September 7, 2017
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 07.09.2017, 14:12
Eurostat — Romania has reported the biggest annual economic growth in the EU in the period April-June 2017, thanks to a 5.7% rise, show the new revised estimates published Thursday by Eurostat. Thus, the GDP reported a 5.7% growth both in the first and second quarters of 2017 as compared to the same period of last year. The data recently published show that Eurostat slightly revised upwards the estimates regarding the economic growth rate reported annually both in the Euro zone and in the EU.
EU Commissioner — The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, is paying an official visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday. The agenda of talks includes meetings with the PM Mihai Tudose and the presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, as well as participation in the conference “Dialogue with the citizens”. Also Corina Cretu, who represents Romania in the European Parliament, is going to meet with the Romanian deputy prime minister Sevil Shhaideh, with the transports minister, Răzvan Cuc, with the minister delegate for European Funds, Rovana Plumb, and with the minister delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu.
Tallinn — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Melescanu, is participating on Thursday and Friday in Tallinn, Estonia, in the informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU member states, hosted by the Estonian presidency of the EU Council. A Foreign Ministry communiqué shows the main topics to be approached are the North Korean file and the Middle East peace process, among other things. The EU foreign ministers will discuss with the EU defense ministers about the implementation of the European defense package. Also a meeting will be held with the foreign ministers of candidate countries regarding the prevention and combating of radicalization and violent extremism. The Romanian foreign minister will also meet with Johannes Hahn, the Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations to discuss the developments in the Republic of Moldova.
Ukrainian Parliament — The Romanian Foreign Ministry writes in a communiqué that it regards with concern the form of the new Education Law passed on September 5 by the Ukrainian Parliament. They are concerned mainly with article 7 in the law, which is related to education in the languages of national minorities. The Romanian Foreign Ministry reminds that according to the provisions of the Framework Convention for the protection of national minorities, the states commit to recognizing the right of each person belonging to a national minority to receive education in their mother tongue. In this regard, the issue of tuition in their mother tongue for the ethnic Romanians in Ukraine will be a top priority on the agenda of the state secretary Victor Micula, who will go to Kiev next week, to discuss the situation of the Romanian minority in Ukraine. There are almost half a million ethnic Romanian currently living in Ukraine.
Tennis — The pair made up of the Romanian Horia Tecău and American CoCo Vandeweghe will take on the pair Martina Hingis (Switzerland)-Jamie Murray (Great Britain) in the semifinals of the mixed doubles of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which is the year’s last Grand Slam tournament. The only Romanian tennis player left in competition at the U.S. Open is Horia Tecău who is the holder of a Grand Slam title in the mixed doubles, which he won in 2012 at the Australian Open together with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. He also won another final in Melbourne together with Indian player Sania Mirza. Together with Dutch player Jean-Julien Rojer he also qualified to the semifinals of the men’s doubles where they will play against the pair Henri Kontinen (Finland) – John Peers (Australia), the main favorites of the competition. (translated by L. Simion)
