July 18, 2015 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.07.2015, 12:15

The Romanian Government wants the new
Fiscal Code to come into force at the beginning of next year at the latest and
it will use all the necessary legal means to make sure this happens, the
Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici has stated. We recall that president Klaus
Iohannis rejected the new code and sent it back to Parliament for
reexamination. According to the president, the fiscal relaxation measures
provided in the new code would
seriously affect the state budget. The fiscal code should not promote policies
that generate excessive taxation, but it should not allow for abrupt
relaxations either, the head of state has also said. In turn, the Finance Minister has drawn attention to the fact
that the president’s decision delays the preparation of the 2016 state budget
and generates confusion in the business environment. Prime Minister Victor
Ponta too has criticized the president’s rejection of the new code, saying that
such a decision runs counter to the country’s interests. The liberal
opposition, on the other hand, says that sending the Fiscal Code back to Parliament was the right thing to do, as the
Government had not provided any details regarding the preparation for
implementation of the new provisions, without which economic imbalance may
occur. The main political parties in
Romania are in favour of an extraordinary parliament session to reexamine the
law, as Romania urgently needs a Fiscal Code.

The Greek banks, closed since
June 29th, will be reopened on Monday, and restrictions regarding
cash withdrawals and purchases on credit cards will be slightly relaxed, under
a decree published on Saturday by the Greek government. On Friday, the Greek
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reshuffled his government after the revolt of
part of its majority during the voting in parliament on the reforms requested
by the international lenders in exchange for a fresh bailout program. Tsipras reshuffled
ten ministers and deputy-ministers who voted against the proposed measures. In
exchange for 86 billion Euro worth of funding, Greece has accepted major
reforms in the pensions system, a higher VAT, a revision of the rules of
collective bargaining and a tighter control of public expenditure. The EU has
decided to grant Greece 7 billion Euros in the form of a loan which will allow
Athens to keep part of the commitments it made in exchange for the financial
aid.

70 members of the Romanian
Ground Force are participating, until the end of the month, in a multinational
exercise in Ukraine. Some 1 thousand 800 soldiers from 18 countries members of
NATO and the Partnership for Peace will train for defensive and peace keeping
operations. In another development, the ‘Sea Shield’ multi-national exercise is
due to start in the Black Sea on Monday, organized by the Romanian Naval Forces
and focusing on fighting techniques deployed against submarines. Participating
will be some 2000 soldiers from 7 NATO
countries – Bulgaria, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, the US,
Turkey – and also Ukraine.

Slovakia is one point ahead
of Romania in the Davis Cup competition hosted by the Romanian Black Sea Coast
resort of Mamaia. On Saturday the Romanian pair Horia Tecau/ Florin Mergea was defeated by the Slovaks Andrej Martin/Igor Zelenay in three sets. On Friday, after the first singles, there is a draw, 1-1. Andrian Ungur lost to
the Slovak Martin Klizan, while Marius Copil defeated Norbert Gombos. On
Sunday, Marius Copil will be taking on Martin Klizan, and Adrian Ungur will
face Norbert Gombos. The winner of the Romania – Slovakia game will play for
qualification to the Davis Cup World Group.