B9 Format. <\/strong>The
<\/p>\n
Trip.<\/strong> The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila is to be
<\/p>\n
NATO.<\/strong> A two-day
<\/p>\n
Investigation.<\/strong> Romania saw the highest number
<\/p>\n
IMF report. <\/strong>Romania
<\/p>\n
Tennis.<\/strong> The Romanian and
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Romanian president Klaus Iohannis travels to Poland for B9 Format meeting.\/\/ Romania saw the highest number of investigations into the use of EU funds in 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[33630,32178,28903,28945,13794,28900,33035],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-102813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-european-union-funds","tag-french-open","tag-imf","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-nato","tag-simona-halep","tag-viorica-dancila"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nRomanian president Klaus Iohannis is on an official visit to Poland to attend a
\ntop-level meeting of the B9 Format that includes NATO members from central and
\neastern Europe. Iohannis and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda are having
\ntalks on the strategic partnership between the two countries and regional,
\nEuropean and security cooperation, according to a release from the President’s
\nOffice in Bucharest. The two officials are also expected to review the results
\nof the defence cooperation as part of the Bucharest Format to prepare the B9
\nmeeting on Friday co-chaired by the two heads of the state. Also today,
\nIohannis and Duda will be attending the opening of an exhibition entitled A
\ncentennial of the Alliance. Romanian-Polish diplomacy 1918-1939 staged by the
\nRomanian Cultural Institute in Warsaw together with the Romanian Embassy and
\nthe support of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries as part of the
\ncelebrations of the 100th anniversary of the creation of modern
\nRomania and the centenary of Polish independence. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nreceived today by Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on the last day
\nof her official visit to Lisbon. On Wednesday, she met her counterpart Antonio
\nCosta and had talks about ways to boost economic ties and cooperation in the
\nmilitary, strategic and cyber security areas, as well as European cooperation
\nin the run-up to Romania’s holding the EU presidency in the first half of 2019.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nmeeting of NATO defence ministers begins today in Brussels. Romania is
\nrepresented by its defence minister Mihai Fifor. The agenda of the first day
\nfeatures a presentation of the stage of implementing the allied deterrence and
\ndefence posture and ways to make it more efficient. Of particular interest for
\nRomania is the consolidation of allied advanced presence for NATO’s entire eastern
\nflank, including the Black Sea region. Another area discussed on the first day
\nof the meeting is the fair distribution of responsibilities within NATO. Talks
\nwill also look at aspects related to the fight against terrorism and the
\nprogress made for the launching of a new NATO training mission in Iraq. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nof investigations into the use of EU funds in 2017, namely 11, of which 8 ended
\nwith recommendations, shows a report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
\nHungary, Poland and Greece were next. Illustrative in Romania’s case are two
\ninvestigations conducted into projects financed by the European Regional
\nDevelopment Fund. The representatives of a municipality, the
\nbeneficiary, colluded with representatives of the company who designed the
\ntechnical specifications for a road, in order to establish restrictive criteria
\nin the tender documentation that would benefit one particular economic
\noperator. The two colluding organisations falsified a large number of
\ndocuments, including the technical project and memorandum for the road
\nconstruction, the report by the European
\nAnti-Fraud Office also notes. The damage caused to the EU budget has
\nbeen calculated at some 21 million euros. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nposted solid economic growth in 2017, low unemployment levels and an improving
\nfinancial sector, according to a report published by the International Monetary
\nFund after consultations with Romania. The IMF experts warn, however, that the
\nRomanian economy is showing signs of overheating. Public investment fell
\nsignificantly in percent of GDP amid a low absorption of EU funds, while the
\ngovernment and current account deficit widened to 2.8% and 3.4% of the GDP,
\nrespectively, the IMF report also shows. Romania is expected to see a 5%
\neconomic growth rate in 2018, accompanied by a current account deficit and
\nelevated inflation.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nworld no. 1 Simona Halep today faces the 2016 champion and world no. 3 Garbine
\nMuguruza of Spain in the semifinals of the French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament
\nof the year. The other semifinal is an all-American affair, with world no. 10
\nSloane Stephens taking on the world no. 13 Madison Keys. Halep was in two
\nFrench Open finals, in 2014 and again last year, but lost both of them. She
\nplayed another Grand Slam final this year at the Australian Open, which she
\nagain lost.<\/p>\n