October 9, 2018
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Newsroom, 09.10.2018, 13:30
HOLOCAUST Romania today marks the National Holocaust Commemoration Day. ”Democracy, freedom, peace, diversity and respect towards the human rights are fundamental values of the European construction, which we have to defend with all our energy”, president Klaus Iohannis said in his address on this occasion. In turn Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said the heritage of the Holocaust survivors must be passed down from generation to generation. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has also paid homage to the Holocaust victims at the same time voicing solidarity with the survivors of the WWII tragic events. The Ministry recalls that Romania has made significant efforts in recent years for assuming the past and in terms of condemning Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. Between 2016 and 2017 Bucharest held the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance and in 2018, Parliament passed a special law on fighting anit-Semitism. 77 years ago in Romania, the regime of Marshal Ion Antonescu, an ally of Nazi Germany, participated in the deportation of the Jews from eastern Romania to the occupied soviet territories. Over 300 thousand Romanian Jews were killed between 1941 and 1945. Almost 6 million Jews, mostly from Europe were killed during the Second World War as part of the extermination plan carried out by the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler.
FORECAST The International Monetary Fund has revised its estimates over Romania’s economic growth this year, from 5.1% as it forecast this spring down to 4%. According to the IMF experts, the downward trend would be caused by diminished fiscal incentives and foreign demand. The pace of Romania’s growth is likely to continue its downward trend next year as well when it is expected to reach 3.4%, the IMF experts have also said. The figures have been published in the latest report on world economy, in which the IMF estimates a global economic slowdown.
RANKING Romania has climbed onto the 45th position in a ranking of the top 100 countries in terms of country brand value from the 49th position it held last year. The country brand value has risen to 27% up to 222 billion dollars, a survey published by the US consultancy company Brand Finance shows. Romania has been overcome by countries like Iran, Columbia, Vietnam or Bangladesh but is still ahead Hungary, Slovakia, Greece and Bulgaria. The USA boasts the most valuable country brand of 25,900 billion dollars, followed by China and Germany. The survey is based on data gleaned from the IMF, the World Economic Forum and fDI Intelligence. The country brand value is calculated on several criteria under three main pillars: goods and services, tourism, investment and society, being correlated with the GDP.
TENNIS Romanian Simona Halep, the world’s number one tennis player, has been nominated for the Player of the Year title awarded by the WTA women’s Association at the end of the 2018 season. Halep, winner of the Roland Garros tournament this year, has been the world’s tennis leader for the 49th week now and she has also won the Shenzhen and Montreal tournaments. Halep’s counter- candidates are Danish Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber of Germany, Naomi Osaka of Japan and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.
In another development, three Romanian athletes have won medals in the Youth Olympic Games underway in Buenos Aires. Romanian judoka, Adrian Sulca reaped gold in the 81 kilogram category, swimmer Daniel Martin came second in the 100 meter backstroke race while weightlifter Mihaela Valentina Cambei got bronze in the 48 kilogram category. Romania is being represented by 34 athletes in Buenos Aires Olympics.
FUNDS Governments in ex-communist states will face growing budgetary pressure from Brussels if they fail to respect rules on judicial independence, Maros Sefcovic, European Commission’s Vice-president said on Monday, Reuters news agency reports. Sefcovic, who is also running for the head of the European Commission, said his top priority would be to step up dialogue with countries like Hungary and Poland, which have attracted heat from the European Union for their implementation of constitutional reforms. “If you want to spend European taxpayers’ money, then there should be a 100 percent guarantee that they are properly supervised – that you have independent courts, that you have independent auditors and you have an independent judicial system which is controlling how this money is spent,” Sefcovic also told Reuters.
