September 27, 2013
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.
Ștefan Baciu, 27.09.2013, 11:34
According to France Presse, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said there was no connection between Romania’s bid to join Schengen and the issue of the Roma. The ministry called on France to refrain from turning this into an election issue, underlining the fact that all European citizens have the right to circulate freely within the Union, irrespective of their country belonging to the Schengen area. On Thursday, French government spokesperson Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said that Romania does not meet the conditions for joining the free circulation area. There is in France a heated public debate on the issue of the Roma of Romanian origin, ahead of the March 2014 municipal elections. Politicians on all sides claim that the Roma refuse to integrate, and should not be allowed in the country.
The IMF started on Friday discussions on Romania’s application for a new stand-by loan worth two billion Euro for two years, with two billion more granted by the European Commission. As part of the new agreement, the government commits to selling most companies currently run by the Ministry of the Economy. At the same time, PM Victor Ponta said recently that the only tax hikes agreed on with the IMF target luxury products, in order to compensate for dropping the VAT on bread and subsidizing health costs. This is Romania’s third loan with the IMF since the advent of the global financial crisis, the first being contracted in 2009.
Over 370 people have been indicted in Romania in the first eight months of the year for acts of corruption, according to the prosecutor of the High Court of Appeals. This number is 20% higher than the prosecutions filed last year. Around 1,500 cases of corruption have been successfully seen through in this interval, said the prosecutors.
On Friday, on the next to last day of the George Enescu International Festival, the Romanian Atheneum stage will host the Violoncelissimo ensemble conducted by Marin Cazacu, playing pieces by Enescu, Offenbach and Mozar. At the Grand Palace Hall, Andrew Litton will be conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, accompanying pianist Alexandra Dariescu, with works by Brahms, Grieg and Tchaikovsky. On Thursday, the National Opera, conducted by Adrian Morar, offered its newest take on Enescu’s opera Oedip.
