September 13, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 13.09.2015, 12:46
Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta said in a TV show on Saturday evening that the head of the country, the head of the government and the interior and foreign ministers share the same view as regards Romania’s stand on the migrant crisis. The Romanian deputy prime minister and interior minister Gabriel Oprea who will attend an extraordinary meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council on Monday in Brussels, will express Romania’s willingness to host 1,705 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece and another 80 people from outside the EU. However, Gabriel Oprea will reject the refugee quotas imposed on EU member sates by the European Commission, under which Romania would have to host over 6 thousand migrants. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has said that a EU member state cannot be punished for not being able, for objective reasons, to host and integrate an imposed number of refugees. The statement follows Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann’s proposal on Saturday, for the EU to cut structural funds to countries that refuse to take more refugees. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, structural funds are not part of the talks related to the refugee crisis.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is today holding a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the refugee crisis, BBC reports. According to the BBC, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan already host 4 million people who tried to escape war, but there is mounting criticism at the contribution of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. In Budapest, PM Viktor Orban has asked for a 3-billion euro plan in support of the countries neighbouring Syria that are taking refugees. Hungarian authorities say that this plan, doubled by increased EU border security, is likely to discourage the wave of migrants from coming to Europe. On Tuesday a series of laws on immigration will come into force in Hungary, such as a quicker processing of asylum applications and prison sentences for illegal migrants.
Over 3 million Romanian students and preschoolers are starting a new shool year on Monday. According to the Education Ministry, the structure of the new school year has 36 weeks, that is 175 working days. 12th grade students, however, will have 33 weeks for study and another 4 weeks for the Baccalaureate exams.
It is the Romanian Firemen’s Day today, occasion on which a series of events are being staged in Bucharest and several other cities. Also, the ”Fireman of the Year” and the ”Rescuer of the Year” are nominated today, for a non-commissioned officer fireman and for a paramedic. In a message conveyed o this occasion, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that their sacrifice is an example of honour, discipline and dedication. The firemen, President Iohannis pointed out, are among the civil servants that citizens trust the most.
Jews all over the world, including Romania, celebrate this evening Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah or the Feast of Trumpets. Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding a ram’s horn and eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to evoke a “sweet new year”.
Italian tennis player Flavia Pennetta, seed no. 26, won the US Open in New York, the last Grand Slam of the year, on Saturday. Pennetta defeated in the final her Italian conational Roberta Vinci, 7-6, 6-2. In the semi-finals Pennetta had defeated world no. 2 Simona Halep of Romania.
