussels on Sunday have
been briefed upon the letters sent in by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
and have decided to carry on the ratification procedures negotiated last week
and approved by the European Council. We recall that after the House of Commons
had postponed their endorsement of the agreement, the British Prime Minister
was forced to call for a delay to Brexit. Prime Minister Johnson sent three
letters to the EU officials. The first one contained a legally mandated request
for a three-month delay to Brexit, which Johnson didn’t sign. It was followed
by a letter from Britain’s ambassador to the EU, which explained the point of
the first letter. And in the third letter the British premier explained that he
didn’t want an extension but he was forced by the law to ask for one. According
to our correspondent in Brussels, European leaders are to make a decision after
the situation in the British Parliament has clarified. For the time being, the
ambassadors decided to send the Brexit agreement to the European Legislature
for approval.

(translated by bill)