April 19, 2015 UPDATE
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
Roxana Vasile, 19.04.2015, 12:15
TALKS — President Klaus Iohannis is on Monday holding a new round of talks with parliamentary parties. Attending will be representatives of the centre-left ruling coalition and the Liberal opposition. The meeting will focus on the election law, including the necessary provisions that would allow Romanians abroad to exercise their voting rights. Talks will also tackle parliamentary procedures to approve the prosecution, detention and pre-trial arrest of MPs. This is the third round of talks Iohannis will be holding with parliamentary factions since he took office as president on December 21, 2014.
LOAN — Romania got a loan from the World Bank worth over 200 million euros, which will be used in a programme aimed at combating school dropout. The project is the largest of its kind supported by the World Bank in Europe and Central Asia and will be implemented by the Education Ministry over the next seven years. The loan agreement was signed in Washington by Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, who is attending the spring session of the World Bank and the IMF. Teodorovici discussed with representatives of international lenders about the new Fiscal Code, the state budget and progress on observing Romania’s commitments to its international lenders.
INVENTIONS — Romanian engineer Corneliu Birtok Baneasa, known for his innovations in the car industry, was awarded a gold medal in this year’s edition of the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions. He also got two special prizes from the delegations of Iran and the Republic of Moldova. His medal rewards the invention of a device that selectively feeds windshield washer fluid to any type of vehicle. The invention will make obsolete the classical method using plastic canisters to stock washer fluid. Dubbed “Good Fill”, his invention can be used in all filling stations, service stations, car parks or highway refuge areas. A total of 25 inventions represented Romania in Geneva.
MEETING — Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is on Monday attending the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers taking place in Luxembourg. Talks will focus on the EU’s relations with states in Latin America and the Caribbeans. Moreover, the meeting will look at actions strategies to support international efforts aimed at putting an end to the Libyan crisis and will present options on the developments in Yemen and their impact on regional security. On the sideline of the event, Minister Aurescu will also attend the meetings of the Group of Friends of Georgia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, as well as the Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting.
PEACE AGREEMENT — The Government in Yemen voted against the Iran-backed peace plan. Meanwhile on the ground, Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Sunni Arabic coalition continue their air strikes on Shiite Houthi rebels, backed by Teheran. The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it would continue efforts to safely evacuate all Romanian citizens in Yemen and that it would maintain permanent contact with these and with the relevant authorities in the region. So far 54 Romanians and 9 Yemeni members of their families have been evacuated.
GYMNASTICS — Romanian Andreea Munteanu has won gold in the beam event at the European Gymnastics Championships in Montpellier, France, outperforming Rebecca Downie of Britain and Claire Martin of France. Andreea Munteanu also ranked 8th in the floor finals. In the men’s competition, Marius Berbecar won silver in the parallel bars event, while Andrei Muntean ranked 5th in the finals. At the end of the tournament, European Gymnastics Union president Georges Guelzec handed on the flag of the competition to Bucharest, which will be hosting the next championships in 2017.
