October 19, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 19.10.2015, 12:15
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will meet on Tuesday in Bucharest with a delegation of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF representatives have already discussed with Romanian Finance Ministry officials about the state budget for 2016. Last week, Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said he considered the possibility of signing a new accord with the IMF. As of 2009 and up to present Romania has forged three consecutive loan agreements with the IMF and the EU. The last one expired last month.
British Prime Minister David Cameron presented on Monday his governments counter-extremism strategy, designed to tackle fanatics and hate preachers and restrict their activities. According to this new strategy, parents of children aged 16 and 17 have the power to request the cancellation of passports if they suspect their children are under the influence of extremists. Also, anyone with a conviction or civil order for extremist activity will be automatically barred from working with children and vulnerable people. British police estimate that at least 700 people from the UK have travelled to support or fight for jihadist organisations in Syria and Iraq such as Islamic State.
Romania’s Senate ratified on Monday an Accord on the reimbursable loan of 150 million euros granted to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Romanian senators unanimously voted in favor of the Accord, which had already been green-lighted by deputies. Moldova needs Romania’s financial assistance to finance its budget deficit estimated at 3.8% of the GDP in 2015. The Republic of Moldova is shaken by a huge scandal as its former Prime Minister, Vlad Filat, has been arrested for his alleged direct involvement in the disappearance, from the banking system, of 1 billion dollars.
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Monday in Ramallah. The two officials discussed about the current situation in the Middle East and the possibility for peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis to be resumed. Previously, the Romanian official visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, whose representatives voiced appreciation at the measures taken by Romania to combat anti-Semitism. In Israel, Aurescu met with the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss ways to consolidate bilateral ties and cooperation in various fields such as investment, energy, tourism and agriculture.
The Romanian Senate passed the postal voting bill on Monday. The bill was supported by both the Social Democrats, in power, and the Liberal opposition. The postal voting system will be used in the parliamentary, presidential and European elections and only applies to Romanian citizens residing or living abroad. The bill has been sent for approval to the Chamber of Deputies, as the Parliaments decision-making body.
