September 5, 2015 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news

Newsroom, 05.09.2015, 12:15

Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta and his Serb counterpart
Aleksandar Vucic had talks on Friday in Belgrade about the progress of the
cooperation projects agreed at the three-party talks held earlier this year in
Craiova, southern Romania, and the inflow of refugees, said the government in
Bucharest. Special emphasis was placed on projects in the field of energy,
transport and regional development. The two prime ministers also agreed to
continue joint efforts to prevent and combat human trafficking in the region
and special attention to the European initiatives aimed at an efficient
management of the refugee crisis.

Romania’s foreign minister Bogdan
Aurescu, who attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers held on Friday and
Saturday in Luxembourg, called for urgent measures to tackle the refugee
crisis. He said migration is one of the most sensitive issues, on account of
its humanitarian implications and challenges to EU policies. Speaking about the
EU’s eastern neighbourhood, Aurescu emphasised the need for the Union’s strong
commitment in the region in the medium and long run, reiterating the importance
of Europe’s support to stimulate partner states, in particular those seeking
closer ties with the European Union, such as the Republic of Moldova, Georgia
and Ukraine. The meeting in Luxembourg discussed the latest developments in the
eastern neighbourhood, the EU-Russia relations, the Union’s role in the Middle
east, in particular with regard to supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process, the Iranian nuclear case, as well as migration.

After
days of protests and chaos, the Hungarian government on Friday night deployed
tens of buses to move the migrants from Hungary’s capital Budapest to the
Austrian border. Several thousand people have already reached Austria. The
Austrian interior ministry expects 10,000 people to reach Austria on Saturday.
German chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany can cope with a record number of
refugees and migrants this year without raising taxes and without jeopardising
its budget balance, writes Reuters news agency. More than 100,000 asylum seekers entered Germany in August
and around 800,000 more people are expected to enter this year, four times more
than last year.

Romania drew nil all against Hungary on Friday in the preliminary games
ahead of the 2016 European Football Championship. As a result, Romania no
longer top Group F. The leaders are now Northern Ireland, who defeated the
Faeroe Islands 3:1 and have one point more than Romania. On Monday at home,
Romania will face Greece, who are at the bottom of the group, while Northern
Ireland meet Hungary, also at home. Romania last time qualified for the
European Championship in 2008, when it failed to get past the group stage. In
another development in football, Romania’s Under-21 lost at home nil-2 against
Bulgaria in a qualifying game for the European Under-21 Championship in 2017.
On Tuesday, Romania’s Under-21 will face Armenia in Yerevan.

American pianist Murray Perahia and the famous Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Christian Thielemann and the highlights of day 7 of the George Enescu International Festival under way in Bucharest until the 20th of September. One of the biggest in Europe, the festival brings together more than 3,000 musicians and top orchestras. Tens of indoor, as well as open air concerts are
held throughout the festival.

The Italian-Bulgarian-Romanian-Macedonian
co-production Banat (Il Viaggio) from first-time Italian director Adriano
Valerio is shown in Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week. The festival, which
is now in its 72nd years, comes to an end on the 12th of
September. Banat is the story of young people in crisis. Clara, one of the
protagonists, has just been through a long relationship and is about to lose
her job. Ivo is unemployed and is on the verge of a radical decision. The film
is about migration from Italy to Romania, in search of a better job and
happiness. The cast also includes the Romanian actor Stefan Velniciuc.