The European Commission has announced a meeting next week with the pro-Western government of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet country with a Romanian-speaking majority. High on the agenda are talks on key reforms in the fields of justice, energy and business environment in the former soviet republic. In another development, the speaker of the Romanian senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu met the president of the neighboring Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti in Chisinau on Thursday. On Wednesday, during talks with Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Parliament speaker Igor Corman, Tariceanu said that Romania would be the first country to ratify Chisinau\u2019s accord of association with the European Union, as a clear sign of its full support for the European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova.<\/p>\n
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Romania must ensure the stability of its legislative and fiscal sectors, as well as its public policy in order to keep the investors\u2019 interest in the energy sector high, shows a report by the Foreign Investors Council. Representatives of this body underlined during their Thursday\u2019s meeting, which was also attended by minister delegate for energy Razvan Nicolescu, that Romania\u2019s new energy strategy has to foster clarity, stability and predictability to all market players and interested parties in order to attract investment and maintain long-term economic competitivness. According to these investors Romania needs significant investment in the entire energy sector for developing new energy sources, the production of electricity, its transport and storage. The Foreign Investors\u2019 Council is an association of the most important foreign investors in Romania and includes 120 companies with 35 billion euros in cumulated investment.<\/p>\n
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Staging a referendum in eastern Ukraine on May 11th could worsen the situation in that country, the head of the European diplomacy Catherine Ashton said on Thursday, after pro-Russian separatists had announced their intention to keep the date of their referendum unchanged in spite of president Vladimir Putin\u2019s request. Separatists in the cities of Donetsk and Lugansk said they would not postpone the so-called referendum over the independence of Ukraine\u2019s Russian-speaking east. Earlier, Russian president Vladimir Putin had made an appeal for postponing the referendum in order to facilitate dialogue between the secessionists and the authorities in Kiev. Ukraine\u2019s National Security Council said that Ukraine\u2019s security forces would continue their operations in the eastern territories. The pro-Western government in Kiev has shown its readiness to negotiate with the political parties and officials in the pro-Russian regions but not with those they described as terrorists. In another development, both NATO and the United States said they didn\u2019t have evidence that Russian troops had pulled out of the border with Ukraine, as president Putin had announced.<\/p>\n
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Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean has participated in Thessaloniki, Greece, in a series of events staged under the Greek presidency of the EU. Together with his counterparts from Bulgaria and Greece, the head of diplomacy in Bucharest has analyzed among other things ways to promote the mutual interests of the two countries inside the EU and regional organisations, as well as European integration prospects for countries in the Western Balkans. Corlatean has voiced Romania\u2019s support for the future accession to NATO and the EU of the states in the Western Balkans. Romanian transport minister Dan Sova also went to Greece where he participated together with his EU counterparts in an informal council, which has high on the agenda the development of the EU road infrastructure. <\/p>\n
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Romania\u2019s Central Bank has revised its outlook on inflation rate this year down from 3.5% to 3.3%. The decision was made taking into account the evolution of prices in consumer goods, lower prices in fruits and vegetables, pay rises as well as the prospects of a good year for agriculture. On Thursday during the presentation of the quarterly report on inflation, the National Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu also mentioned the latest appreciation of the national currency against the euro and the US dollar. Isarescu added that the appreciation of the local currency is more due to the regional situation than a result of Romania\u2019s economic development.<\/p>\n
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