31 July, 2015

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 31.07.2015, 12:01

Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis has hailed the formation of a new, pro-European government in the
neighboring Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet country, with a predominantly
Romanian speaking population. The head of state wished good luck to the Cabinet headed by Valeriu Strelet, who,
he said, would find in Romania the most important supporter in overcoming the
country’s economic difficulties and carrying on its European integration
process. In turn, the Foreign Ministry has reiterated Bucharest’s firm and
unconditional support for Moldova’s efforts to join the European family. The
Prime Minister designated by Valeriu Strelet and his governmental team got the
Moldovan Parliament’s vote of confidence, supported by the representatives of
the Alliance for European Integration made up of the Liberal Democratic Party,
the Democratic and the Liberal Party.

In Romania,
drought has affected large farming areas and has damaged one third of the basic
crops and dozens of thousands of pastures. In the county of Galati alone, in
the south-east, over 80% of the arable land was affected, translated into
losses of over 360 million lei. Also, the level and the flow of the River
Danube have dropped significantly and are to soon reach alarming levels. At the
entrance to the country, the flow rate is half the normal value, and experts
warn that the situation is going to get worse. High temperatures and lack of precipitations will also affect the month
of August. Meteorologists warn that rain will be scarce all over the country,
especially in the south and south-east.

Some 1000 Romanian
magistrates are protesting against the modification of the legislation
regarding the judiciary. They have signed a memo submitted to the Higher
Council of the Magistracy, saying that these modifications will have serious
consequences on the judiciary. The magistrates do not agree with the
elimination of the examination for admission and promotion into the Magistracy
and have warned that this modification was harshly criticized in the reports
drawn up under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The same stand is
shared by the National Judges’ Union. The Higher Council of the Magistracy
claims that the modifications to the law on the status of the magistrates were
submitted to all courts and prosecutors’ offices in the country three years
ago, for consultations.

On Thursday, the US imposed
new sanctions against Russian companies and natural persons as well as against
former Ukrainian officials, under the accusation of them trying to elude
American sanctions against Russia and the separatists for their role in the
conflict in Ukraine, Reuters and France Presse report. In all, 13 people from
Russia and four from Ukraine were added to the American black list and will
have their assets in the US frozen. The action is evidence of Washington’s
determination to maintain pressure on Russia for breaking the international law
and feeding the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the US Treasury has stated in a
communiqué. The EU has officially extended the tough economic sanctions imposed
on Russia for breaking the international law until January 2016.

The IMF will continue to take
part in the granting of the new financial aid for Greece only provided the EU
takes a firm commitment for this country, an IMF high-ranking official has
stated, France Presse reports. The information came after, according to the
Financial Times, the IMF experts recommended the leadership of the institution
to not grant Greece the new aid, because of that country’s huge debt and its
negative record of reform implementation. The IMF is participating in Athens’s
negotiations with the international lenders. At domestic level, the Greek
prime-minister is trying to get the full support of the Syriza MPs, as part of
them have criticized the agreement signed with the lending institutions. He has
proposed the organization of an extraordinary congress on this topic in the
month of September.

The Romanian
football squad Astra Giurgiu, from southern Romania, ended in a draw, 2-2 the
match against the English side West Ham United last night, in the first round
of the third preliminary round of Europa League. In the same round of the
competition, the Romanians from ASA Tg. Mures lost 0-3 to the French AS
Saint-Etienne. On Wednesday, Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest ended in a
draw the match against the Serbian side Partizan Belgrade, in the first leg of
the Champions League’s third preliminary round. The return games are due next
week.