4 August, 2015 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 04.08.2015, 12:15

The head of
the IMF mission for Romania, Andrea Schaechter and the Fund’s resident
representative, Guillermo Tolosa, believe that Romanian authorities should slow
down the speed of implementation of the fiscal relaxation measures stipulated
in the new fiscal code and revise the expenditure plan. In an article posted on
the IMF’s web page, they highlight the fact that these are essential conditions
for Romania to be able to reduce its public debt and ease the fiscal burden.
Fiscal stimulation measures should be applied at the right moment, the two
officials say, suggesting that the Romanian decision-makers should reanalyze
the bill in Parliament and re-size the fee and tax reductions proposed, in order
to preserve the country’s macroeconomic stability. In turn, the Governor of the
National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, has stated that he is not against
fiscal relaxation or the new Fiscal Code, but he is worried about the
simultaneous application of several measures that have a significant impact on
the budget. The situation is rendered even more risky by the external
situation, especially the developments in Greece and China, Isarescu has also
stated.

The US Ambassador to
Chisinau, James Pettit, has hailed the formation of the new government of the
Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet state with a predominantly
Romanian-speaking population, and has reiterated Washington’s support for the
continuation of the reform implementation process in that country. During the
meeting he had with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Valeriu
Strelet, the US diplomat pleaded for fighting corruption, rendering society
democratic and developing the economy. In turn, the premier, invested last
week, stood for a stronger strategic dialogue with the US, which started last
year. Since 1992, the US has granted the Republic of Moldova 1.2 billion dollar
worth of financial assistance.

In Romania, the
drought of the past few weeks has caused farmers to lose over 2 billion euros
and will push the prices of Romanian products up, says the head of the League
of Romanian Farmers Associations, Laurentiu Baciu. In turn, the Secretary of
State with the Agriculture Ministry Daniel Botănoiu,
has stated that drought has destroyed more than 860,000 hectares of crops and
has damaged at least one-quarter of this year’s agricultural yield. He has also
said farmers have requested aid from the Ministry to make up for the losses,
but, for the aid mechanisms to be
initiated, losses must be over 30% for each particular crop. Farmers warn that
the drought also affects animal farms and the vegetable and fruit production.
High temperatures and scarce rainfalls will also be reported in August as well.

Over 2000 immigrants have
died this year while trying to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe, the
International Organization for Migration announced in Geneva on Tuesday. The UN
too reported that some 188,000 immigrants had come to Europe since January,
reaching mainly Greece and Italy, via the Mediterranean, and the figure of
200,000 was soon to be reached. In another move, the French Interior Minister,
Bernard Cazeneuve, has requested additional support from the British
authorities to dismantle human trafficking networks, against the background of
the crisis generated by the thousands of immigrants who are trying to reach
Britain from France, through the English Channel. He has stated that the
migration crisis requires a global solution and cooperation with the migrants’
home countries.

The US stands against an
enhanced military capacity of the participants in the territorial disputes in
the South China Sea, said on Tuesday the US Secretary of State John Kerry. He
also said that the parties involved should stay calm and abstain from deploying
military technique in the area. The situation in the South China Sea is tense
because of the disputes between China on the one hand, and smaller countries
such as Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines on the other. Kerry is
currently on a tour of South-East Asia. In the Sunni states in the Gulf area,
which he visited the days before, Kerry tried to dissipate worries triggered by
the signing on July 14th of an agreement between Iran and the big powers on
Teheran’s nuclear program.