2016 state budget.<\/b> The Romanian Government will hold a public
\ndebate on Wednesday to discuss the priorities and structure of the 2016 state
\nbudget. The budget bill is to be approved by the government this week, before
\nbeing submitted to Parliament for debate and approval. The ministries of
\ndefence, interior, education and health will be allocated the largest amount of
\nfunds next year. Less money will go to the ministries of labour and transport.
\nBudget returns in 2016 are expected to grow by approximately 800 million euros
\ncompared with 2015, while expenses are to grow by 2.9 billion euros, to make up
\nfor the fiscal relaxation measures already approved by Government and
\nParliament. The new budget is based on a budget deficit level of maximum 3% of
\nthe GDP, in keeping with the EU ceiling, and a 4.1% economic growth rate.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Army exercises. <\/b>Romanian military
\nstarted training on Monday, alongside troops from the US and the Republic of
\nMoldova, at the Smardan shooting range, in south-eastern Romania, as part of
\nthe Platinum Lynx 16.2 Black Sea Rotational Force exercise. This exercise is
\naimed at continuing the joint training of the military, increasing the level of
\ninteroperability between the participant forces and strengthening their
\npartnership. In parallel, some 200 Romanian soldiers and 350 US military are
\ntaking part in the Dacian Thunder exercise at the army air bases in Mihail
\nKogalniceanu, south-eastern Romania, and in Campia Turzii, in the west. The
\nexercise comes to an end on December 20th. According to the Romanian
\ndefence ministry, Dacian Thunder, which is now in its second year, is aimed at
\nincreasing staff interoperability, ensuring an exchange of experience and
\nimproving the training of both Romanian and US military staff, in keeping with
\nthe NATO standards. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
French elections.<\/b> France’s far-right National
\nFront is the big winner of the first round of regional elections held on
\nSunday. With a record national score of 30% of the votes, the Front pulled
\nahead of both the moderate right, in opposition, and the ruling Socialist
\nParty. Commentators say the second round, due on December 13th, may
\nconfirm the rise of the far-right, whose anti-immigration and anti-Islam
\ndiscourse has become more and more appealing to voters following last month’s
\nattacks in Paris. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Ukraine-Biden.<\/b> Ukraine still has a lot of hard work to do on
\nreforms, in particular the fight against corruption, said US vice-president Joe
\nBiden on Monday in Kiev, in a joint press conference with Ukraine’s president
\nPetro Poroshenko. Biden announced new US financial aid of 190 million dollars
\nto help Ukraine fight corruption, a scourge which, almost two years since the
\nregime change in Kiev and despite the promises of the new authorities, is still
\na problem in this country. Also on Monday, Biden called on Moscow to fulfil the
\npeace deal in Ukraine’s pro-Russian east and hand back to Kiev the Crimean
\npeninsula which it annexed in 2014. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Humanitarian appeal.<\/b> The United Nations is seeking 20 billion dollars in funding to help some
\n87 million people from 37 countries next year, the largest humanitarian appeal
\nin history, said the UN under-secretary-general
\nfor humanitarian affairs Stephen O’Brien in Geneva. He said conflicts and disasters have driven millions of children, women and men to the edge of survival. The
\nhumanitarian appeal for 2016 is based on response plans and strategies in 27 crises in 37 different countries
\naround the world. The conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Yemen will remain
\namong the greatest drivers of prolonged humanitarian needs in 2016, according
\nto the United Nations. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Britain-EU.<\/b> Uncertainty
\nover the UK’s future in the EU is destabilising Europe. That is why we must
\nfind a way to answer the British concerns as quickly as possible, said the
\npresident of the European Council Donald Tusk on Monday. In a letter to EU
\nleaders, who are due to meet on the 17th of December in Brussels for
\nthe winter summit, Tusk said reaching an agreement with the authorities in
\nLondon is a matter of urgency. He said there is strong will among member
\nstates to find solutions that respond to the British requests with regard to
\nthe reform of the European Union, but that there is presently no consensus on
\nBritain’s proposal to restrict benefits for people coming to the UK from the
\nEU.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Pollution.<\/b> The Chinese authorities have issued the first ever red smog alert, in
\nplace from Tuesday until Thursday, and have taken exceptional measures. The
\nalert comes as smog engulfs Beijing for the second time this month. According
\nto the World Health Organisation, the air pollution level has in some places
\nexceeded 40 times the recommended limit. The authorities have decided to close
\nnurseries, schools and factories, halt all building works and impose
\nrestrictions on car travel. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nHandball.<\/b> The Romanian women’s handball team on Monday
\ndefeated Kazakhstan 36:20 in their second match at the World Championship
\nhosted by Denmark. In their first match on Saturday, Romania won against Puerto
\nRico 47:14. In their next fixture on Tuesday, Romania face Spain. Their group
\nalso includes Norway and Russia. The four best-ranked teams in each group will
\nqualify for the round of last 16. The World Championship is important for the
\nteams’ qualification for the Olympic Games in Rio. The winner of the
\nchampionship will qualify automatically, while the teams in places 2-7 will
\nplay the Olympic test events in April 2016. Romania are the only team to have
\ntaken part in all editions of the World Championship since 1957, winning three
\nmedals in the process: gold in 1962 and silver in 1973 and again in 2005. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
(Edited and translated by: C. Mateescu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Romanian government to approve 2016 state budget this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":100004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[29572,29503,29598],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-100696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-handball","tag-romanian-government","tag-state-budget"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n