Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor
\nPonta and party member Dan Sova, a member of the Senate, have been indicted by
\nthe National Anti-Corruption Directorate for corruption. On June 5, prosecutors
\nannounced Ponta was being investigated for forgery, conspiracy to commit tax
\nevasion and money laundering, in a case related to the investigation into legal
\ncouncil contracts at the Turceni and Rovinari energy compounds. Prosecutors
\nalso noted that a further investigation was due against Ponta for conflict of
\ninterest in his current position of head of government. Former minister of
\ntransportation Dan Sova is being investigated for abuse of office. He allegedly
\nreceived kickbacks worth hundreds of thousands of Euros for contracts that
\ndeprived the state of over 16 million Euros. As the first post-communist prime
\nminister of Romania being prosecuted, Ponta denied all accusations.<\/p>\n
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Until 2023 Romania will have to pay over 4.8
\nbillion euros to international lenders out of the stand-by loan contracted in
\n2009, the Public Finance Ministry has announced. The IMF loan has been paid in
\nfull but Romania still has to reimburse 4.8 billion euros to the World Bank and
\nthe European Commission. In 2009, Bucharest signed a 24-month loan of 12.95
\nbillion euros with the IMF, part of an aid package approved by the IMF, the EU
\nand the World Bank. Under the agreement, Romania has received seven out of the
\neight installments envisaged. The eighth was considered, upon the request of
\nthe Romanian authorities of a precautionary type, and was not used. Romanian
\nPrime Minister Victor Ponta has said that Romania no longer needs loans from
\nthe IMF and the European Commission adding that in a period of unrest in the
\nregion and in Europe, agreements with these institutions are a good thing. In another
\ndevelopment, a World Bank delegation has arrived in Bucharest, as Romania’s
\nlatest agreement with international lenders is due to expire this month. <\/p>\n
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US diplomat Hans Klemm has been sworn in
\nas US ambassador to Romania in a ceremony at the Department of State attended
\nby US Secretary of State John Kerry. According to Romania’s embassy in the USA,
\nin his address, Kerry presented Romania as a trusted ally of the USA,
\nunderlining the excellent relation between the two countries and cooperation in
\npromoting stability at regional and global levels. Kerry has hailed Romania’s
\nefforts in fighting corruption, saying that Bucharest is an example in this
\nrespect. In turn, HE Hans Klemm said that as ambassador he would focus on
\ndeveloping Romanian-US relations, adding that providing support in the
\nanti-graft fight in Romania would be one of his priorities. <\/p>\n
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Romania’s Higher Defence Council is to
\nconvene today for talks on defence strategies and public safety as well as ways
\nof handling the migrant crisis in Europe. In a Parliament address President
\nKlaus Iohannis said yesterday that Romania had expressed solidarity with the
\ncountries affected by this crisis and was acting in observance of human rights.
\nThe Romanian president stood for a realistic approach based on dialogue and
\ntalks with member countries and against a bureaucratic one. Also high on the
\ncouncil’s agenda is the plan of implementing the country’s national defence
\nstrategy, order and public safety as well as the White Chart of Defence. <\/p>\n
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Romanian Defence
\nMinister Mircea Dusa and Chief of Staff, lieutenant general Nicolae Ciuca are
\ntoday taking part in a series of events as part of the HISTRIA 15 military
\nexercise. Around 7,000 employees of the defence, public order and national
\nsecurity institutions over September 7th and 16th have
\nbeen involved in the exercise, whose eventual aim is the training of management
\nand execution structures at national level for the planning and carrying out of
\nvarious missions. In the western Romanian city of Arad, over September 14th
\nand 19th, around 500 military are also taking part in the Platinum
\nLynx 15.2, exercise, jointly with Europe-based American military. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-100469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n