October 27, 2016 UPDATE
A Patriot missile defense system will be temporarily moved from Germany to Romania.
Newsroom, 27.10.2016, 12:15
MILITARY – A Patriot missile defense system will be temporarily moved from Germany to Romania by rail, for a joint exercise to be carried out in early November with 100 Romanian soldiers, Major General Timothy McGuire, deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, told Reuters. According to Major General Timothy McGuire, leaders of 38 European armies took this decision during a meeting in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Wednesday. The move comes shortly after Russia has stationed nuclear-capable Islander missiles in Kaliningrad, its enclave between Poland and Lithuania.
BILL – On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Ciolos criticized the bill passed by Parliament removing over 100 non-fiscal fees, including the radio and TV fees. The bill introduced by the Social Democrats passed the lower chamber of Parliament a day before, and awaits endorsement by the head of state. However, the latter believes that, in order to develop a predictable Romania, investors need to know how taxation would evolve in the next 10 years. Klaus Iohannis believes that it is wrong to change the architecture of taxation ahead of the Parliament elections of December 11, with no consultation with the businesses sector, trade unions and civil society. Speaking of the radio and TV tax, the president said that this issue couldn’t be settled within the span of a week and without long-term evaluation and planning. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said he is considering challenging the bill in the Constitutional Court.
ACCORD – Belgiums regions agreed to a free trade pact with Canada on Thursday, thus putting an end to weeks of uncertainty, Reuters and France Press report. Belgiums Prime Minister Charles Michel said the regions and linguistic communities in his country had drafted a four-page addendum to the pact that answered their concerns. The region of Wallonia held a veto over Belgium’s ability to back the trans-Atlantic trade agreement. And the EU, in turn, needed unanimity among all its members. In its turn, Romania had conditioned its approval on the entry visas to Canada being lifted for its citizens. Ottawa has agreed to the gradual lifting of visas as of next year, on condition that the free trade agreement is signed.
APPOINTMENT – Dragos Cristian Dinu was sworn in as Minister of European Funds on Thursday, in the presence of President Klaus Iohannis, who had signed the decree appointing him on Wednesday. Dinu, formerly an undersecretary with the ministry, replaces Cristian Ghinea, who resigned in order to be able to run for parliamentary elections in December.
SENTENCE – Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice on Thursday sentenced two Israeli citizens to prison, for cyber attacks on the Romanian banking system. Iahr Giora received a definitive prison sentence of 9 years and 8 months while Azouri Oren Avraham got 9 years, in a case in which they were also charged with attempted espionage. In the same case, George Tohaneanu, the Israelis’ accomplice, received a suspended prison sentence of 9 months and 120 days of community service.
NATO – The present security challenges require a strong and sustainable relationship between NATO and the EU, Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc said on Thursday in Brussels. On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at the Alliance’s meeting, said that several countries would contribute to strengthening NATOs eastern flank against Russian threats. He specified that 13 countries would take part in military concentrations in Poland and the Baltic states, while six countries would contribute with land, sea and air forces in the Black Sea region. Discussed at the meeting in Brussels was also the multinational brigade to be hosted and led by Romania. The UK announced it would send Typhoon fighter jets to Romania for patrol missions.
TENNIS– Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, 4th seeded in the WTA, was defeated on Thursday in two sets by Slovakian player Dominika Cibulkova, 8th seeded, in the Red Group of the 2016 WTA Finals in Singapore. In the other game in the group, world’s no. 1, Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated 7th seeded Madison Keys of the US, in two sets. In the White Group, Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, 6th seeded, was defeated by Agnieszka Radvanska, 3rd seeded, who was the winner last year. Also part of this group, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, 9th seeded, defeated Czech player Karolina Pliskova, 5th seeded. The Russian player has already two victories under her belt, and is technically qualified for the semi-finals already.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
