January 14, 2016 UPDATE
An update on domestic and international news
Newsroom, 14.01.2016, 12:15
The Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazar Comanescu, is participating, on Thursday and Friday, in Lithuania, in the Snow Meeting 2016 informal meeting on issues of foreign policy and security, at the invitation of his Lithuanian counterpart Linas Linkevicius. The meeting gathers decision makers in the foreign policy and security fields from the NATO and EU members, high-ranking officials of the two bodies as well as academic personalities. The security developments in NATO’s eastern and southern vicinity as well as the Alliance’s response to these developments dominate the agenda of the Snow Meeting 2016. On the sidelines of the meeting, the Romanian foreign minister talked with his Lithuanian counterpart about issues related to bilateral cooperation, topical issues on the European and regional agenda as well as aspects of cooperation within NATO. Also on Thursday the Romanian Foreign Minister met with Victoria Nuland, the US Assistance Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. During the talks they discussed the situation in the region showing concern for the situation in the Republic of Moldova.
Romanians celebrate, on Friday, January 15, 166 years since the birth of their national poet Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), who is considered the last great representative of European Romanticism. On the occasion they will also mark the National Culture Day, instated by Parliament in 2010, upon the proposal of the Romanian Academy. Like every year, the diplomatic and consular missions, as well as the Romanian Cultural Institutes abroad organize special events devoted to this day. Eminescu’s birthday will be also officially marked in the Republic of Moldova as well as by the Romanian communities aboard.
Romania’s men’s handball team, on Thursday defeated the Austrian side on home ground, 32-29, but failed to qualify to the playoffs of the 2017 World Championship. In the match that took place in Baia Mare (in the north), Romania had to overcome Austria by 4 points, after, in the previous match, Austria defeated the Romanian team 27-24. In another development, Romania’s water polo team will take on Germany, on Friday, in the last match in Group C of the European Championship, held in Serbia. In the first match, Romania overcame Georgia, 12-6, but was defeated by Italy, 11-5 in the group’s 2nd match.
The secretary of state with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Radu Podgorean, on Thursday received the new ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Bucharest, Mihai Gribincea. According to a Foreign Ministry communiqué, Radu Podgorean underlined that, in the current context of the eastern neighborhood, it is important for Chisinau to form a government as soon as possible to ensure the country’s stability and to firmly apply the reform measures necessary to boost Moldova’s European aspirations. The Romanian official underscored that such evolutions would make the country score progress in running the important cooperation and assistance projects initiated by Romania to support the Republic of Moldova.
The French carmaker Renault on Thursday confirmed that tests were conducted last week and said investigators wanted to check equipment at its factories. However, Renault stressed that tests showed “no evidence” of devices designed to cheat emissions tests, France Press reports. Shares in Renault plunged 20% at the Paris Stock Exchange after police raids on the company’s facilities. The problems faced by Renault also affected its rival Peugeot Citroen, whose shares dropped 7%. Raids at Renault come after last year the German carmaker Volkswagen admitted its diesel-engine cars had been fitted with computer software designed to flatter emissions data during tests. We recall that Renault took over the Romanian carmaker Dacia in 1999.
(News translated by Lacramioara Simion)
