August 17, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 17.08.2015, 12:15
Romanian Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin on Monday discussed with leaders of the farming sector about the severe drought this year and the possibility of handing out compensations. Minister Constantin said that in the case of small farmers who lost over 30% of their crops, compensations will be granted from the sate budget, a decision to be taken through an emergency ordinance. In the case of big farmers, a decision is to be taken by the European Commission that has been notified in this respect. According to Minister Constantin, not all crops have been affected by drought, but the corn and sunflower ones in particular. Farmers claim hundreds of thousands of hectares have been lost, with losses amounting to over 2 billion euros. After a long period of extreme heat, meteorologists have issued a warning against heavy rainfall in place until Tuesday evening.
Representatives of parliamentary parties in Romania are on Thursday holding talks on the new Fiscal Code. The code was sent back to Parliament for reanalysis on July 17. President Klaus Iohannis believes the fiscal relaxation measures provided by the code would have serious consequences on the budget planning for the next years. Although the Code enjoyed nearly unanimous support in Parliament at first, several political leaders then suggested the possibility of reviewing its provisions. Prime Minister Victor Ponta says the code is sustainable, and that the estimated cost of its implementation, standing at 2.5 billion euros, can be offset by economic growth and a better tax collection rate. Parliament will convene in a special session to discuss the code on August 24.
Some 55,000 high school graduates are sitting their Baccalaureate exam as of Monday, as part of the second session in 2015. The first exam will test students’ linguistic and communication skills in Romanian and in the mother tongue of ethnic minorities. On Tuesday and Wednesday students will have to prove their foreign language proficiency and their IT knowledge. The success rate for the June session was 66%, accounting for 106,000 students. The success rate went up by 7% as compared to the 2014 session.
The Romanian Permanent Election Authority is running for the vice-presidency of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB). Romania wants to play host in 2017 to the General Assembly meeting of the organization. A decision in this repesct will be taken this week during a conference hosted by the Dominican Republic, bringing together representatives of election bodies all over the world. Talks will focus, among others, on the challenges facing election bodies as part of election processes, the funding of political parties or the responsibility of the media. Founded in 2013, A-WEB is the largest organization of its kind in the world. Comprising over 100 member states, its underlying principle is free, fair and transparent elections.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she expected the IMF to get involved in the bailout package for Greece. Her statement follows against the backdrop of concerns regarding the participation of the IMF to the bailout programme worth 86 billion euros that is to be disbursed to Athens. The IMF said its involvement depended on Europe’s decision to cut back on Greece’s external debt. On Friday, the Greek Parliament adopted the agreement Athens has agreed upon with its international lenders regarding a new bailout programme, in exchange for severe austerity measures. Eurozone Finance Ministers too have greenlighted the programme, which must nevertheless be sanctioned by national Parliaments, including that of Germany.
The US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK have jointly criticized the barbaric actions of the Islamic State terrorist cell in Libya and have called on insurgents in this country to agree on a National Union Government, France Press reports. The reaction of the six countries follows last week’s violent clashes, when jihadist militias took control of the city of Sirta in the north and executed at least 34 people. Since the demise of Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in a state of chaos, the country being torn between insurgent militias the authorities can’t seem to control. At present, Libya has two Governments, one recognized at international level, headquartered in Tobruk in the east, and another Islamic Government in the capital Tripoli.
Romanian tennis player WTA 3rd ranked Simona Halep on Sunday lost the final of the Toronto tournament to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland. Halep had to retire early into the third set due to health problems. This was Simona Halep’s fourth final this year, after she won the WTA tournaments in Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells. Simona Halep continues to rank 3rd in the WTA classification, and is getting closer to no. 2, Maria Sarapova, according to the wtatennis.com website. Serena Williams continues to rank 1st.
